Oil pressure

[Stephen Soulsby]

This is the first Ford vehicle I've owned, but have driven others before like my mother's 01 Crown Vic LX, Ranger, and others. I have noticed on all of them including my Marauder have an oil pressure guage that never moves. Weather it's hot, cold, idling, or screaming from a stoplight, the oil pressure guage never moves. All my previous vehicles (00 Cherokee, 84 Buick Grand National, 87 Olds Cutlass, 82 Buick Regal) always had oil pressure that varied by up to 40 pounds from cold running to hot idle.

Are the guages on all Fords programed to stay in one place regardless of actual pressure, or does my Marauder really make 70 pounds of oil pressure all the time? If so, how and why?

[MM03MOK]

The Autometer "gauge" designed specifically for Ford's use is not a true gauge. Do a search for "Autometer" and you'll find a number of threads and info on a real Autometer oil pressure gauge replacement.

[EasyRhino]

Sorry to dissapoint, but ford oil pressure gauges have been fancy idiot lights for the past several years, at least on Mustangs and Marauders, although I can't speak for the others. There have been a few threads on this topic here, use the search function to get an in-depth review of this.

On another mustang site (corral, cough, cough) they went through this same "discovery" several years ago.

How it works is essentially like an idiot light. That is, if you have Oil pressure at the sender, you have positive indication at the "gage". If the Oil Pressure goes below the sender setpoint (whatever that is) your gage goes to the null position, same as when the engine/ignition are off.

There is also a detailed tech procedure on this site how to change to it a real gage.