Do you see little tiny bubbles on your dipstick?

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When i checked my aunt's Focus today and it was a quart loe, i saw about "8" tiny bubbles, clustered together. I did not recheck the level after i added the quart. This was the 2002 2.0 of some sort or another. Very smooth oil cap, on and off.

What was that, the bubbles? Normal?
 
probably just aerated a little bit. That happens to small engines sometimes when you check them right after running.
 
didnt you mention it was a Zetec in your post about wanting to change the pcv valve.. in 2002 there was 2 engines.. the junk one that came in only the LX model.. and the zetec that came in the rest.

Also I thought her transmission was busted... was it just started and not moved or what?

Or was there bubbles without it being started?
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
didnt you mention it was a Zetec in your post about wanting to change the pcv valve.. in 2002 there was 2 engines.. the junk one that came in only the LX model.. and the zetec that came in the rest.

Also I thought her transmission was busted... was it just started and not moved or what?

Or was there bubbles without it being started?


Yes, yes. Alright the trans on her car jumps out of gear a lot, though it ran as if it did not have an issue for a full half hour after it drve [censored] for a half hour on highway. it says either LX or SE i forget, i thought i did in fact see "Zetec on the top of the engine when i checked the oil today. i found a $315 trans in this town i do not know the year, and know of a $350 trans from an 03. Also found a trans from a 2000.
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I will attempt fluid change on her car if we are in fact prepared to buy the transmission and have it installed over a weekend if that doesnt work. I hope an 02 interchanges with a 2000 and a 2003 just fine. Whatever is up with the engine, the combinatin of Check Engine light )PCV vave most likely) and bad trans make out $3.19 a gallon gas get 17MPGs. Not good. Thats SUV mileage. We will live, but we need to get that remedied.

She either has the base model and its not a Zetec, or she has an LX i think it is with the optional DOHC Zetec. I thought i saw Zetec so i think it is the latter. Will confirm when she gets home. This car gets driven about 100 miles a day sometimes. I want to fix the trans or repoace it before it dies and thats good for nobody, we have at least three jobs riding on this POS Focus. Talked about a new car, those talks and my ability to locate another car that will not have these issues are going nowhere, she has the Focus and thats it, so here i am.

As to the air bubbles, i am inclined to agree with Motor Oil Madman as it was checked less than 10 minutes after she cut the car off and i checked the oil out of curiosity and it was low. Noticed the bubbles, thought they would go away when i added oil. I hope that quart was enough. I added one full quart XOM ST 5W-20 from the 5 gallon jug. Fill hole looked good, cap had no sludge, dipstick had baked on oil. Engine may or may not have sludge. Im sure it liked that fresh oil i put in today, same as what cap said. The old oil is old enough to not be lubricating optimally, and this transmission makes the engine rev hard, Check Engine light has been on for awhile, and at 130,000 miles i suspect its more like a 180,000 mile engine that sounds/acts like a 100k engine. The oil i hope helped things. I also hope it wasnt more than a quart low.. i must do PCV valve. Again, i wonder how much the fresh, new, light oil helped lubricate the engine with that old whatever it is still in there.
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I read that there were 2 2.0 engines in typical Ford style, and one was an SOHC 110hp the other a Zetec DOHC. I will need to get the VIN because IF it needs a transmission, i DO want to try changing the fluid before we go to the next level of trans swap and possible bolt up incompatibility, i want to take the line off the trans cooler, run it out, then fill back up 8 quarts. Then pursue these 2000 and 2003 trans for the 02.

It could have been just me but the engine sounded quieter after i added the one full quart.

My aunt's car, and eliminating the SES light and getting the trans to act right, is now my project.
 
Sounds to me like you've put a lot of thought and effort into this pile, but not enough care to check the dipstick again after adding a quart? Seems kinda silly to me.

I've helped more than a few numbnuts driving little fourbangers that needed more than a quart to even get oil to read on the dipstick.
 
Originally Posted By: musicmanbass
Sounds to me like you've put a lot of thought and effort into this pile, but not enough care to check the dipstick again after adding a quart? Seems kinda silly to me.

I've helped more than a few numbnuts driving little fourbangers that needed more than a quart to even get oil to read on the dipstick.


If my aunt that wants her car to fail wasnt glaring at me and saying do you have to do that right now? (to which i replied, yes) so i replaced the fill cap and dipstick and jumped in her car.. i would have. It maybe needed more than a quart. I dont know.

That car is really beat on, my aunt has issues. Why do i care? Because.. i can fix it.
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If i didnt care about her car i wouldnt have begun asking these questions. However, my aunt is one of the most ignorant woen ive met and she has some real isues with being told she is wrong, even though she is. She is loony and im asking myself how i feel about the situation, and her psychosis.

This car could be a victim of her. Question is, why cant i just let it be that.

If i didnt know someone that stands to inherit that car as their first, i probbaly wouldnt care.

Adding that quart quieted down the engine. Idk what oil was in there, how long it was in there, but talk about a beat-on car. Subliminally she neglects it because she wants people to pity her for not having a car too. i have figured her out. Its sad.
 
Update: I may not be changing the PCV Valve on this car. The car is fine compared to it owner.

I topped up 1.5 qts ST 5W-20 in a day, it was low, not that the owner cared.

The car is much more stable than the owner, and it is sad when cars that can be saved and arent al that bad.. get trashed by trash like that.
 
Wow, sounds like a pretty crummy sitaution. Sorry dude, I didn't quite infer from the initial posts the surrounding issues with your Aunt. I hope for your sake when that when the car finally goes belly-up, that you are not blamed for having been the last one to work on it. :-(

Good on you for helping out, though.
 
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