Please help! No oil, added 5qts., and still not a drop on the dip-stick!
 

Hello everyone! About a month ago I bought a 2000 f-150, 4.2l v6, 185,000miles, automatic, reg. cab, short box. When I was looking it over I checked the oil, it was a little low but black and surely used, so I assumed it didn't have a leak or use too much. The day after I got it I changed the oil using gastrol 5w-30 and a fram oil filter, the oil level was fine, I checked it again the day after and it was also fine. Today, after being driven 1,000 miles I decided to check it, and there was not a drop on the stick!! :( So I added 5qts. checked it and still nothing, added 1qt. drove around the block, and when I got home there's still not a single drop of oil on the dip stick, how can it be completely blank after adding 6qts.?! I park it in the same spot everynight, and theres no oil where I park. Theres no visible leak around the filter or drain plug. The anti-freeze and transmission levels were both fine and continue to be. The dip stick tube is into the engine block as far as it should be, and the dipstick goes down good, so I dont think the measuring method is mis-construed. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Welcome to FTE!

Crankcase capacity for this vehicle is 6.0 Qts.

It's scary :-X18 that you've needed to add more oil at 1,000 miles past the change, but here are some things that might help.

I had an 01' F-350 Service Truck for sometime, and I noticed as the miles grew so did the need to add oil in regular intervals.

Have you had a chance to service the spark plugs and air filter? If not I would HIGHLY recommend doing so. With a fresh start on plugs/filters it will indicate how the machine is operating. Take note of any coloration of the plugs as you remove them on the ceramic as well as the tips and post your results, per each cylinder.

did it have oil pressure when it was 6qts low?

Thanks, seems like there's a lot of really knowledgeable people on here, I solved my abs light problem by reading on here when I first bought it. I'm only 21 so I don't have much money nor do I want to be taken advantage of by a shop.

The scarier thing is, I added 6qts. and the dipstick is still bone dry, I mean where could it be going? Yes I forgot to mention, I did the plugs, wires, fuel, and air filter about a week after the oil change. The wires were original, the plugs were autolite platinum, they were all an equal brownish color, the front passenger side plug was hard to get my socket on due to some type of build up around the plug in the motor I had to kind of chip away. I replaced the plugs and wires with autolite, platinum plugs, gaped at .054. I did the front pads and rotors too, not that it's related, they work great.

Yes I always had a normal oil-pressure and still continue to, I mean, the dipstick is dry, so In theory it's still 6qts. low. Im just so confused as to where it could be going. To add 6qts, and still have a bone dry dip stick. Im going to pull the drain plug tomorrow and see how much oil comes out.

Good idea. Perhaps you will see where it is all going to, while you're under there.

While you've got the hood up, re-check the plugs. I've heard various comments about staying away from the platinums, and using strictly OEM.

:-kneeslap

Another note, I used a product called Lucas Oil Stabilizer with the old F-350 with great success. Following an oil change I would add about 1/2 Qt and overall saw better oil pressure, and had to top off the fluid less often.

Ok...let me get this right.
You're driving the truck...it sounds fine, has oil pressure according to the dash gauge and light and yet it is so low on oil that putting 6 quarts in will not even register on the dipstick? It could be bone dry and 6 quarts will register a reading on the stick.
Something must be going on......That's just impossible.
I would check to make sure that the stick is going into the pan like it is supposed to.
If you run your truck with too much oil, you will kill your engine. Trust me on that one!

Oh....and welcome to the board!

A dry dipstick does not mean you are 6 quarts low--maybe 2-3 quarts at most. The stick does not go all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. But if you added 5 quarts and get no reading, something is completely wrong here. If you really had no oil in the engine (or only 1-2 quarts) it would be frozen up and dead.

Likewise, if you now have 8-10 quarts in the engine, that is bad for it as well.

Something is very wrong here :-huh

Are you sure that you are just not seeing the clean new oil on the stick or something? It is sometimes difficult to see new, colorless oil--you are just looking for shiny vs dull on the stick.

I wonder if you have the right dip stick for your engine.

OEM one's are motorcraft platinum. Autolite and motorcraft parts are both manufactured by the honeywell corp.
Somthing is going on, I just have no clue, so I'm gonna bite the bullet and take it to a shop. Another problem is there seems to be no good mechanics around my town, I'm not sure how there supposed to act, but most seem uninterested and annoyed. This site is great tho.


Im positive there is none on the stick, it was clear daylight, and I'm young..with 20/20 vision, I checked about a million times and theres nothing on it.

Maybe, but when I bought the truck there was oil on it, and when I did the oil change with the proper amount of oil, level's were where they were supposed to be on the same dipstick I have now, and it's mounted into the block properly. Going to the shop now, wish me luck, I'll let everyone know what they say.

I hope you're not driving the truck ?!?!

i hate to ask, are you sure your looking at the right dipstick? as well are you putting the oil in the correct hole? please dont take offense but like others have said if you added 6 quarts then you should be over full by a full quart, 6 quarts is only with filter change or close to bone dry.

also after you filled it up you do not have any pouring out on the ground?

no strange smoke while its running(please refrain from running it till you get it figured out like others have said more oil is worse than a quart low)

well disregard some of that re_read your original post and sounds like you know enough to know the difference between automatic dipstick and manual.

are you sure its bone dry and not just clean oil? i had a jeep that the way the "cross" hatch on the dipstick was if you didnt take a white paper towel and lay the dipstick down on it you would swear it was dry as a bone, couldnt feel anything when you wiped it off with your fingers or anything, but you layed it down on a paper towel and it would soak it up

Problem with that is that he had no problems seeing the oil after the oil change and then again the next day. It would be easier to see the oil after driving 1000 miles since it would be a little dirtier than when new.

No, I say something is amiss here. He is missing something.....
It's not rocket science. You have a pan that holds oil and a gauged stick that inserts into that pan and shows how much oil you have(in the pan) at any given time. If he is pouring oil into the right hole and reading the right dipstick which I have to assume he is or the truck would not likely be running....then I am at a loss.
If the truck runs normally, then the oil is in the pan to circulate back to the engine and it is obviously draining back to the pan........

I don't think I would be running the truck though....certainly not after putting 6 quarts into a perfectly sounding engine(which would indicate that it had enough oil to lubricate the engine). I would have pulled the plug and seen how much oil came out. Though I suspect If the truck were in front of me, It would not come to that.

Hope his engine doesn't seize as he comes to a stop at the shop.

I think the dipstick tube is either out of the pan or the tube is rotted out and the stick is not going into the pan but rather poking out the tube at some point. That is the simplest and most logical explanation.

Of course he is still driving around with 10-11 quarts of oil in the engine.
(In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen)

100% correct. I failed to inspect the tube close enough, it is rotted by the manifold and the stick was not going in all the way. So I went to the dealer and bought the part, it was $20. The oil is now at the correct level after removing the 6 extra qts. I just went ahead and changed all the oil and filter. Thanks for everyone's help!!