2000 Ranger
3.0 v6
Automatic
Flex Fuel
2wd
Single cab
~202,000 miles

We are having a weird issue where there does not appear to be oil entering the oil filter. We initially noticed this after the oil pan gasket blew (original gasket, believe it just wore out). We put oil back in it to confirm the gasket was toast, which it was. We began pulling the motor out to do a general rebuild of the motor (heads/gaskets/ect). We checked the oil passages, verified the pickup was clear, and verified the pump was working. Once the motor was back together, we brought the engine up to operating temp and drove it for ~15 minutes across a couple of days. We noticed the filter did not have any indication of oil in it. We are a bit stumped.

We have tried the following:

• Three different filters
  • First two were Fram filters. Neither showed any signs of oil being in them after bringing up to temp and driving for about 15 minutes over a few days.
  • Third was a Wix filter. We pre-filled it. After bringing it up to temp and driving for a few days, the oil was out of the filter and there was none pooled in the bottom of it.
• We pulled the fuel relay, took off the filter, cranked the motor, and verified oil came out of the oil port.
  • We will be re-doing this in a few weeks. My father and his friend did this before we put the Wix filter on. The friend looked at it and now we are not sure if he described where and how the oil was coming out was accurate.
• Verified correct level and weight for the oil

We are a bit stumped by this. If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations, we would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you in advance!