Hi gents, I have an 04 F150 with the 5.4. I don't drive it much, I move it once in a while to clear snow. The last time I fired it up, the display read "check gauges". I looked and there was no oil pressure. How could this just happen all at once? Could something stick or freeze? It was cold here in Manitoba for quite a while. I did notice some ice/frost on inside of oil filler cap. Thanks for any input.

 

Its better to not drive it at all than it is to start it and not drive it for at least ten miles or let it run for 30 minutes to warm up. This is because the water vapor always present in a crankcase condenses into water and has to be burned off by a fully warmed-up engine. If not, it re-freezes in bad places, like the oil pressure sending unit or PVC valve/hoses.
Assuming the engine is running and not knocking, I would take it out and drive it for 20 miles or so, or just poking around an urban area might even be better.

 

Thanks saxman, I am planning to put in shop and let it thaw out and see. I hope it's that easy of a fix.

 

If it sits for long periods of time it could accumulate moisture in the oil, which could then possibly freeze.

That's all I could think of. Maybe bring it inside a garage/shop and have a heater blow under the engine for a while and see if it will start up and have oil pressure?

Or could be a bad sensor/gauge. Not sure how that works on these trucks.

 

Thanks falcon- I plan to put in shop and turn up the heat!

 

My wife's Mountaineer has a sticky pressure sending unit, so if it's cold out it says no oil pressure until it warms up a bit or you hit your first solid bump. It's been doing it for 50000 miles now, so I'd imagine if it were more than that it would have grenaded by now. Maybe it's just that.

 

To be clear , was this a one time thing , or does it still say that ?
All trucks will display that if it fails to start and you let off the key.

 

Had it plugged in since yesterday, and it was close to zero today. Went and started it.....I got oil pressure!! In shop now, time for oil change. Thanks for the input guys.

 

Good idea - obviously water in the oil. That thing needs a hot run!