More Oil Pressure Issues! Turbo Screens?

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Any of you that have followed my posts know that I have had a struggle with oil pressure since I bought the car. Recently, I added an oil pressure gauge to compare to the low oil pressure warning I began consistently getting a couple weeks ago. The pressure light started getting worse (still ringing above 2k RPM) and the gauge started going nuts, sweeping a range of 10psi with rare moments of steadiness. I noticed oil all over the back of the car, fearing a turbo seal blew apart I checked it out and saw the entire underbody of the car was coated in oil. The only drip coming from another failed pressure switch. I replaced the switch again, verified all of my seals with the only remaining leak being a slight wetness on the rear turbo. Along with some other maintenance issues I resolved I then took it for a drive and after progressively driving it harder, the light stayed away but the gauge kept tweaking. I pulled in the drive way and the low oil light chimed back at me and the gauge went dead to 0. Car still running there was no excessive noise to indicate a catastrophic failure of any kind so I checked the oil fill and saw oil flowing inside the valve cover. after several tests I deemed the gauge itself dead and not the wiring or sending unit, however there were still no leaks. I am getting close to my wits end with this car, I have put less than 5k miles on it this year between torque converter noises, the car accident, and now oil pressure aggravations.

The initial test I performed 2 years ago was corroborated by the gauge that recently failed. I had consistent readings that matched my test gauge, cold 60psi, warm 1500 40psi, and warm idle 10psi. 10psi has always seemed low to me and according to some more in depth research it is, Ford specs 20+psi at hot idle. So the witch hunt continues, I am doing every thing I can think of external of the engine to try and get the oil pressure up. I have dumped seafoam in the crank case to maybe break up some deposits, and I plan to switch to a heavier oil. Here is the google AI specs and check list and what else I have done so far lol

Referencing the above screenshot: Verified with a mechanical gauge, check. change oil, oil is full syn 5w30 Valvoline advanced, check. the throttle body would be a new one on me to correct an oil pressure issue but ill give it a try, it does surge at idle when the light is on. And the sensor and harness have been dealt with. But what really got me repeating another thread (with a twist) is the turbo screens. how hard are they to swap out? what do they look like? part numbers? I can not find a straight answer, I have seen an orifice tube style that goes in the block and a screen barrel style that goes in the output end of the turbo line, what do we have? both? I am basically ticking off every box that could possibly effect pressure without going to internal damage or weak pump. if it comes to that I might have to give it up

 

[Texas Marauder]

Only the barrel type. Clogged screens would not affect oil pressure, only turbo bearing life.

 

[BradM]

I don't know how the oil leak and the low and fluctuating oil pressure would be related but focusing just on the oil pressure issue, there are only few things to consider, ranked below from easy to hard. The fluctuation is what is most odd to me. And yes, the oil screens are not the problem.
1. Bad gauge (install a pure analog pressure gauge)
2. Clogged oil pick-up filter (drop pan and check or bore scope through oil drain)
3. Bad oil pump
4. Worn bearings

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

The gauge having a tantrum was for sure a sign of a failing gauge. it was steady and dependable up until about 2 weeks ago. I am planning on running an analog gauge at the very least under the hood until I can get a good gauge with electric sender for inside, how I routed my gauges leaves very little room for a hard line and I dont trust nylon on top of all of the electronics in the dash. I will leave the mechanical gauge in place regardless. as for the rest of the list, the car seemed to have good service history so I didnt anticipate any of this, but I have decided to do a round of seafoam in the pan to see if it improves at all, hoping any change may indicate a clogged screen, admittedly I never thought of the borescope through the drain and I may do that when I drain the seafoam diluted oil. My stand point with the car and the wife, if its internal damage that can not be overcome with processes performed externally then we will have to sell the car. I can not afford to replace the engine and the preventative maintenance items that go along with that job. The car is having some torque converter noise (the best I can figure out), along with the PTU being worn but not ready to grenade, the rear turbo is leaking so it will need tended to, plus its due for plugs. I can limp it along taking things out one by one, but if the engine is shot and im still making monthly payments on it, I cant do it all. I appreciate the help fellas, Good to know the turbo screens are not on my **** list, I can focus my efforts toward the pick up screen and hope for the best.

 

[SHO@Sparks]

One thing to add on these engines, that sometimes be overlooked and can affect oil pressure is when the water pump has failed previously and leaked coolant internally into the oil. This can cause some bearing wear, as coolant lacks the lubrication properties of oil. Even though the water pump can still be replaced, if it was leaking coolant internally and not just out the weep whole and diluting the engine oil, it can cause bearing damage, therefore causing lower oil pressure.

Additionally, anytime a turbo is replaced, the oil feed line along with the inline screen at the
block should always be replaced. If not, the debris in the screen will only help the starve the new turbo of the proper oil lubrication and cause it's premature failure.

 

[BradM]

The gauge having a tantrum was for sure a sign of a failing gauge. it was steady and dependable up until about 2 weeks ago. I am planning on running an analog gauge at the very least under the hood until I can get a good gauge with electric sender for inside, how I routed my gauges leaves very little room for a hard line and I dont trust nylon on top of all of the electronics in the dash. I will leave the mechanical gauge in place regardless. as for the rest of the list, the car seemed to have good service history so I didnt anticipate any of this, but I have decided to do a round of seafoam in the pan to see if it improves at all, hoping any change may indicate a clogged screen, admittedly I never thought of the borescope through the drain and I may do that when I drain the seafoam diluted oil. My stand point with the car and the wife, if its internal damage that can not be overcome with processes performed externally then we will have to sell the car. I can not afford to replace the engine and the preventative maintenance items that go along with that job. The car is having some torque converter noise (the best I can figure out), along with the PTU being worn but not ready to grenade, the rear turbo is leaking so it will need tended to, plus its due for plugs. I can limp it along taking things out one by one, but if the engine is shot and im still making monthly payments on it, I cant do it all. I appreciate the help fellas, Good to know the turbo screens are not on my **** list, I can focus my efforts toward the pick up screen and hope for the best.

