So I have a 2001 F250 with a v10 and 5 speed that has 202,xxx miles on it. I just purchased it about a month and a half ago. I know the guy that I bought it from and he said it burned some oil which I somewhat expected. So the day I bought it I changed the oil with Motorcraft 5w20 synthetic blend and a motorcraft filter, and it was dark. But when I filled it up, it was still dark on the dip stick. So i figured it had just been a while and this oil is thin so I left it alone. Drove it about 400 miles and went to move it in the driveway. No oil pressure, so I had noticed that it was higher up on the guage but it had stayed constant so i didnt worry about it. I let it cool down and checked the oil and it was barely on the dipstick. So i put 2.5 or 3 quarts in it and it was almost to the top dot on the stick and let it be. I also replaced the PCV valve thinking that it might be stuck but it didnt appear to be after removing it Cranked it and the oil pressure guage came up, fluttered and dropped to nothing. Cut the truck off and cranked it again and i had oil pressure. I dont drive the truck during the week so i left it and then the next weekend, i went to drive it, no oil pressure, cut it off, cranked it, no oil pressure, but if i leave it for a minute and come back, the second time i crank it, it has oil pressure. I have stopped driving it for fear of hurting the motor. But I do not understand where my oil is going and why my oil pressure is so spiratic. It is not smoking at all, so i dont see how the catalytic converter is stopping that much oil from escaping and it isnt leaking any oil. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Thank you for your response, I see that autozone has the oil pressure switch for $13.99. So if the rings are stuck to the pistons, I should have low compression and be burning tons of oil correct? I dont see how its possible that the catalytic converter is keeping that much smoke from coming out of the tail pipe because it smokes absolutely none.

I am in North Carolina, and my truck calls for 5w20 and so did the 5.4 that I had before. It seems really thin but they say the oil passages on the Triton are small so I have stuck stuch with the 5w20 but at the rate that I am losing oil, the thicker oil might slow the rate I am losing it a little bit but I believe there is a bigger problem and I have not found where.

Any updates for us?