when i drive for like 20min and stop at a light my oil gauge needle flicks like crazy but when i drive again its fine. Before i goto a mechanic i want to get some ideas so im not taken for a ride by this guy

 

oil pressure sending unit probably. mine does it too, just havent taken the time to get it fixed yet.

 

I wouldnt fix it I would just spring for real oil pressure gauges!

 

Your gauge is not a gauge anyway. It's a switch. The pressure gauges on later Rangers are actually on/off indicators and the "sender" is not a sender but just a pressure switch.

The tipoff on it being a switch is the needle doesn't move with RPM as it should with a real pressure sender.

The threshold of this switch is 6 PSI supposedly, but it can change over time.

There are therefore two possibilities: either your oil pressure at idle is hanging around 6 PSI, or the switch is going bad.

If you replace the switch and it persists, your idle oil pressure may be low when hot.

There is the remote possibility of different electrical malfunction, but it's unlikely.

If you replace the switch and the problem persists, then get your oil pressure hot at idle measured.

 

Had the same thing happen to the Xploder this winter, I was unfotunate and it ended up being the oil pump. I swapped out the switch and it still acted up. It was a costly repair but it is good now.

~HJ

 

I had that happen with an irratic idle- I was basically running off of 5 cylinders instead of 6.

 

its the sending unit or the oil pump my dad f150 did that we put a sending unit in it and it didnt work so we had to put in a oil pump in it.

 

Mine does the same thing.

 

any how to's or anything on how to change the switch?

 

Which engine, Peter? On the 3.0 it's on the back of the block on the passengers side. Kind of hard to get to but you can either lay across the engine and reach down, or take the passengers side tire and liner out and reach it from there easily.

It screws down into the block -- that is, the sensor is sticking up with wire coming in from the top.

On the 4.0 I don't know where it is.

 

3.0 john i think maybe this weekend when im off i may have to try and change this. How much does the switch usually run?

 

Probably $20 or thereabouts for the switch.

John's description is perfect for a 3.0L.
[4.0L (and 5.0L ) use the same switch but in a different location - driver side of the block below the A/C compressor.]

Here's a drawing of the 3.0L switch in the block behind the PS cylinder head:

 

I just saw the episode of The Office with your avatar in it, I always wondered what the heck that was lol

 

I'm not sure about the price, Peter, but since it's only a switch I'm going to say $10-$20 max. I haven't bought one though so I can't say for sure. It could even be cheaper.

 

i have 2002 edge with a 3.0L thats a 5 speed and when i start off rough sometimes the oil guage goes crazy, but i just think that is because it is a 5 speed and i start out rough and it thinks i going to let it cut out.

 

This happened to me in my 03 ranger edge it turnned out to be a bad oil gauge sensor.