Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Taurus/Sable Maintenance & Repair

15355575859

Comments

  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    There has to be something in the manual or a separate booklet showing the maintenance schedule. If not, have the dealership give the missing manuals.
    Look at the maintenance schedule. It usually has a normal and a severe schedule. Follow the schedule that fits your driving.
    If it is 7500 intervals for your driving, then the first change is at 7500 miles.
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    There is no "break-in" periord. Ford asks that you do not drive at continuous speeds for the first 1,000 miles and that you do not tow for the first 500 miles or exceed 70 for the first 500 miles of towing.

    There are no engine filings anymore.

    Mark
  • wendygwendyg Member Posts: 3
    I was pouring through the threads while my wagon sits in the driveway unable to start.I,too got a trouble code for the egr valve.My question is,if I clean or replace that,will my car miraculously crank.Battery,starter ,plugs,wires, fuel pump all o.k.Help,I have stranded kids.I had the same symptoms as swimmer1 last year with the rough idle,bad fuel mileage even jerking while driving. :sick:
  • wendygwendyg Member Posts: 3
    I havet a friend that took a look at my car on its 3rd day of not starting.A week ago I went to auto supply store and they pulled a misfire in cylinder 2 and egr valve air flow incorrect.O.k. changed them.Then a few days ago I went to pick my kid up at school and the car wouldn'T start,it cranks ,just won't catch.The same thing happened to me six months ago.I unplugged the coil,reset the engine and everything was fine.Fuel pump,starter ,everything is fine .There is no spark arch either and my friend says "you better hope it's not the coil pack".Does it sound like it cause I am desperate and he had his ohmeter stolen so we are going on his confidence.
  • jthomas92jthomas92 Member Posts: 1
    my daughters taurus has quite an appetite for motor mounts. i have had 5 mounts replaced in the last 5 years. not always the same ones. i am about to replace all three with a type that the parts store states are not exact oem replacement, which are solid rubber instead of the oil filled type that keep going bad. can you let me know if this is a common problem and if these solid mounts should be better.
    thanks
    jthomas ">
  • rjs2298rjs2298 Member Posts: 3
    Recently my taurus has developed a noise when I turn the wheel to the left and when you are outside the car it sounds as if it is coming from both sides though much louder on the right. It sounds like a grinding yet ear peircing sound. If anyone else has heqrd of this let me know.
  • couriorcourior Member Posts: 2
  • couriorcourior Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 taurus and the front passenger side seat belt will not extend. I tried to remove the plastic molding covering the belt but can not get it off. I am afraid it might break if I pry too hard. It runs from the top of the seat belt down to the floor and under the door. Anyone know of a easy way to get this molding off?

    Thanks
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    One of the 2 power ports in the dash of a 2002 stopped working after a power adapter came apart when it was pulled out of the socket. I don't see any parts stuck inside the socket. Don't both ports share a single fuse? So, if the fuse was blown, wouldn't both ports stop working?
  • rathkeauxrathkeaux Member Posts: 1
    I'm changing out the rack and pinion on my brother-in-laws 98 Ford Taurus (base model) and have reached the point where I change the power steering auxillary actuator bracket off of the old rack and pinion and place it on the new one, I took the power steering return port and mounting bolt's out and changed it to the new one, however when I did this a small metal orifice fell out of the one of the old RnP's holes and I do not know which one to put it back into on the new RnP??

    Any help is GREATLY appreciated, I'd like to get done with this today.

    Thanks.
  • dmysterdmyster Member Posts: 12
    You would think so, but they don't. When i got my 2002 Sable, the lighter socket worked, but the other one didn't. So I looked, and sure enough, they have 2 seperate fuses.
  • jaxs1jaxs1 Member Posts: 2,697
    I suppose that's actually better, but I wonder how an adapter coming apart would cause a fuse to blow? I hope that's all it is. I'll see if I can find it.
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    If you shorted (ie closed the circuit between the pos and neg terminal) the adaptor when it came apart then dang right it will blow a fuse. Thats what the fuses are suppose to do, blow when there is a short.

    Mark.
  • lyneman2lyneman2 Member Posts: 33
    Okay You helped me before..Same car now she has 63 and some shange on her I only take her out on weekends.. nah only 1 mile to work The heater does not blow hot.. she is full of fluid I have a heat gun and says 170 in the bottle.. hoses are hot both in and out of the core but she blows like its summertime does not ever get past the middle of normal on the dash should be able to make a buritto :sick: on my dash by this time..would appreciatte any thoughts Ah I forgot 99 taurus se 3.0 a.c not the race car auto power everything cept the trunk monkey
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    You need to see if you can get the seat belt to return all the way back to the housing, this should reset it.

