hey guys long time no see, been a bit down on my truck as i have had some bad luck, had the tranny rebuilt since last time, and a new transfer case, and all new u-joints installed, so all is well there, then one of my1 day old new 35" tires blew out and put me into a wall on the freeway, demolishing the passenger side of my truck, so i spent ages trying to find a bed at a junk yard with a good passenger side so i could pop it off and put it on mine, ended up having to cut my bed in half about at the wheel well, and weld a piece of a new one in, also had to bondo the ext. cab door, the back corner of the cab, (which may i add thats a hard curve to duplicate) replace the fender and front bumper, so after a month of it sitting while i save up more money and gather parts, i get it back on the road, to find im burning oil like crazy.

Appearently my valve covers were both loose somehow, (wasnt not having an issue before i hit the wall) so maybe the impact loosened them up, but anyways to the subject at hand, had it back on the road and in working condition (minus paint) for about 2 weeks now, and the last 24 hours when im at idle sometimes i notice that my oil pressure drops to 0 and my check gauges light comes on.

I am debating on changing the oil, running it with some seafoam to clean it out for about a week, and then changing the oil and filter again, or im possibly thinking of just outright changing the oil and the oil pump, as i run synthetic only, an oil change costs me around $40 while a new oil pump with 25% increased volume is only $60 at autozone, so whats ur thoughts on this?

 

if im going to have the pan off, anything else i should check for, possible known issues with these motors, (5.2 v8), slop in the rod bearings, or clearance issues,

 

Are you getting valvetrain clatter along with the apparent loss of oil pressure? If so, you might need a new pump or a more serious repair. If not, just replace the sending unit and be done with it.

 

Here's your problem! You have a blown plenum gasket. I had the same exact problem on my truck with burning oil and the gauge dropping to zero at idle or red light. Replace the plenum gasket and you will be good to go!

 

I higher volume pump can "mask" a problem with too much main bearing clearance.

I say "mask", because excessive bearing clearance drops oil pressure. The higher volume pump, pushes more oil and can return pressure to normal, until the bearings wear more. You can also run a thicker oil to fill the excessive clearance and increase oil pressure, but you risk more wear on the engine when it "dry starts" if it is a truck that sits for a while between drivings and the oil moves off the rod, cam, and main bearings. The thicker oil takes a bit longer to get pumped all over the engine.

Both are a high volume pump and thicker oil are "tricks" to get a little more life out of an engine before a rebuild, or dirty pool if a seller uses it to mask an issue to a potential new owner.