Hi this is my first post. Seems like alot of great info here so here is my question. I have an 2001 Escape 4x4 xlt v6 3.0 with 200xxx miles on it. Last week i noticed that the oil pressure light was flickering when i was stopped in gear. I did a little research and decided to change out the pressure switch but then i got to thinking. what if its the oil pump? I bought a oil pressure gauge and hooked it up and tlet the engine warm up to OP spec's and i noticed i only had about 14lbs of pressure idling. The pressure will go up with the rpms but i dont think that 14 is good at idle.

So my question is. How bad can it be. Do i need to just replace the pump, or clean the screen, or worry about the crank bearings. Theres alot to think about and im not sure what to do.

The engine is still quiet and does not have any sort of knocking. oh well. I need some advise please. Thanks so much.. Jason

 

rule of thumb is 10 psi for every 1000 rpms.I had a Cutlass and a few Modifieds that if you put in cheap oil ther was not as much oil preasure as like Castol.

 

I have just discovered the same problem in my daughter's 01 Escape with a 3.0. Just curious if you ever figured anything out with it.

 

After thinking about it. I replaced the oil pump and that did t help. So I pulled the motor and rebuilt it. The main bearings were worn. Luckily not worn enough to damage the crank shaft. I mic'd the crank and it was still in spec so I installed standard size bearings and that fixed the problem. Since I had the engine apart I went ahead and changed chains and lifters and did a valve job. Runs great and no signs of low oil pressure. Hope this helps.

 

johngeorge, if the oil in your daughters car is old, with a lot of miles, the viscosity may not be what it was when first installed. The chemical bits that make the oil multi-grade wear out as the oil is used, and the viscosity drops. Until it starts to turn back into tar if you don't ever change it...
The oil pressure at idle is a good indicator of the clearances in the engine. Worn and loose will allow more oil to pass through the journal-insert clearance, lowering pressure. Both rod and main bearings sling a LOT of oil around in the crankcase, more when the parts are worn. If you can get a mechanical gauge, and check the actual pressure at idle and operating rpm ranges, you'll have a better idea if you need to do anything.
Engines can last a long time with low idle pressure, if they have decent operating pressure. One thing that can happen is there is so much oil passing that the oil rings cannot control the oil on the cylinder walls, and some will get burned. If consumption is high, consider that possibility.
If you don't want to pull the engine, and think your bearings may be loose, you can drop the pan and girdle, the caps, and replace the inserts, and replace the rod big end inserts. Doing that should help reduce clearance and increase oil pressure, even if the bearing surfaces have some wear. How much is a guess.
If it runs quietly, doesn't burn oil, and has adequate fuel efficiency and power, you can leave things alone until something else breaks or the previous measures are not met.
tom

 

Our light was flickering and I swapped the pressure sending unit and all has been fine.

If you do this make sure to take your old one with you, Auto Zone and O'Reilly had the wrong part number listed, it was for a different year,