    Mark
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Are you getting the full force of air out of the vents? I'm wondering if some diverting flap under there is keeping the warm air from reaching the passenger compartment.

    Also 170 is not very warm. You should be running warmer than that.

    Anyway, if you have full force of air at the vents, I'd suspect the heater control valve is not opening all the way.
  • lyneman2lyneman2 Member Posts: 33
    Re 99 taurus heater Got it going Plugged heater core dont use the heater that much My first trick was to blow water though the core that worked fine till i realized there was a bypass line next to the inlets..after i put a vise grip on the dump line well let me tell you there was a little bit no a lotta of rusted liquyids I had do drop in the back 40..all is well now flushed with water and hoping for longivity with this rig thanks my friend J :)
  • warhorse1warhorse1 Member Posts: 14
    I was having the same problem no heat, I done away with the by pass and then flushed thru with garden hose but that only gave luke warm air which soon returned to cold, so I disconnected both heater hose and added enough heater hose to the heater core connections for it to hang out side the engine compartment the used a pressure washer first down one and then the other, that move a lot of russ and crap out the extensions, now running realy hot agin.
  • lyneman2lyneman2 Member Posts: 33
    Gotta new one for you my daughter has an 89 taurus same car same engine same color as mine .. :confuse: It idles too fast the [non-permissible content removed] part is trying to point a timing light at the dampener,,My concern is when it downshifts from second to first it is too fast like a clunk..short of taking it in do you have any ideas car has 130 on it paid 500 clams it is still a gem just worried about the tranny takin a crap cuz of the downshift...Jeff
  • rmessrmess Member Posts: 3
    Hello, I am new to the forums and new to a Ford product. I just purchased a used 2000 Merc Sable, the car has 58,000 miles on it and was very well maintained. When I first got it home the engine light came on, went back to the dealer and he had to replace a plug and coil. Week later the left rear sway bar link broke in-half and was replaced. So far I haven't spent any money, but I am concerned that I have just gotten into a money pit. Also I called Ford and they told me that all recalls have been perfromed, but the front coils are under watch, they will only replace them if they actually fracture. Should I go back to dealer and try and get him to replace them, I have read that it was a big problem with this car. By the way I really like the car and love driving it......... :)
  • cryptic_coronocryptic_corono Member Posts: 1
    i am installing a stereo in my car. i went out and bought the DIN tools to take out the radio and my 1998 Sable. The left one worked fine, and got the left side out, but on the right side just slided in and i couldnt get the radio to come out. Also it never clicked. so i push the left side back in, and still cant get the right side out. Then when i got to open the left side, that one's broken now too...it doesnt click when i push it in and it doesnt make the radio budge....what should i do?
  • jessejames5jessejames5 Member Posts: 4
  • jessejames5jessejames5 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 1997 Ford Taurus. I have a problem with the heater core I heard nightmares on replaceing the heater core , is there any body that could help me out on how to replace and locating the heater core,

    I have heard that in order to replace the heater core you have to take down the dash board. But i really dont know were is it at. I try finding any topics dealing with my situation but since im new at this forum. i dont know from were to start.

    I would apreciate and thank , any body that would help me out.

    some effects i get from this problem is that my windshild gets foggy alot and fog from the vents come out. theres a leak i have under the car some were in the passenger side

    they had told me . that this is due to a leak on the heater core and or i have to replace some of the hoses or the heater core it self..

