Hello yall im new to the forum and im glad im here! Just picked up a 98 4.2 f150 regular cab 5 speed. Just for future reference i got it for free from a family member who had it sitting so i didnt even check anything before i brought it home. ISSUES THAT I HAVE SO FAR

1) I started it and drove it and all seemed fine. Checked the oil and the dipstick was BONE DRY. Freaked the ******* OUT and poured 6 quarts of oil and the dipstick continued to be dry.WTF?

2) Check engine light is on and it gave me the code P0174
This means system is too lean? Which means what do I have to do exactly?

My grandpa told me the motor has 133xxx but the bod has 255xxx. Please I need help asap!! Need it get this bad boy insured and on the road immediately.

 

You may not have the correct dipstick in there....Drain the oil out and see how much is in there. Refill with the correct amount for the truck. See if it measures on the dipstick. If not, get new dipstick.

 

I agree with Dave. The wrong dipstick could've been put in during the engine swap.

 

Okay im going to assume that is quite a good possibility, sadly i cannot ask my grandpa that question because sadly he passed on. Now that i poured in 6 quarts of oil in the truck am i going to blow my motor if i drive it? I drove it for 5 minutes today obviously didnt destroy it yet. Should I just drain all the oil out and put fresh oil in and buy a new dipstick?

 

if over full by a huge amount yes you need to get the extra oil out of it

I'm not suprised you don't get a reading on it
the ford dip sticks seem to suck for some reason - I never got a good reading outta my 4.6 merc as the tube always seemed to wipe the oil off the stick while pulling it out

my 5.4 truck - sometimes I have to try a couple of times

 

Drain the oil, change the filter (do NOT use a FRAM), and put 6 quarts of 5w20 or 5w30 in it. Run it a few minutes to fill the filter then let it drain down for 15 minutes on level ground. Find a dipstick that works and scribe a line at what it reads, that is your FULL mark.

Your P0174 is most likely a vacuum leak or an exhaust leak on the driver's side before the O2 sensor.

 

Get motorcraft oil and filter. It's cheap and also good quality. I have had 2 4.2 f150s and have never had a problem seeing the oil on the dipstick. I would say get the dipstick from a dealership. Shop around tho because sometimes other dealerships are cheaper than a Ford one. If you get aftermarket or one out of a 4.2 from a junkyard, it could still be the wrong size. Get the actual ford part for that I would say. That way you know it's the right size. Before buying it tho check the vin on the engine to make sure because between years they may have made the dipstick different or something. That way you know what year to check for the part number instead of the year of the body. I.E. If it's an 06 engine in a 98 body, get the dipstick for an 06 engine. Also another possibility may be an aftermarket oil pan..? My friend had a 94 chevy with that problem where his dipstick didn't read right and it ended up being the oil pans fault.

 

After days of sitting i dipped the stick in again and i got oil on it..i got angry and it finally clicked in my head. The tube was broken in half.. As a matter of fact it was broken at the bend. So the dipstick would go downwards and never reach the other half of the tube except that one time i tried it again. Thanks for all your help yall