93 oil light, low idle, no power

[91tauruswagon]

hi there,
despite my unfortunate choice of name, I have a 1993 Taurus Wagon / 3.8 V6 with just under 75,000 miles.

Lately the oil light comes on when idling (idle is about 700 - 750 rpm) after driving for about 15 minutes, also the engine knocks and loses power. If I touch the gas enough to raise rpm to 900 or so the light goes out.

Here is my story;
About 4 months ago I had my car in a shop for a coolant leak. They said I needed a radiator, so I said OK. Cha Ching!
A month later I notice I still have a coolant leak. I take it back to the same shop and they tell me I have a leaking seal under the timing cover. Like a fool I say OK fix it. Cha Ching!
When they are done with it they tell me I also have a knock in the lower part of the engine. It is not something they can work on, as they cannot pull any codes from it, I will need to find a place that can do major engine work.
I take it to another shop where they say they can't find any codes either, but they'd be happy to do a major tune up, and I say OK. Cha Ching! Next I need an oil pump cuz of the low end knock and the oil light coming on. Cha Ching!
It still has the knock and the oil light problem and still won't throw codes.
I love it.
I replaced the EGR pressure sensor and the EGR vacuum regulator. Cha Ching!
Still sucks.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[KimMG]

Did you check the oil level? The oil light comes on when the oil pressure is low. Knocking is caused by worn bearings or lack of oil or oil pressure.

[91tauruswagon]

Oil level is fine, thanks

[Psychopete]

Wow, I am sorry to hear that man. For the most part these cars are just money pits. Not that Ford is bad, I love my Ranger, but it seems for the most part these cars come with a laundry list of problems, especially the ones no one can seem to figure out.

I am not sure if that is the low oil level indicator or pressure. I've only seen that light used as low oil level, but I could be wrong. It sounds like you need to check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge.

I'm not sure about the coolant leak, though, I know those engines are prone for head gasket failures. A head gasket could have been blown at one point causing water to get into the oil, in turn frying the main/rod bearings. But, it takes time for that to happen, unless there's a severe amout of water in the oil. I'm also not sure about the timing cover/water pump setup, but usually you have water running through there. If the seal were bad, it could have been getting into the oil that way. Perhaps should get the oil checked for coolant. Or just change the oil and it will be evident. Though, after all those repairs, I imagine the oil had been changed. At least I would hope so.

Are they not getting the usual 11's or are they not getting any codes at all? 11 = Tests pass..

That's a tough one, sounds like you have some internal problems. Sounds like the main/rod bearings are about toast. When the oil heats up, it's not as thick, this is probably why it gets worse after 15 minutes. Try putting some thicker oil in it, see if it helps any.

Either a sensor is going in a strange fashion, or just the extra friction from the low oil pressure is causing the power loss. On the other hand, are you sure it's a lower end knock and not a valve traine tick or engine ping?

It's too bad man, I just sold my 93' with a bad tranny for 60 bucks. It had a 3.8L with recently replaced head gaskets. It had 202k, but it ran decently. I had to get rid of it though because it got tagged for expired plates. I live at an apartment so I couldn't exactly swap the tranny in the parking lot..

Pete

[91tauruswagon]

Thanks for the input.
I will check on the oil light to find out what it is actually monitoring. Hate to think I paid to have an oil pump replaced when I didn't need it but that's what happens when you don't have the time to work on crap yourself.

I was hoping the knock was extreme pre iginition due to not enough vacuum to the egr, but that doesn't seem to have done it.

As for the codes, no codes at all, they tell me.

Thanks again