No Oil Pressure

I would purchase the new oil pump drop the pan and remove the strainer. I would clean it good. Get an old pan and boil it in water to help clean the strainer. I used to soak them in a parts washer overnight and clean in the morning. Check the bearings while the pan is off otherwise you may be wasting your money.
I had a machine shop bore,install new pistons,turn the crank,plus a valve job.
I didn't look at the bearings he gave me I used an tool and a drill and couldn't get oil pressure. I check the bearing size and the decimal point was in the wrong place. I went back and got new bearings and head gaskets. Oversize bearings will drop the pressure. Then a valve was leaking and I had to go back and have it reground and another head gasket.
I changed machine shops.

I changed machine shops.

Since you are nearby, if you are ever in the market for cyl head work, ... may I suggest Dover Cyl Head Repair, College Park GA. Ask for Jess. You will never be unhappy with their work. And they network with other shops that do short block work ... as they do not.

I hope, and think, that this tip does not go against forum rules on merchandising. Other than goodwill, I have no dog ....

I just put the finishing touches on an Escort engine rebuild yesterday. To prime the oil system, all you can to is crank, crank, crank .... grin and bear it ... as the oil pump is directly driven off the crankshaft. There is no way to use a drill motor for priming. I had the oil filter loose .... even so, it took several minutes (it seemed) for the Vaseline filled pump to lift oil from the pan.

But after that, the plugs were installed and it fired right up ... runs very sweet!

Well i 'm headed off to autozone auto parts to buy the primer tool,i will try to prime this pump before starting the engine any more,i will be very upset with this engine at only 80k miles on it ,to need bearings,it had no knocks or rattles,it ran fine,just steam started out the tail pipe from intake gaskets leaking.
Good deal on your rebuild engine .congrats

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http://i29.tinypic.com/8y4xsn.jpg
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I'm embarrassed again. I found the image. It shows that I don't remember anything very well. The white "X" marks the location of the pressure relief valve.

12OUNCE,
Hey, i appreciate your help. it just kinda gets my hair standing up about this engine needing all this repair=how in the world can a oil pump just lose its prime,then the possiblity of the bearings,it just doesn't make sense. Glad you found the picture, that really confirms the position of the pressure valve,and what will need to be done to replace it.now, the water pump will not come off from hitting the frame cause the mounting studs are sticking out to far and the pump can't be lift off,unbelievable. and i just don't see how there will be enough room to get the front cover off,maybe it will. i'm just going to install new oil pump,and use the primer tool to prime the pump,we'll see what happens. THANKS
rhandwor,
yes you have the right idea,and i may have to do just that. THANKS

I may remember shortening those studs a wee bit to help get the water pump off ... but there ARE ways to get it off. Rig up something to push the engine in the direction away from the frame ... etc, etc.

If that spring breaks ... no oil pressure.

Is there any way to tell if the spring is broken without removing the front cover to get to it ?

Is there any way to tell if the spring is broken without removing the front cover to get to it ?

There probably is, since the oil pump is off ... but it would require some exotic effort and rigging.

Why not remove the oil pan? That seems to be the most direct and sure method of determining what's wrong. ?? It ain't RS!

Removal of the oil pan requires the removal of the "Y" pipe (both catalytic converters).
When you do this, before disconnecting the back from the flex pipe, support the front of the flex pipe with something......tie it up with some wire, etc.
If you let it dangle......or wiggle it around too much, you will break the braiding and need to buy a new one.

For water pump removal.......the instructions that I have read say to undo the motor mount(s) on that end of the motor and raise that end of the motor up about 4 inches, which will give you the clearance needed to get the water pump off.

OK,Today i removed the oil pan, siliconed on heavy-wonder if the factory did this,had to pry it off. with the pan off,found that pieces of aluminum in the oil pan, from rods that are proably coming loose, i haven't removed the shield covering the rods and crank yet,but the oil pan has a heavy mark in it,the shield has a long dent across it,looks like a rod traveling.now, i am undecided on rebuilding or junking the van, i am just so pis--- ,a motor with only 80k miles on it,and no noises,ran fine. once i remove the shield covering the crank,then i can see how much the crank is damaged,and rods. this is a real let-down, thanks f.m.c.

Thanks for sharing even the bad news with us. I'm sorry you found what you did ... but at least, now you know for sure what you face.

I normally am inclined to rebuild an engine ... but the cost may be prohibitive ... it may be better to replace.

Or; if you could do the minimum repair to get it running, it might work for you as a "clunker for cash".

Yes , i will decide what i will do. my wife really likes this van. the new ones have way to hard of seats. so, i'll post back. Thanks

... I think I would also go by a dealership and see what they can work out for you. A vehicle that is to be traded in is supposed to be "running" ... but why? , ... if it going right to the recycle? Maybe its OK to be towed.

