I was trying out a 2002 F150 5.4. Had to put some gas in it so decided to check the oil to see how dirty it was. Couldn't see any oil on the dip stick. Ended up putting in 3 quarts and was still 1 quart low. How bad could this have hurt the engine? There was never an oil light that came on the the oil pressure gauge looked fine. I was ready to buy the truck. Now I'm questioning that decision.

 

Sounds as if it had only 2 or so quarts in it. That is not good at all, plus, why was it so low? It either burns oil, leaks oil, or someone stupid changed the oil. I would not buy it.

 

I would not purchase it as it shows a lack of maintenance. If they could not even check the oil or know how much to put it, it isn't worth the chance.

 

Thanks. Probably very good advice.

 

How many miles are on the thing?

 

If it needed 4 quarts there was almost 3 in the motor. Those 5.4's take almost 7 quarts to fill up. Also like others if they didn't check the oil in it there's no telling what else they haven't checked on it.

 

7 quarts is for the 3 valve. the 2002 required 6.

 

My 03 Lightning took 6 1/2 quarts, so you might as well say 7

 

63000

 

I'm still getting used to how to post on this. It has 63,000 miles on it. CNG. I actually took it in today for an oil change and it took 6 quarts.

 

probably been ran low on oil most of it's life.

 

I bought a new 2000F150SCAB4x4 with the 5.4 engine It used a qt of oil about every 2500 miles until it got about 80,000 miles on it. After that it would go 5000 miles and not need a full qt. It takes a long time for the rings to completely seat on these engines.

I now have a 2002F150SCAB4x4 with the 5.4 engine. It had 69,000 miles on it when I bought it. The week after buying it, I took it on a 1250 mile trip. It used a 1/2 qt of oil on the trip and then stopped. Since then, it uses less than a qt in 5,000 miles. It now has 120,000 miles on it.

So my experience with these engines is that they use a little oil when new and will eventually almost stop.

But, if it was that low in oil, seems to me it has been neglected. That can cause anything to fail prematurely.

 

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. It has 63,000 miles. You are probably right - it has been neglected.