I was driving when the truck made a terrible noise and while pulling over the check engine light went on as well as low oil pressure. I turned off truck and checked but no evidence of any leakage at all. Checked oil stick and was dry. Let sit for an hour and checked oil stick to find about 1/2" showing. Added oil to find that now it was overfull, drained oil back and stick showed proper level. Attempted to drive and it was fine until I came to a stop wherein it would stall with "low oil pressure" showing and check engine light on. Brought to shop and they said engine is very gunked up, they said they could try oil flush but probably will not work. They most likely will have to remove the valve cover and such to physically look at engine and take it from there...cost to do that was a minimum of $1, 000.00 plus actual cost of repair. The oil flush along with the diagnostic and oil change will cost me $235.00. I am just looking for assistance because I have no clue and have no person to ask. I would appreciate any advice, feedback, etc. Thank you in advance. (I have always used type of oil stated on the cap, used synthetic and changed every 5-7k miles - showed diagnostic codes p0011, p0340, p0345 and p0021).

 

Never heard of it happening. Did the truck drive ok after the first incident? You sure they aren't just trying to stiff you? My only thought would be extreme over heating to cause this but to make the oil that bad it sounds like it would need to seize pretty much. Are you running a 5.4? I'd go with the flush but I don't know that I wouldn't be pulling valve covers off myself before putting a $1000 into something that might already be a done motor.

 

The truck drove ok until I came to a stop where it would stall. I have no choice but to have someone else do the work...I am ignorant when it comes to vehicles and engines.

 

Did you notice any smoke coming out of the tail pipe. What color was it if there was. When you say it made a noise was it a clunk, or a slam, or some kind of grinding or rattle or pop? There could be a number of things that happened here so I would try to narrow it down to save some money.

 

No smoke at all and no trace of oil leakage...thats what baffled me. The truck runs fantastic above 3000 rpm. The noise would best be described as more a rumbling...almost like going over sleep lines. When I come to a stop the truck starts sputtering and the rpm's are jumping up and down and then it stalls with the "low oil pressure" light coming on. The check engine light has not gone off since the intial problem.

 

If no smoke and your fluids are where they should be then we can rule out head gaskets. Sounds like your timing is probably out of whack though. This is a tough one. Could've snapped a rod and it losing oil through the piston.

What kind of driving were you doing before the incident happened? That might also give us a clue as to what broke.

 

The codes you posted all point toward the CPS (cam position sensor) which is also a timing issue and would cause a check engine light, horrible noise, rough idle, possible oil pressure issue, etc, being that they are pretty cheap, roughly $20, I would start there. Maybe you have a friend that can help you replace that part they are pretty easy to replace on most vehicles. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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If the place you brought it to didn't pull a valve cover then I don't know how they determined it was "gunked up". If you changed your oil every ~5K miles then your engine has to be pretty clean inside. Take it somewhere else those guys are trying to earn some extra dollars off you.

I had a CPS go had on my truck, 7.3 Diesel, while driving down the freeway when it happened I thought the body was going to jump off the frame. It felt like it ran out of fuel but quite a bit harsher then just starving for fuel. Seconds later the engine starting running fine until it happened again a day or two later. Bottom line the CPS did the trick and a pretty cheap fix. I now carry a spare since it is a "side of the road" type fix you can do.

Good luck,

Mike

 

This is where its located at the top of the engine on the front. It's about as easy as changing a light bulb

 

Just curious how this would cause oil pressure issues though.

 

Ya I agree I am not sure how the CPS would cause low oil pressure except that the engine would probably run pretty rough causing the oil pump to fluxuate do to low engine rpm's which may cause the pressure to hit a certain low level which would cause the oil light to come on? That's my theory.

Being that the CPS is relatively cheap and easy to install it's worth a shot and much cheaper than the $1000 to pull a VC. Maybe HazMatt will get lucky on this one?

Fingers crossed.

Mike

 

Thank you Mike and all who contributed. I have my fingers and toes crossed! They did the flush and it did some good but did not solve the problem. They asked that I leave it overnight so that they can troubleshoot some more in the AM. I will keep you updated.

 

If it is gunked-up, the oil drain holes in the heads may be blocked to varying extents which would explain why the oil didn't show on the stick. In this case, one would also expect the oil pump pickup screen to be blocked by sludge. These two things would produce the low oil pressure light after running for awhile. I cannot imagine how it got that way assuming the oil changes attributed unless the crankcase ventilation system has been bad for a long time.
There is a product made for this purpose - 'KREEN' from Kano Labs, Nashville, TN. You can use it, but it will make black crud leak from every seal or gasket. But, it definitely dissolves any kind of sludge including hard, baked-on carbon. It is put into the oil and spark plug holes. There are other products for maintenance after the Kreen opens the oil pathways up, like 'Seafoam'.

Engine Cleaners

 

They tried everything and there is nothing more they can do without tearing open the motor. So my choices are spend upwards of $3, 000 to open the motor and repair, by a new motor or get rid of the truck and move on. Last Ford I'll ever buy. Thank you all for your help.

 

Sorry to hear that HazMatt I understand your frustration I was hoping to hear some good news in regards to your truck

Good luck...

Mike

 

Just curious if you bought the truck new.