1997 Taurus Oil light on below 1000 rpms

vig06002 · 04-13-2008, 08:53 AM

Okay...

So My 97 taurus has the oil light come on whenever it is below 1000 rpms. Just started last night, but there is plenty of oil in it. I'm a delivery driver, so the car gets a good amount of wear and tear. When it first started happening it stalled out and would not stay on for more than a minute or so. The engine is also making a ticking noise. It only goes away if the car is up at about 2500. Is this some kind of damage to my valves or something? I did the plugs and wires in it about 2 weeks ago because one of my spark plugs was knocking, but after looking last night they all seemed to be alright. any ideas of what this is/ how pricy its going to be? Thank you.

jonmark1985 · 04-13-2008, 01:59 PM

Try changing your oil in it, put a Motorcraft filter and Motorcraft oil in it. A mechanics stethoscope will help you pin point the sound.

bkf77 · 04-15-2008, 11:05 AM

I would also recommend using a mechanical guage to get acurate oil pressure readings. If you still have low oil pressure, driving the vehicle in that condition may cause more problems.

vig06002 · 04-17-2008, 08:57 AM

The coolant is also looking oily.. no milky build-up under the oil cap, but the consistancy of the oil does seem a little thin.. Maybe the head gasket, or a cracked head? I'm confused, because i don't appear to be losing any fluid, and my exhaust doesn't seem like its a weird color or anything. Any thoughts?

firstwindstar02 · 04-17-2008, 10:20 AM

Do a coolant flush. Make sure you flush it out via the radiator or overfill reservoir with a hose real good until it's just clear water coming out the drain plug.

Do an oil change with the motorcraft like that guy said.

Clean up your whole engine real nice while doing this so that you can see if something is leaking after it's all nice spic and span. make spotting a possible leak much easier.

Monitor coolant and oil closely.