You can always buy another van later.

Price a rebuilt short block and a valve job this maybe your cheapest way out of this problem. Unless you know the scrap yard you take a chance. I talked to a man on his third engine from a scrap yard. Replaced free but he was stuck for the work. A good re builder will pay you a flat rate to R/R a motor if bad. Normally a short block comes with a new oil pump and gasket set. Along with a new timing chain.

>with the pan off,found that pieces of aluminum in the oil pan, from rods that are proably coming loose, i haven't removed the shield covering the rods and crank yet,but the oil pan has a heavy mark in it,the shield has a long dent across it,looks like a rod traveling.

Aluminum rods? I'm not sure what model year you said this is, but I think the connecting rods are steel. For my '96 3.8L, I know that the lifter rods are steel.

If you're inclined to keep the vehicle, then I'd strongly suggest that you get as close to the actual problem as you can before deciding which route to take.

yes, i really appreciate all the help and advice here. i'll check on a short block,and yes i know all about those used expected good parts, thanks guys.i'll post back.

The pistons are aluminum. And I think the rod and crank bearings are coated aluminum ... not sure.

Well ,removed the shield covering the crank and rods, AND one of the piston connecting rods to crank,broke right in half,right in the middle of the rod.as i can see, the piston looks ok,and the rod is still tight on the crank up and down. so, my thoughts are=remove the one head,and its the rear one towards the firewall,pull the piston out, buy new rod,install on piston, put back in,marking everything while removing, replace one head gasket. hammer the dents out of the shield,and replace the dented pickup oil pump tube.What do you think ?

Sounds "doable". Make sure the cyl wall is not damaged... it may require boring/honing. Pistons came be bought singly ... but rings come in a full-engine set ... you may want to lift all pistons and replace rings on all pistons. Check all bearing inserts.

Remember you still have not discovered and fixed the oil pressure issue.

Remember most of these are pressed on most machine shops will do this for you. Ask the shop for advise while your at the shop. He can inspect and advise if your piston and rings are use able.
What did you find in the oil pickup tube was it clean? You need to find the problem before assembly.

When the rod hit the pickup tube it bent it almost closed(this is possibly why no oil pressure) , its real close to where the pickup tube mounts to the block.the tube looks clean.i am wondering also=why would a rod break in the middle like this ? i will replace the broken rod,and pickup tube, pack oil pump with vaseline,and see what happens. i think to answer some wondering questions i would have to disassemble the complete engine,where as i going to do the repairs right in the van,not removing engine.
you say, the pin is pressed in the piston that holds the rod ?
gee,anymore its hard to find a good machine shop . the ones i used over the years have all closed.Detroit has been closing down,theres so many people that have left here.
maybe a used piston and rod ?
i believe napa sells single rings,pistons and rods .

Putting a rod, wrist pin, and piston together is definitely a job for an auto machine shop. They haven't all closed, I'd bet ... ask your NAPA folks, sometimes they have machine shops or network with some.

A flat pick-up tube would definitely cause your problem. Don't know why rod broke, Very unusual!

A junk yard will only sell out of a returned engine they are going to sell for scrap. A lot of Napa stores have machine shops. Ask them where to go I'm sure they should be able to help you on this job. Look in the yellow pages or use yahoo and look for switch board. Type in a radius and see whats available. Most shops use a rod heater and heat them up and then press the pin in place.

i called a hi-performance engine rebuilders shop that i use to do business with years back, amazing the son took over, he will supply rod and press in on my piston for $50,so soon as i get this broken rod and piston out of the engine,i'll get it over there to the shop. now i got find a pickup tube. so far,so good.
i will be using the old rod bearing and rings,long as they look ok. ?

Rod bearings and main bearings are cheap. I would install new ones while the pan is off. Talk to the shop who is doing your work. Ask him about a new pickup tube and oil pump normally they have good prices.

... I agree,... even tho a pump is a little pricey, you should consider your old one toast. But look at the crankthrows and mains before going too far.

You're going to find the top of that piston in terrible shape ... I'm talking about the ring grooves mostly ... all carboned-up. I would not pass up the chance to decarbed all the pistons. And a ring set is not that expensive. But if you do reuse the old rings ... keep up with their up-down orientation ... that can be difficult on the oil control rings.

