2003 5.4L Oil Issue
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New Owner
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Bullhead City, AZ
2003 5.4L Oil Issue
Hello everyone... been a long time since I was here. Started towing a 5th wheel RV awhile back, so I traded the F-150 for a Super Duty.
Anyway, got an issue on friend's truck I wanna get y'all's opinion about. He's got an '03 F-150 with a 5.4 gas engine. I haven't seen the truck yet, but here's what he described to me:
Said he was driving down the road, not far from home, when he noticed the oil pressure needle fall to 0. He immediately pulled over to the side of the road & shut it down... pulled the dipstick, and still had plenty of oil. Called a fleet mechanic friend of his who told him that the sensor & gauges are often the issue... and if he wasn't hearing any bad noises from the engine, to go ahead and drive it.
He gets back on the road, and the needle is now where it's supposed to be again... so he goes about his business. About 10 minutes later, he said the needle began jumping up & down a few times, and then went to 0 again. At this point, he's almost back home, so he continues on.
Just as he turned on to his street, he begins hearing the 'tick-tick-ticking' form under the hood... continued 2 blocks and turned into his driveway, where he shut it down.
That was last night... and as he went to work early this morning in another truck, hasn't tried starting it again.
My thoughts...
I'd like to believe it's just a sensor... but if he's hearing the valve-train ticking (my guess), then he definitely has an oil delivery issue of some type.
As it's been awhile since I've had one of those trucks, I don't have my service manuals for them anymore. And, since it's been the same amount of time since I've even looked under the hood of one of those trucks, I don't remember (or know if I ever really knew) where all of the sensors are for this... or if any of them send messages for the control of oil in the engine.
Question: Could a bad sensor be sending erroneous info to the CPU, which in turn is sending bad info to a sensor on the pump for delivery.. or is that simply still a mechanical process, with the sensors merely relaying info?
Is this an oil pump issue, or an electrical issue with the sensors & wiring?
I know could find more info with access to the truck, which I'll probably have this weekend when he's not working. But until then, I'd appreciate any info and/or thoughts you may have ahead of time.
Thanks in advance...
Anyway, got an issue on friend's truck I wanna get y'all's opinion about. He's got an '03 F-150 with a 5.4 gas engine. I haven't seen the truck yet, but here's what he described to me:
Said he was driving down the road, not far from home, when he noticed the oil pressure needle fall to 0. He immediately pulled over to the side of the road & shut it down... pulled the dipstick, and still had plenty of oil. Called a fleet mechanic friend of his who told him that the sensor & gauges are often the issue... and if he wasn't hearing any bad noises from the engine, to go ahead and drive it.
He gets back on the road, and the needle is now where it's supposed to be again... so he goes about his business. About 10 minutes later, he said the needle began jumping up & down a few times, and then went to 0 again. At this point, he's almost back home, so he continues on.
Just as he turned on to his street, he begins hearing the 'tick-tick-ticking' form under the hood... continued 2 blocks and turned into his driveway, where he shut it down.
That was last night... and as he went to work early this morning in another truck, hasn't tried starting it again.
My thoughts...
I'd like to believe it's just a sensor... but if he's hearing the valve-train ticking (my guess), then he definitely has an oil delivery issue of some type.
As it's been awhile since I've had one of those trucks, I don't have my service manuals for them anymore. And, since it's been the same amount of time since I've even looked under the hood of one of those trucks, I don't remember (or know if I ever really knew) where all of the sensors are for this... or if any of them send messages for the control of oil in the engine.
Question: Could a bad sensor be sending erroneous info to the CPU, which in turn is sending bad info to a sensor on the pump for delivery.. or is that simply still a mechanical process, with the sensors merely relaying info?
Is this an oil pump issue, or an electrical issue with the sensors & wiring?
I know could find more info with access to the truck, which I'll probably have this weekend when he's not working. But until then, I'd appreciate any info and/or thoughts you may have ahead of time.
Thanks in advance...