Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

mable

Scott,

Thanks for the excellent info on the pillar speakers. Where did you put the external amp and did you amp all four speakers or just the rears? Are your connections to the back of the factory radio or by the speakers? Sorry for all the questions but you really have me interested to start this project.

Thanks, Al

edmund2460

My AAMCO rebuilt 93 Sable 3.8 trans (less than 8K after rebuild) is giving trouble again. AFTER the car gets warmed up, when I come to a stop or slow down almost to a stop and start off again it jerks changing up. I can avoid this jerk by accelerating very very slowly. Any ideas ? Thanks.

edmund2460

I check back here once in a while to see how the Fords are doing. While one car does not a trend make it seems there is ome evidence that the same problems abound. My 89 Taurus and 93 Sable had repair histories longer than both your arms with the same kinds of problems that you have detailed. Especially distressful to me just as your experience shows is that I got nothing but scorn from their customer service after I was loyal enough to buy 4 cars from them.

danielj6

Today I spent the day at a friend's house in Connecticut, (I live in NY) and he has 3 cars. A 93 Taurus, 99 Mustang and a '00 Accura TL which he leases. Beautiful car indeed. However, transmission was replaced last year. Car now has 28,000 miles. The Ford has 180,000 miles and tranny as well as motor are intact. The Mustang convertible is fine thank you with 35000 miles.

Good luck with your 2002 Honda Accord, you'll need it

venus537

all ford owners have a friend who drives a honda and sure enough that honda has had mechanical difficulties. same is true for gm and dc owners too.

atcers

Mable,

I installed the external amp in the trunk on the driver side. The Taurus/Sable use the RCU (rear control unit) for the radio operation. If you lift the trunk material away from the body on the drivers side you will find the RCU mounted on the wheel well. The driver side worked out well as the amp is near the RCU. I used a 4 channel amp and "repowered" all four speakers. If you only want to repower 2 channels I would suggest the fronts. By powering the rear speakers more than the the fronts you will loose the "soundstage". Kind of being at a concert and standing with your back to the stage. For me it isn't natural to have the music coming at me from the rear. The connections are another story! I have auto climate control so there is no way to add an aftermarket stereo to the dash. To keep the dash in tact I used line output converters (LOC) at the RCU. This requires CUTTING the speaker output wiring from the RCU and wiring in the LOC. This effectivly reduces the speaker level outputs to preamp levels. These preamp level outputs in turn drive the new amplifier which in turn powers the speakers. The cutting and hookup of a new amp is not as scary or difficult as it sounds BUT there are some phases of this operation that will make you swear and swear and swear some more! Namely running the new power wire for the amplifier. You will have to run a 4-10 gauge wire(depending on the power of the new amp) to the battery to power a new high power amp as the existing wiring is too small to supply the required power. Without new wiring you will induce noise into the system and overload the factory wiring. To get the new wire into the engine compartment requires going through the firewall. I did not want to drill through the firewall so I had to find existing holes from the factory. To do this you have to remove the parking brake assembly and the fusebox to get at the fasteners that hold the carpet down. While this isn't difficult wait till you try to put the fusebox back in!!!!!!!! It took me an hour of playing around with different angles to get it back in. After the carpet is out of the way you will find several rubber grommets that can be pierecd to feed the new wire through. Use a small gauge wire to fish it through and then wrap the small gauge wire to the larger wire to aid in the process. This was the first real pain in the butt! The second was if you elect to run new wire to the speakers. I did because the factory wiring appeared far too small to handle the new current. Let me say at this point that I do not do this for a living and this was only a DIY project. I did get help from people on the alt.audio.car newsgroup. There were several posters there who said that using the factory wiring was sufficient. Anyway, if you elect to run new wire the rears are easy the fronts are a nightmare! If you open the front driver side door you will see that Ford uses a hardwired pin connector to attach the wiring from the door to the body. To run new door wiring requires the removal of this unit and either adding new pins to accomodate your wiring OR drilling out two blank expansion slots and fishing the new wire through the holes. Either way it is a pain and will give you a new appreciation for audio installers. No wonder they are all in their early twenties! If this hasn't scared you off yet please let me know and I will post the rest of the install for you. Please note a couple of things. 1) The system that I installed sounds better than the MACH factory system! Beautiful highs and plenty of power for an aging rock and roller. 2) It sounds very clean except for an annoying pop when you turn the system OFF. This is caused by a delay in power turn off built into the FORD circuitry. I'm sure there is a solution I just have'nt found it yet. The pop isn't loud and from waht I have read and been told is not harmful. I'm a perfectionist and I want it gone! 3)The cost was about $500 all totaled including wiring and connectors. Much of the system was purchased on e-bay at lower than retail prices.

