Greetings, I am a newbie here and am desperately seeking some help.  I have a 99 e350 v-10,  and just purchased a 95 f150 4x4 with a 300 L6 and automatic that I plan to restore. Bed will need replaced and 1 fender, but there is only minor surface rust that will be easy to fix on a couple of spots. Replacing ball joints on 1 side, radius arm bushings, front u joints and new pads rotors etc. Will need to replace the rear fuel tank as well, so I already have plenty to do, but the engine is also a problem. When I bought it the oil pressure gauge would go thalf way and after driving for 5 minutes every time i slowed down would go all the way to 0. So i figured since it only had 125,000 miles on it, it was probably the pressure switch, so i replaced that and it is still doing it. Took it to the shop to let them go over it to see anything i am missing and they got 20 pounds of pressure and told me the engine was just worn out. I thought these engines had a common problem with getting gunk in the oil screen and pump, etc. Do you guys think dropping the pan and cleaning the pump and screen etc could be enough to get the pressure back up, or is it just time to rebuild?

 

good god man... unless that 300 has been beat to hell rebuilds come at 250-300K maybe... I would pull your oil cap on the valve cover and look in to see if there is build-up on the valves... If there is the problem is probably just a clogged screen. Remember that the oil pressure guage is just a idiot guage... it doesn't give you an actual reading of pressure... it just tells you either there is or isn't pressure. I had the same problem with my 92 loosing oil pressure after 5 mins of running. I found out the previous owner didn't change the oil as often as he should have and it had 5/16 in carbon buildup on the valves... Some of it had broken loose and got to the oil pan and plugged the screen. If you want my advise...

Pull the pan, clean it, and change your pump and screen (no reason to drop the pan and not spend $20-$30 on a new pump). You can even get a high flow pump if you wish...

Also pulling the pan comes with it's own set of problems. the main one is that it's really tight space under the pan. You can fix this by releasing the motor mounts and picking the motor up with a cherry picker. I would recommend doing this if you have the means too. It makes it a lot easier to get the pan out and properly clean it out. I've changed the pump and screen without raising the motor up but it kinda sucks... And I don't know if you can get the pan out without raising the motor (i couldn't when i tried). the second time i had to do one I definatly raised the motor... HUGE DIFFERENCE!

You can change the pump and screen yourself for under $40-$50 so i would do that first before you look at a rebuild... especially when these motors have been known to last for 300K.

 

Thanks for the response. The shop told me it was getting 20psi at 2200 rpm and said that the engine was shot. I just cant believe with that low of miles and no noise other than the leak at the manifolds that it would need a complete rebuild.

I am going to go ahead and pull the pan and clean it up and put a new pump this weekend, should i go ahead and just put a new tube/screen and shaft in there while i'm at it?

Repair manual says to jack up the engine and put 1" blocks in to hold it up while working on it. Will this give me enough room? I dont have access to a cherry picker unfortunately.

I think i will shoot video of everything i do to this truck on youtube, might help someone else later on.

 

the 1inch blocks should work... I think I have heard of people using 2 pieces of 2x4 too... that would give you 1.5 inches. The video would probably be a good thing because i think this is the 3rd time i have replied to a 4.9L oil pan pull. Like I said you can do the screen and pump w/o jacking the engine up but you might not get the pan out to clean it... so jack it up would be the best option... careful on placing the jack though... I don't remember where the guys said to put it (it was in a older form on 4.9L oil pump change).

Also remember that if there is build up on the valves that might eventually break loose and clog the screen again. If you do have build up and need to clean it out you can tear the top down on the motor to the valves and clean it out. just remember that if you do that you need to plug the oil drain and rod holes so it doesn't fall down in the motor. after you are done cleaning it out remove whatever u used to stop the holes and you can use diesel to wash the valves and drains holes out (don't know if there are any ramifications to doing so but worked really well on my 92). And yes i would replace the screen or use a high pressure cleaner (carb or break) to clean it out. you might also want to replace the oil pan gasket when you are down there. Felpro makes a good one that will come with clips to hold the pan and gasket in place while you are putting the pressure bars and bolts back on. If you don't need a new gasket you can return it when your done... but might as well have it on hand just in case...

Anyway i would start with that stuff to eliminate small fixes before spending the big bucks on a rebuild. Oh and I was told the same thing about low oil pressure from a garage before i did the oil pump and screen.

 

Another recommendation to help clean the motor up is to use Automatic trans fluid (any type doesnt matter) to replace a quart of regular motor oil. It helps move deposits out of the oil galleys and if you do it before the screen cleaning you can remove more gunk yet. Or before an oil change, run either a pint of Sea Foam or diesel fuel in the engine oil for up to 30 minutes just before changing the oil (not recommending to run the engine daily with this stuff in it as you could with ATF). Both will help remove deposits in a well used motor.

I also recommend getting an aftermarket mechanical/electrical gauge as either one is a better gauge than the instrument cluster gauge.

 

thanks for the tips, i went to pick up a pump, screen, shaft, and gasket today, and of course they dont have them in stock, so i will hopefully have them by saturday. I think i'll try the seafoam, would 10 minutes be long enough to run it through?

I thought about a different gauge to, probably go with electrical, not to sure about the possibility of hot oil shooting on me if the line breaks in the cab. I am realy hoping it helps, I plan on doing a rebuild, but with a doner motor i can build while using this as my daily driver.

 

Haha, my 96 with the I6 only has 113k.....and it sits there....cant fix the problem.

 

sea foam and any other trick fix may be too late.

for peace of mind get the parts and fix it right.

 

quicklook are you saying you dont think a new pump and screen are going to help?

another question, when i bought this truck, it didnt have a hose connected to the secondary air injection check valve (see #46 here: 1983 Ford Bronco Diagrams picture | SuperMotors.net ) I cant for the life of me find this hose anywhere to replace it, is it a big deal to run it without the hose?

 

no, i am saying to DO that.

 

ok 'm stuck i cant get the engine up high enough with a jack and 4x4 under the harmonic balancer,. Can someone tell me the best way to connect a cherry picker to lift the engine? I am going to go to Sears then they open and buy one. I was going to get an engine hoist, but there isnt one in stock in town anywhere, so a cherry picker is my only option.

Using the jack method, I cant quite get an inch clearance between the engine and the mounts to put the piece of wood in, so i need to go another route. This has been a nightmare so far.

 

I was having problems with my oil readings also. Me and my dad installed a mechanical gauge yesterday. I strongly recomend doing this. You will know exactly what your oil readings are. It will surprise you just how moronic the factory gauge really is.

 

i plan on doing that as well, but after lowering the pan and feeling aound, i know it needs to be cleaned, all kinds of deposits.

 

I can't speak to the 300, but my 351 has a couple of lift points on the intake.

 

ok, true value had a hoist i could rent, so got the engine up, and pan out, and it didnt look all that bad - not a god sign- but since i got a new pump, screen, shaft, i went ahead and put them in hoping that t was clogged just enough to be causing the pressure gauge to drop after it warmed up. No go, it is still doing it, thinking the shop was right and the motor is worn out. Anything else I could be missing here or any other things I should try?