No oil pressure

[weshag]

I have a 2003 Explorer with a 4.0L SOHC. When driving the other day it started running rough and died. It started back up and was still really rough and rattling heavy on the top. I noticed that I showed no oil pressure.

The lack of oil pressure and heavy rattle has me believing this is not a sensor failure since it sounds like the lifters have no oil. The engine has 185,000+ miles and had the obvious timing chain rattle notorious with this engine.

Looking for some expert feedback\opinion before I start a course of action.

My guess is this is some sort of a oil pump failure. I do not know how the pump in this motor is driven, Can I pull the pan and get to all of this without pulling the engine?

Or could this be something else? Would love to fix this without pulling the engine if possible.

Oil was changed about 1000 miles ago and looks good in color and quantity.

 

[2000StreetRod]

blocked oil pickup screen?

If you have been driving with timing chain rattle there is a chance that pieces have collected in the oil pickup screen and is blocking oil from flowing to the pump. I suggest removing the lower oil pan and examining the screen and the pan for pieces. If you post photos of the larger pieces some of us may be able to tell which cassette has failed.

You cannot access the oil pump without removing the block cradle. If you have AWD you'll have to disconnect the motor mounts and raise the block to remove the cradle.

If you've continued to drive the vehicle with very low oil pressure the engine may not be worth fixing.

 

[weshag]

If you have been driving with timing chain rattle there is a chance that pieces have collected in the oil pickup screen and is blocking oil from flowing to the pump. I suggest removing the lower oil pan and examining the screen and the pan for pieces. If you post photos of the larger pieces some of us may be able to tell which cassette has failed.

You cannot access the oil pump without removing the block cradle. If you have AWD you'll have to disconnect the motor mounts and raise the block to remove the cradle.

If you've continued to drive the vehicle with very low oil pressure the engine may not be worth fixing.

Thank you for the response. I will share back soon.

 

[weshag]

So I would definitely say a tensioner is broken. There were some parts in the pickup line but not blocking it. It is possible all these pieces in the bottom were clogging it until I drained the oil.

Would love to hear if anyone believes they know which tensioner this is but I guess I can start by pulling the valve covers to see if I can tell that way.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...authkey=!AP9mMMcMKT5-uOc&v=3&ithint=photo,jpg

 

[weshag]

It's the front but I have so much of it apart and 186k miles I should probably just look at rebuild options.

 

[2000StreetRod]

how long

How long did you drive it without oil pressure? It may need new bearings and even crankshaft journals reground. Unfortunately, it's a lot of work to find out because the block cradle has to be removed to inspect the bearings.

 

[weshag]

How long did you drive it without oil pressure? It may need new bearings and even crankshaft journals reground. Unfortunately, it's a lot of work to find out because the block cradle has to be removed to inspect the bearings.

About 200-300 yards < 2 minutes

With 186000 miles I decided I am going to do a rebuild anyway. No I need to find the best options\prices so purchase from depending on the amount of work I will do myself..