Oil pressure light came on while driving yesterday (gauge fluctuating to 0). I pulled over and checked the oil and found it about 4 quarts low. A little troubleshooting identified that the oil filter was loose and leaking. After tightening the filter and adding oil - I drove it about 1 minute and the oil pressure guage began fluctuating and settled to 0 and the light came on. I immediately pulled over and shut off the engine (did notice slight ticking in the engine). The oil level was OK so I started it and pressure was again normal. I drove about 1 minute and the same thing happened. I was able to repeat this several more times immdiately shutting off the engine when pressure went to 0.

At first I thought about a clogged intake screen but that wouldn't explain why pressure was normal for a minute and then dropped to 0. Could there be a blockage slowing down the oil returning to the oil pan such that the oil pump loses suction after about a minute when there is not enough oil in the pan? If so can running an engine cleaner do the job or should I get the engine flushed?

Thanks in advance
jrroth1

 

You haven't provided enough info. What is the history of the vehicle? How many miles does it have? Has the routine maintenance been done throughout the life of the engine? Could the oil galleries be clogged preventing the oil from returning to the pan causing oil starvation? What do you think? Could there be sludge and debris in the pan and in other parts of the engine that require lubrication? Have you pulled the rocker covers to look for a build up of sludge? Once a engine has be run for years and many miles without proper oil and filter changes there is no easy fix like a flush to correct a lack of proper care that has gone on for years. Do you remember the old TV commercial that said "Pay me now or pay me later"? It looks like you have waited until till later and later always cost more. I would put a mechanical gauge on the oil sender and take a direct reading. You need at least a lb per 1K of RPM.

 

Aren't you being a little quick with those assumptions . . .

First of all - there is no real history to speak of. Oil changes have been regular over the 125,000 mile lifetime of the truck. Acually over the last 9 months the truck has only been driven about 2500 miles and I have changed the oil once (about 5 months ago). The front seal leaks a little requiring about 1/2 quart per 1000 miles or so. I started using Motorcraft 5W20 about 4 years ago since my 2004 F150 and my 2002 E150 used the 5W20. The dealer said that in Virginia either one would be fine to use.
I haven't done anything to troubleshoot yet - it just happened yesterday.

 

the factory gauge wont help you much. It is an on-off switch. When you hit 8 psi it turns on and goes to 1/2 scale. When it falls below 7-8 psi, the gauge turns off. If would certainly help you to have a mechanical gauge to get a real reading..... Next, if it does have some bearing wear from running real low, it might help to put in 10w30 oil and see if the extra thickness will gain 2-3 psi. That might be enough to keep the light on... First thing i would do is drain the oil, change the filter so its no restricted (with crud). Add new 10w30 and restest to see if the gauge stays "on".

 

All I can say is "shame on you" for driving a truck 4 qts low on oil.

 

mine did the samething right before it blew up but mine had 184000 on it when i got it so i don't know the history. mine was do to the oil sending unit, it pumped the oil out to where i didn't have anyleft.

 

Doing your own oil changes can be a lot of work considering all the 5 Minute oil change places around today, but problems can occur. They can leave the rubber seal from the old filter stuck to the block and install the new filter on top of that seal. It may not leak right away, but down the road it will. Another problem is cross threaded drain pan bolt threads and damaging the bolt head by using the wrong size wrench. Many times they over tighten the bolt. I don't know the Ford stratedgy for alerting the driver to low oil in the pan, but you would hope the alert would come on BEFORE you're 4 quarts low. At this point it doesn't matter much. Do a direct pressure reading at the sender with a mechanical gauge. What are you going to use as a "flush"? Any solvent that can break down sludge is going to reduce lubrication and you could spin a bearing or worse. I'd pull the rocker covers(don't know what they're called on a OHC engine) and look for sludge. If that looks bad I'd pull the pan and see if you find jello or pudding in there. You going to see some carbon and debris, but the build up should be minimal if you have been doing routine maintenance over the years.