No oil pressure!

[Spdrcer34]

So we went on a little vacation with some guys from here. We did a little wheeling, but because I'm just barely lifted I didn't do anything crazy.

We didn't go to the trails that the others went on, so were just on a Forest Service Road. And that is when I lost oil pressure. Zip, zero, zilch, nada. I limped it back to camp, 20 miles away. It started to tick within minutes of me loosing pressure. Not quite a knock, but almost that deep of a tone.

I drained the oil and found NO metal shavings. The 10w-30 oil was 3 days old, and had less than 500 miles on it. I replaced that oil with 10w-40. I pulled the filter and drained it. But since I didn't have another filter, I put the 3 day old filter back on there.

I put 4 qts. of 10w40, and 1/2 qt. of ATF in there.

Last night, I got a tow 1/2 way home, through what would have been the WORST part of trying to drive it, through a mountain pass.

While I was pulling the Explorer off the trailer my oil pressure gauge moved. I had oil pressure again, but ONLY until I hit 1500 rpm. After that, nothing again. The noise had quieted down. I get going and get caught is some SERIOUS traffic that was leaving the White River Amphitheater. I'm just over idling, and keeping pressure as long as I keep it under 1500. About this time the tick stopped at all rpms.

I get through the traffic and onto the highway. I'm granny driving it, trying to limp it home and I made it here OK. It NEVER got hot. Not when it first lost pressure. Not on the way home.

Today I get up and pull the oil pressure switch and start the motor. Oil just dribbles out of there. After a few seconds it gushes out of there, then I rev'd it and it goes back to a dribble. There is a SLIGHT tick, something more along the way of a noisy lifter like a bunch of 4.0L have....nothing I would even think twice about normally.

Do you think I need a new oil pump? or maybe a set of lifters? Both? New Motor?

Ryan

 

[Willard]

Isn't there some sort of pressure relief for the oil pump? Perhaps that could be the issue. Besides something with the pump I haven't the slightest clue.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

It sounds like an intermittent problem, which tells me that there is something wrong with the oil pump system. My BII made the same noise when I first started it after the motor sitting for a year. If the lifters are dry, they are very loud, and once oil gets to them they quiet down.

When I say oil pump sytem, it could be the pump itself, or it could be the pump driveshaft has failed and/or the cam gear that drives the pump drive shaft could be having intermittent contact causing the pump to not spin all the time.

 

[Willard]

Another piece of info that might be useful: How many miles does the motor have?

 

[Spdrcer34]

So I should replace the pump, and pump driveshaft? The pump is in stock at the local store, while the shaft is Special Order.

The oil pump drive gear is on the Cam Position Sensor (Distributor on a non-DIS engine) right? I'm having ZERO driveability issues. No popping, no misfires. PERFECT running motor as far the ignition, and power is concerned.

140,965 when the noise started. Now it has 141,034
Ryan

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

I would mark and pull the cam sensor and you should be able to pull out the pump drive shaft and inspect those items before pulling the motor to drop the pan. If I remember correctly, the pump driveshaft is nothing mure than a shaft with flat blades on either side. Could be a stripping problem like a screw.

 

[jd4242]

sound just like what mine did and it was the screen that was clogged.pull the plug and bend a coat hanger and use it to scrap around the bottom of the pan and see if chunks come out if so then your screen might be clogged