Once the head was removed, the vavle chambers in the head,one of them was like super clean its the cylinder that the rod broke on. the other two chambers are just very lightly black carboned,i figure the clean,broke rod cylinder chamber is so clean from the coolant leaking into it,blasted it clean,and filled up with coolant which then stop forced the piston,which then broke the rod,due to piston couldn't move up.the top of piston has alittle vavle scatter across the top of it,which i figure is from,once the rod broke the crankcase pressure must have pushed up on piston enough to slightly touch vavles,i checked the vavles,they look flush tight in there seats,i lightly tapped each one with hammer bouncing them alittle to see if they were bent,they bounced straight and sat into there seat,and no light leaks threw them.the cylinder wall in just like brand new,not the slightest scrap or ridge,nothing,perfectly smooth.a very small bottom edge of the skirt of piston got chipped off,proably from the broken rod hitting it. the crank is perfect too,no wear line ridges,just as smooth as can be,before i removed the broken rod off crank,it spun very freely with not up or down movement,i think i got somewhat lucky on a unlucky deal here.
the rods bearings set is around $100,the ring set is also,but they look in perfect shape.i am amazed ,but this engine looks brand new inside,except for the black tarry oil in the oil pan with a few pieces of broken rod,and the black carbon buildup inside the upper intake ports,which i cleaned out as far as i could reach in them.
the oil pump also looks brand new,not the slightest signs of wear.
my assumpsion, i will go to the machine shop and possibly get a good piston with rod,new or used, install in my motor with the same rings and rod bearing from broken one,tork to specs. pack oil pump,put just enough of the engine together to start it.
i would re-ring and rod bearings replace, i just don't see any wear or egg shaping with the broken rod spinning freely on crank. and how clean this engine is.even the orignal oil pump when i removed it,was clean as a whistle.
the tops of all the pistons are almost clean,very little black carbon,which i can pretty much just rub off. the broken piston just slid nicely out of cylinder with pushing tapping with a hammer wooden handle,no forcing it out,it did have the rings pressure.
am i missing something?

I'm not certain if I understand you theory about the cause of failure, but if you think that coolant was leaking into the combustion chamber for a significant period of time, then you should check the bore diameter while you have the piston out.

I agree in general that you're probably not in need of a general rebuild. However, it would be wise to measure a few bearing clearances to be sure that no damage occured there. The machine shop should be able to take measurements on the oil pump to see if it has any undue wear, but the cost of that needs to be balanced against the cost of a quality replacement.

I'm a little concerned that there could be a valve problem, as even a small amount of damage to the valve from contact the cylinder could demand new valves.

I would pay the shop to check the head and pressure test it for leaks. Lay a flashlight flat on the block and look for cracks between the cylinder. As a connecting rod was broke from a leak find the cause while its apart.

This engine ran fine,even when the steam was coming out the tail pipe, i parked it for a few days,had to move it out of driveway,started it up,ran ok for a minute,then it started missing and knocking,i shut it off, assuming head gaskets proably were the problem,i started taking the engine apart to replace head gaskets, upon removing the intakes i found that the gaskets were not sealed and coolant in them,so this was the problem, so i replaced the intakes gaskets,started motor and knocking with oil dash lite on,shut off. next removed oil pump,it was clean and no wear,just like new,i packed it with vaseline,removed the camshaft synronizer,and installed a oil pump primer tool with drill,oil pump would not prime.so, i removed the oil pan. found broken pieces of the rod,and dents in the shield that covers the crank and rods. then removed the shield,then i could see the rod broken,right in the middle. i spun the broken rod on the crank,it spun freely and no up or down movement,then removed the head, pushed the piston out,it came out with light taps with a wooden hammer handle. the cylinder wall looks like new,no signs of wear ,ridges,lines or googes.piston looks just as good,but it has a small chip off the bottom of the skirt. removed the broken rod off crank,the bearing and crank show no wear,no lines,ridges or burns. it looks good.
from my experience with shops,its real hard to get things checked,they want to start remilling or whatever for the money.
I went today up to the machine shop with all my broken pieces,he said leave them and he would see and call me. after awhile i went to shop, he handed me back the parts,and said he can't find any replacements. so, i went right down the street to a auto parts store,he looked them up,ordered my parts for thursday,i went to ford dealer ordered the oil pickup tube,be in tomorrow.
I will mic the crank for roundness.this does have aluminum heads,this engine was never overheated,and no coolant in oil .but oil in coolant and over flow tank.

OK Finally got some of the parts=piston(new), rod,rod bearing(new), and oil pickup tube(new). now, i see the reconditioned rod needs to be pressed onto the piston pin. so, i gotta wait to get this done.

update to my repair. had the rod pressed on the piston, i installed the new piston into the engine block, packed oil pump full of vaseline,and installed it, installed the motor mount,installed the oil pan. now, i will fill oil,and crank engine without starting to prime the pump with oil filter alittle loose to see when pump is primed.

