qtmxmom

I have a 2002 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer, 5.4 Triton Engine. Had lots of problems over the past couple of years, been through 2 fuel filters, had #3 spark plug thrown from cylinder, new alternator, new starter, blah, blah, blah. Fortunately, my husband has been able to perform these repairs and save us thousands of dollars in labor........ with that said, I now have a new problem and was wondering if anyone has experienced anything similiar.

About a month ago, my car started making a horrible sound when starting and an occasional metal sounding knocking, rattling while driving. Basically, sounds like its low in oil and no lubrication. Before he checks the crankshaft bearings to figure out which one is loose and repair, there is obviously something going on with the oil that caused it........

When he checked the oil, the stick showed empty; no oil light has come on; in fact, the oil pressure shows slighltly higher than the middle reading. Even though he had just changed the oil 2 weeks prior, at my insistance, he re-changed the oil. At that time, the stick showed low, but drained out 5 quarts when he changed it yesterday. This morning it showed low again, so added another quarter... There is no leak under car and car is not smoking at all..........

After reading the manual (the other 1/2 of the repair team), I am thinking maybe its the oil pump or the oil sending unit. Has anyone had any problems similiar? It is pointless to change the crankshaft bearings if there is no oil getting to them, only to have them go bad again.....

sorry so long.... thanks in advance for any help :)

Bert

The oil pump would only cause low oil pressure and bearing wear. The oil going down fast is from the rings or valve guides and/or seals. If ti was run low on oil, there would definitly be worn parts. The oil pressure gauge is actually like a glorified warning light. As soon as there's about 7 psi of oil, it jumps to around 1/2. It doesn't show what the oil pressure is. If the engine is worn, I'd suggest getting a used one from a wrecking yard or rebuilding yours complete. The engines usually run for over 300,000 miles if they're serviced regularly. You can search here if yo want to see about a used one. Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

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Bert