Ford Focus Question

Topic: Ford Focus Question (Read 1613 times) previous topic - next topic

Ford Focus Question

October 02, 2018, 05:04:57 PM

All,
First off, not a Fox-related question. This has to do with my daily 80-mile-per-day driver, a 2002 Focus SE with the 2.0 SOHC motor. It's in very good condition, has about 155k miles on it, and pretty much only sees highway driving. I've started noticing that after it's gotten good and 'warmed up' (not excessively hot, temp gauge never goes above midway), my low oil pressure dummy light will come on when I stop at a light. It only happens after an extended driving period, and immediately goes back out when I take back off again. Sometimes kicking it into Neutral (oh, it's an automatic) while I'm stopped will make it go out or just kinda flicker. I made sure to put the recommended 5W-20 oil in it the last time. I suspect that it means my oil pump is probably getting weak, or my hot idle is too low, which is around 680 to 700 rpm. Meanwhile, would putting a thicker oil in help it maintain pressure? I try to always run Motorcraft Synthetic Blend, if that makes a difference. I think on the oil change before my last one, I'd put 5W-30 in because they were out of the 5W-20, and I don't remember the oil light coming on. Can someone offer their thoughts? Thanks.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #1 – October 02, 2018, 08:19:19 PM

What kind of oil filter are you using? When I had my 86 cougar and I was driving it with 350,000 miles I could tell the difference between a 20 W 40 and a 10 W 30 once warm

Ford Focus Question

Reply #2 – October 02, 2018, 08:23:22 PM

On the flip side, my brother has a 98 escort with the 2.0 sohc, it has 268k miles with stock everything. The oil light doesnt flicker at all on that thing

Ford Focus Question

Reply #3 – October 02, 2018, 09:24:11 PM

As far as filter, always Motorcraft, on this car it's the FL-400S. The idle seems low when warm, which really stands out on an already buzzy 4-banger. Think I'll try 5W30 next time and see if it gets better.

Little bit of useless trivia. Did you know that the 2.0 Focus and my 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 3.7 V6 can use the same oil filter? My local Wal-Mart quit carrying the Mopar filter for my truck, and the alternate is the FL-400S Motorcraft. Thought that was cool!

Ford Focus Question

Reply #4 – October 03, 2018, 03:56:08 AM

Lots of Toyota guys run ford filters too for the same reason. Low idle might be causing low oil pressure. Have you tried pulling codes to see why the idle is low? Might be a better place to start.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #5 – October 03, 2018, 04:20:49 PM

Your engine is on the way out, excess oil clearance in the bottom end, and as we all know, things expand as they get hot, so that what was once an adequate oil clearance no longer is. Switch to 5w30, then eventually 10w40, (the higher second number is what's important) and you might eek out another year or 2. In the end, it doesn't matter how far someone else went, or what didn't happen to somebody else, THIS is what's happening to you. There doesn't need to be a reason. These are usually a good solid engine, but I've seen cars with 80 miles come back in 2 days after they were sold new with holes in their blocks, mileage is meaningless. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #6 – October 03, 2018, 06:24:27 PM

Oh man, I'm depressed now. I suppose I kinda knew this as well, I just didn't want to admit it. In all my years and considering all the vehicle failures I've had, I've never actually lost a motor to a terminal failure that was running when I bought it. I've bought some clunkers that I bought knowing they were clunkers and usually had to give up on them. As my budget allows, I try my best to maintain my vehicles and learn their little quirks and know when they start deviating from the norm. I'd had a neighbor who claimed to be knowledgeable about my car tell me that the 2.0 was a "stroker" motor with very little clearance in the first place. He actually told me that most of the SOHC motors don't make it to 150k, and I'm closer to 160k now. Guess I better start saving now for a replacement. Assuming I get my '86 GS back on the road with a repaired trans, I never plan to use it as my 80-mile-per-day daily driver. It will have an easy life. I've got the Ram 1500, but it gets too thirsty. Thanks for all the feedback.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #7 – October 04, 2018, 09:54:17 AM

My daughter had an 03 Focus she drove for 11 years. I think it had about 260k on it. Motor was still running but leaking oil when she parked it. Bought a new one in 14 and it has that auto trans issue they all have.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #8 – October 09, 2018, 08:19:16 AM

Find the specs for oil pressure for your particular motor, pull the sender, and hook up a mechanical gauge to see what the actual oil pressure is.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #9 – October 09, 2018, 04:24:17 PM

Yep, I'd verify actual idle oil pressure before getting down about it. Not familiar with the particular motor but those oil press warning lights are usually triggered by a pressure switch screwed into an oil galley hole or fitting somewhere on the engine block. With enough time/miles/whatever they can and do completely fail or become unreliable. Check wire/plug going to press switch for poor/dirty connection too, could be that idle vibration is causing intermittent open circuit condition.

Ford Focus Question

Reply #10 – October 09, 2018, 07:00:53 PM

Normally, I'd agree with you, those switches can be sketchy. In this instance, OP has told us that on 5w30 it doesn't happen. He also tells us that it flickers at idle for a time before coming on solid at idle as the engine warms all the way through (what he is describing is a correlation between oil temp, which takes longer to rise than coolant temp, and oil pressure), and that when RPM is lifted, it goes out. All these described behavior elements make me believe the warning is legitimate. You can do a manual oil pressure test, but in this instance the light of hope is dim. At this point, if you're going to hope for something, hope for world peace. You're less likely to be disappointed.