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Ford WindstarIntroduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.
I have a 98 windstar with 198 000 kms. When the engine is warm (25 kms of driving) the oil light will flicker at idle in gear. It will go away in neutral or park. The idle is steady yet the engine is somewhat noisy. Oil level is fine.
I run on synthetic 5 w 30. Should I move to a thicker oil? Should I flush the engine with some form of conditioner as there meay be some obstruction in the oil pump pick up screen. Is this a worn oil pump? Note that the engine does not burn oil at all. Can this be a filter quality issue where too much obstruction occurs in the filter thus affecting idle oil pressure.
I have easily put 50k on the car with this condition. There does not appear to be any mechanical wear. The noise is more one of a possible cavitating pump. A slight increase in idle say 150 more rpm and everything is fine.
I have flushed the engine oil and cleaned with a conditioner and this temporarily addressed the issue (approx 1200km).
Can this be caused by a poor oilflow in the filter? Dirty galleries etc?
Loose bearings (con rods) would be heard more with increase in load or engine rpm. There is no excess noise.
Throw in a bottle of that STP Oil Treatment stuff. My old Aerostar had a failing oil pump and this helped eek a few more weeks out of the van. Do you have an oil pressure gauge? If so is it erratic?
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Oil ight flickers at idle 
Linear Mode
