Hi from an old timer
 

I'm a long time Ford fan and pretty old school.

My first Ford was a 1958 Fairlane 500 four door. It had the 312 Y block. I drove that car into the ground.

My next car was a 1969 Mustang notchback with 302 and C4 auto. Only had that car for a few months before I sold it.

My next car was a 1970 Mustang sports roof ("fastack") with 351Cleveland and toploader 4 speed. I owned, seriously modified and drove that car for nearly 20 years. Marriage and kids eventually took priority and I sold it. I still regret that and wish I could find that car. I'd buy it back.

I've since owned a number of Fords, including a Crown Vic Esquire wagon, Aerostar van, a couple of Explorer SUVs, Ranger pickup and even a Tempo for a short while. I'm currently driving a 2009 Escape with 2WD and 2.5L I4. I've pretty much fallen in love with this little car. Sadly, I'm too old school and other than basic maintenance (brakes, fluids, etc) I can't really work on modern cars.

Welcome to the forum, BleedsFordBlue!
That's an impressive resume regarding your Ford vehicles. Don't worry about the modernity of your Escape. Since you know how to diagnose a rough running engine with your ear you will have an advantage to those who only know digital trouble codes. You will get valuable support right here. And you may be able to help a guy with carb problem.

Welcome to the site BleedsFordBlue

if you still have the VIN for that old car, try looking up on CarFax.

All I have is the old license plate number, 006BEJ. This was the first year for the "blue" California plates. Is there any way to cross reference a license plate number to VIN?

One thing I'm struggling with is a flickering oil light on our 2003 Escape (3.0L V6). It only flickers at idle in gear and only after the engine is fully warmed up. Even just slightly above idle and/or with the engine cold, and the light does not flicker. I put in a new oil pressure switch and it still flickers, so that's not it. The Ford dealership says the pressure is OK, but they only checked it with the engine cold and tranny in Park. They completely ignored the conditions that must be present to get a flickering oil light.

I suspect a failing oil pump. The car has 193K miles on it. A new oil pump is less than two hundred bucks, but the labor is several hundreds. It's not like the old days when the oil pump was driven by the tail end of the distributor and replacing it only required pulling the oil pan. With no distributor in modern engines, the oil pump is now driven off the end of the crankshaft and replacing it is a huge job. Sigh.

Yes, indeed. Many repairs are much more involved than they used to be.

What oil do you use?
Is the idle speed correct or low?
Can you get an actual pressure reading rather than the idiot light?

I hope this does not apply to your engine:


You could try an additive such as "RESTORE".

Failed oil pump
 

I dug into the engine of my 2003 V6 Escape. The flickering oil light was definitely caused by a failed oil pump. I pulled the pump (what a hassle!! it's not at all like the old school cars with the pump driven by a hex shaft from the bottom of the distributor). The pump's innards were loose and rattled around inside the housing. I'm amazed it made ANY pressure. I replaced it with a new pump. While the oil pan was off I checked the main bearings. All looked great, even after nearly 200K miles. Several of the big end rod bearings showed some brassing, so I replaced them all. After everything was buttoned up the car ran great with no flickering oil light. Compression is still to spec, so the rings and valves should be good. The engine should now be good for another 50K to 60K miles. Maybe 100K. Don't know if the trans will hold up that long though. The only service the trans has had in nearly 200K miles is regular fluid and filter changes. But it's still shifting smoothly, so I'm optimistic.