Engile Oil Pressure Gauge ( Ford )?
I have a 2002 Ford Crown Vic, the engine oil pressure gauge drops to the red bar and rise up again very quickly and the drops to the red bar and stay like that, no check engine light is on, and one time a weird noise came from the engine, what is the problem?
Probably a bad oil pressure sender. They are a high failure rate item, and thankfully not expensive to replace.
Ford has taken an odd approach to some of the gauges. For decades their oil pressure gauge has been an "idiot light" with a pointer; it either reads right in the center or it reads zero. Your 2002 Crown Vic probably has Ford's excellent engine temperature management system as well, which uses a gauge the same way. If the temperature is well controlled it reads mid scale. If it starts to overheat the pointer rapidly rises into the red. If you don't respond to that, the system kills fuel to half the cylinders, getting your attention and reducing heat production while pumping air through the engine. If it gets to the third stage, the engine shuts down… It would have shut down within a minute anyway as the head gaskets failed.
I'm very concerned about the weird noise, though. I would start by replacing the sender (because the problem is intermittent, trying to hunt it down in the shop would be no fun), but if the loss of oil pressure indication happens again get off the road and have it towed to the shop. Your 2002 Crown Vic has hydraulic lifters, and any actual loss of oil pressure can cause them to clatter.
If you're hearing a ticking noise or clatter I'd get the oil pressure tested immediately!
Have you even checked the oil level on the dipstick yet?
The oil level is so low that the pump is running out of oil to pump. As the oil drains down into the pan, the pressure will suddenly rise only to go down again as the pump runs out of oil again. The next warning you get will be a sound that tells you you need a new engine.
Could have a few causes, including worn out oil pump, worn out engine bearings, idle speed too low, to name a few.
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