No oil pressure

[Nightmist66]

Around about 10 miles I noticed the oil pressure gage started heading towards "L" and the just flat lined. The truck lost power but I was able to limp to a parking lot.

 
Started it back up drove it back home and the same thing happened again lost oil pressure and power.

Doug touched on this. My biggest problem with this situation is here. Lost power- TWICE......Not normal at all. If fuel and ignition were not a factor, then it sounds like the damage has already been done. I don't mean to sound like a pessimist, but the fact is the bearings and pistons probably have excessive wear and will only continue to get worse. I would recommend at the least to pull the pan and check a couple bearings. If you see any discoloration on the crank/rods, it's game over.  You could cut the oil filter open too, that would show if there is something seriously wrong before dropping the pan....

[fryedaddy]

i dont know if running 6 quarts of oil would help or hurt.maybe it would keep a little extra in the pan while driving.

[fastf67]

Yes, you can get away with alot of things in a pinch as people have listed. No noise you say? You may be in luck then. Personally, that info and this time of year, first I would pull valve covers and look at seals, gaskets and ect. and down your drain back passages for obstructions and things you can't get then pull the intake, a pain in the *** but cheap enough. Second, I would cut filter open looking for bearing material sense it obviously ran low oil. Third you will need to pull the pan as there will be debris that made it through and will stop up the oil pump pick up screen and you can check bearings and clearances. P.S If all checks out ok (bearings), good time to throw a pump on and run with a extra quart and your good to go for a while until better weather and you can start collecting things you will need for complete build.

[dcm0123]

Had problems before with valve stem seals going past the screen and causing the oil pump to seize and break the shaft.
Some of the Ford OEM screens have a bypass flap which opens up if the screen clogs. This allowed the broken seal into the pump.

Unless you want to risk this happening on the road, suggest you rebuild.

The light goes on when oil pressure is low, which does not necessarily mean no pressure. Having no oil pressure may cause a lot more damage because no oil will be going into the bearings.

If you do not want to go to this extreme, at least pull the valve covers and used a coat hanger or stiff wire to clean the drains from the head to the lifter galley. I have done this in the past on old engines and used kerosene to clean the heads and flush everything through.

[chris401]

If your returns are blocked and the top end filling with oil then it is possible your loss of power is too much oil being sucked into the PCV and diluting the fuel mixture.

[GerryP]

Y'all can probably quit posting to this thread.  It has been a week since mil9657 posted this question.  He has a total of two posts since joining the forum.  He hasn't acknowledged any of your contributions.  If I had to guess, I would say mil9657 is a posthole.

[machoneman]

Y'all can probably quit posting to this thread.  It has been a week since mil9657 posted this question.  He has a total of two posts since joining the forum.  He hasn't acknowledged any of your contributions.  If I had to guess, I would say mil9657 is a posthole.

Yes, you may be right. It is somewhat frustrating not to hear back from a poster about the issue. Not just here but on other sites  as well. Hey, we all tried!

[RustyCrankshaft]

The light goes on when oil pressure is low, which does not necessarily mean no pressure. Having no oil pressure may cause a lot more damage because no oil will be going into the bearings.

I've never checked in any of the FE powered trucks, but my 73 F350 (has a factory installed 460) the gauge reads on the low line of normal and the light is off at it has 3psi at hot idle on a verified mechanical gauge and I would certainly consider 3psi with 15w40 low in my book! So if the light was on while at higher RPM than idle it probably isn't good, although there could still have been some pressure.

But at the end of the day it's all a guessing game until parts start coming off. I'd listen to some of the advice given here and start with the easy stuff like pulling valve covers and then intake. If there isn't anything obvious there then if you don't want to risk ruining rebuildable core castings I'd pull the engine and tear it down. Based on what you find at that point decide if you can/need a rebuild.

[HarleyJack17]

If it lost power then there is definite damage. I think, like others, your returns got clogged and all your oil went upstairs.
You may have some miles left if nothing seized or started knocking but the life is likely been reduced drastically.
They lose power due to friction.
I ran my 360 two days with no oil pressure....probably close to an hour total in two separate 30 minute intervals.  I went to put the headlights on and boom, lost my headlights etc. Thought I had a ground go bad, backed up with some other things. Unfortunately all I had were two electric gauges and both running off same circuits.  My assumptions cost me a motor.  The motor did not have long left to begin with but I hated to ruin it. It started not taking fuel, sputtering, then smoking, then knocking.  In the end it seized and would not turn over....ironically it got me home.  Somehow I figured out if I could keep the RPM's in a certain range she would run...so home we limped at a steady 30 mph slipping and sliding. It would have been a long cold walk in the 4" of snow/ice we only get once a year!

Good luck.

[dcm0123]

If you have 3psi at idle and oil in the pan you have likely wiped out the rod and main bearings.

[RustyCrankshaft]

If you have 3psi at idle and oil in the pan you have likely wiped out the rod and main bearings.

If you are referring to my 73 F350, it's been like that since I bought it (maybe 6 years now?). If it isn't hot (like after a trip to my driveway from the gravel pit with 10k lbs in the bed) then it has around 8-10 psi. When it's been worked real hard it's got less, but the gauge isn't real accurate below 10. I drove it 3 or 4 years with just the factory oil gauge that showed right on the low line. Then I put a mechanical gauge in it and now I wished I hadn't. But it just takes about 300 rpm off idle to bring the pressure up. Talked to the shop that rebuild the engine and was told they ran a std pump but larger main and rod clearances knowing it was a heavily loaded work truck. As far as I know the engine was built in 1983, still running just fine - used not long ago to haul in a bunch of asphalt grindings to fix the end of the driveway.

20171107_121033 by Patrick Oilnut, on Flickr

I'm not saying it's the right way to build an engine, or that I like what it does, but it's lived a LONG time like that. The only signs anything is wrong is all the old school valve seals long ago turned to powder so it smokes bad at an idle. For the cost of the truck and the once a month it gets driven on average I'll just keep filling the oil and checking the gas. It isn't a 1200hp Kaase race engine.

[chris401]

Y'all can probably quit posting to this thread.  It has been a week since mil9657 posted this question.  He has a total of two posts since joining the forum.  He hasn't acknowledged any of your contributions.  If I had to guess, I would say mil9657 is a posthole.

Yes, you may be right. It is somewhat frustrating not to hear back from a poster about the issue. Not just here but on other sites  as well. Hey, we all tried!

It is the same when you take time out to measure and send photos of parts and the kid (not the op) assumes his time is too valuable to give a simple thanks or no thanks.