Today i started the van for first time. after all this deep work of almost tearing the complete motor apart in the van,it runs,and so far sounds good.good oil pressure,no knocks,no steam out the tail pipe,no anti-freeze leaks. it started almost instantly,one of the battery terminals was corroded,cleaned them, and it started.so, i have made a good repair,that was caused from leaking intake gaskets,letting anti-freeze into the piston chambers,hydro-locking the piston and breaking a rod.
i must say , i appreciate the advice and help from you guys here along the way. all is well now.thanks

Did you take pictures?

Fantastic! Congrats on your engine repair ... doesn't it give you a good feeling to hear that engine ... that could have been, instead, towed off to salvage/recycle!!

I went back and read this whole string ... can't believe it started in 2004. Early on, I was trying to help ... but didn't know too much! Along the way, I have also rebuilt my '99 3.8l engine ... so, I know a little more now, but still not much.

Good to know your work turned out well.

12Ounce , yes i feel the same way, learned and educated myself. it took me about 6 months to do my repair, i must replace the spark plug wires now,they are losing spark around the boots i can see.
yes, i should have taken some pics,and after is done i realized it. however, i will put pics up here of the broken rod and piston soon as i get my camera working.

well, i have a concern with the exhaust. the engine runs fine,except for the spark plug wires need replace,they are shooting sparks from the booths,but as i run this engine,testing it, when i first start it up after sitting a day or so, the exhaust dumps out some clear water,its very visible on the cement driveway,then it starts a dripping,after about 15-20 minutes running at idle,the dripping stops completely,the exhaust is dry and looks normal,not at anytime is they steam coming out,no smells. whats wrong ?

It is normal for some condensation to occur when the engine is shut down and the exhaust stream captured in the exhaust pipe cools ... then this gets pushed out when the engine is restarted. Also, the first combustion exhaust stream, upon start-up, hits the cold pipe and there is more condensation. It won't be pure water, but pretty clear.

Do you think you have more water than this amount?

Yes its clear , i kinda think its normal condensation, and possibly the catlaytic converter may have had a build up in it too from the leaking intake gaskets before. today when i started it, there was very little water that came out,so its proably a normal thing. thanks.

After all this repair,got it all done,took it for a test drive. problem is: the radiator fan does not come on once the engine heats up. i can see the temp gauge go up and down alittle as the thermostat is opening and closing,but the cooling rad fan isn't coming on. i idle ran this van for about a hour ,the temp gauge got up about half way, i shut the engine off,but today driving down the road i could see the up and down on the temp gauge which is at the beginning of the solid white line thats normal. any ideas what makes this cooling fan come on ? i did connect wires to the fan motor to battery to see if motor was good,it ran.

The relays control the fan motor. There are 2 relays for that.
They're located in the electric distribution box, near the rad.

You can also turn on the A/C to activate the engine's fan.

The relays are triggered by the PCM. There are two relays, one for "high speed" and another for "low speed". The low speed relay connects V+ to the fans through a dropping resistor (which is known to go bad). The high speed relay connects V+ directly to the fans. The low speed is used when the A/C is turned on. The high speed is used when the PCM monitors a high temperature from the sensor mounted to one of the engine heads.

There may be other conditions when the low speed or high speed relays are switched on, but this is as much as I recall right now.

the low speed activates also when engine reach 210°F.
the high speed at 225°F.

OK, THOUGHT I WOULD CHECK BACK HERE TO UPDATE MY SITUATION,SO OTHERS MAY LEARN TOO. I been driving my windstar for about 6 months now,after all the engine repairs and fan problems,which the fan was the pcm replaced. I have done about 3 oil changes so far,nothing else. My engine runs great,but one thing that i see is in the over flow tank for the radiator,it keeps getting dirty,the anti-freeze inside the over flow tank keeps getting dirty,don't know why ? but, it runs good ,no engine lite on.. what do you think ?

What do you exactly mean by dirts? You get rust, grease, sand or other things? Or it's just dark?
Did you flush your cooling system recently?

Rust chip can be caused by rusty cooling components like water pump, tube...
Dark coolant contamination can be caused by metal decomposition.

OK, THOUGHT I WOULD CHECK BACK HERE TO UPDATE MY SITUATION,SO OTHERS MAY LEARN TOO. I been driving my windstar for about 6 months now,after all the engine repairs and fan problems,which the fan was the pcm replaced. I have done about 3 oil changes so far,nothing else. My engine runs great,but one thing that i see is in the over flow tank for the radiator,it keeps getting dirty,the anti-freeze inside the over flow tank keeps getting dirty,don't know why ? but, it runs good ,no engine lite on.. what do you think ?
I think some oil got in the anti freeze from the rebuild. You might wash out the overflow bottle with detergent. Look for signs of oil in the anti freeze.