3.0 vulcan problem

[mobilaltima]

friends car,taurus with 80k miles. changed his oil 2 weeks ago with 5 quarts maxlife 10W30(few small leaks)and a MC FL-400S. five quarts puts it a hair over the full mark, all was good and i sent him on his way. He does not know much about cars, the other night he sent me a pic asking whats the light on his gauge cluster. I didnt get up till 6 and he sent the pic at 1am, it was his oil light. He told me he drove for 5 miles with it on, until he got home. So yesterday, I checked the oil, and it was WAY over full, 2 inches over. I then changed the filter with a Napa Proselect, and started the car, no light, no weird sounds except for a loud squeal, sounds like a belt or pulley, but he told me when the light came on, it started squealing. no knocking that i can tell. So, what would have made the oil level jump so much? could the MC filter have failed, as the light didnt come on with the napa filter? and could the squealing be signs of internal damage?

 

[RF Overlord]

Sounds like he didn't drain the old oil before he put in the new...2" on the dipstick is a lot. If it was that much overfilled, the oil could have been getting aerated and turned to foam, which won't pump, hence the oil light. So, yes...it's possible there's some internal damage.

One other thing, the camshaft synchroniser on the Vulcans is prone to making squealing noises when it's about to fail...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The Vulcans in the Tauruses had a problem with the cam synchro sensor. It starts chirping/squealing. The oil pump is driven off of it and it will squeal/break causing the oil pump to stop turning.

If it is coming from the "back" (drivers side) of the engine, get it replaced immediately! Do not use a dorman part as they are known to fail. Use an OEM part if possible.

 

[Barkleymut]

Please tell us that you didn't change the oil for him.... The only way that the oil could have increased is if someone added oil.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

It sounds like OP did change the oil for him.

 

[mobilaltima]

yes i did, like i said i checked it after letting it sit for an hour and it was only a hair above full.

 

[JamesBond]

If the crankcase is over full in 2 weeks I would say that water is getting in there (as opposed to fuel). A common place for a 3.0 to leak water into the oil is the timing cover gasket. I think that the cam synch thing is oil lubricated and water in the oil could make it squeal, or the squeal could be un-related.

Did the oil look funky? Any light colored stuff on the oil fill cap? I would have that thing checked out asap, water in the oil, oil light on, or cam synch thing can all cause the engine to bad quickly.

 

[Danno]

No chance of the friend adding oil on his own after the oil change?
I had a friend do his own oil change and thought he had to fill the engine to the oil filler cap. He had put in 2 - 5 quart jugs in a sraight 6 GM 250 cu in before calling me and wondering why the engine was down on power.

 

[accent2012]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
The Vulcans in the Tauruses had a problem with the cam synchro sensor. It starts chirping/squealing. The oil pump is driven off of it and it will squeal/break causing the oil pump to stop turning.

If it is coming from the "back" (drivers side) of the engine, get it replaced immediately! Do not use a dorman part as they are known to fail. Use an OEM part if possible.


100% THIS


Your friend's cam synchro took a [censored]. Vulcans are pushrod engines and can take a beating, but no oil in the upper part of the engine is no good, even for a relatively "short" 5 miles.

Have him change that part out, which is intermediate work, but can be done if the person doing it is patient and reads the instructions on how to do it several times before attempting it.

It's a very common problem with vulcans.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Any update on this?

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: accent2012

100% THIS
Your friend's cam synchro took a [censored]. Vulcans are pushrod engines and can take a beating, but no oil in the upper part of the engine is no good, even for a relatively "short" 5 miles.
Have him change that part out, which is intermediate work, but can be done if the person doing it is patient and reads the instructions on how to do it several times before attempting it.
It's a very common problem with vulcans.


Agreed with the cam syncro problem, but how did this cause his oil level to go up by 2 inches?