ok i will try and describe my problem as best as possible, please bare with me lol. i have a 1990 f150 with a 302, 5 speed, 4x4, short box, single cab, 3 inch body lift, 33 inch tires. it is about -25 degrees celcius at night and -18 during the day right now. i got in my truck the other day and started it up cold (no block heater) and it started first try but my oil pressure gauge (ya i know its an idiot lite) was not going up, it would stay at all the way down at low, engine started ticking a little then when it warmed a bit the gauge went to the middle ware it normally is and the engine stopped ticking. drove aroung town doin my christmas shopping shuttin the engine off and startin it a few times and it would start normal. next day after anouther cold night i started my engine and it did the hole no oil pressure thing but no ticking. gauge then went to normal after warmed up. i was drivin about 30 km up to my local ski hill and about half way up i realized i had no oil pressure. pulled over at the next pullout and oil pressure went to normal, reved the engine and gauge would go down then back up wen idling. shut engine off and went and checked the oil level, it was normal. started engine and oil pressure gauge stayed all the way down at low and didnt move. the engine seemed to be running fine with no ticking or abnormal noises so i continued up the hill and took it easy and nothing seemed wrong other then the gauge saying no oil pressure lol. parked the truck and went skiing for 4 hours or so. came back and started the truck, the gauge went to normal then kinda shimmyed all the way down to no pressure. i figured who cares im goin down hill all the way home. went down the hill in 4th gear. half way down engine started ticking, drove a bit more then it went away, drove even more and engine started ticking all the way home. parked here at home then had food, went outside to look at truck and saw little bit of oil under truck(never leaked before). drove it around the naborehood and it ticks but has full power.

i read on here that if there was acually no oil pressue then id probally have a loud knock in the engine, but this is just a ticking that my cd player with stock speakers can drown out. id think that drivin up my ski hill with no oil pressure i would f*** up my engine sumthin bad but it seems ok, just with a tick. im gonna get a real oil pressure gauge tomorrow but in the meen time do u think maybe my gauge is just busted? and maybe the ticking is just a lifter sticking because its freekin cold? maybe just a fluke that both happend at the same time? holy crap i wrote alot there. any help would be realy apriciated. im gettin a 78 bronco within the week here so its gonna be kinda hard to sell this f150 with this tickin lol. thanks very much.

 

What weight of oil are you using?

Jason

 

First, I'd suggest you hook up a mechanical test gauge and check the pressure. Second, when was the last time you changed oil? Oil thickens when it's cold very dirty oil gets even thicker. It's not unusual to hear a ticking lifter or 2 in extremely cold weather particularly in high mileage engines.

 

it has 10w 40 in it. i gues i should throw in some 10w 30 in for the winter. it has about 250 000 km

 

if it was runnin with no oil pressue then it would seiz up or throw a rod pretty quick right?

o and when i go into my ski hills parking lot i normaly stomp on it and get the rear end slidin, i did that and it burned some oil like it normaly does, so surely its got oil pressure right?

 

I'd go 5w30...that's what the owner's manual recommends for the very coldest climates.

Jason

 

If it isn't getting any oil at all it will spin a bearing or tear up a cylinder wall pretty quick. Usually if an engine with hydraulic lifters loses all oil pressure it will collapse the lifters. That little tick will become a very loud clatter.

 

Install a REAL oil pressure gauge, then procede from what you find out with that. Sounds like it could be obstructed oil pump screen, not letting top end get enough oil.

 

so you are not sure if you have oil pressure but you are still driving the truck AND stomping on it AND it is just ticking loud enough that my stereo can drown out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the gauge in the dash only moves when the pressure drops below 7 psi.

so i advise no more running the motor until you find out the REAL oil pressure or is going to happen.

 

thanks for the help. i just did an oil and filter change with 10w 30 and gauge is back to normal and tickin is gone. thanks. and to quicklook, ya i dont treat my trucks all to well, but hey its a ford it should take it right? lol, its all good now so w.e.

 

the chance that that fixed it is slim.

time will tell.

mech. gauge is your best bet.

 

If these temps are common in your area at least use lighter oil as recommended, maybe even 0W synthetic...
Invest in a magnetic oilpan heater, (your engines will appreciate it! ) and it is a LOT less expensive than replacement.

 

I like to think my trucks take the occasional abuse because I treat them well. My old van acted the same way as your truck. Problem turned out to be the oil pressure sender. When I hooked up a test gauge I was quite surprised to find it had 35 psi at hot idle. Not bad for a 300 EFI with 270k miles.