just came back off holiday for a month and the f350 started first turn!..went to work in it today no problems !distance about 25 miles !!... On the way haome i noticed that the ( oil pressure guage ? ) went way down past the " L " reading when i backed off the " go pedal " to slow down... it returned to just past the " L " reading when i accelerated again although ( even on the freeway ) it never reached the middle of the " normal " reading " !!... then just as my house was in sight it engine completly stopped !!!!... after waiting for about 2 mins i managed to re-start the engine !... and parked it up on the drive!... any ideas what might be wrong?????

 

What year F350

 

Well,
Have you checked the engine oil dipstick?

If you had oil in the engine things probably are not that bad.

Seb....

 

1989 van.. the engine ( apparently ) is later .. possibly a 94 !... non turbo... and no ! i haven't checked the dipstick yet !..there was plenty in it last year !! parked on a steep gradient !!..useing mum's honda tommorrow will check the oil after work !!...........

 

Well I don't think you have a low oil shut off unless somebody added a murphy switch.
I never trust the factory but if in fact low pressure is what caused it to stall you may be in for some serious bucks.
Was there any noise and how did it act when you tried restarting.

 

And what transmission? If auto did you check the fluid level?

 

crazy-tim,
Welcome to FTE and the IDI diesel forum.

 

First off, is your vehicle an F350 truck or an E350 van? If truck then read below:

Your '89 gauge ain't no real gauge unless you've performed circuit board surgery behind the dash, and your '94 sender ain't no real sender either, but just a pressure switch - when oil pressure is above certain number (7psi IIRC) all reads good, when under that number gauge drops to zero and your engine light should come on. Any fluctuations in the gauge readings you see while driving are due to heat soaking of the sender, and are in no way related to actual oil pressure fluctuations.

Now, the idiot setup of the oil pressure gauge I just described came about for '87 pickup trucks, it was brought in along with the new dashboard. I'm not sure when vans got updated interiors, or if they ever did between the early-'80s models and before the '92 redesign, so your gauge may actually be a real gauge, and your sender may actually be a real sender.

And no, no oil pressure shutoff switch on any of these trucks.

 

now !.. iv'e got an e350 van not a pick-up ! ( new to this jargon ).. it did sound a little louder than usual when i started it for my trip home from work....but when i re-started it after the engine cut off it sounded normal..... on the way home it did " hunt " through 3rd and overdrive a little... also it tended to rev up a accelerate without me pushing the gas pedal a occaisionally during the run..... OH ! by the way... over the summer i have been using straight veggie oil instead of dino !... but its been back on the desiel for a least 3 tanks since then .... still haven't checked the oil situation yet.. (constant rain and long work hours prohibiting).............?????

 

ooopps forgot ... i had the transmition filter changed and fresh oil put in about 8 months ago !!

 

You need to check the transmission fluid level. If the pressure drops in the transmission the torque lock-up clutch can come in and so cause the engine to stall when coming to a stop. It is also possible that if a Ford filter was not used at the time of the fluid change it may have dropped down causing the same problem.
However drive it some more to see if it is an engine fault or the trans.

 

Check the oil first.

 

i have just checked the oil !!... there was nothing registering!!.. just put in about 1/2 gallon.. all i could find of (15-40) !..... it still does not register anything on the dipstick !... started her up.... she's a lot quieter now... also the " oil pressure ? " indicator is now very almost in the middle of the " normal " reading ????... when i took her off the drive ( to put her on a more level hard standing) she accelerated on her own as soon as i put her in gear!... this did not happen when i put her back on the drive again !????........gonna get some more oil tommorrow ( still using mum's Honda!.. but she wan'ts it back on friday )..!!.........................

 

This ain,t good. I cant imagine that the oil is what shut her down as it would be some major damage but don't be starting her up until you get the oil level up and keep a better eye on it.

 

ok.. will do.. and thanks !!... oh just remembered.....she was down to just under 1/4 fuel on the front tank when she shut down... i switced to the back tank which is over 3/4 full... when i used veggie oil in her and switched over she some times used to rev up then!!???... is it possible that there is still some residue in the fuel filter???... and this is what is causing the phantom acceleration??