Questions and Answers
Cabriolet Oil Pressure
Q. Is there something special that I should know when I look to inspect/replace the front wheel bearings on my 1993 Ford Explorer? There appears to be excessive play when you grab and rock the front drivers side tire.
1993 Ford Explorer
4.0 liter
Automatic transmission
186,000Drove it to the nearest quickie oil change facility and they told me they thought it was a short, something electrical, not really a problem, but to have it checked. As I have had a history of electrical problems with this vehicle, I was sure that was the problem: a short, something misfiring, not really indicative of engine trouble.
Drove it home, nothing. Drove it for a week, nothing. Drove it today, nothing for the first 30 minutes, then the buzzer and light came on - but did not remain on; eventually they did. When I made it home, I checked my owner's manual and found that what I had mistakenly understood to be a gauge designating something else was actually the oil pressure gauge.
According to the owner's manual, the (bar gauge) needle is not to dip below 2 for proper pressure. Mine dances and flickers right at the far extreme of the dial - 5. The inconsistent movement of this needle has happened throughout my ownership of this vehicle. While the idiot light and buzzer sounded, the temp never rose above normal; I checked the oil sending device and found it loose, tightened it thinking, here's the problem, no change.
Changed the oil, thinking because it was in bad shape last time it was changed, that perhaps some debris had found its way into the filter, clogging it. No change. Oil pump? I thought that oil pumps either did or did not work, do they slowly decline?
As I mentioned, I have had a history of electrical problems with my VW. Fuses continuously blown and burnt up. Distributor cap melted - the parts store said they'd never seen anything like it. Odometer works sporadically. Clock LCD display is fried. Corrosion on fuse panel, etc. etc. etc. Don't know the origin of these issues; they've all been documented by the mechanics I've sent it to, but no one can figure out the problem. So, can't tell if this oil pressure thing is another one of these issues, or is a more serious engine damaging problem.
How can I tell? What will happen if my oil pressure remains at the highest level? What other troubleshooting can I do before sending it in to a mechanic? Please shine some light my way, any advice would be well appreciated.
Befuddled in Bama,
AnastasiaA. Well, high oil pressure is better than low oil pressure in anyone's book, even if it is no correct. There is a pressure relief valve t=in the oil pump that controls oil pressure. if it gets too high, or the oil filter gets clogged, it dumps the excess oil back into the oil pan. The spring inside of it may be broken and not controlling the pressure correctly.
Since the car has a history of electrical problems, a shorted wire could very well be causing the problem. If the wire from the sending unit to the gauge is touching ground anywhere, it will cause the gauge to go to it's highest reading.
The only way to determine which it is is to put a mechanical pressure gauge on it and see what the actual oil pressure is. If it goes full pressure, then it is a mechanical problem with the pump or relief valve. If there is no change, then it is electrical. The fact that it is an intermittent problem will make diagnosing this problem more difficult. But it does make me lean toward and electrical cause.
This much corrosion in a car is very unusual and I'm wondering if the car was in a flood at any point in time. Maybe doing a Carfax search would be in order to find out if it was in a flood and sold without a flood title.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
