oil needle?

[gt fast]

ok kinda a dumb question. every other car i have ever owned has had a oil guage, the one witgh the L and H on it. now, for some reason after i did a oil change today and added a quart of lucas in there as well, my needle stays right on the L. why is that, im not sure if it has always done it or not but i just noticed it tonight. i have also checked the stick over and over, its right on the do not add part on the very top of it.

 

[ragajungle]

The oil needle does not indicate the level of oil, but measures pressure. Low is bad. BUT these gauges are faux gauges. They act as an I/O switch only. If there is any pressure present the gauge will show between normal. Mine flaked out earlier this summer and for $10 I was able to get and install the oil pressure sender in under 20minutes. There is a sticky thread here in the gen 2 section with a nice write up.

 

[ragajungle]

here is a thread - cant find the sticky for it but this pic shows its location and the tools needed to change it:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223313&highlight=Oil+Pressure+Sender+Replacement

 

[Maniak]

More than you ever wanted to know about the fake oil pressue gauge.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65575&highlight=Real+oil+pressure

~Mark

 

[huntman58]

you really only lost a fancy idiot warning thing as its not a gauge and its even worse then a warning light being it dose not light up at all. It shows a fake oil pressure or it shows nothing and that is it. Fact there set to show nothing at about 4 psi.

 

[rhauf]

do another oil change and get that Lucas crap out of there.

it's too thick, it doesn't have any lubrication properties of its own (this is even stated on the bottle). it just causes problems. if you're engine was running fine stop adding crap to it unless your looking for an excuse to rebuild it.


and yes.. the oil gauge is meaningless.

 

[swetrid]

I wouldnt use Lucas myself, won't help at all!

 

[gt fast]

i was told by threee diff ford mechanics to add it to stop the ticking in the motor. after adding it and driving some, still ticks, im starting to think its a fuel injector tick.

 

[huntman58]

Use a long screw driver or some socket extensions and listen for the tick by touching places with it like the injector’s valve covers ect. It will help you locate the sound better to the right area in stead of guessing at it so much. Works believe me that am why I finally went out and bought a mechanics Stethoscope as it works even better and with my hearing getting bad I need all the help I can get when hunting down strange sounds like this.

Also when it’s a lifter tick I use good old ATF one qt in lace of one QT motor oil then between 500 and 1000 miles I do oil and filter changes. It’s always worked for me and the old chivies were known for there lifter ticks that’s were I started using it and that was over 30 years ago. But I can not take credit for it as an old mechanic showed me that trick as he used it in his job as a mechanic.

 

[rhauf]

i was told by threee diff ford mechanics to add it to stop the ticking in the motor. after adding it and driving some, still ticks, im starting to think its a fuel injector tick.

Use a long screw driver or some socket extensions and listen for the tick by touching places with it like the injector’s valve covers ect. It will help you locate the sound better to the right area in stead of guessing at it so much. Works believe me that am why I finally went out and bought a mechanics Stethoscope as it works even better and with my hearing getting bad I need all the help I can get when hunting down strange sounds like this.

Also when it’s a lifter tick I use good old ATF one qt in lace of one QT motor oil then between 500 and 1000 miles I do oil and filter changes. It’s always worked for me and the old chivies were known for there lifter ticks that’s were I started using it and that was over 30 years ago. But I can not take credit for it as an old mechanic showed me that trick as he used it in his job as a mechanic.

oh its making me crazy!!! people, stop adding stuff other than engine oil to the engine oil!!!!! trans fluid does clean the engine, but only because it has lots of detergents in it, which destroys seals!! all seals, including valve guide seals, main seals, etc, so if you want smoke out the exhaust sooner, and more oil leaks.. then run ATF in the oil.. (or "high mileage" oils, they do the same thing.. destroy stuff)

as for the ticking sound you're hearing, it's very common of ford's 4.0 engines.. they didn't lubricate great to the tops of the push rods, so sometimes one wears down a little and that causes a tiny bit of slop, and a tick.. the ticking won't hurt anything.. it's just annoying (And slightly, very slightly reduces valve lift). if you want to fix the tick, replace your push rods with hardened ones... they will never wear down.

fwiw, adding Lucas to the oil (or running really thick oil) will make the ticking problem worse over time because thick oils (such as Lucas or 20w50) take longer to pump through the engine on a cold start, so the poor parts have to run longer before they see lubrication, therefore, they wear more. the theory of thick oils "filling the tolerance" is again, for idiots.. whoever those ford mechanics were that suggested Lucas to fix a lifter tick they should be fired.

 

[huntman58]

trans fluid does clean the engine, but only because it has lots of detergents in it, which destroys seals!! all seals, including valve guide seals, main seals, etc, so if you want smoke out the exhaust sooner, and more oil leaks.. then run ATF in the oil..

If that was 100% true then we would have no auto trannys as they are filled with seals and other soft parts also. ATF dose help free a suck lifter but it is not to be used all the time just as a short term fix to free the lifter and that is all. ATF is not made to with stand the harsh conditions of a motor and motor oil is not made to with stand the conditions of a transmission and its needs for some friction additives for the bands to work.

I have seen STP used wrong blow a motor and yet used right help motors out. I have seen slick 50 used wrong to wear a motor used oil all the time and never did break in right and also have seen it used right were when the motor was torn down for other reasons there was little to no ring wear at all.

It all is in how it is used how often and why. there is no mechanic in a can and there is no real fix in a can also but there is some times help to get you going tell you can fix it right that way but to each there own as for me I will use ATF as I have for over 30 years and not one auto has had a problem from it but many have had a lifter tick fix from it. For me the proof is in the personal experience and no ATF will not fix a mechanical fault of a lifter but it will free a good lifter up from lack of care such as bad oil changes and or lack of them.
its just like Seafoam some swear at it and some swear by it. lets face it the right way to remove carbon from a motor is to tear it down and phsyicaly remove it. Now how many of us do that instead of trying out seafoam first.
again its not what you do or use always b ut more in how and how often that matters when it comes to helpping a motor or damaging it .

 

[rhauf]

If that was 100% true then we would have no auto trannys as they are filled with seals and other soft parts also. ATF dose help free a suck lifter but it is not to be used all the time just as a short term fix to free the lifter and that is all. ATF is not made to with stand the harsh conditions of a motor and motor oil is not made to with stand the conditions of a transmission and its needs for some friction additives for the bands to work.

.....
.

Okay, i'll give you that. but unless engines go forever between oil changes there usually isn't much grime build up to speak of anyhow. and my personal experience i have yet to see an engine fail from grime.