06 f150 5.4 just took a dump

[oppsImissed]

Im hopeing Vince will see this and give advise. Or any other mechanic. While driving at 55 the oild pressure gauge dropped to zero. I shut it off and coasted to the shoulder. Checked oil and it was fine. Cranked it up and all seemed well. Tried to get to next parking lot and oil pressure bottomed out again. Shut it off and got towed home. It will start and oil pressure will come up. It sounds like a powerstroke on a cold morning now. After idleing about 30 seconds it sounds like the cams retard and idle goes to crap. Sounds like it has a dead miss in it. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[sgtdww504]

It uses oil to advance the cams your oil pump most likely failed put a mechanical gauge and test. If the pump went out it may have caused premature wear on the main bearing so they need to be at least checked

 

[oppsImissed]

im not gonna mess with it. Im just gonna find a shop to send it to.

 

[paddle007]

How many miles on it? I find the 5.4 3 valve inherently fragile. FWIW your oil gauge is not a gauge. It works like a warning light. Once the set point is triggered the light comes on. Do not use the gauge for an indicator of actual oil pressure.

 

[oppsImissed]

its got about 115000 on it. I checked oil pressure with a manual gauge. there is definatly a blockage or a bad oil pump. Maybe the screne. idles at 17lbs then 0 then 20 or so. Im not gonna mess with it. My first choice will be Vince putting a reman engine in it or rebuilding it. Just sucks that it happened right after Christmas. I was already short on cash. I guess I wont be shooting in any Competitions anytime soon either. And yes. It is a very fragile motor. But,, when all is right I get 27 miles to the gallon with my economy tune.

 

[Neil09]

Just bought a 2010 with the 5.4... Please do share about your 27mpg.

 

[kz45]

I would like to hear about the 27mpg too!!

I have 240,000 on mine and get 12.5, it is a FX4

 

[themcfarland]

What happened to Ford being the King and the 5.4 being solid.. When did it start going South? When I had to drive vans for work, I always liked the Ford over the chevy..

 

[Suburbazine]

The 4.6 and 5.4 have always been tin cans. Big size, terrible power output, irritating to service, etc.

I'm not quite believing 27mpg on any year 5.4 F150 though. Any tune that could get it close has to be running it in lean cruise during conditions it shouldn't. Even the totally gutless 4.6 couldn't get there.

 

[lucky_reaper]

In for what tune this is. I average 12 mpg in my 5.4

 

[rocko]

I've got 185,000 on my 5.4 and get 15-17 mpg, and it is a FX4.

 

[kz45]

You're a lucky man rocko! I've never seen mileage like that out of my engine, best was when it was new on the hwy, 14.5

 

[Neil09]

The main problem I 've heard is pre 2009 had the two piece plugs which were known to break when changing. They then went to the one piece to fix the problem. I wouldn't have bought my 2010 if it wasn't for that.

 

[CHW2021]

Sorry about your problems, I can only add more bad news.
If you bring the truck to a mechanic, he will want to check the cam solenoids/advance springs which involves taking the upper part of the motor down, about 8 hrs. labor.
The alternative is to drop the oil pan (+- 3 hrs) and see how many parts (or remains of) are in the pan and base your decision from there. The oil pickup will likely be clogged and the pan will have metal shavings in it.
A replacement motor is not a cheap option, for some reason they are in demand.
The only thing that is really practical (from a cost point) is to start looking for a new truck.
Friend of mine has been there, I tried to help him out but, the motor was just plain shot. Remarkably poor design from Ford.

As a note, these engines use 5w-20 full synthetic oil; anything else just will not allow the cam advance to work and will clog the oil galleries in the block/head.

 

[oppsImissed]

I talked to Mechanic today. Bringing it to him saturday morning. Reman motor with 3 year warranty is right at 3k. The truck is worth that. I really dont think the motor is gone. Im thinking crank kit and timing componets, new oil pump and such. Screw getting another note to pay. And for the guys with the crappy miledge, its simple. SCT with custom tune. Now there is more than just a tune for the motor. The trans was re mapped. Gears, Taller tires, ARE bed cover. And keep your damn foot out of it. I averaged 26.7 miles to gallon on a trip to West Virginia. And Im sure that will cause more debate....

And wanted to add. 2005 Ford Exploder. 4.0 from a mustang. 6 inch lift. 35 inch BFG all terrains. Gears and a custom tune . 19 miler per gallon on the highway. 15 in he city.

 

[cnodie1]

Im going to need to see some photo evidence on the MPG your claiming. Pretty hard to believe.

 

[oppsImissed]

Photo evidence? Really? How bout do your own research. Find someone to do a tune for you, and see what he says he can make happen.

 

[Suburbazine]

Photo evidence? Really? How bout do your own research. Find someone to do a tune for you, and see what he says he can make happen.

I can see an Exploder with a 4.0 getting 19mpg on 35's. I just can't see any amount of mods making 27mpg in an F150 with a stock 5.4. Averaging 27mpg means you're getting more than that at interstate speeds.

How are you calculating mileage?

SCT claims a 2-3mpg increase, SCT reviewers are seeing 4-5 on a custom tune in a *car*.

 

[oppsImissed]

Im not gonna debate this with yall. Buy a SCT. Get a custom tune. Do the gear swap. Get the trans lockup where you want it and figure it out your self. And if you program your SCT to moniter MPG you call puul it up and see average for last 50 or 100 miles or how ever you want to see it.

 

[LNSvince]

chain tensioners and cam phasers are the most common failures. HOWEVER I've never seen either cause a total loss of oil pressure.

These motors use oil,

FWIW your oil gauge is not a gauge.

,
[ its a switch] the customer doesn't realize there is NO oil till its tooooooo late.

these engines use 5w-20 full synthetic oil; anything else just will not allow the cam advance to work and will clog the oil galleries in the block/head.

Tell someone that they hurt their engine because they used the WRONG oil and watch the look on their face.

FWIW, we do NOT break 3v spark plugs. Matter of fact, ONLY 1 3v spark was broke last year because it came in broke !

Reman motor with 3 year warranty is right at 3k

IF this is true, then you better jump on that. [ and at the same time do some homework on the manufacturer of the engine to CYA !]

Im NOT saying it can't be done. However 3k is mighty cheap for parts and labor. This is a $5k job