Scott

regfootball

have a Mach system and Auto Climate Control, so i can't put in an aftermarket unit.

I just bought a 40gb mp3 Nomad music jukebox with 10000 songs at the drop of a hat. No place to plug it into my system! I am using a wireless FM transmitter for now but does anyone have any input on how I could splice in an input jack to plug in my mini portable and have excellent sound quality?

wijoco

Is the A/C on when the car bucks? Can you describe the problem a little better? I'm wondering if it's the standard Ford electronic transaxle pause-for-a-second-then-slam-into-gear-when-pressing-the-gas-at-a-stoplight syndrome.

sable1990

I own a 1990 Mercury Sable Wagon. Just recently my air bag light started blinking. It will blink 8 times, stop for a second, then blink 8 times again. This continues doing this the whole time I am driving. Does anyone know what this means and how to fix it or disable it. I would appreciate any help.

rhenerey

I'd like to get 4 window wind/rain deflectors for my 95 Taurus wagon, but I'm not clear that these will actually prevent simple vertical rain from entering even with the windows way up. This is due to the body's curvature, bowing out from top to bottom. Clearly if I close the windows up to the point where the deflectors overlap them, there shouldn't be any entry. But I wonder how low I can set the windows before simple vertical rain or snow would enter. I want to be able to leave the car with my dog inside with the windows cracked as much as is practical. Anyone with experience?

Also, there are a few brands: Weatherflecters, VentVisors, maybe others. Anything to recommend on that score?

TIA, rob

upsetter1

No I didn't experience anything like that. Best thing to do is to check error codes. For your Taurus you don't need any equipment. How to do it and meaning of error codes you can find in repair manual that is sold in Kragen. But probably transmission needs rebuilt.

Three rebuilds in few ten thousand miles means that rebuilt were made unprofessionally. Important thing is to find the professional transmission shop (looks at

http://www.atra-gears.com/ ).

upsetter1

There are things that I don't like in Accord and Camry. Right they are better engineered cars and both of them get a fresh update recently. But, I don't like Camry's interior. Complaints are - steering wheel is too far away, so I feel uncomfortable. Then I noticed that front seat cushions are too short. Then right armrest is way too short, there is simply no place to put your right hand when driving. Then instrument cluster looks too busy and not easy to read. All the dashboard design doesn't fit my taste and would rather described as tastless (in my terms).

What about Accord - I never considered it seriously. It just looks wrong, and the new Accord is the same - plain vanilla. Is just not good looking car - too much boring even by Japanese standarts.

Passat actually qualitywise is no better than Accord or Toyota but costs a way too much higher and is less reliable. Quality of interior is not higher, it just looks as a high quality. And after all it is not a big car.

So good luck with your choice but it doesn't mean that we all have to drive Accords or Camries.

atcers

I hear your pain! The "funky" Ford radio doesn't leave a lot of options. I do not know what type of unit the Nomad jukebox is but try this link http://www.soundgate.com/isolate.html Look for the ABSWC1 unit as it may work for your application. I have used Soundgate equipment before and I think they are the best auto electronic solution providers out there. Their stuff is a little more expensive than other companies but they do have a 1 year warranty on all their products plus they actually have real live people that you can talk to if you have questions or problems!

Good Luck

regfootball

thanks I will have to look into this.

ehenness

Hmm. I wonder if you can use the cable that connects the Ford CD changer to the RCU as a way to get sound to the head unit. Most of the connections are simple (power, L/R + and - outputs) but the bugger would be the logic that connects the changer and the head unit. It tells the head unit the changer is connected, sends commands to the changer, and the changer sends back info on track, timing, disk number, etc.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but if you could get that to work somehow, you'd have a direct connection to the head unit and use the controls on it. Hmmm. Might not be worth it, but the capability is there in your car already if you can use it. The Taurus wiring diagrams volume of the service manual has the info you'd need (though maybe not the logic specifics--I forget).

