Loose oil pressure switch?

[AKexplorer21]

I have a 1996 4.0 L Explorer, manual transmission. Recently, my oil pressure gauge has been dropping has been dropping to nothing, triggering the check gauge light as well. It drops in and out, often with the vibration of the car, so I'm positive it's a loose connection somewhere. The engine continues to run smoothly, so I don't think the oil pressure is actually dropping. The gauge is at a safe level when it's not at zero. It also seems to happen less often as the car runs longer.

About the same time, I started to hear a ticking/rattling noise coming from my engine. Performance seems to be fine, and my check engine light has yet to come on. I'm hoping it's related to the loose oil pressure gauge. It seems to go away if the car is running for more than 10 minutes.

How should I go about solving this? My first thought would be to find where the oil pressure switch has come loose, reattach it, and see if that solves the rattling problem. I'm not exactly sure where the pressure switch is located on my engine though.

I also had the head gaskets and intake gaskets replaced a couple months ago, so the engine was taken apart recently.

 

[rb142]

Well, your symptoms do sound like a connection or sensor issue. It is unlikely that the real oil pressure would be changing quickly up and down. However, the ticking/rattling (esp when warming up) could easily be a symptom of low oil pressure. (Or it could be something else.) Be sure the real oil pressure is good before you run it much.

I'm not sure where the sensor is on that engine without looking it up. I would guess on the left side of the block, since that is where it is on the SOHC (which you can access through the wheel well).

Another thought. Before you change the sensor, take it out and see if the end is clogged with old oil deposits. I had one that seemed to fail, but it was fine after cleaning out the recess in the end. The crud was preventing it from getting a true measure of oil pressure. It just might save you a few bucks for a sensor.

 

[acschilling]

Any update in this?