2007 SMB 6.0l 4 Qts Low On Oil

stikine · 01-28-2010, 09:51 PM

For over a year I have been gleaning all the information I can from this great site and I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 2007 SMB 6.0l with 22,000 miles. The rig has the Amsoil filter system which takes 16 qts. of oil. From my research I believe the van has been meticulously maintained, the owner followed all the Amsoil oil change instructions except when I checked the dipstick after it was driven 1,200 miles to my location it didn't register any oil on it. I added 4 qts. that the owner had in the van of Amsoil 15w-40 which brought the oil level up to the 1/2 mark between the "hatched" high and low oil level mark on the dipstick. The guy driving the rig to me said the oil indicator needle never changed and was pegged right in the middle (though I believe this is just a pass/fail indicator) and that the red oil pressure indicator light never came on.

I have since driven it approximately 300 miles and it runs great, can't find any oil leak and the oil level remains the same on the dip stick - at the 1/2 mark. I'm taking it into the Ford garage in the morning just to see if they can find any leaks. The owner had no explanation as to how it got so low though he has been out of the country and hasn't driven the rig much.

I talked to Alan Feld, and he didn't seemed to concerned as he mentioned the large amount of oil still remaining in the engine, the quality of the oil to begin with and the fact that the red, low oil pressure light never came on.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this issue, as I know the 6.0l is very sensitive and reliant on proper oil pressure and wonder if any damage could have been done given that 1/4 of the oil was missing, though I realize this could be pretty hard to gage.

Thanks in advance,

Scott - South East Idaho

saline · 01-29-2010, 06:59 AM

Perhaps there wasn't enough oil put in during the last change? Strange.
In regards to possible damage I think you are ok. The 6.0 will shut down if it loses oil pressure as the fuel injectors are run from the high pressure oil system.

**BroncoHauler** · 01-29-2010, 09:19 AM

I could see it being a few quarts low (~2 qts) if someone forgot to prefill the two oil filters when installing the new filters.

Herb

jage · 01-29-2010, 09:54 AM

What does a non-Amisoil engine take? Any chance that Amisoil amount - Standard Amount = ~6 quarts?

Ford_6L_E350 · 01-29-2010, 10:02 AM

I wouldn't worry about it.

The 6.0 is a strange engine, but it will protect itself against low oil level. When the low pressure oil pump starts to draw air, the air will get into the high pressure oil system and that will stop the injectors from injecting fuel and that will shut down the engine.

I had that happen when I developed an oil leak in Alaska. No harm, no foul.

Mike

scatter · 01-29-2010, 10:05 AM

I would think you will be fine. If there was a leak of 6 qts, there would be a mess under the rig that you wouldn't believe. My thots are that it was't filled enough and I agree with Alan, Mike and Saline. I'd skip the trip to Ford, because without really tearing into the engine they won't be able to tell anything, and put the money to oil and fuel.
Welcome to the Forum and the SMB world, you're going to really enjoy it.

**BroncoHauler** · 01-29-2010, 11:04 AM

It may not help you immediately sleep well at night, but submit an oil sample to one of the oil analysis places (Blackstone and others) and have them test it. Might give you some piece of mind to know there's not metal contamination in the oil from low levels. Yeah, the engine generlally won't let you operate it with dangeerously low levels of oil. Just never tell Ford that the oil was low.

Herb

stikine · 01-29-2010, 11:52 AM

Well it is a done deal and I'm way excited about joining the SMB family!

The Ford Tech did find the rear main oil seal shot and I will have them replace that next week. Looks like they will have to move the Atlas T-case a bit, but the rest will be covered under warranty.

Thanks again for all the responses- you guys are incredibly well informed on these rigs (as was the previous owner) and having all this knowledge to fall back on sure helps a guy sleep better at night.

Scott - Pocatello, ID