97 Taurus Oil Light Problem.

[w98seeng]

I have a 97 Taurus with the 3.0 L 12V engine. At times the oil light (No gauge) flickers when at an idle and the engine is warm. A couple of times the light comes on while driving below 2500rpm. When this happens, I put the car into neutral and turn off the ignition. I then restart the car and the light does not come on again.

I replaced the oil pressure switch with a Niehoff switch and it still does the same thing.

Any ideas?

Also, I want to fix a couple of rust holes I have on the rear quarter panels, so I need replacement patch panels (If available). Where can I get them, (preferably in Canada).

Many Thanks
Ian

[mark v]

How many miles on the engine?

What grade of Oil are you using?

[w98seeng]

Originally Posted by mark v

How many miles on the engine?

What grade of Oil are you using?

The engine has 200,000Km (120,000 miles) and I use 10w30 in the summer and 5W30 in the winter. The oil level is never low and it doesn't burn any oil either. It runs beautifully. No misses, no burps, and a nice smooth idle. The engine has plenty of Power (for a 3l engine). I drove from Montreal to Texas (7500Km round trip) this past Sept and the car ran beautifully. Never had to put in any oil (Except for an oil change) and never any smoke out the pipe.

I had a 94 Taurus wagon with the 3.8l and it had the exact same problem with the oil light.

[mark v]

OK no matter what that engine was designed to run on 5W30 at all times.

My Father had a 1989 Ranger that took 5W30, he was smarter than Ford and ran 10W30, the Engine only lasted 80,000 miles.

[ABE]

The oil warning light is switched on at about 5 psi, and the oil pressure at 2,500 rpm should be 40 to 60 psi. If you actually have 5 psi (at 2,000 or so rpm) then the engine would have let you know before now with lots of heavy knocking sounds. So the probabilities would be: faulty sender, sender wire grounding or lower than normal oil pressure.

You can check the oil pressure with a gauge kit where you replace the sender and temporarily hook up the gauge unit in the car to monitor the oil pressure while driving. That is what I would do.

Alternatives are:
1. to trace the sensor wiring looking for a grounding situation by wiggling wire harness while an assistant watches dash for light with idling engine;
2. to change the sensor for a Ford part;
3. to change the oil (to 10W-30) and filter. The 5W oil is good for the winter since it promotes better flow when cold, but it is thinner when hot even though the 30 rating is the same as that of 10W-30. I do not know all the chemistry but the 30 rating is a minimum value and 5W-30 has a lower value than 10W-30 for that hot engine test (wider range multi grades give up something). Normally that does not matter, but if your engine is worn it needs all the help it can get.

Hope this helps.

[w98seeng]

Originally Posted by mark v

OK no matter what that engine was designed to run on 5W30 at all times.

My Father had a 1989 Ranger that took 5W30, he was smarter than Ford and ran 10W30, the Engine only lasted 80,000 miles.

My mistake, I meant that I use 5w40 in the summer and 5w30 in the winter. But I am still smarter than Ford.

[ABE]

Originally Posted by w98seeng

My mistake, I meant that I use 5w40 in the summer and 5w30 in the winter. But I am still smarter than Ford.

No, and not as much experience either. Any oil with a very wide viscosity range is a poor compromise.

[w98seeng]

Originally Posted by ABE

Any oil with a very wide viscosity range is a poor compromise.

I beg to differ. The difference between a 5w30 and a 5w40 is not a "wide viscosity range". An important part of the oiling system is being able to flow oil through out the engine at start-up, when it is cold. A 5 weight oil will do this. The difference between a 30 weight and a 40 weight oil when the engine is at normal operating temperature is not that much, but it can make a difference when the temperature is -20.

Either way, this does not help me with my original question, thanks anyway.