HELP!!!!! Here we go again

[WNY964x4]

ok guys , my oil pressure just started fuluctuating again , just like it did a month before my motor died , but there is something new this time , it onl does it when i put it in gear , if it is sitting there idling in park , it is fine , but if i put it in gear the needle starts having a seziure

this is urgent as i have to go on a 500 mile trip tommorow , should i change the CMPP just to be safe , please help.

 

[Earl43P]

Replace the oil pressure sender (it's really a switch, rear PS head next to firewall).

If that doesn't help, do you have a low idle rpm in gear? (I'd guess you do if just touching the gas makes it stay steady).

Maybe cleaning the IAC will help raise the idle. Lastly, how are the plugs and wires?

There can't be much more than 100-150 rpm difference when you put in gear vs. neutral/Park. If the synchro isn't chirping, I wouldn't get all paranoid about it.

I had a low idle issue way back when. It was the DPFE, of all things. My oil pressure would chatter like yours is doing, but mine was after any extended highway drive, then exit and hit stoplights, oil pressure would go berzerk at idle. It lit the CEL a few weeks later (P0401?)

Quite frankly, if it was mine...I'd replace the oil pressure sender and use the 500 mile trip to collect any more symptoms. I'd also take a nice selection of tools with me (but I always do, even driving the wife's 08).

 

[WNY964x4]

Oil pressure sensor is brand new , i had to change it when i put the new motor in

plugs , wires and coil are brand new , replaced them when i put the new engine in

it has the plastic replacement dpfe , with brand new hoses on it

and now it is no longer doing it , but before , touching the gas did not make it go steady

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

sounds like its time for a mechanical oil pressure gauge so we know whats really going on with that motor.

what weight of oil is in it?

 

[WNY964x4]

it is Castoral Syntech Blend 5W-30 , and i have a fram tough guard filter , and now , it does not do it any more , it did it after i had been doing some errands , backed into the driveway and noticed it spazzing out , but it hasnt done it since , and that pisses me off because i just dropped $110 for a brand new synchro and sensor direct from ford

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

if the syncro is brand new (and a genuine motorcraft product) then dont worry about it. they have to be worn to fail.

it sounds to me like it may be loosing oil pressure after the oil gets hot. personally, id pitch that fram filter and replace it with a wix or motorcraft one. then id install a mechanical gauge to see what your oil pressure figures are. you may need to go up an oil grade to get decent hot @ idle pressure.

 

[WNY964x4]

well the cam synchro has 98 k on it , i bought the new one today , but did not install it yet

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

sorry i misread...i thought you had a new syncro in the truck already.

a failing cam syncro wont cause fluctuating oil pressure. it either works or it doesnt.

 

[WNY964x4]

well for some reason my old one did , the reason i kept driving my truck with the old engine is because i would drop and then come back , then have a spaz attack , and then drop , etc , etc

idk , i seem to have the most eccentric problems , but what do you tink it could be wicked

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

a failing cam syncro CANT cause intermittant oil pressure problems. the syncro either works, or it fails. if thats the problem your last one was giving you, than you had a different problem and not a failed syncro (or you had another problem before the syncro failed). did you ever remove the syncro from that motor to see if that was indeed what the problem was?

low oil pressure at idle could be a few things. worn bearings, worn oil pump, plugged pickup screen, bad oil filter, stuck relief valve, things of that nature.

 

[WNY964x4]

a failing cam syncro CANT cause intermittant oil pressure problems. the syncro either works, or it fails. if thats the problem your last one was giving you, than you had a different problem and not a failed syncro (or you had another problem before the syncro failed). did you ever remove the syncro from that motor to see if that was indeed what the problem was?

low oil pressure at idle could be a few things. worn bearings, worn oil pump, plugged pickup screen, bad oil filter, stuck relief valve, things of that nature.

i hope it is that , i never liked the fram filter , but it was the only one i could get , i like the napa gold filter better , i will do an oil change when i get down to my dads , what oil do you suggest i run in it , i just hope it is not anything else , because i do not think i could handle bearings going bad again

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

no need to change the oil already (you just put that oil in, didnt you?) id just throw a new filter on it with 1/2 quart of whats already in there. napas filters are made by WIX, which is one of the only 2 brands i will ever use. frams have been known to cause oil pressure problems...so its worth a try.

but i wouldnt go any further than that without varifying the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. we need to know what the oil pressure is actually doing before we make any other decisions.

 

[WNY964x4]

well , when my old engine did the fluctuation , it had a fram filter on it , and then the problem quit when i switched to a napa gold filter , that was until the synchro failed

 

[WNY964x4]

well i just went out and checked my synchro and cam form my old truck , and they are both fine , so i am confused now , why did i all of a sudden originally loose pressure ?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i sort of expected that to be the case.

maybe you didnt loose oil pressure at all...something else could have failed. or maybe you were just running low oil pressure long enough that you spun a bearing or something. you should open that engine up and see what exactly happened someday.