just great, oil light May 21, 2005, 07:02:46 AM either i make an oil presure guage or i go and buy one,, maybe ill make one and , not sure.my oil light gave the wife problems yesterday. It stayed on and she said she didnt hear nothing clattering. Ive had this darn engine see sawing on the brink of some oil issue i cant put my finger on. I rebuilt it and the external oil pump gears are new. I never changed the pluger thing a ma gig in the timing cover though and thats got me worried. I could not change the plunger because the entire front and accy things were already mounted. this me off.another thing, the new gears come to you and one is idiot proof, its drivin off the dizzy. the other one however is marked with an "s" but i cant find any manual that describes which way this goes in so i flipped it around one day last year. Ive often wondered if i dont have a clogged port in the block somewere,, now that would be a bummer.man im itching for a change and i just drool over the wife's 351.I was suppose to go out there today and gut the catalytic,,,, but ford did a number on that one. Two big ass cats within 10 inches of eachother in a row and the piping is elbowed , smooshed and welded.So ,,,,,,,was that you bird351 who did some research about the Fram oil filters? Ive used them ever since they came out with the non skid grip. are there defects lately with them?anyone know if i boo boo'd by not changing that presure regulator plunger thing in the timing cover or not? Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #1 – May 21, 2005, 07:35:10 AM Before you go tearin into the block:How old is your oil pressure sensor? These tend to go and are problematic on the 3.8 and 5.0'sIs the pressure low all the eime or just sitting at a light at idle? Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #2 – May 21, 2005, 07:52:02 AM the sensor is as new as the rebuild, late 2003.it did this right after the rebuild but went away. It sticks its ugly head out once in a while. Yesterday she said it was on while driving,,not good.i need to get out and go get a tester, i dont think i have anything lying around to rig up an "oil" presure tester. I think those guages are harmonically sealed in oil themselves.I'll bet it doesnt do it for me here in a bit. Im gonna do an oil change as well. I dont know why,, this will be my third this year. My oil always looks prefect when it comes out.,, slightly dull but you can stil see through it as it runs out. Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #3 – May 21, 2005, 08:12:03 AM i've bin saying this to people for years.. STAY AWAY FROM FRAM OIL FILTERS!!!!!i did find something for you to read though http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.htmlhttp://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters.htmlNick Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #4 – May 21, 2005, 08:54:30 AM Quote from: Blown306Cougari've bin saying this to people for years.. STAY AWAY FROM FRAM OIL FILTERS!!!!!i did find something for you to read though http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.htmlhttp://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters.htmlNickAmen brother..... I use nothing but Motorcraft...Scott.. unless there is contamination(mostly gas) in the oil, it cannot cause a pressure problem... The filter may not be your problem, but I'd change it and leave the current oil in the engine...I get a $hit load of rattle on startup with the Blue Bird, and what brand of filter does it have??? Yup a fuggin' Fram... Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #5 – May 21, 2005, 09:04:14 AM Quote from: Blown306Cougari've bin saying this to people for years.. STAY AWAY FROM FRAM OIL FILTERS!!!!!i did find something for you to read though http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.htmlhttp://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters.htmlNickI'll third it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's your problem right there! Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #6 – May 21, 2005, 11:29:39 AM Obviously I second (or third or fourth or..) the no-Fram thing stated above, but here's a little something else. A list over at BITOG of who makes what filter:http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=002456There appears to be a little bit of confusion on some of them, though.Of course, if you're just going to buy a straight brand name (vs. a re-label) like Purolator, it doesn't really matter who makes what else.I'm on my second SuperTech (Wal-Mart) filter on the 3.8, and no complaints so far. I get good oil pressure to the best of my knowledge, (one of my friends was amazed that an engine with almost 170k miles on it still got around 60 psi on cold startup and no less than 15 psi at idle) no odd noises I can detect, and with my current mix of oil in there I swear it actually seems a little bit quieter overall. Although, I see in one thread they're saying the newer (E-core) SuperTechs might be py. *shrug*Poking around the rest of that forum I linked to, though.. I see a few thread titles like "another Fram failure", "two costly Fram failures", etc. Now I just need to talk the aforementioned friend into NOT using Frams on my old Escort.Every time I go to that site, I end up feeling more confused than before I visited it. Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #7 – May 21, 2005, 12:14:37 PM i just got back and i took the coug out for the trip. I figured if im gonna blow someithing up,, might as well be on a saturday,,right?I plucked the old filter off and stuffed a motorcraft one in.light is still on. Ive never seen it this steady , it use to flicker a bit once and again but never stay on. What bugs me is its like it has been building up to something. how much you guys wanna bet i find low presure,,, my money is on low presure,, the sending unit might be a dud. If the oil presure is low,,, im making a new rule about rebuilding engines with over 300kmiles. im gonna pull the sending unit off here in a minute.I could not find an oil pres tester but for 14 bux i found an oil guage. Good enough for me to use as a tool, ill just modify it a little to suit me and the place it will hand on the wall. i wish i could get to that oil presure relief valve in the timing cover. I suspect that might be stuck or its low oil presure.ill carb cleaner out the sending unit, it might have crud in it somehow, its just a switch. Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #8 – May 21, 2005, 04:38:59 PM startup- 52psifully warm-13psiat 2krpm-35psiwhat to do Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #9 – May 21, 2005, 05:45:32 PM I like to see 20 lbs or so idling hot, but 13psi ain't the end of the world... Your 2000 rpm psi is fine... If you're getting a low pressure light with 35psi something is wrong with the sender... Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #10 – May 21, 2005, 07:38:56 PM http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?UseCase=C001&UserAction=performMoreDetail&Parameters=TRUE%7C%7EOIL+PRESSURE+SWITCH%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENIEHOFF%7C%7ENONE%7C%7EFALSE%7C%7EFALSE%7C%7E123901%7C%7E1280%7C%7EOP23081%7C%7ENONE%7C%7E%245.49%7C%7EFORD%7C%7ETHUNDERBIRD%7C%7E1986%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7EB$5.49 according to AutoHole. I checked 'cause I thought about offering to send ya my old idiot light sender from my '86.. (I use a 1 1/2" mechanical gauge) but they're cheap enough that it's probably not worth shipping a used one off. Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #11 – May 22, 2005, 12:16:46 AM the sender got a good bath with carb cleaner. i still suspect that presure relief valve is the cause. I swear to god i cant remember anything going wrong with the rebuild. i tried to actuate the plunger with a flat blade screwdriver up in the sender hole but i guess its not within reach especially since i dont bend that way if i had it to do over again, i would have changed that thing. It bugged me back then and it bugs me now. Its probably in a bind. Its probably gonna roll my mains over if i dont watch out.no, 13 psi isnt the end of the world ,,thanks for the pat on the back but i know that presure is not worth a dime. Im only hopeful that the driving at an avg of 2k rpm saves me for a while.till then, maybe ill dump in some heavy oil. sound good to anyone? Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #12 – May 22, 2005, 03:01:29 AM hmm, I never know were to go in a situation like that. will the higher viscosity oil be pumped less easily and lower your pressure and will thinner oil be even worse with it seeping through internal leaks. I guess you could only try. I would start with 20w-50. But what weight have you been running anyway? Quote Selected
Re: just great, oil light Reply #14 – May 22, 2005, 01:59:07 PM I'd try some thicker oil, as you've suggested. Hell, it kept my old Cherokee on the road for two years and my old Dakota is still going with 20W50 (yeah, it's REALLY thick, but the engine is REALLY worn) Quote Selected