To me, low oil pressure (worn bearings) isn't the end of the world. You can manage the end-of-engine-life with higher viscosity oil, or additives (Lucas), and more frequent changes. As long as you have reasonable pressure at speed, the engine will keep moving along for a long time.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

To me, low oil pressure (worn bearings) isn't the end of the world. You can manage the end-of-engine-life with higher viscosity oil, or additives (Lucas), and more frequent changes. As long as you have reasonable pressure at speed, the engine will keep moving along for a long time.

Kind of where im at now after the panic subsided. Plan is to run the seafoam for a few days, drain the oil, scope the pan, then fill with 5w40 "euro car" valvoline and add a mechanical gauge. Then bump oil changes down from 5k to 3k, if she can hit 200k I'll rebuild her, but the torque converter is on the horizon so she just needs to hold together. My guess is the PO spent 5k on a water pump, kept getting the oil light, and traded it in.

 

[BradM]

Sounds like a good plan. Think about bumping to 10W. In Florida you can get away with it and it will help with cold-start wear.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Sounds like a good plan. Think about bumping to 10W. In Florida you can get away with it and it will help with cold-start wear.

Thought about switching to 10w30 at first but did a refresh on the numbers and their meanings. Cold she was holding between 60 and 80 psi, I lose pressure when warm naturally, so the higher number needs to increase. I guess 10w40 couldn't hurt, kind of a unicorn weight but mobil 1 has a full synthetic 10w40, I've been running valvoline advanced the last couple years and moved away from mobil1 but at this point I dont think it matters as long as its quality oil

 

[Jordan_R]

Just remember pressure is the measure of restriction. If it ends up needing replaced I have my built engine up for grabs if you're in the market. Couple things however to be aware of:

The timing chain tensioner is oil pressure tensioned so one thing to be aware of. There is also an oil plug behind the water pump that could be leaking. You might be in a good spot to pull the timing cover and do an inspection on those components to make sure they are in tact and not leaking causing your symptoms.

Also the oil pump has a pressure relief valve so it's actually trying to make up for the lost oil volume and it still can't keep up.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Just remember pressure is the measure of restriction. If it ends up needing replaced I have my built engine up for grabs if you're in the market. Couple things however to be aware of:

The timing chain tensioner is oil pressure tensioned so one thing to be aware of. There is also an oil plug behind the water pump that could be leaking. You might be in a good spot to pull the timing cover and do an inspection on those components to make sure they are in tact and not leaking causing your symptoms.

Also the oil pump has a pressure relief valve so it's actually trying to make up for the lost oil volume and it still can't keep up.

If the light impact plan doesn't prove to be a solution Ill probably be in the market for another car, but if she can maintain some kind of acceptable oil pressure at idle i'm just going to rock it as is.

I might crack open the timing cover in the spring to inspect those things you mentioned, thank you for the advice, I had no idea there was a plug in there that very well could be leaking after the tech was poking around. Its a little disheartening to know there is a failsafe essentially in the pump and its still not bringing the pressure up closer to the 20psi I want to see. but if I can get a hot idle around 12-14 I think I'll just monitor it and run it until either it grenades or I can afford to rebuild it.

Right now I have to pump the brakes on spending before I end up divorced lol. But to dump a little salt in the wound the blower motor died on the way to work, might be the resistor since it was trying to come back here and there but the motor itself started making a howling noise a few months back, I have just barely put any miles on the car recently so it seems like all the problems are mounting.

 

[Austin2013SHO]

If the light impact plan doesn't prove to be a solution Ill probably be in the market for another car, but if she can maintain some kind of acceptable oil pressure at idle i'm just going to rock it as is.

I might crack open the timing cover in the spring to inspect those things you mentioned, thank you for the advice, I had no idea there was a plug in there that very well could be leaking after the tech was poking around. Its a little disheartening to know there is a failsafe essentially in the pump and its still not bringing the pressure up closer to the 20psi I want to see. but if I can get a hot idle around 12-14 I think I'll just monitor it and run it until either it grenades or I can afford to rebuild it.

Right now I have to pump the brakes on spending before I end up divorced lol. But to dump a little salt in the wound the blower motor died on the way to work, might be the resistor since it was trying to come back here and there but the motor itself started making a howling noise a few months back, I have just barely put any miles on the car recently so it seems like all the problems are mounting.

I am tending to lean towards a faulty pick up tube either clogged or oil pump it’s self is starting to fail. It works enough to keep low oil pressure but can’t build up enough to flip over to high oil pressure which I have not done much research into this on the SHO but I just had this problem in a jeep. The oil pump had a solenoid that was supposed to switch pump over to high pressure mode once at a certain temp and engine calls for it but the solenoid went out and it stayed in low pressure mode. Still ran and drive but with its limitations of not breaking 65. Sounds like u have something similar to that but idk if we have a solenoid like jeep does may be worth a google.

 

[Texas Marauder]

The SHO engine does not have a solenoid on the oil pump.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

I scoped the pan and the pick up was clear, a gauge verified it was operating above the 7lb trigger so I disabled the switch all together.