Hi there...Ive got a 94 F150, 5.0, with about 185,000 miles on it. It's not a daily driver, hasn't been for years. I'ts kind of the take stuff to the dump, Home Depot run kind of a truck. I bought it in 96, and told myself then that I'd love to get 200,000 miles out of it.

In the last year, I've replaced a ton of stuff on it. Front tank, AC compressor, water pump,radiator, timing chain, ALL of the brake lines, tires, PS hoses,and a bunch of little stuff like light bulbs. It's been leaking a little oil for a while, and now it's leaking a LOT of oil because there's a fair bit of rust on the oil pan and now there's at least one pinhole in the pan.

It runs well, starts all the time, and all in all is a pretty good truck which I would like to keep around for a while longer. A lifter, I think, is ticking, and according to the always reliable dash gauge , there's not a lot of oil pressure.

So as I see it, my options are: fix the oil leak by doing some sort of hack job on the existing oil pan, OR removing and replacing the pan with the engine in the truck, OR pulling the engine and replacing the pan while it's out (in which case I could also replace the oil pump), OR pulling the engine and replacing the whole thing with a re-manufactured one.

What do you guys think? I've gotten really good advice here before so I'm counting on you guys to steer me in the right direction.

Thanks!
Ray

 

Pull the motor to replace the pan and whatever else you discover or break in the process, but don't go overboard.. if it ain't broke don't fix it. Good time to do the valve cover gaskets, vacuum lines, and replace or remove the Air injection lines/valves depending if the stock cat is still present or not.

 

I would drain the oil, clean the pan and apply some epoxy to the pin hole(s). You can use the type of epoxy that is like modeling clay that you have to knead the two parts together and spread it over the hole. Not really a hack job if the engine is still reliable. Always fix oil leaks right away. Also replace belts and hoses before its too late.

 

Agreed. Chances are if you pull the engine all sorts of things are going to break.

Drain the oil,
let it sit for a week,
Hit pan with a cup brush on a grinder ,
spray pan with brake clean(spray up in drain hole to clean inside of pan too),
BRAZE the holes shut,

Spray with brakcrean from the inside again on brazed sports to look for leaks
REbraze if necessary,

2 coats of POR15

reinstall drain plug and fill with oil

Enjoy at least another 5 years

 

BTW, your dash "gauge" can't possibly tell you whether there's "not a lot" of oil pressure. The gauge has only two positions, "not enough" (all the way left) and "enough" (around the middle). It switches between those two positions at about 7-8 psi. Beyond that, the "gauge" can't tell you anything.

 

I like to see how long engines will last. I'd pull and fix.

Nothing wrong with patching the pan, as long as another hole wont pop up soon. tap the pan with a blunt metal object to see how thin it is.

 

Pull the engine and replace the oil pan with new. If anything is spotted that needs repaired, get them done. You can't buy a new truck for the cost of replacing yours. I should know...I've got a truck that I've invested $3K in over the last 7 years, including purchase price, and still have no issues repairing it when it goes down. Great vehicles last forever, when you treat them right.

 

Thanks for the input, guys. I think I'm leaning towards pulling the engine and replacing the pan, and maybe a couple of other things while its out.

It's been a long time since I've pulled an engine out of anything, but this doesnt look too bad. is there anything I should be aware of before I do this? It's an automatic truck, I'm assuming I can pull the engine and transmission as a unit. Is that the preferred method?

Thanks

 

Not unless you like doing more work than necessary. JUST pull the engine and leave the trans in place

 

Thanks Brad...I'm glad I asked. You've already saved me some time!

 

I agree leave trans in truck and replace pan and pump. Do the rear main seal while engine is out.