Almost ran it out of oil... what should I look/listen for

[Thirdyfivepickup]

I don't know what happened.... The wife has been driving it and said the Expedition has a "miss" and when driving occasionally it will "buck" or hesitate. I took it for a drive and upon startup I heard a slight rattle but it went away.

Sure enough while maintaining a certain speed I'll get a miss or hesitation. Its way more than a spark miss. Turned right around and started looking it over.

No oil on the dipstick... I added 4 quarts total to get it to proper level. I don't know where it went. Where she normally parks there is no drips at all. I haven't been checked her oil since we got it... approx. 8 months ago. The wife said she got an oil change but confessed she didn't. Last oil change was in May.

I'm guessing maybe 100 miles on the engine while it was in its "bucking/hesitation" phase. Mostly highway miles.

Did we kill it? Currently doesn't sound like anything is hurt. It just turned over 100k miles. 2005 with a 5.4. Well maintained (before we got it) Anything I should look out for?

 

[stamp11127]

You are very lucky it didn't seize. Bottom line is it has a shorter life span now - plan on a rebuild or replacement engine in the future.
The first thing to go with oil starvation is the upper end.

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

lovely.....

Anyone know the reason it wanted to buck or hesitate?

 

[Flexpedition]

Please tell me you've changed the oil & oil filter since topping it off?

I'll assume if the oil hasn't been changed then the air filter hasn't been either, which could be the cause of bucking. Plugs came due at 100K as well.

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

no, I haven't changed the oil/filter... but will be doing that this weekend. Runs perfect right now. No noises or misses.

 

[stamp11127]

If it isn't hesitating now it was the low oil pressure to the cam phasers.

 

[East-TN]

no, I haven't changed the oil/filter... but will be doing that this weekend. Runs perfect right now. No noises or misses.

Definitely change the oil and filter as soon as possible (and have the wife pay for it ), then change the spark plugs as well. If you keep up on the maintenance from here on out, your Expy will probably last you another 50K miles easy.

 

[Hamfisted]

I would also keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge from here on out. You might end up going to a slightly heavier weight oil. Is it burning it? Or leaking it? May have marred the bearings as well. If it's leaking it, fix it ASAP. But there's probably already internal damage that you don't see right now. These engines don't burn much oil when they are in good shape....


-Mike

 

[Adieu]

Change it in a week (or 2, if she barely drives it) and see how much comes out

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

ok thanks for the info. I don't believe its leaking oil. It gets parked in the grass and there are no visible signs of leakage.

Wish me luck. I'll change the oil next weekend and see where we are at.

 

[JExpedition07]

I’d say go ahead and switch to a slightly thicker oil after that.

 

[JExpedition07]

I would also keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge from here on out. You might end up going to a slightly heavier weight oil. Is it burning it? Or leaking it? May have marred the bearings as well. If it's leaking it, fix it ASAP. But there's probably already internal damage that you don't see right now. These engines don't burn much oil when they are in good shape....


-Mike

Good idea but the oil pressure gauge is an idiot light that doesn’t tell us anything. It’s all or zero.

 

[Bedrck47]

I would also keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge from here on out. You might end up going to a slightly heavier weight oil. Is it burning it? Or leaking it? May have marred the bearings as well. If it's leaking it, fix it ASAP. But there's probably already internal damage that you don't see right now. These engines don't burn much oil when they are in good shape....


-Mike

Not sure what good it would do to "keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge" since the oil pressure gauge in the instrument cluster isn't a true pressure gauge.

That gauge is basically a fancy "Idiot Light" all it shows is that you have or don't have oil pressure.

 

[1955moose]

I'd hold off on the thicker weight oil. If you've been on this forum, and reading about all the oiling problems, you don't want to vary from the 5w30 oil. I have a 2000 2 valve that also consumes oil. I do have a passenger valve cover gasket leak, but usually anytime your consuming like we are, its poor sealing of the piston rings, in particular the oil rings. My suv only has 94k on it, so a real shame. If it were valve guide seals or guides themselves, you'd see a puff of smoke each time you fired it up. Do as I do and check and add at least every week as needed!

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[autoarcheologist]

I"m curious how many miles you put on it to go through 4 quarts of oil.

 

[lbv150]

I check my '04 weekly and add a quart when it needs it as it just started using more at 150,000. As the owners manual state....check the oil levels frequently. It doesn't drip or bluesmoke. I change the oil at 3K so maybe it takes a quart or 2 in that time.

 

[1955moose]

The biggest issue with engines that consume oil I've found is poor ring to cylinder wall sealing. The biggest issue is owners that either break in their motors too hard, or do something like running full synthetic oil from the start. Full synthetic was only recommended after 5,000 miles or more. Porsche was one of the few that used Mobil 1 from day 1, but I believe they used different cylinder coatings that allowed it. Had a 85 mustang that went through a quart every 800 miles, even running 20/50 weight, my 86 mustang that had 180k didn't burn a drop, go figure.

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[NASCAR Mike]

If you still have the old oil I would send it to Blackstone for an oil analysis. They will be able to tell you if your bearings were damaged or what other kind of damage occurred.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If the oil pressure light did not come on, you likely dodged a bullet.

 

[NASCAR Mike]

If the oil pressure light did not come on, you likely dodged a bullet.

Oil pressure sensors are like a switch. They are either on or off. If you have very low oil pressure, say 5psi, the oil light will not illuminate because there is oil pressure, albeit very low oil pressure.

Either do an oil analysis or install an oil pressure gauge. You should have about 8-10 psi per 1,000 RPM. So at 4000rpm you should have around 38-40 psi. If the pressures are lower than this it means the bearings are worn and the oil is filling the void - thus the reduction in oil pressure.

The 5.4 engines are specified to run 5W20 oil. If the oil pressure is low you could switch to 5W30 without hurting anything. It will still be thin during startup but will maintain a higher viscosity when it warms up.