ok...first of all new to this site so hello to all...my question....i have a 1998 f150 135k miles...for the last 3 weeks i have had something to replace or repair...first camshaft position locator sensor,then battery and now...i was driving today and noticed a quiet knocking sound from the engine and then the oil pressure warning light came on and the truck shut off.i checked the oil level..was full...no leaks...good history of oil changes with quality products...would this be the oil pump?...thanks in advance for any info provided

 

I suppose you could remove the filter, then have someone crank it with the coil wire removed so it won't start. Crank for a few seconds and see if oil gushes out where the filter screws on. If not, then pump may be shot or pickup may be plugged. Another possiblity is the pressure relief valve in pump could have gone bad, spring broke or something, and is just dumping most of the oil back to pan. Not sure this test would be conclusive as could have major restriction and still get some oil to come out at filter, just not much.

 

ok...thanks tallpaul...was worried it was the pump..but before replacing it i picked up a new filter and put it on...a few bumps to the key and pressure went right back up and no more knocking...thanks again

 

Did those "quality products" include Fram oil filters? In other words, did it have one of those orange things on it when you had the problem? The cores have been known to collapse once in a while, blocking oil flow.

Jim

 

Glad it worked out and glad you didn't try my suggestion which would have resulted in a big mess.

Yes, do tell us what brand filter it was. Cut it open and see what happened inside.

 

well...it was a nappa filter less than a month old

 

Maybe you just got a bad one because I use Napa filters all the time, and I have never had a problem.

 

NAPA is good, but there are different NAPA filters. I always use the NAPA Gold which is the same as a Wix and is their best.

 

Welcome to FTE.

Good find, fix & feedback, good to hear it was such a simple fix & all seems well.

I'd maybe consider returning this filter to NAPA, with a letter, I'm sure they would be interested, as it has their name on it.

Who's replacement filter did you use????

Motorcraft is a well made filter, with a large filter media area, for long life & good fine filtering ability & with low pressure drop accross the large media, during the OCI.

It's bypass valve is poperly located in the base (threaded end), for Fords inverted operating position & the bypass valve is properly set to open for our engines high rpm cold starts, or when we get crazy & go WOT, so the engine doesn't go oil flow starved.

By being located in the base (open end) of the filter, it also minimizes the likelyhood of ingesting settled out solid particles, or condensation, for our inverted operating position, verses a filter with the bypass valve located in the closed end, where things settle out. Filters with the bypass located in the closed end, can't take advantage of a inverted operating position.

So if your using other than a Motorcraft oil filter, make sure it meets or exceeds ALL of Fords specifications.

IMO, Motorcraft is a good value for our gold!!!!

Just some filter thoughts for pondering.

 

Yikes!! I use NAPA all the time. Please follow pawpaw's suggestion and see what they tell you, then let us know.

 

Oh I see, if it's a NAPA it must have been a bad one, but if it's a Fram it's junk. Scientific testing at it's best!

 

We don't have any proof that it was the filter. It could be a coincidence. Something may have plugged at the oil pickup and removing the filter let the oil drain back and the blockage receeded. May happen again.

Yes there can be bad NAPA Gold / Wix filters, but we know Fram is junky by the cardboard end caps on it's cartridge. BTW, I think Wix is probably a better filter than Motorcraft, which is made by Purolator. Wix has the Ford-spec threaded end bypass too.