Klickmania

Hey guys. Kinda new to the 5.0 scene here, but got a couple of issues I need some input on. Got a '92 GT not too long ago as a daily driver for me and my brother (we work and live at the same place). It has 150K on the odometer, but it was ran and drove perfectly fine when we bought her. Any way, we changed the oil and plugs 3 weeks ago, as well as the transmission pan gasket. Nothing major, just enough to get it driving a little better for the 100 or so mile commute to work and back.

On to the issues. I noticed friday morning that my oil pressure gauge was lower then usual, but not low enough to rise any concern. I was just gonna keep an eye on it as I drove it. Lo and behold, as I hit the brake to slow for traffic, the pressure dropped to nothing but still drove fine. No horrible noises or engine parts on the highway, thankfully. After that, it would fluctuate between about 1/3 of the way up on the gauge (whatever psi that is) and nothing. It would happen under any number of conditions so I was thinking it's either the sending unit, the pump itself, or the pickup is blocked. On the way home from work, it stopped fluctuating and constantly read 0 and the valve train started to make a little more noise then usual, so I knew something was up. So I checked the oil once I got home and the level was fine and there were no metal shavings in it. So I pulled the driver side valve cover to see if I had any oil coming out of the galleys, and sure enough there wasn't a whole lot coming out. What I don't get is how can the gauge read 0, minimal oil is getting to the top end, but I have no metal in the oil??? Also my week old plugs looked pretty fouled, but I'm not burning any oil (at least it's not showing up in the exhaust). There was a ton of oil on the treads of the plug i pulled too, which I though was weird.

If I have to replace the pump, I might as well just pull the thing and re-do the bearings and rings and seals. Just wondering what some of the more experienced 5.0 guys thought. Thanks in advance!

- Spencer

Klickmania

P.S. I did search the forum before I posted this, but I couldn't find anything that really had the same issues as i did. Most of it was just a bad pump, which is pretty obvious. Thanks again!

- Spencer

Klickmania

Anybody??? I would like to know if I should just replace the sump, or if I should just rebuild the motor.

- Spencer

86GT 93LX

wow no response, this forum is dead, maybe too many ******** ran all the good people off. im having similar issues on a motor. what does it do when you rev it after pressure goes to zero? i have yet to check my sending unit. but in my case i think i might have a bad sending unit or just worn bearings, but not a failed pump

02WhiteGTVert

Yea i feel ya, the forum has been dead lately. but anyway..

are you depending on the stock pressure gauge? if so hook a mechanical gauge up to verify pressure, from what i understand the stock sending unit is just basically an "on-off" switch for the gauge. you could also remove the dizzy and use a 1/4" deep socket on a drill (on reverse rotation) and remove the valve covers to verify oil pressure

Sidewayz6.0

I'd start simple first. It's likely the oil pump. The car has a ton of miles on it. But just to be sure, grab a cheap mechanical gauge from ebay and plug it in. And you can change the oil pressure sending unit as well.

However, the bad news is...You're gonna have to pull the motor to change the pump anyway. So...It's really your call from here. Even a quick hand hone in the garage and some new rings and bearings wouldn't hurt anything. However, if you really want to go the cheap route. Search ebay for 5.0 Explorer or Mountaineer complete motors. I've picked up complete GT40 headed Explorer motors for $250. Usually with 60-70K on them.

Swap your crap over, and run with it.

Klickmania

Thanks for the replys guys! Definitely much appreciated. Took another look at the oil in direct sun light and actually saw some very fine metal shavings so I'm thinking it's a bearing problem. The oil only has about 400-500 miles on it and it looks black as sin. Think the P.O. didn't take care of it like he should have and some junk is blocking the pickup.

@ 86GT 93LX: It used to pick up a little bit when I would rev it, but not it just reads 0 all the time, no matter what the motor's doing. That, and the top end starts to make a little noise once the oil warms up.

I was fairly certain I was going to have to pull the motor to replace the oil pump. If that's the case, I'm 99% certain I'm just gonna go ahead and pull it since it's got so many miles on it. Really didn't want to do that since it was running like a champ when I bought it a month ago, but that's life I guess...

Looking at going with a federal mogul re-ring/bearing kit, ford racing f303 cam and lifter kit, melling stock volume oil pump and pickup, head bolts, one piece rear main seal and a timing chain and gear set to get it back on the road. Can't really afford to touch the rotating assembly unfortunately, but I don't need that much power out of it ATM. Might open up the stock heads a little, but I kinda need this car on the road sooner rather then later. Gonna be about 700 bucks for all that stuff, so it's not too bad. Well worth it to have a basically fresh motor IMO. Thanks again for the replys guys!

- Spencer