Hello everyone. I am new to this thread and have no idea what is causing me to have low oil pressure.

I have a 1996 F150, 5.0 2x4. Has 205,000 miles on it.

For the past week I have been having low oil pressure. It was time for an oil change so i figure that was the problem. (I change the oil every 5,000 miles) After changing the oil the oil pressure picked up some but is still pretty far from normal. There are no sounds coming from the engine such as knocking.

Any ideas on how to fix this???

 

Change the oil pressure sending unit, they suck. Plus the gauge is mostly for decoration, not accurate at all.

 

Check the electrical connection to the sending unit. If there's corrosion in there it can give you a low reading. Coat the connection w/ silicone dilectric compound to seal out any moisture.

You could try blowing out the sender unit with compressed air too. Sometimes there's crap that builds up inside over time.

Most direct fix though is to replace the sender unit.

 

Sean is right.
Our "gauge" is nothing more than an idiot light with a needle. Once the pressure goes over 6 or 7 psi the gauge will move about half way. You can make it functional by replacing the sending unit with one from a pre 87 model and bypassing the resistor on the gauge with a wire. Most owners will mount an after market electric gauge on the dash or in my case a mechcanical one under the hood.
If your engine is not making knocking noises than you probably have pressure.
YMMV
rikard