Recently got ahold of an 89 ranger 2.3, very cheap, it had no oil pressure.
The previous owner said it just started ticking and the gauge dropped so he shut it down.
I towed it home and while doing some digging on the subject found this forum (great site!)
Did a bunch of reading and then dove in to the truck.
1)tested gauge, works fine.
2)Fed oil to engine via an oil priming pump through the sender location and started it up, no ticking or odd noises.
3)Checked drive from timing belt to pump drive (dist dummy shaft) all good no sheared off pins or gears.
4)Purchased an oil pump, and pan gasket.
5)Removed pan and pump, found.....the pick-up was so plugged up I could barely scrape the crud out, it was packed in very solid, said screw it and bought a new pick-up tube.
All said and done it runs like a top, no noises and great oil pressure.
The oddest parts was that the inside of the pan was clean as a whistle as was the cam/valve area. not sure where all the crud came from.