Wonder if the guys at Radios and More (www.radiosandmore.com) can help. They are who I bought my changer from. They are up on the technical stuff.

badgerfan

I was on vacation last week so haven't posted since July 19th. Thanks for the warning about the alarm system firing when someone leaves from inside a locked vehicle. I'll have to remember that so I don't get an upset wife!

As far as posts about Taurus transmission or other problems, new or old: With any high volume car like Taurus or Camry or Accord you are always going to get some who have had problems.
Unfortunately, the only data accessible by the average consumer is the Consumer Report data, which also has it's own problems, as the data can only be obtained from it's readership database, which can also be highly biased. Also, CR's survey questions regarding reliability are too open ended, in my opinion. But CR is another subject. Taurus, in recent years has been rated by CR as having average reliability, so it is not "bad" compared to others. Also, since all vehicles reliability has improved over the years, "average" reliability is also much better reliability than "average" was a few years ago.

When you throw in the Taurus low purchase price, it appears to me to have a good combination of price/performance/reliability. Yes, we likely all will agree Taurus depreciation is high, but that subject is related more to how long you keep your vehicles, and comparing the total depreciation loss can vary greatly depending on the time period you keep your cars.

PS Yes Badgerfan is a University of Wisconsin fan.

ehenness

Hmm. I wonder if you can use the cable that connects the Ford CD changer to the RCU as a way to get sound to the head unit. Most of the connections are simple (power, L/R + and - outputs) but the bugger would be the logic that connects the changer and the head unit. It tells the head unit the changer is connected, sends commands to the changer, and the changer sends back info on track, timing, disk number, etc.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but if you could get that to work somehow, you'd have a direct connection to the head unit and use the controls on it. Hmmm. Might not be worth it, but the capability is there in your car already if you can use it. The Taurus wiring diagrams volume of the service manual has the info you'd need (though maybe not the logic specifics--I forget).

Wonder if the guys at Radios and More (www.radiosandmore.com) can help. They are who I bought my changer from. They are up on the technical stuff.

sculldog33

I agree that much of the Sable / Taurus bashing of late on this site is unfounded. Price/value/feature content continue to be significant selling points for these cars. Ads in the Boston area currently list the new Sable LS Premium Touring Edition for 18,999 with 0% financing for 60 months. The Touring edition is offered in New England and includes "free" leather, moonroof and ABS, with the LS designation adding just about everything else. (auto A/C, power everything, etc.) This is $500 LESS than I paid in 2000 and I was only able to get 7% back then on the loan.

A loaded V6 Camry with similar options is pushing 30K on MSRP and could probably be had for about 26-27K. Toyota is only offering 4.9% financing for 60 months in the Boston area.

Figure that the out the door cost difference between the two is conservatively about $7K, plus add in the extra $2200 in interest you'd pay on the Camry over 60 months and the savings is close to $10,000. Unlike depreciation, this is real money in your pocket that you don't have to pay out either in a down payment or in monthly installments on the loan. I'd be the first to admit that the Camry will likely be more reliable say 5-10yrs out, but is that reliability so much better to warrant a 10K premium up front? Am I likely to incur 10K in repair costs over the life of this car? The answer is a pretty resounding no! Throw in what I would argue is a better looking car, and the Sable wins hands down.

Final note is that when I bought my Sable, I didn't see many of them on the road. Now, two years later, I see them all the time. Looks like the word is out!!

edmund2460

First of all I have had only one rebuild and it was done by AAMCO about 10K ago. This problem actually started before teh AAMCO warranty expired, I was lax in taking it in. He did say however that he will check the error codes as one of you suggested for me. I know that with this type of car to get a smooth shift you have to accelerate gently, and I always do. This problem happens only after the car has been driven awhile, since it is summer and hot here, the A/C is generally on, I have not checked it without the A/C on. It happens on the first shift up (or maybe it is down)after I have come almost to a stop and then start to accelerate again. I try to accelerate as gently as possible and it will still jerk. Could there be something other than the trans that can cause this? We had the fuel pump recently changed along with a litany of other things.
By the way, I see some rage in this board against posters bad-mouthing the car, and I want to say that while I am embittered about my experience, I have no agenda in mind. Put yourself in my position. The first FORD I bought - a 74 new Mustang besides being in the shop for 11 weeks the day after I got it for a power steering hose that they didn't have a part for, had a leaky A/C compressor the very first year. And now some 20 plus years later I have A/C problems again. My 82 Jetta still has a working compressor after 240K miles (the Freon has leaked out but the compressor works) I was proud to buy American and would have still bought another Ford if they had Dearborn had given me some recognition for all my problems. My statement still stands-this company does not monitor defects as well as it should and try to fix them. It is there in the stats. Phil Ford has recognized the quality problems and hopefully will give them high priority. Nasser and his ilk simply concentrated on making money for himself and the company by cutting costs.