    ANY ONE COULD HELP
  • rich88rich88 Member Posts: 3
    My Taurus has 115k miles and for about 6-8 mths it has been hestitating...like cutting out almost without stalling. I had the oil changed a few months ago and the guy there said that the wireing harness was loose. He tightened it and then taped it up he said but I may see a dimming of the lights periodically or cut out of the radio. Three months later the engine is actually cutting out now. Took it to a local muffler/engine/brake shop and they said to do a tune up. Checked my records and a tune up was done less than 3 years ago with new sparks/wires. Also said there was a nest in the engine. Changed the air filter and cleaned out the nest. It was in a space between the intake manifold and head. Problem still happeds. Now the battery light flickers on and off periodically but it doesn't coincide witht he heistations. Someone said it might be the EGR filter. I would like to get some more time out of this baby until I get a new car. Thanks
  • babytrudybabytrudy Member Posts: 3
    I have a 99 Mercury Sable and it has dayrunning lights and they look like Walker Texas Ranger lights. They blink. I don't think they go entirely off when they blink but it is so rapid that I can't tell. It actually looks like the lights law enforcement now have. What could be the problem
  • nadornnadorn Member Posts: 6
    You Have all the symptoms of a bad heater core . It will need to be replaced. This is not the easiest job to do. You might want to let the professionals handle this one . Get some estimates and see if you can go with a rebuild to lower the cost. ....
    Check with your local Ford or Mercury dealer .. You may be surprised ............... Good Luck
  • nadornnadorn Member Posts: 6
    You didn't mention anything about changing the fuel filter. This sounds like a partially clogged fuel filter . Does it get worse when you accelerate on a hill ? If it does .. it could be you're starving for fuel.
  • warhorse1warhorse1 Member Posts: 14
    Go to Autozone website on their home page click on repair yourself then find heatercore, they have excellent manual pages and stage by stage replacement of core,Its located behind the radio and I managed through the opening. Don't forget to put your year and vehicle in. Anyone not been on the Autozone repair section, do so its well worth it and they do section by section of repairs
  • rich88rich88 Member Posts: 3
    I haven't changed anything other than the air filter. It sounds like the exhaust it not getting through near where it exits the engine but when it chokes and almost stalls the headlights and dash light dim also. I don't see a differance going up a hill although after the car warms up for a while it gets a little better but not much.

    Thanks,
  • jeepgonemad1jeepgonemad1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a clunking noise in the front of my Mercury Sable 02 and I replaced the struts and the upper baring mounts but i still have the noise that sounds like its coming from the front of the car....anyone know what might be causing it?
    Thanks for your Time
  • john_doe_wnyjohn_doe_wny Member Posts: 28
    I know this seems like a simple answer but the stabilizer bar links on my 98 taurus went bad and made a clunking noise. If you haven't checked them, they might be an easy fix. Hope this helps.
  • jhupp1jhupp1 Member Posts: 2
    2002 Taurus Dash Lights are not coming on with the rest of the interior/exterior lights. Would this be fuse or a bulb? Is the bulb able to reached under the dash?
  • rich88rich88 Member Posts: 3
    Well I finally found out what was causing the problem. Doesn't do me any good but maybe if someone has the same problem they will be warned. The exhaust problem was actually excess water buildup coming out of the engine because the head gasket was blown. The 2nd repair shop I went to pulled one of the spark plugs and water shot out. Oh well time to get a new car.
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    This engine was JUNK :( You are luck you got as much out of that car as you did.

    Mark
  • weeshyweeshy Member Posts: 2
  • weeshyweeshy Member Posts: 2
    I have a 96 Sable:
    My car is randomly overheating, and for the most part i do not have ANY heat, the only way I can get the car warm is to put it in Neutral and get the RPM'S up over 3000 and then it spits out some heat. Does anyone have any ideas before I blow a bunch of money? I have heard HEat COre (but then i heard i would never have heat if it were that) and I also have head the Water pump? I already replaced the thermostat on it and that was not it. Any healp would be great!!! Thank you!
  • pdc99pdc99 Member Posts: 1
    I did a lot of searching and reading articles on the web about how to replace the rear sway bar link that was broken on the back of a 1995 Ford Taurus. This was done after I had removed the top half of the old link that was still attached to the strut/shock. The following is the sequence I did to get the sway bar link replaced. Note that I only changed the one link, not both of them. And I did not do anything to the sway bar link on the other side of the car which was still intact and completely corroded on the threads due to having 110K+ miles on it.

    To start with I removed the wheel assembly to get room to work.

    To remove the top part of the broken link rod, I ended up taking a utility knife and cutting out one of the rubber bushings and then using a compressed air powered cut off grinder to cut the bolt where the bushing use to be. This was above the washer and below the angle bracket welded to the strut.

    I then put the new link in place at the top of the link/strut assembly and tightened down the nut good and tight.

    The new link was now hanging down with the end of the link a good 1.5 to 2" below the sway bar. And no amount of tugging and yelling was getting me anywhere on putting the link end through the hole on the end of the sway bar.

    I cam real close to bagging the operation and shipping the car off to the shop and admit defeat on something that only had two nuts to connect up.

    On a whim, I placed a 8" concrete block under the rotor/hub assembly with a 2x3 on edge under the hub and lowered the car onto this arrangement. Make sure the brake rotor portion clears the concrete block when you lower the car.

    When the car was down all the way there was even more of the link end hanging below the end of the sway bar.

    Now take the car jack to the other side of the car and jack that side up in the air. As you jack the opposite side up you will find that the end of the sway bar opposite of where you are jacking actually gets lower and lower. By jacking the car up high enough to spin the tire plus a couple of inches, I was able to get the end of the sway bar to be real close to low enough to force the link into the hole where it goes.

    I carefully climbed under the car, tugged the sway bar down just a tad and was able to get the link bolt/rod into the hole in the end of the sway bar.

    With one person slowly lowering the car jack and me holding the link rod in place and aligning the bushing with the hole in the sway bar it all went well. I then put the lower bushing on the link followed by the washer and nut and then tightened the bottom nut onto the link just like the top one was.

    By the time the jack is completely lowered everything is good and tight and back to where it needs to be with the new sway bar link standing up just the way you need to have it.

    No need to do both sway bar links or muck around with the link on the other side in order to replace only one of them.

    While it took a sizeable chunk of the afternoon to work this out, I think a single sway bar link could be replaced in an hour after all the tools were in place. Naturally, I ended up with a dozen trips to get various tools that I didn't think I would need up to that point. Plus all the think time on how to get the link rod unto the hole on the end of the sway bar.

    Now, it's a cake walk without getting myself killed by parts that are under stress flying about due to removing bolts I should not have.

    Cost for the replacement link from AutoZone was $11.00.

    And I got another justification to have all those tools, air compressor and grinders. :)

    Good luck on your replacement!
  • counselorincounselorin Member Posts: 1
    did you do the cam and crank sensors? I have the exact same problem with my sons car. we bought it for him while he was in Iraq and have NOT been able to let him leave the house with it since... so sad!!! he is getting ready to re-deploy to Iraq again and hasn't been able to take his car to base with him yet... I would appreciate any info you can give me... please email me at counselorin@insightbb.com as I JUST joined here and I have no CLUE as to how to find your answer in here... Thanks so much!!

    Marine MoM
  • eegguyeegguy Member Posts: 1
    MY SON HIT A CURB REALLY HARD AND I PUT A NEW WHEEL ON IT AND NOW THE WHEEL APPEARS TO SLANT INWARD AT THE TOP MAKING THE TIRE RUB THE STRUT ,I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I CAN CHECK AND POSSIBLY FIX BEFORE I TAKE IT TO THE SHOP. IT IS A 1998 FORD TAURUS WITH 15 inch WHEELS AND DISC BRAKES, PLEASE HELP !!!!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Probably a bent wheel, damaged tire, bent hub/spindle for sure, maybe damaged caliper and brake rotor. Let's hope the strut mounts aren't bent or the sub-frame.

    Try to stay in a good mood with this one, it could be ugly. Hope not, though.
  • jfustinjfustin Member Posts: 1
    Spring broke on the front of my 2003 Taurus.. I'm stuck at getting the pinch bolt OUT.. Have the nut off, but can't get the bolt to budge at all.. Is there a trick to it at all? I was told it should pop out with a few light taps, but doesn't move, and I can't unscrew it because there is a tab attached to the bolt that keeps it from twisting too far... Any suggestions, please?
  • smisensmisen Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever get this figured out? I'm having the same problem with my 1995 Taurus and I need to know how to get the fuse panel cover off. Thanks for any help!
  • stang8stang8 Member Posts: 1
    Sounds like it could be the power steering pump.. We have a '99 Sable approx. 190,000 and turned heads when we turned a corner or tried to pull into a parking space. You may also have to bleed the line and that requires a special tool.
  • buffybotbuffybot Member Posts: 4
    the fuse box cover on this model sticks...you just have to yank it...really hard.
  • ergo3ergo3 Member Posts: 3
    Fuse/Breaker is HOT !
    the upper oval thing in the fusebox...
    95 taurus
  • nstreet24nstreet24 Member Posts: 6
    Check your sub frame bushings as well they will make a pop its a common problem in high milage sables and taurus's!
  • nstreet24nstreet24 Member Posts: 6
    Is there a question there or are you making a statement. if its hot then don't touch it and if its broke then replace it !!!
  • ergo3ergo3 Member Posts: 3
    i replaced it.
    still very hot.
    next?
  • nstreet24nstreet24 Member Posts: 6
    I everything working? If so I would just leave it alone unless it seems unusual to you. but your best bet is to just take it to a Ford Dealership and ask them. Make sure that its hot when you bring it to them so they don't just blow you off!
  • crew51mcrew51m Member Posts: 1
    Hello, I have a 97 sable wagon, I turn the wipers on and they wont turn off unless I turn the car off, and they do not return to the down position. I tried a new combo switch on the column, I tried to swap the relays under the hood and has no effect. I know my 92 F150 had a wiper control box under the dash, does the sable have it also?

    Thanks
    Bob
Sign In or Register to comment.