Oil Pressure Problems

[lbspears888]

I have 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4.0. I was driving and my oil pressure went all the the way down and shut it off. I was wondering if they was a sensor that makes it shut down when it loses oil pressure. Thanks

 

[koda2000]

I have 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4.0. I was driving and my oil pressure went all the the way down and shut it off. I was wondering if they was a sensor that makes it shut down when it loses oil pressure. Thanks

Not that I'm aware of. Did it restart? Not that you should drive it w/out oil pressure.

I suggest you remove the lower oil pan (easy to do) and see if you have broken pieces of plastic in it. This indicates your timing chain cassettes are broken (common issue). The broken pieces of plastic can block oil from the oil pump pickup and screen. Clean out the pieces and clean the screen if necessary and you may be able to get the pressure back.

If the pan is clean, your oil pump may me shot. You should use a real oil pressure gauge to check the pressure as the one provided by Ford is a glorified idiot light, which always reads mid-way as long as you have at least 5 PSI of pressure. Rule of thumb is 10 PSI per 1000 RPM when at operating temp.

The fact that your engine shut off is not a good sign.

 

[lbspears888]

No it will turn over, but it will not start and run. This is the only problem I ever have had with it. I'm just hoping that it didn't screw my motor completely. But I saw it start dropping and I started to pull over and before I could it just shut off.

 

[koda2000]

If it's a 4.0L SOHC (and not the 4.0L OHV) it may have jumped time. Did it suffer from the dreaded timing chain death rattle?

 

[Tyson37]

I'm having the same issue with my '02 sport trac. I lost pressure, got it home, took oil pan off and found chunks of plastic, (timing chain cassette). So, now I'm going back under there to see where I need to go from here. I would love to drive this thing since I bought it a week ago and its been on jack stands for 6 of those 7 days. Oh well, I'll let you know what I discover upon inspecting the screen and the oil pump.

 

[koda2000]

The broken pieces of chain cassette are typically too large to get past the oil pickup screen, but the oil pickup is easy to remove to inspect and clean (mine was 1/2 clogged by sludge). How noisy are your timing chains? If they're not too bad you can probably drive it until they get really bad and then worry about replacing the timing chain components (front and rear). That's what I'm currently doing with my '01 Sport Trac. My chains make noise primarily at start-up, even after having replaced the tensioners (which can be risky in itself). To limit the damage I crank the engine holding the gas pedal to the floor for about 10 seconds when the engine is cold and maybe 3 seconds once it's warm before allowing the engine to start. I'm also using Mobil 1 0W30 oil. This allows oil pressure to build., eliminating the rattle at startup and the RPM starting flare. It's a big job to replace the T/C components, as the engine must be pulled to access the rear T/C components.

When and if I replace the T/C parts I plan to install a pre-oiling system to prevent future damage. Other than the early T/C guides being prone to breaking (it's arguable whether the newer design is any better) the oil pressure reliant tensioners are the biggest design flaw with the SOHC 4.0L engine.