Quick intro & need help with oil leakage/pressure issues

[Adrenalist]

Hey fellas,

Picked up L0540, a 2020 Rapid Red w/ black vinyl & tech pkg last Wednesday.

It’s different than your average muscle car with the rev-happy flat plane, and I really enjoy that aspect. I think the tramming issues are overblown. It drives like a few other exotics I’ve owned; it needs constant input. It’s pretty normal for the pedigree it’s trying to assert. But, I agree with those who feel fit and finish could be better. That said, it’s still better in some aspects than GM & Chrysler products. Regardless of all the problems Ford has had with this particular variant, I’m really glad they swung hard on this. It was an enormous effort to make what is likely the first and last of its kind. And I’ll gladly give them my money for that alone. It’s definitely a keeper.

Ok, on to my issues. I bought the car out of state. I drove it to my state for an inspection and broke in the motor along the way. Everything went well. Including a side trip, I took it in for an oil change before I would allow myself to push it past 7k rpm. This was at 1457 miles. I had waited until 700 miles to put it past 4000, then hit 7000 for a few stints after I had over 1k miles. And I varied the rpms consistently, throughout the 1400.

I then took it to the Ford Dealership to get the oil changed. When I got it back, it seemed that the oil pressure was higher than normal. I got to the house and parked it. The next day I moved it, there were two oil puddles in the same area as the oil filter. I took it back to the dealer. The only place they said they could find oil leakage was at the filter. They said it was torqued to spec. They said it wasn’t overfilled. They replaced the filter, topped it off, and I went on my way.

This morning, I found the same two puddles of oil under my car (I parked it in a different spot). I had to leave to go back to where I originally purchased the car, 1100 miles away, to go back to work on Monday.

It’s losing about two quarts every 300 miles, so far. The oil pressure is a consistent 98 at 80 mph-ish. I’m not running it hard at all. Being very, very careful to keep the psi as low as possible. I don’t want the leak to get worse before I get to my destination.

Here’s a pic of the current situation. Note the rpm and psi:

So, before I get it to the dealer, I figured I’d ask your opinions on the cause. See if anyone has dealt with this situation prior.

Thanks for being here, btw. This resource is invaluable.

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[Caballus]

2 Qts every 300 miles is a problem. Don't waste time trying to troubleshoot. Take it to the dealer and call Ford Perfomance.

 

[JAJ]

Hey fellas,

Picked up L0540, a 2020 Rapid Red w/ black vinyl & tech pkg last Wednesday.

It’s different than your average muscle car with the rev-happy flat plane, and I really enjoy that aspect. I think the tramming issues are overblown. It drives like a few other exotics I’ve owned; it needs constant input. It’s pretty normal for the pedigree it’s trying to assert. But, I agree with those who feel fit and finish could be better. That said, it’s still better in some aspects than GM & Chrysler products. Regardless of all the problems Ford has had with this particular variant, I’m really glad they swung hard on this. It was an enormous effort to make what is likely the first and last of its kind. And I’ll gladly give them my money for that alone. It’s definitely a keeper.

Ok, on to my issues. I bought the car out of state. I drove it to my state for an inspection and broke in the motor along the way. Everything went well. Including a side trip, I took it in for an oil change before I would allow myself to push it past 7k rpm. This was at 1457 miles. I had waited until 700 miles to put it past 4000, then hit 7000 for a few stints after I had over 1k miles. And I varied the rpms consistently, throughout the 1400.

I then took it to the Ford Dealership to get the oil changed. When I got it back, it seemed that the oil pressure was higher than normal. I got to the house and parked it. The next day I moved it, there were two oil puddles in the same area as the oil filter. I took it back to the dealer. The only place they said they could find oil leakage was at the filter. They said it was torqued to spec. They said it wasn’t overfilled. They replaced the filter, topped it off, and I went on my way.

This morning, I found the same two puddles of oil under my car (I parked it in a different spot). I had to leave to go back to where I originally purchased the car, 1100 miles away, to go back to work on Monday.

It’s losing about two quarts every 300 miles, so far. The oil pressure is a consistent 98 at 80 mph-ish. I’m not running it hard at all. Being very, very careful to keep the psi as low as possible. I don’t want the leak to get worse before I get to my destination.

Here’s a pic of the current situation. Note the rpm and psi:

So, before I get it to the dealer, I figured I’d ask your opinions on the cause. See if anyone has dealt with this situation prior.

Thanks for being here, btw. This resource is invaluable.

First, your oil pressure is right where it should be. That's not a problem.

