Hello Folks,
I've recently been experiencing my share of problems with my 2004 F150 Lariat 5.4L.

My Warranty has expired on this thing in october and of course its decided to start breaking.

In january the transmission went, had to replace. hurt my account...
No big deal, replaced and went driving along my way.

a couple weeks later (February) my truck dies on my way to the breakfast place. Low Oil Pressure warning came on and the truck sounded lik a deisel.
Towed it in using my last free RoadSide assistance thing and had the local dealer look at it.
Got it back a day later, they said water contaminated the oil and froze in the lines. Dealer and friends said it could happen with short trips in the cold weather causing condensation buildup. didnt think much of it just payed the near $400 bill and drove out.
This happened during a week or 2 period where the temps were between -50 and -40ºC

So its been about a month since that happened. I started my truck this morning with the command start, let it run the 10m it runs while i got ready for work, then went outside just as it shut itself off, so i hit the command start again and the thing sounded like a deisel. Got into the truck and the low oil pressure warning was back.
So now my truck is toast again until i can get it towed into the dealer and have them fix it. And im expecting another $400 cost + towing fee.

My Trip time to and from work is usually 10-15 minutes and depending on the weather ill let it warm up from 3-7 minutes, and start driving slow and easy.

Over the pas week the temperatures have been ranging from -5ºC to -30ºC
Truck was running fine Friday and I didnt touch it at all saturday and sunday.


What im wondering is, Can I fix this myself without the use of a garage?

Im not really excited about the idea of changing my oil every month in cold weather.
Didnt have any such issues last year, so i dont know why i am plagued with them now all a sudden. Any knowledgable people able to point me in the right direction?

is waiting till summer and letting the sun thaw it an option? heh. Stupid truck..

Thanks for your time.

 

Funny, are you the first person to have a permanent residence in Antartica?
Wait til someone more experienced sees this thread.

 

are you using a crappy oil? Maybe find an additive that has an engine safe antifreeze u know. Kind of like truckers putting antifreeze in their brake lines

 

Where do you live??? The North Pole?

 

I live in Yellowknife NT, Canada.

Truck is using Synthetic Oil. Whatever the Dealer gives. I've never changed the oil myself, and I've always had the dealer do the work on the truck.

 

-0w-20 oil
-coolant 50/50 mix w/ water wetter
-cover 1/2 of your radiator

 

Mine sometimes does the Low Oil Pressure when I try to start it. It doesnt allow me to start it but if I wait a minute or two it will start up

 

Covering half the radiator is a very good idea semi's do it all the time to keep the engines warm Maybe put some heat wrap around the oil lines to help it hold the heat in. If you really wanted to do something exotic you could coil some tubing around the oil lines that is heated by the radiator fluid while also having half the radiator blocked off. idk

 

ok those sound like preventative measures.
Anyway i can fix this problem without taking it in though?
Dealer said not to run it as is. Last time i took it in for this someone else had a similar problem and seized the engine, which they had to replace. not to keen on that route heh.

 

Can't you throw a heater under the truck?

 

Hello,
So would throwing a heater under the truck with some blankets about to block the wind be warm enough to melt any possible ice and let the oil flow?

Drain Refill and hope it works?

What size heater would i need for this task.
it was -30 this morning.

 

Don't you have a block heater? If so use it.

Another thought is picking up a magnet heater at Canadian Tire or someplace, You can stick it to the bottom of your oil pan, plug it in and it will warm your oil, that should thaw out any ice issues.

 

I do, My Truck was plugged in all weekend, i did not start it until monday morning when i first noticed the issue.

I'll have to take a look for the magnet heater.

 

ok while i was out adjusting some things on my skidoo i took a quick look at my plugin for the heater stuff and found it was NOT plugged in all the way.
just enough to hold the two together but not enough to give power to the truck.

So thats plugged in now... stuupid

see what happens.