help! check oil light

[CmdrPopNFresh]

hey guys ive got a quick question to bug everyone with.

about a week ago i hopped in the explorer on a really cold morning and started it up.....this light came on that ive never even seen before "check oil". so i did.....seemed fine...a little low but i know i burn a little.....maybe a quart between oilchanges. i didnt think much of it cause i did an oil change on it later that day when i had the tranny out doing the clutch. so filled it back up with oil and have been driving it for a week and now this morning the stupid light comes back on. checked my oil and its low again.....in a week. but i never had problems like that with oil consumption before last week. i checked my parking spot for oil and there are a few tiny drops that have gathered over time but deffinately not 2 quarts of oil on the ground. theres no smoke out the back and i dont see any soot or anything....no oil in the coolant or coolant in oil.......what the hell happened?

anyone know of something common? i guess il be doing a compression test tomorrow. i swear if this thing is starting to eat oil im buying a 5.0 and a solid axle and a trailer:fire:

 

[CmdrPopNFresh]

aaaahhhhh! now im all worked up....look what i found!

97 ex $1000

that sure looks like a v8 emblem on the fender.....anyone know what they mean by 16 valve engine? is that someones made up term for a v8......cause thats kind of weird. i mean it makes sense.

crap now ive got all kinds of ideas running through my head......

 

[CmdrPopNFresh]

o come on guys nobody has any suggestions

 

[Pdwight]

For Me

I have a Stock 94 Limited 4X4. When my CHeck Oil light comes on I am 1 quart low of oil. Ther is a float switch in the oil pan that gets tripped when you are a bit low and it turns on the indicator light.

I hope this helps

Dwight P

 

[Masterd]

I guess everyone is stumped.

 

[Maniak]

The check oil light on the bottom of the dash means your low on oil, or it thinks your low on oil. If you a little low on oil it doesn't take much of a slope to make the oil leave the sending unit. If you are having a wiring issue you will get false readings.

the black thing on the side of the yellow oil pan in this pic is where it is.

~Mark

 

[CmdrPopNFresh]

thanks guys thats what i was hoping to hear. i was pretty sure that was the switch there on the side of the pan but i hadnt really looked into it much. now i just need to figure out how i lost a quart in a week

 

[seth247]

Pull the starter and check in the clutch cavity. Sometimes oil will hide there if the rearmain is leakin. Might have jacked it up during the change.


Yes 16 valve can mean a pushrod v8 like the 5.0. Two valves per cylinder, 8 cylinders. It is safe to assume that's what they mean. But you can see 16 valve I-4's even. Crazy foreign engines usually.

 

[Pdwight]

ALso who knows

My 94 uses a quart every 3 months , it doesnt smoke, doesnt leak...when I had this engine put in I had a new rear main seal put in....it just goes away.

 

[mikeinri]

...fresh...

I'm confused. You said the oil was low when the light came on, so you added oil. I assume you're checking the level on the stick, and it is low before you add, and at the correct level after you added. I also assume you're checking the oil with the truck parked on a level surface, with the engine off, and after it sits for at least a few minutes after stopping the engine.

If time goes by (even a short time), and the light comes on, and the level is low on the dipstick, I'm thinking the problem is NOT the sensor, but you are leaking/burning oil.

If the sensor was bad, your dipstick would be showing full if all else was normal, without adding any oil.

What am I missing here?

Mike

 

[CmdrPopNFresh]

Yes 16 valve can mean a pushrod v8 like the 5.0. Two valves per cylinder, 8 cylinders. It is safe to assume that's what they mean. But you can see 16 valve I-4's even. Crazy foreign engines usually.

thats what i figured. some peole come up with the weirdest terms compared to whats right.....or theyre just plain wront. i was looking at a dodge truck on that smae site and they claimed it had powerstroke 5.9.........my brain hurts.

...fresh...

I'm confused. You said the oil was low when the light came on, so you added oil. I assume you're checking the level on the stick, and it is low before you add, and at the correct level after you added. I also assume you're checking the oil with the truck parked on a level surface, with the engine off, and after it sits for at least a few minutes after stopping the engine.

If time goes by (even a short time), and the light comes on, and the level is low on the dipstick, I'm thinking the problem is NOT the sensor, but you are leaking/burning oil.

If the sensor was bad, your dipstick would be showing full if all else was normal, without adding any oil.

What am I missing here?

Mike

no you got it right. im just trying to see if anyone has some common problems that i might not know about that might show me where my oil is going. i think it may have been a couple of factors.....i was alittle low on oil....where i park is sloped to the passenger side slightly.....and it was below freezing. i did do a little test last night. parked on a clean spot of driveway and checked for leaks in the morning.....sure enough a little stain on the nice concrete. so i think il just keep trowing oil in it till i pull the motor this june and do a rebuild and replace the front and rear main and the stupid oil pangasket from hell.

 

[Willard]

Check the valve cover gaskets. That is a common leak, and it doesn't show up on the ground as it just gets burned off on the exhaust manifolds. I used to have a leak there until I replaced them and that really slowed it all down.

The other would be the rear main seal.