99 E-150 Econoline Conversion Van Not holding Oil Pressure

Hello all - Newbie here.
I know i am a female but please don't hold that against me :). My husband and i do just about all maintenance on our vehicles that we can and we LOVE it. There's one that has us stumped as it has just started happening. This morning, as i was taking our 4 older kids to the bus stop, our oil pressure gauge started fluctuating bad - started dropping from low/none back to medium. Now, this weekend it started dropping low enough to kick the sensor to flip the light on, maybe a total of 3-4 times but they were w/in a few hours of time apart, nothing too serious. This was about 4 or 5 times w/in the 2min it takes to drive to the front of the park we live in. Enough to really get me to worry about whether or not the van will make it up there or will we have to walk in this cool winter weather, especially with a toddler!

This van, as i said is a 1999. It is a 5.4L V8. It's already had it's Transmission redone due to being owned by a Limo company straight from the factory before we got it only in 2005, so we've only owned it for 4years. In that time we've only put a good 25k miles on it? approx. (it had 86k on it, it now has a little over 118k). Now we KNOW that the first initial tune up is at 120 k but with the issues that we've been having - bad misfires and the like, it's due NOW but with a family our size(we do have a total of 6 children), we can't afford to get anything done until tax return in January so we're stuck until then. The Check Engine light has been on since the first initial recall (the jumper for the cruise control, i believe) from last year came out. We had that done but it never went off. We've taken it and had it hooked up to any and all readers but it cannot be read for some reason or another.. it just CANNOT be read. Even the dealerships don't know why. We know the ball-joints/barrings are going, we also know that their is possibly an 'O' ring that is cracked.. yeah this van has had it..:banghead: but one issue at a time. Anyone have any 'secrets' that are easy to do on your own for not necessarily 'cheap' but inexpensive? Any help would be great. Thanks :). Any help would be gratefully appreciative! I may have a hard time remembering about this website so please, email me if you actually read all of this(i'm sorry this is so long!)

iammiknhailsmom on y
lisajones2005 on comcast dot net

Sincerely,
Lisa J

After spending some time on LKQ's website searching for and pricing Engines, i spoke with a very nice gentleman by the name of Bobby from Elite Car Parts and Repairs from Lake City, Florida (about 40min from us). He says that he doesn't think it's Engine trouble at all (well not ALL of it). He thinks it may be mostly electrical. He just thinks it's really odd that even Ford doesn't know what's wrong with it. And the fact that this van ONLY has 118k on it, it should NOT be having this many issues with it.

Has ANYONE had THIS many issues with any of THEIR Conversion vans??:confused:

Hopefully by now you have fixed the problem, but although late I will try to give you some info.

The Oil Pressure Sending Unit on these vans is a common problem. The are located on the front of the engine, lower left, I recall correctly right above the Power Steering pump or in that close vicinity.

The part cost about $ 22, but due to clearances you need the right tool to remove it. Parts store sell this "oil pressure sending Unit removal tool" for about $ 10-15.

About reading codes -- another not uncommon problem -- the OBDII connector pins some times breaks off and the Code Scanner cannot communicate with the computer. This requires a R+R of the connector (about $ 20 part). On my wife's new Ford, still under the warranty, dealer's mechanic, in my presence broke off the pins and lied "oh no problem" and went to jump-wire the terminals so he could flash-read the code on the dash!!!! Of course I made them replace it.... But they do break.

One more thing: unlike fuel pressure, oil pressure is not as simple to read. Replacing the Oil Pressure Sending Unit is a good and inexpensive start. It is very prone to failure anyways.

I agree with the guy from Elite -- these engines will run about 200k without major problems. Before the engine is blamed, you should try some other steps first. After replacing the Oil Pressure Sending Unit, the next suspect is the oil pump, which is another "not uncommon" problem. This is another easy fix, you drain the engine's oil, remove the pan and follow the procedures on how to remove the oil pump. The pump alone should cost 60-70 bucks.

But do the OPSU first.

Also listen to the engine for a "sewing machine" sound coming from the timing chain cover. Don't confuse the loud fuel injectors with this cause some do. It may be hard to do since this is a van, but if you can identify a noise coming from this area, it is a good indication that the plastic timing chain guides and tensioners have failed. They are a common problem on these engines and when the plastic comes off, it can get caught on the oil pickup screen and cause low oil pressure at times.

But like henry10 suggested, start cheap and easy and work your way from there.

Also listen to the engine for a "sewing machine" sound coming from the timing chain cover. Don't confuse the loud fuel injectors with this cause some do. It may be hard to do since this is a van, but if you can identify a noise coming from this area, it is a good indication that the plastic timing chain guides and tensioners have failed. They are a common problem on these engines and when the plastic comes off, it can get caught on the oil pickup screen and cause low oil pressure at times.

But like henry10 suggested, start cheap and easy and work your way from there.