CobraSix
Active Member
- Joined
- January 7, 2005
- Messages
- 79
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Massachusetts
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1991 XLT 4x4
I'm the new guy. I've bought my 91 explorer in 1995 with 90k miles on it. It now has 200k miles on it.
So here is my question. Back in 2001 my oil pressure gauge started fluctuating. Mostly it would start to fluctuate when the car was warmed up and the engine RPMs were below 900 while in gear. However it would stay in the normal range. A few years later it started to drop to zero when warmed up and in gear. So I went from 10w30 oil to 20w50 in the summer months and the problem went away. However, being in New England the winter does not really allow me to run 20w50 in the winter because it has had cranking issues, so I would normally run 10w40 in the winter with no problems.
Well, the problem is now to the point that even in the winter, running 15w50 the oil pressure will drop to zero when in or OUT of gear below 800 RPM once the car has warmed up (5-10 minutes).
I'm guessing with 200k miles, the oil pump is probably on it's last leg. The engine was replaced with a reman'd short block at 150k miles but after looking over the records the oil pump should be the original.
So, anything else it may possibly be before I go digging into the bottom of my engine? Also, anyone done this replacement before? How involved is it? I am no stranger to working on cars, but usually I only work on older cars (I've restored and modified a few old mustangs) and leave the newer ones to real mechanics for my fear of electronics. Any tricks I should know about before I start this?
Slade
So here is my question. Back in 2001 my oil pressure gauge started fluctuating. Mostly it would start to fluctuate when the car was warmed up and the engine RPMs were below 900 while in gear. However it would stay in the normal range. A few years later it started to drop to zero when warmed up and in gear. So I went from 10w30 oil to 20w50 in the summer months and the problem went away. However, being in New England the winter does not really allow me to run 20w50 in the winter because it has had cranking issues, so I would normally run 10w40 in the winter with no problems.
Well, the problem is now to the point that even in the winter, running 15w50 the oil pressure will drop to zero when in or OUT of gear below 800 RPM once the car has warmed up (5-10 minutes).
I'm guessing with 200k miles, the oil pump is probably on it's last leg. The engine was replaced with a reman'd short block at 150k miles but after looking over the records the oil pump should be the original.
So, anything else it may possibly be before I go digging into the bottom of my engine? Also, anyone done this replacement before? How involved is it? I am no stranger to working on cars, but usually I only work on older cars (I've restored and modified a few old mustangs) and leave the newer ones to real mechanics for my fear of electronics. Any tricks I should know about before I start this?
Slade