Oil pressure problems

[singersq2]

I own a 1995 ford e-350 club wagon van w/140k miles on it...the van is in great condition, until this....I was driving about 65 MPH and slowed down to about 50-55 MPH when comming apon a stoplight...when all of a sudden a fire truck come out into the inersection with the lights on...i was about 20 yards from it when the light changed to red.....in an attempt to slow down quickly, i droped the gearshift into low 1 when i did this the van did what was expected and slowed very quickly, whitch reved the engine very high for the tranning to catch up. when the van came to a stop the engine died...i started it back up and i noticed the oil presure gauge was on the very low side and was "wiggling very fast back and fourth" so i reved the engine up and the pressure went back to normal til the RPMs went back down, then did it again. (and continues to be that way today) well i continued to drive the van to the nearest gas station and checked the oil and noticed it was 2+ quarts low added the oil to bring it back to full and checked for any oil leaks...found NO LEAKS at all. so i drove the van as normal for the next 2 days, and now there is a "clicking sound comming from the engine....but only after the van warms up (10-15mins)
and the sound is not all the time after hearing it for 20-30mins it sometimes gos away then comes back 30-+mins later. so it seems that there is a progressing problem....is there anyone out there that can help me get to the bottom of the problem....this is my only car at this time and most of the work i do is 60-70 miles away....so i'm traveling 4 days a week...PLEASE HELP... Thankyou -Brian

[rhandwor]

I would use a manual gage and check the oil pressure.
http://www.autopart.com/tools/toolsmain/tool/T_2001.htm This is a picture of one. If you have good pressure I would try a can of hydraulic lifter cleaner.
You may have a plugged strainer or possibly damaged a bearing if the pressure is actually low.
You can either pull the transmission and move the motor enough to pull the pan. Or you can pull the bolts on the motor and jack up the engine and put 4x4 under the mount. Be very careful and don't break any thing. Use a pump prime tool.
http://www.autopart.com/tools/toolsmain/tool/T_2102.htm this is a picture of one.
Make sure the strainer is very clean. You can boil it in an old pan if you want.

[denisond3]

MAssive Guessing Here: Since the engine revved higher than it might have ever spun before - you might have one or more pushrods that are slightly bent - from hammering open valves that were still coming shut. If this is the case, running it at moderate speeds might let you go for years. Pushrods that are bent more than 'a little' can make ticking noises as they rub against the openings they go through - between the valley and the heads.
But certainly check the oil pressure first. The over revving might have also dislodged some crud from the inside of the engine block - that is now partly blocking the strainer. I would change your oil and filter, then change oil and filter again in perhaps 500 or 1000 miles - to see how much crusty crud comes out.
I dont know about late model fords, but on the old Mopar V8s, just removing the rocker covers let you see the top of the pushrods, and you could spin them by hand to check whether they ran true or were bent.

[Davescort97]

When you change your oil and filter you could cut open the old filter with a hacksaw to determine if there are any metal particles (specifically bearing material) that could have come loose. Also, crusty stuff.
When I was a tech at the airiport we did this to all the planes that had oil changes. Whenever we did find such things we were required to tear the engine down and check it for airworthiness.