i picked up one of our company work trucks from a fellow worker's house. i was going to run some errands for our boss. i got down the road about 10 miles,i was coming up to the highway on ramp,going about 40 mph. when the "check guages " message light up on the dash and a warning beeper went off.i looked at the guages,NO OIL PRESSURE! then the engine quit! i coasted to the side of the road, and opened the hood. NO OIL on the dipstick!!! i put 3 litres in and it still did not read anything on the dipstick!!! 1 more litre and now its reading slightly over full. the engine never sounded funny, it wasnt hot,no warning at all. the engine would not turn over,even when the tow truck driver tried to jump start it. i figured it was hydralocked, or seized because there was no warning of any troubles before this. we towed it to ford,they say the engine is seized/locked up. they dont know why with out opening up the engine.they say its not worth fixing because the truck has 197,000 km (122,415 miles)on it. the service adviser said the triton 5.4 can use 1 litre(quart) of oil every 1500 kilometres(900 miles) normally! the dealership only replaces engines,they don't rebuild them because they feel they can't get the clearances within factory specs in house. so they only replace the engines with factory crate engines. the new engine is going to cost $6100.00, plus taxes! i have never had an engine let go without a warning first. it seems really strange to me, that a computer controlled engine does not have a safety shut down mode in the event there is a low oil issue.even my gas powered pressure washer shuts down if the oil is low. i have built many engines over the years. street cars,trucks,racecars,bikes lawnmowers etc. i have always felt or heard something to indicate an engine was going to let go, prior to it blowing up. my boss is going to get the truck towed to another shop for a second opinion. i have read a bit about these triton engines,and i don't think i would let the oil get too old,or low in one. im a guy that always changes my oil twice as soon as recomended by the manufacturer. i have the feeling that oil is cheap compared to a new engine, i guess this just proves it.

 

300K is a lot of miles. Yep, it was starved for oil and locked up.
Very few cars have a low oil light these days. My 88 Mustang has one that if it is under 1qt low, it will light up.
The gauge in the truck is a dummy gauge. It reads the same as long as there is over about 7psi of pressure. You might find a low mileage used engine at a local salvage yard and have it installed there.

 

that is what we are looking for now, a used auto wrecker engine with low mileage. i will probably do the swap at my home. thats if we find a good donor fairly quik. other wise it may get a factory crate motor.