OK, my fiance and I received a 1999 Ford Escort from my future mother in law and although it is a great little car it has a few “issues” I want to fix ASAP. The main issue and concern is the oil light flashing on. It SEEMS as though the oil light coming on is in direct relation ship to the RPM’s of the car. WHen you gas it off the line it comes on and continues to stay on until RPM’s have lowered. I can feather the acceleration and get it to NOT come on, I can also Slam the pedal down and make it come on at 45 or 50 MPH. Not sure exactly what is goin on here and I haven’t bought the book for it yet. I also have a Check engine that came back “Exhaust Gas Re-circulation flow insufficient”. Should I start with the EGR solenoid or go straight to the Valve? could this be something else. I detected Exhaust in the Pass. Compartment, is this possibly part of the issue?
Just looking for advice before jumping into the project. We mainly use this about 20 to 30 miles per week to it is not a serious concern but I would like to figure out the oil light before she burns up the motor.
Thanks!!
Your first step should be to make sure the oil level is at the FULL mark and the oil light is not coming on due to oil slosh.
The oil light coming on is not good for the engine at all and if the oil level is at the FULL mark then some consideration should be given to a possible oil sludge problem in the oil pan.
As to the EGR that could be anything. Clogged passages, faulty valve, etc or the possibility of an EGR tube burnt through.
You really need to have the oil pressure checked with a mechanical gauge. It’s the only way to know for sure what’s going on in there. I would not drive it until you have it checked, unless you don’t mind destroying the engine. Just because the light isn’t on at lower speeds doesn’t mean the oil pressure is OK at those speeds–the light only comes on at very low pressures, say 3-7 PSI. You might only have barely above that in other situations when the light isn’t on.
Certainly the first thing to sort out is the oil pressure since there isn’t any point in doing anything else until you know all about that. Just on the face of it, I’d say there’s a good chance that you just have a faulty / leaking pressure sensor just because the more normal thing for a worn engine/pump is for the light to be on at idle. Pressure increases as you rev the engine. But, in any case - finding out the actual pressure, as suggested, is first. Heck, I’d do that before I put anymore gasoline in it.
If you do get around to the EGR issue the place to start is to pull the entire feeder pipe from the exhaust & the valve with it. Clean it all up and reinstall. Then see where things stand.
The oil pressure problem could be a clogged screen in the oil pump pick up tube or a clogged oil filter, but the first thing I’d try would be a new oil pressure sending unit. They usually cost under $10. and take about 5 minutes to change. The sending unit is on the side of the engine next to the firewall near the oil filter. It’s also possible there’s just a bad or dirty connection on the sensor wire.