regfootball

thx for the info.

an auto shop told me today there is a kit for the Taurus with auto climate but I think they were confused.....the only kit I have been able to find for the 96-99 Oval is the ones with the 3 dials.

ehenness

Here's what was explained to me on the Ford calibration for the automatics in the Taurus/Sable (this is the AX4N and AX4S, from maybe '95 up). To some extent, it's normal to get a 'bump' into gear when you are slowing down and then hit the gas again. It shouldn't be a slam, but there will be a noticeable 'thump' into gear. Apparently, this is to get a positive engagement of the transmission into first gear while you are still moving. The alternative would be to slip into first, and slippage causes heat and damage in the long run. It appears that the calibration is set to deliberately positively switch gears to avoid the slippage under those conditions.

If it really slams back into first, that's not normal. If it noticeably bumps, that's probably normal. Or at least that is my understanding.

Also, the trans adapts to your driving style. If you drive gently normally, it will tend to shift abruptly if you floor it a few times, since that's 'new' to the trans (at least until it gets used to the new driving style). If you normally drive with a heavier foot, and then go easy, you may get mushy shifts for a bit. That adaptive nature affects the shift quality, shift points, and the bump back into gear when you give it gas when slowing down.

Given that, I am not sure there's anything wrong with edmunds2460's transaxle. It can be hard to diagnose over the 'net without seeing/driving the car, too.

riswami

500 miles since the "Service Engine oon Light" was reset. The code was excessive slippage in the trans. Now if that was the problem wouldn't the light have come back on?
I don't mind posters raging against the car on this board if it is legit.I come here to get some info, maybe help someone with an answer to their question etc. However, some of the raging just doesn't seem legitimate. I mean two trannies replaced in 68k driving highway miles! Then two posters ask for symptoms and 10 days after there is no response. makes me question the integrity of that post.

There have been some good post on the tranny in the last week or so. My biggest concern when buying this car was the durability of the transmission. This was my first automatic and I was aware of some issues with earlier model Tauruses.

As far as cutting cost, all car makers have done it. They need to to stay competitive.have you looked at the new Camry body? Looks pretty cheap to me.

edmund2460

Thanks for your info. The problem is that this car did not have this problem before the trans died and after it was rebuilt about 10K ago. This is a recent problem. It's not a hard slam but it is a definite bump when I slow down and then start up again. Also when I come to a stop it downshifts into neutral with a hard shift. BTW Are U really serious about this stuff about a trans getting used to your driving style or are you pulling mhy leg? Thanks anyway for your comments, I'm taking it to the AAMCO shop for a check soon. I guess I should have bought their extended warranty. BTW also for the people who are calculating value in buying a Taurus/Sable. My experience with the two I had, is that you should assume at least $5,000 in repairs for the first 100K.

2000taurussel

Sorry for not responding to your questions regarding my earlier POST that I made. My work schedule keeps me from doing this type of fun activity. AND I DID NOT COME INTO THIS ROOM TO POST NEGATIVE REMARKS ABOUT FORDS OR THE TAURUS. I just have other things in my life to do, besides sit in this room and monitor Discussions. Anyway.......

My first tranny problem occurred at about 4,000 miles. I noticed when I was in first gear, either slowing to a stop or beginning to accelerate, the car would violently jerk forward. A couple of times I came close to rear-ending other cars, and once I came close to going through a retaining wall at a shopping center. I took the car to the Dealer several times about the problem. While I was having the Catalytic Converter replaced (at 5,550 miles), the Technician took the car out for a test drive, the tranny problem occurred to him! I was informed at that time that I could not have my car back, because of a tranny problem. I was told by the Dealer that FORD asked to have the tranny returned to them for trouble shooting. I am not sure that FORD really asked for it back... doesn't really matter. In December 2001 (40,000 miles), while on the Freeway, the car went from 4th to 3rd gear for no reason, and it remained there and would never go back to 4th gear. This time, the Dealer had my car for 1 1/2 months because the Regional Inspector that came to the Dealer to look at the Tranny told the Dealer that it wasn't a tranny problem, it was an electrical problem. The Dealer refused to accept the Inspectors findings. Tests done by the Dealer found NO electrical problems. After countless phone calls to FORD and 1 1/2 months later, FORD agreed to replace the tranny. Puts a sour taste in my mouth about FORD.

I hope this answers questions. I do like my Taurus. It is one of the most enjoyable cars to drive... especially for the price. Like I said in my earlier POST, I spend alot of time in my car. If I could afford a Luxury car, I would have one.... Perhaps a Jag?!

upsetter1

I hope Jag doesn't have Ford transmission, yet.

edmund2460

My experience exactly as far as FORD's typical response to protecting or building a brand image.

ehenness

Well, I'm less familiar with the transmissions and computers used in the '93 Sable/Taurus, but you are right--it sounds definitely like something that happened in the rebuild. I'd agree that you need to have it checked if it was OK before. If it did that previously, as I said, then it's probably somewhat normal.

And, again, I forget when they started the adaptive transmission control, but the Taurus from at least '95 has it, as do most modern automatics from all companies. I'm not kidding--it does learn things like how much throttle you tend to give it when starting off, how hard you accelerate, when you lift, etc. These bits of info are used to figure out the best shift points and the way to engage or disengage the gears. Dunno if the '93s had this degree of electronic trans control.

And, just to play devil's advocate here, I think the newer cars are much better, in general. I have a '98 Taurus. The only non-scheduled repairs were a set of sway bar links (~$100 installed) and two high-mount rear stoplight bulbs (~$2). That leaves me $4898 in repairs to go over the next 54,000 miles... :-) (Not doubting you at all, but it appears that the 1996-up design has been more reliable. That, and all cars tend to deteriorate at least a little with age and mileage. That doesn't help you any, I know...)

And, as for Jaguar, they had a HORRIBLE reputation for reliability and quality until Ford bought them and invested millions in improving plants and quality. Strangely enough, Ford has improved Jaguar by leaps and bounds... (I am fairly sure the new Jag and the Lincoln LS share some of the powertrain parts in some models, including the transmission...)

kw_carman

I was looking around on Ebay, and found this picture of a 1999 Taurus with a radio other than the factory one. I think that someone asked about replacing the factory radio not too long ago. I think that the it would be well worth keeping it in. Otherwise, your Taurus may look like this:

http://images.prosperpoint.com/images/1714/86737-12910.jpg

regfootball

yes, that was me.....I have seen those kits. My 99 SHO has Auto Climate Control and I am getting conflicting repots on whether I can use this unit to replace the stock unit with ACC.

Local shop says a company called METRO sells a unit that will do this, but I went to their web site they only have the version as shown in the picture for the previous post (non-auto climate control).

I just blew 500 bucks on a big mp3 jukebox and just need to find a way to get an AUX input with mini jack hooked into my system. I would be willing to get rid of auto climate to get it if its possible but I don't think it is.

kw_carman

Ford just had to make things tough, didn't they?

jeffrey15

Don't think I have ever seen a kit for Taurus with Auto climate. If you really want to hook up that MP3 player give this a try.

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-IOy3tF5juOd/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=2&g=42500&I=020FM200S+

I could be wrong but I believe that this is your only option

regfootball

thanks for the info, I am sure to give the folks at crotch-field a call.

I don't like the fact it goes through the FM, but I guess if its my only option then it would have to be.

That little iRock transmitter I have is worthless in Metro areas.

oxmead

Does the duratec V6 have a timing chain or belt.

jeffrey15

With MP3's I think you will be hard pressed to tell the difference. I used to have an FM modulated cd changer in my 91 sable and I thought it sounded great. No interference since when it is on it cuts off the antenna.

Jeff

atcers

The Duratec uses a timing chain which should last the life of the vehicle. The following link will verify the use of a chain. http://cartalk.cars.com/Info/Testdrive/Reviews/mazda-tribute-2001.html I realize this article is about the Mazda Tribute but it uses the same 3.0L Duratec as the Taurus and Sable.

regfootball

yeah, especially when dealing with a ford factory stereo....it will suck to begin with so using mp3's and an FM Modulator won't ruin what already sucks.

bg729

#178 of 178 Fumes and the air purifiers in the Sable by bg729 Aug 09, 2002 (11:31 pm)
I would welcome anyone's experience with the air filters in the new Sables.Do they thoroughly screen out street and exhaust fumes? I currently drive a '92 Sable Sedan and am considering buying a Sable LS Wagon. I do mostly bumper to bumper inner city travel and in the winter, have set the dial knobs on the old Mercury to red/hot and turned the other dial to MAX A/C, since with the compressor running the air gets recirculated within the car and does not pull fumes in from the street. However, I have a circulation problems in my feet and they freeze. Most foreign cars allow you just to recirculate the air and set the heat to floor. This is not the case in either old or new Sables. In the 2002 LS- all computerized- I attempted to replicate my old strategy: pushed the button to increase the temperature to 80 degrees, but also pushed the button to floor ( yes it was hot), and then pressed the MAX/AC button and that cut off the heat and the temp dropped to A/C levels , although the readout still said 80 degrees.

If I thought the air filter worked, I could just increase the temperature in the winter and heat the floor, but I am wary...very wary...since Ford tends to skimp on quality. I would appreciate your experience and thoughts.

ehenness

See my reply in the wagons forum...

ehenness

Just in case the question comes up for the Vulcan 3.0 OHV engine, it too has a timing chain, not a belt. (I have a factory service manual from Ford, and it confirms this information.)

No worries for either engine from that end--chains last pretty much for the life of the engine.

sroc

Hey great post on the timing chain - I have a 2000 Taurus with the Vulcan - 45,000 miles till date. I changed the timing belt on my earlier Contour at 65,000 miles, but the mechanics did not do it right. There was a continuous rattling sound after the belt change on start-up. I am relieved to hear I dont have to go through that with my Taurus!

edmund2460

Ony my way over to AAMCO the car slipped into neutral all by itself for a while, while I was cruising on the highway (I heard the engine rev up) and then slipped back into gear. The Mgr. at AAMCO said that a neutral safety switch going bad could cause this problem and also the one I have regularly that I described before. Since I was getting ready to take a 1100 mile round trip I had the switch replaced but it didn't take care of the hard shift that I get once in a while. I'll get it when the car kicks into acceleration gear, if I have to pass someone in a hurry and it still has the problem when I slow down and start up again. The mgr. did mention that this car will build up the hydraulic pressure if it notices that you are driving around town. He pointed to the fresh pink trans fluid to assure me that there was no damage taking place. So maybe it will last a few more miles. The car doesn't get driven very much. I agree that the post 1999 Tauruses are probably decent. But I would not buy anything before that year to be safe. It just bugs me that Ford must have seen these problems taking place and doesn't address them soon enough. I mean I had motor mounts and power steering hose (about 300 bucks to replace) go out on both my 89 Taurus and 93 Sable around 70-80K. Similar pattern with A/C and trans starting to hard shift. As far as the engine itself goes I think they are OK, even the 3.8 (except for it's head gasket). Thanks for your info.

riswami

missing something?

What specifics do you have (last post) that Ford made specific improvements in the transmissions of 2k and later models?

nomoreford2

Does anyone with a 2000-up model Taurus with the Duratec engine know where the PCV Valve is located.

oxx93

I have a 2001 Taurus with 12,000 miles and I have noticed that when I start to brake at 40-50mph, the steering wheel starts to shake. I have noticed this a few times while driving on the highway. Has anyone else noticed anything like this? I had the tires rotated at 10,000 miles. Any feedback would be appreciated.

badgerfan

Sounds like your front disc brake rotors are warped. While I have not had this happen to me recently, I have read a lot of posts in various maintenance and repair discussions that the warped rotors can occur from uneven or overtightening of the lugs nuts. Other possible causes of warped rotors are hard braking from high speeds followed by parking the car. The rotor heats up and then warps slightly because the heat is not dissipated as the car is parked.

You may want to have the garage that rotated your tires loosen and retighten the nuts to the proper amount using a torque wrench. Otherwise, it may be necessary to get the rotors machined and then again when the wheels are reinstalled, torqued to the proper level, which should be in any good mechanic's shop manual for the specific vehicle.

sculldog33

I agree that it sounds like your rotors. Several technical service bulletins out on this, including one that discusses the issue of the brake rotors rusting while sitting on the dealer lot. My rotors were turned at 9000 for the same problem. Up to 13K and they are still fine. Annoying though since I will need new rotors that much sooner. Difficult to convince the dealer that it is their problem, and not mine since this is a wear item that is directly effected by the driver.

This came up in much much earlier threads. Concensus seemed to be what badgerfan discussed earlier, plus generally thinner/cheaper rotors these days on all cars that warp easier, and by Ford going cheap in 2000 by "de-contenting" the sable and taurus by eliminating the rear disc breaks on the sedans.

Solutions at the time were fight it and demand new rotors (good luck), bite the bullet and turn the rotors, buy aftermarket rotors that are more substantial and less prone to warping.

Doesn't sound like yours is too bad -- my steering shook a lot when breaking during any city driving at almost any speed.

wkohler

I have a 2001 Taurus with warped rotors. Vehicle has about 27M miles on it. Tires have never been rotated, so wrong torque shouldn't be an issue. I made sure the torque was correct when I purchased the vehicle new, because I had heard of these brake problems before purchasing. I'm going to put up with it a little while longer and then purchase some GOOD after market rotors and pads. Turning rotors may help in the short term (very short term) but all it does is hasten the wear of the rotors. Any recommendations for some good after market rotors and pads?

ezaircon4jc

I've had 4 Sables. Our current one is a 96 with 110K on the clock. There wasn't a one that didn't warp the factory rotors within 20K miles. Turning lasts about 10K or less. The Taurus/Sable are VERY hard on front rotors, as are all FWDers. Too much weight up front, multiplied by weight transfer during braking. My (RWD) Lincoln LS has 48K and when I replaced the brake pads, the rotors were fine. On my Sable, I replaced the factory rotors with NAPA rotors about 80K miles ago. I've replaced the pads since then and the rotors are holding up very well. No warpage. Using an impact gun to install the lug nuts will over-torque them even if they use a torque stick. The lug nuts need to be hand installed, then tightened down, using the "star" pattern (going to the lug nut accross from the one done, not in a circular pattern) with a torque wrench.
Hope this helps.

badgerfan

Did last generation Taurus sedans have rear disc brakes? I thought the Taurus wagons and SHO's were the only versions that had rear discs.

Actually, rear disc brakes don't really add a lot to braking performance because as you say, front brakes do most of the work. This is true even on rear wheel drive vehicles, as the weight tranfers to the front during braking. Four wheel discs does give a marketing advantage, however.

Rotor warping isn't limited to Taurus, it seems almost epidemic to all new vehicles domestic and import, and is most likely due to attempts to keep unsprung weight down to the minimum, thus thinner and more warp prone rotors is the result.

sculldog33

Badgerfan -- I'm about 90% certain that the old Sables (pre 2000) had the rear rotors. 2000 model had the changes in sheetmetal (away from the ovals), dropped the dual exhaust (and some hp/torque), changes/re-calibrations in suspension to make the ride better, and the dropping of the rear disk brakes. Lots of car manufacturers doing this, Honda has done this on the civic for example.

Maybe it's the competitiveness in the mid size family car market and maybe the few extra dollars make a difference, but not to me. I found it annoying for example that on Ford's bread and butter family sedan, that all but one car on dealer lots that I looked at had the side airbag/power passenger seat/traction control bundle of options. One gold (ughh!) car had it, but lacked the Mach Audio. MSRP on that bundle was something like $390. For $390 more, on top of a 20,000 purchase, I would have loved having those options. Dealers and or Ford however didn't see fit to order/ship cars with this option. Similarly, rear disks and a semi-dual exhaust would have been worth another few hundred to me. Could leave these off the stripper, cloth seat/manual window versions, but on the alleged top of the line LS/SELs, you'd think the price point would be more forgiving. So much for family safety....

Also, given the leather seating option, why can't the factory and/or the dealer install a heated seat package?? To get seat warmers, need to go to the Lincoln line at much more $$$$.