1976 Ford F-150

BILBO149

MEMBER
1976 FORD F-150

Engine Performance problem
1976 Ford F150 V8 Two Wheel Drive Automatic

engine running rough, an old farmer mechanic type adjusted a few things and it improved but not enough. He thought stuck valves and told me to run some cleaner through the engine. I decided to change the oil and found something quite strange. Now here is my question, why would the oil filter come off and it looks brand new - no oil has been filtering through the filter. I am wondering if this is related to the engine problem. Thanks for any advice!

1 Reply

AIRSOFTSOLDRECN9

MEMBER
348 POSTS

If there was no oil in the filter then your pump failed or you have blockage at the inlet to the filter but after the filter bypass passage. Unlikely your truck would have lasted 10 seconds if your pump failed but if the filter was plugged or the passage to the filter then the oil would go through the bypass passage to oil the engine. This is a safety "device" incase something happens while you are driving and gives you the ability to limp home; however, prior to a computer system it would have been impossible for you to notice a problem unless you have had abnormally high oil pressure. As for the running rough you might want to change out the ignition module since Ford introduced it after 1976 to the breakerless distributor (successor the the old points style distributors). On top of that make sure you have no vacuum leaks.