There are only a few places it could be leaking, If it's the filter, then the housing needs to be replaced - it's not a spin-on filter so the torque is easier for the dealer techs to get right. There are two other candidates for leaks down there - there was a TSB in 2017 or 2018 about leaks from the oil pressure sensor on the filter housing. Symptoms were what you're describing and the fix was to take the sender out, clean it up, put on thread sealer and reinstall it. The last possibility is the plumbing that runs to the oil cooler. It's unlikely, but possible that one of the two cooler lines is leaking, although they've been very reliable in the past, so it's unlikely.

In any case, your dealer is where the solution is and driving 1,000 miles to the selling dealer makes no sense. Is there another local dealer that sells FP vehicles that you can go to?

 

[Tank]

Oil pressure sensor?

 

[Adrenalist]

JAJ - I have to be back to that city for work. On Monday. Tomorrow. Otherwise I would’ve taken it back to the same dealer that changed the oil.

Appreciate the breakdown on the possible culprits. Will definitely update as this progresses. Thank you!

And Tank and Caballus, thank you too.

 

[11GT50]

+1 on the oil pressure sensor. Take the intake tube and air box out and you'll be able to get a good look at it.

I had this problem and a bit of Permatex Seal & Lock on the threads took care of it.

 

[Shift]

+1 on the oil pressure sensor. Take the intake tube and air box out and you'll be able to get a good look at it.

I had this problem and a bit of Permatex Seal & Lock on the threads took care of it.

Hopefully this is all it is. Good luck OP

 

[SVTinAR]

Oil spots on the ground could be as simple as some oil was spilled on top of the underbody tray when the oil filter was removed and a sloppy Tech didn’t try to clean it up. Thus it is slowly collecting and dripping a few drops off the edge each night. But the oil consumption is another, bigger issue.

 

[03reptile]

Oil spots on the ground could be as simple as some oil was spilled on top of the underbody tray when the oil filter was removed and a sloppy Tech didn’t try to clean it up. Thus it is slowly collecting and dripping a few drops off the edge each night. But the oil consumption is another, bigger issue.

That's what happened to me, as well. It's difficult to keep old oil from spilling onto the underbody tray. It stops in a day or two after the spilled oil finally abates.

 

[Lurker_350]

I wish I could blame a "sloppy tech" for spilling oil on my under tray when it happens....more like a sloppy owner. I've seen the same drops after an oil change - even after trying hard to clean it all up.

As others have said, the consumption is more worrisome. The oil drops could be remnants on the under tray - or indicative of a bigger issue.

One thing I have noticed regarding oil consumption issues, is that sometimes it is related to adding too much oil. In other words, if an owner is continuously adding oil to keep the engine at the "full" mark on the dipstick, it seems like it is drinking oil. However, if the owner leaves it alone until the oil level gets to the bottom of the "acceptable" range, it seems to consume less. It wouldn't take much time to go from full to the bottom of acceptable at a quart per 150 miles though.

I can't recall if this is a new car or not, but there do seem to be a couple of valve issues that sprung up for a while (no pun intended). Probably a bad batch or something - but those were more of a catastrophic failure than oil consumption.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[JAJ]

Oil spots on the ground could be as simple as some oil was spilled on top of the underbody tray when the oil filter was removed and a sloppy Tech didn’t try to clean it up. Thus it is slowly collecting and dripping a few drops off the edge each night. But the oil consumption is another, bigger issue.

Our OP has put in 2 quarts of oil in the last 300 miles, so he's actually losing it or burning it. There may be some oil on the undertray, but that's not the gremlin he's chasing. It'll be interesting to hear how this works out.

 

[11GT50]

Our OP has put in 2 quarts of oil in the last 300 miles, so he's actually losing it or burning it. There may be some oil on the undertray, but that's not the gremlin he's chasing. It'll be interesting to hear how this works out.

+1

And if he's noted puddles on more than one occasion then something is actively causing it. The oil pressure sensor is a known issue and needs to be verified. In my case the only thing that kept it from falling out competely was the wiring harness and connector preventing it from spinning any farther. It's easy to pull the air box and and put eyes directly on it.

 

[lonegunman]

Keep us posted. I picked my 2019 up in April and did the 1,400 mile break in commute to my house with zero issues. If it's leaking a quart every couple hundred miles, something could finish letting go with no warning. I'd stop at a decent dealer, call Ford Performance and leave it before it has a chance to utterly fail on the highway. Call the selling dealer and tell them it is coming back on the hook for a refund if you have too. Lemon law time if they refuse to help. this is bullcrap.

 

[11GT50]

call Ford Performance.... Call the selling dealer and tell them it is coming back on the hook for a refund if you have too. Lemon law time if they refuse to help. this is bullcrap.

None of this is necessary. If it turns out to be the sender - yes it should be better secured at the time of engine assembly, but it isn't. It's a 30 minute fix and OP caught a problem before it turned into something worse. If OP is at all mechanically inclined it can be fixed in his driveway relatively easily.

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