Death of an Excursion

BigBaron wrote:
Wow! Those are thoughtful responses. Very well done!
Please keep us posted on what you decide and find out.

Thanks, Baron. It is always a bit of a quandary to decide how much info to post. I get far too detailed for some, I'm sure.

I'm a very curious person, and I fear I'll just have to know precisely what caused this, sparing little expense. Yet I'm trying to resist wasteful spending in my retirement.

Unfortunately, according to the net, it is apparent that this occasionally happens to other Triton engines, and then in some cases, the oil pressure mysteriously begins to work correctly again. Almost nothing would be more frustrating than to continue to own a tow vehicle, or any vehicle, with chancy, erratic oil pressure. After a blown plug and now this, my wife no longer trusts the truck. DW is a major factor as we all know.

If I can solve engine reliabilty to the point of reasonable confidence by both spouses, I would love to keep the truck. I'm not the only one whose budget does not encourage a newer truck, which, in turn, may have it's own unknown shortcomings. Whatever happens, I certainly will post a detailed report.

spadoctor wrote:
Did a google search and came across this: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/494981-please-help-low-oil-pressure-and-noise.html,,,,check out the engine flush and results

spadoctor,

Thanks. I did run across that thread and the proposed solution too.

I do have serious doubts that the truck sump is clogged up with sludge. The previous owner had service records indicating regular service at the Ford dealer and I find it hard to believe that they would use a poor grade of oil. My last service was 1500 miles ago at a Chevrolet dealer that I find quite efficient, very speedy. There, too, I believe they use quality oil and I change oil about every 3k.

But one distinct possibilty exists that a defective filter has somehow released debris to plug a main oil gallery. I am fairly confident that no filter manufacturer uses materials that dissolve. But some errant trimmings from the assembly wouldn't be out of the question. Perhaps a tag of material hanging by a thread until, one day it lets go.

If cranking a non-fueled engine does not produce oil pressure at the sensor port, there may simply be a plugged passage from a defective oil filter. I need to study the oil path to see where such a plug might be. For instance, I think the sensor port is right after the filter, so this implies a plug would have to be right at the filter exit. Or perhaps there is a free passage before the port that would indicate that only part of the engine receives oil, even though the sensor reads zero.

Blowing air through the oil passageways (sensor port?), with the pan off, should reveal some info with a bit less mess than injected fluid (such as oil). A plug may "back out" for instance, along with minimal messy oil left in galleys.

There is another way to do this, but it is messy. I actually own an odd fabricated tool recommended by Ford from the 1960's. Ford published specs on injecting oil into such a port with the lower crankcase pan off, and counting oil drops coming from intact stationary bearings.

A certain weight oil, at a certain pressure and room temperature, was pre-charted in such a way that bearing clearances could be closely estimated without actually disassembling the crank. All one need disassemble, was "lower" the pan, to catch oil, and observe (a 15 minute ordeal in the good ol' days).

My shop tool was made from a discarded refrigerant bottle somewhat smaller than the size of a 20# propane tank. It was constructed so that oil in the bottle would be forced out an inner sump tube when air was injected. After building it, I never did actually use it since the engine in question developed an obvious knock which meant it had to be disassembled.

Below is an interesting bit of info from my "erratic oil" link above:

"This is what Ford has to say about NON-Ford filters and Warranty work.


Engine Damage / Non-Ford Oil Filters - All Model Years, All Vehicles
A review of warranty claims indicates that engine damage caused by defective non-Ford oil filters is being claimed under Ford warranty.

The check valves in some non-Ford filters disintegrate causing small rubber debris (frequently red color) to migrate into the engine's oil passages where they restrict flow. This restriction causes components (such as the variable cam timing phaser) to fail, and causes engine knocking / ticking /rattles.

Please reference:

SSM #18921 (Published: 11/03/05)
SSM #19642 (Published: 03/01/07)
TSB #06-19-08
Repair of engine damage caused by defective non-Ford oil filters is not covered per Section 3 of the Warranty & Policy Manual.

Category: Powertrain – Engine
Do: Look for bits of rubber (frequently red color) when repairing damaged engines.
Don't: Submit a warranty claim for damage caused by defective non-Ford oil filters."

Definately food for thought.

Thanks all,
Wes
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