ok guys i went and drove the truck today it has 168,371 to be exact it was fine at first but after 10 minutes of driving it the oil light came on and sounded like alot of tapping coming from top side of motor i belive like lifters? but after shutting the truck off for a minute or 2 started back up it was quiet and oil light was off?
I have a 2004 SXT. I get 21 highway, 19-20 average w/ 65k mi. on the clock. As far as the tapping you are hearing, it can't be the lifters b/c it is an overhead cam motor....no lifters. It is probably the valves themselves tapping. I had the same thing happen with a Mitsubishi that I owned. Could be attributed to carbon build up or the valve seals. Hard to say.
With the truck you're looking at, the oil light came on when the motor got hot b/c the oil viscosity breaks down a bit when it temperature rises. If there are old dried out seals (i.e. the valve seals), when the oil thins out, your pressure will drop. It may only be a matter of dropping one psi below acceptable, hence the light, and may not be a huge immediate problem, but I wouldn't put it aside. You should find out what kind of oil is being used on the motor. Synthetics hold their viscosity to higher temps. That can help cure oil light problems. If synthetic is in there right now, then there are definitely some issues.
A good way to identify where sounds are coming from is to use the yardstick method. Stay away from moving parts! You can place one end of the yardstick on say the valve cover, and place your ear on the flat side of the yardstick and you can hear much better what is happening inside.
hope this helps.
Good Luck.
:banana2:
