i have an 02 ranger and lately my oil gauge as been going crazy on me. ive already check for leaks and there is none. it seems when i travel far distances or my engine as been running for a long time then my oil gauge will start to bounce around only when i stop but when i accelerate it will be fine. i think its the oil sensor but im not 100% sure so any advice would be great. thanks.

 

On our trucks...the oil sensor sends a on/off signal to the gage. It's either got pressure or it doesn't. Is there oil in your engine?? If it's low, it'll do that. What about when turning??? Does it do that then too?? The great Mr. Bob Rwenzing will likely reply.

 

Odds are that the oil pressure sender switch is bad but are you willing to risk a complete engine failure to find out?? The best advice is to turn off the engine and park it until you KNOW that it's the sender and not a real pressure problem.

 

this happend on my 99' and it was because my pressure sensor had gone bad, and like mentioned above we were worried it was not getting pressure from the oil pump so i parked it until we found out...also make sure there is the proper amount of oil in the engine....i would rather pay the 10 or so bucks for a new pressure sensor than to pay the few grand for a new motor anyday

 

i remember reading somewhere that most rangers have this problem.

mine does it also after long highway trips, but ive never been low on oil, so i dont bother with it

i suppose i should get a new one but i have a feeling it would just do it again

 

i thought the same, but the new one seems to be holding up, and it is nice knowing that your oil pressure guage is at least somewhat doing its job

 

This has to be a common problem because mine does the same thing. I havent taken any long trips lately but when it's running for a while it does it eventually. I'm also guessing it's just the oil pressure sending unit is bad but who knows.

 

how much was it?

 

They shouldn't cost but $10-15