i have a 97 f-150 with a 4.2l v6 and 125000 miles. i bought this truck 2 years ago with 97000 miles on it. i have been very pleased, but about 6 months ago the oil pump gave out. the mechanic said there is a flaw in the 4.2 design that makes the oil pump give out and that the new one he put in may or may not last. anyone have a simliar problem or know about this design flaw?

 

The only flaws that i know of with the 97's are the bad cooling gaskets (i think).... alot of people had to rebuild the engine due to coolant mixing with the oil.... apparently coolant isnt a good lubricant. Metal against metal=your engine exploding. But other than that ive never heard of bad oil pumps.

Beau

 

I've never heard of bad oil pumps for our Fords. That sounds kinda wierd to me. The mechanic suspects the one he installed will go bad now?!?? Get a different mechanics opinion.

Also, try this sight:

www.leakingfords.com

And Welcome To FTE!

 

i appear to have no cooling gasket problem. what happened is that the oil pressure gauge would drop of the map after the truck ran for a while. finally it went south and stayed there. that's when i had the oil pump replaced. the mechanic is reputable. currently the oil pressure gauge shows good pressure until the truck has run for a while and will start dropping at stops or at idle speeds. can there be a problem somewhere else causing the oil pressure to drop?

 

Question: What kind of oil and filter do you use and how often do you change it? A truck with that many miles is eventually going to get lower oil pressure as with all trucks. I would recommend Motorcraft oil with a Motorcraft filter. Maybe you should look into trying a synthetic oil also. I used to have a 95 Chebbie Truck (yea, I know) and all at once the oil pressure was crappy on it all the time. I switched from a Fram filter to a Havoline filter and the pressure went back to normal...just like that. Hope this helps.

 

Did your mechanic ever test your oil pressure with a mechanical gauge? The oil pressure gauge in the dash does not really give you oil pressure. If it did, the gauge would fluctuate noticeably up and down with rpm, and it doesn't. Ford designed the gauge to read halfway when the engine is running, or zero if there is no pressure, but nothing in between.

So if your gauge did start fluctuating, I bet it's more likely an electrical problem with the gauge. Especially if it continued to happen with the new pump.

When the gauge went to zero, did your oil light go on too? If not, then again I bet it was the gauge.

Mark Salvetti
Saugus, MA

 

thanks for all the response. yes, the oil light comes on when the gauge goes to zero. valves start tapping and the whole bit as though no oil is being pumped.

 

That's pretty wierd. I wonder if aliens came and stole your pump. Nah, prolly not right? Besides they got better stuff to do than pick on us Ford drivers. So what's the deal? Did you get it fixed?

 

well, i changed the oil after only 2400 miles. am going to try a synthetic and put in a motorcraft oil filter and see what happens.

 

well, after months of bearing with the problem i finally to it to a good friend who is a mechanic. he checked it over and said that a heavier oil should correct the problem. changed to a 20-50w and haven't had the oil pressure gauge fluctuate at all.

 

I have an 1997 f-150 with 120,00 miles with the same--flipping problem
my oil light does not come on--but everything else is identical

i will try the heavier weight oil

 

i have a 97 f-150 also with about 120,000 miles on it. Exact same
symptoms exept my oil light does not come on----

I was going to call the dealer--but i will try the heavier oil

 

The symptoms ya'll are describing are related to worn bearings.

 

ok, elaborate.

 

When bearings are installed they are specified to have a certain clearance.When new,the tolerance is measured in thousandts of an inch.For instance,the 4.2 main bearing oil clearance is 0.0010 to 0.0025 inch,new.If yours are worn beyond these tolerances,and thicker oil is making the light and gauge work correctly,that means the thicker oil is filling the worn bearing tolerance.In other words,the bearings are worn.