Is low oil pressure normal??? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Is low oil pressure normal???

91xploder

Active Member
Joined
January 29, 2004
Messages
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City, State
manahawkin nj
Year, Model & Trim Level
91 xlt
I have 2 explorers now one 91 with the manual and a 92 with an auto(which sucks) and both of them have pretty low oil pressure like in the bottom quarter of the gauge. the 91 has 200,000 miles on it and the 92 has 120,000 miles and i've owned them for years...is it normal for all explorers to have low oil pressure or is it just my 2 trucks. by the way the 92 is for sale cheap! :bounce:
 



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I know the second gens have a "dummy gauge" that reads up on the gauge whenever the oil pressure is over a certain point. When it drops below that pressure it reads zero. It's basically an idiot light. I think the first gens have this also, but I'm not sure.
 






idk but i never had anything where it was ok for the gauge to be below the N in normal
 






You may have low oil pressure, but the gauge will never tell you. It is just a switch that turns on at 6# and the reading is controlled by the 20 ohm resistor behind the gauge. If the switch gets a little internal corrosion or on the connector, it may read lower. Haven't you wondered why the reading never changes? Normal pressure goes from 60# cold to 40# hot highway down to about 17# hot idle.
 






There was also an issue with the '91 and some of the '92 4.0 motors having a problem with a spring in the oil pump breaking. This will cause low oil pressure, and eventually engine failure. It's what killed my mother in law's motor, and I've heard of it/seen in in other Explorers. Best bet is to go buy an aftermarket oil pressure gauge and install it to be absolutely sure what kind of pressure you actually are running.
 






yea i'll be getting a mechanical gauge and putting it in there to see what is actually going on. i wasnt aware that the gauge was stabilized and its useless really. i dont think that it could really be that low as i dont have an valve tap or noise associated with low oil pressure....the mechanical guage will tell all tho and we shall see...if it is really low then its been running like that for 60k and will prolly keep going.
 






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