'94 Ford E-150 Van with a 351ci engine (great van for towing) and with 160,000 miles and coming back from Santa Barbara towing an IS Nascar SS customer's car, but started hearing a little tapping, looked at the oil pressure gauge (I just changed the oil at home the day before, clean the System 1 oil filter with no metal in it and the sender a few months ago) which showed no oil pressure and coasted to pulled over to the first gas station.

I let it cool a little and it restarted, it sounded normal and the oil pressure gauge showed normal.....for 30 seconds and then dropped to zero again. I tried adding some ATF to thin the oil so the oil pump by pass maybe is stuck, but, no luck.....but again and again the same thing. The next morning, I was able to get maybe 30 minutes at idle then the gauge would wiggle and drop to zero, plus a very little rod knock with gas pedal rap!

Anyways, any Ford HD Line mechanic's out there? With this van, can I drop the oil pan out the back side towards the trans with the engine & trans still in the van? Remove Exhaust pipes, engine mounts and use a floor jack on the trans to lift the engine up enough to remove the pan?

I know the oil pump is in the front of the oil pan, but????

Otherwise, how is the engine pulled out of this van? Out the front grille, thru the interior or down out the back????

Thanks...JM.

 

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The engine is pulled out through the front grille. I also take the intake off while it is still in the van and replace it with a carburetor type intake with out the carburetor, bolt a lifting plate in place and hoist it out with a cherry picker.

That is how I did both my 460 E350 and 302 E150 vans.

 

i know u can on the earlier models. i'm sure u can on yours. no need to pull.

u may have to take off some stuff up top to make room while u lift it.

not sure what u meant by cleaned the system but u may have clogged sumthin
when cleaning........ but

i would dump the oil and filter and try the lightest stuff i could find and see if it clears up. anything before dropping the pan. no fun for sure. hate to replace a good pump.

anyway if you hear the knock it's not the gauge, so good luck.

keep us informed

rob

 

Thanks, I might try the new std. filter and thin oil first as I hate to think of doing the complete job. But it won't be the first nor the last as I have a couple of race cars too....but they are FUN!

 

There is a lot about the plastic/fiberglass timing chain sprockets that Ford put stock on its engines to make them a bit quieter. I've never seen them myself so I couldn't describe them accurately. But many have said the material flakes off and can clog the oil pump inlet. Supposedly an oil change will not remedy the situation. This would also suggest that the timing chain and sprockets are worn and in need of replacement.

Also I've heard the shaft which drives the oil pump sometimes breaks, rather than the oil pump itself.

Thinning the oil would not help remedy such a clog either. Also a condition associated with low oil pressure is worn engine bearings, which indicates the need for a rebuild. Some recommend using a thicker oil- 20W50- to get the oil pressure back up and delay the problem for awhile when this happens. However, the bearing wear usually develops slowly over time, and also the pressure gets good again at high rpms. So it sounds more like your oil pump is clogged or busted, or the drive shaft to the pump is busted.

This hasn't had Slick 50 stuff put in the oil, has it?