cranshinibon
New Member
Hey everyone I have been having a little issue with my car as of late, and due to the problems, I may have to be forced to sell it, but would rather fix the issues before putting it up for sale. (I like giving people as much honesty as possible when selling a car, and hate giving people my headache)
Background Information on Car:
1994 Ford Taurus SHO V6 3.2L Automatic
214,634 Miles
Work Done:
The only maintenance I haven't kept up on completely would be changing the air and fuel filter, both of which don't seem to be in good condition, however I will be changing the fuel pump soon because it has a slight whining noise from the back briefly when I turn the ignition to idle before starting it.
Here is the issue:
A few weeks ago I was driving home from my girlfriend's house and when I was at the light I had my heat running and when the light turned green, I went to step on the gas and it just shook a little bit and all the lights came on, causing the car to stall. I turned the car off, waited a second, and went to start the car again and it just kept turning and turning. Eventually I had to have a cop push me across the highway into a safer area. While I was sitting there waiting for the tow truck to come, I turned the car another few times, tried turning the heat off, and eventually it started back up.
I have a brand new starter, battery, and alternator in the car, so I know for a fact none of these are an issue. Additionally, there has never been an overheating issue as I keep up on all of the fluids and try to make sure they don't get low, and because of the mileage, I always try to keep up on oil changes and keep extra oil just in case the car gets low and I need to put a little in to hold me over until I change the oil.
Brought the car to the mechanic and he could find nothing wrong with it, he said he had it running for a while, took it for a few drives, tried driving it cold - nothing happened.
I took the car back and started driving it again. About two weeks later the problem started again.
On my way on a trip for my anniversary, I noticed something weird was still happening. I was at a stop sign and I went to go and I took off a little fast (not slamming the pedal to the floor, but I had the rpms going to about 2500-3000 before shifting) because I was in a rush. About halfway into the turn the car stalled out for a brief moment while my foot was down on the pedal...I immediately let off the pedal and pushed it down again, and the car recovered from the stall and kept driving without me having to start it again.
About 3 or 4 miles down the road I was driving down a hill and the car stalled out again, with all of the lights on the dash coming on again. I tried pumping the gas pedal but it was to no avail. I parked it on the side of the road, tried starting it a few times even while pumping the gas pedal (and it kept turning) and proceeded to call AAA. After about 10-15 minutes waiting and talking on the phone with the agent, I went to start the car again, and it started right up. I drove it home and have had it in the driveway for about a week now, attempting to find the issue.
I researched a bit online and the only thing I have found that can be similar to this issue is having a leak in the water pump that drips onto the CPS and into the catalytic converter. I got this from SHOtime which brought me to my hypothesis:
Stalling is often caused by failed crankshaft and/or camshaft position sensors.
Failures of these sensors are many times heat-related; however, failure of the crankshaft position sensor can also be caused by a leaking water pump. Coolant can leak from the pump onto the sensor, and then down onto the catalytic converter where it evaporates, leaving little evidence of the source of the problem.
A textbook symptom for this problem is the tachometer reading dropping to zero while the engine is still turning. The tach gets info from the DIS system. If the engine dies due to a fuel concern, the DIS system will still be trying to run the engine. Since the tach is going to zero, then that tells you that the DIS system is not running the engine.
I love this car to death, and the last thing I want to do is have to get rid of it especially when it could be just a simple fix to keep it running. Please someone help me revive my baby back to health.
Background Information on Car:
1994 Ford Taurus SHO V6 3.2L Automatic
214,634 Miles
Work Done:
[*]Catalytic Converters Replaced (BOTH)
[*]New Battery
[*]New Alternator & Belt
[*]New Starter (because I lost my keys)
[*]New Radiator
[*]Oil Changed every 3,000 Miles
The only maintenance I haven't kept up on completely would be changing the air and fuel filter, both of which don't seem to be in good condition, however I will be changing the fuel pump soon because it has a slight whining noise from the back briefly when I turn the ignition to idle before starting it.
Here is the issue:
A few weeks ago I was driving home from my girlfriend's house and when I was at the light I had my heat running and when the light turned green, I went to step on the gas and it just shook a little bit and all the lights came on, causing the car to stall. I turned the car off, waited a second, and went to start the car again and it just kept turning and turning. Eventually I had to have a cop push me across the highway into a safer area. While I was sitting there waiting for the tow truck to come, I turned the car another few times, tried turning the heat off, and eventually it started back up.
I have a brand new starter, battery, and alternator in the car, so I know for a fact none of these are an issue. Additionally, there has never been an overheating issue as I keep up on all of the fluids and try to make sure they don't get low, and because of the mileage, I always try to keep up on oil changes and keep extra oil just in case the car gets low and I need to put a little in to hold me over until I change the oil.
Brought the car to the mechanic and he could find nothing wrong with it, he said he had it running for a while, took it for a few drives, tried driving it cold - nothing happened.
I took the car back and started driving it again. About two weeks later the problem started again.
On my way on a trip for my anniversary, I noticed something weird was still happening. I was at a stop sign and I went to go and I took off a little fast (not slamming the pedal to the floor, but I had the rpms going to about 2500-3000 before shifting) because I was in a rush. About halfway into the turn the car stalled out for a brief moment while my foot was down on the pedal...I immediately let off the pedal and pushed it down again, and the car recovered from the stall and kept driving without me having to start it again.
About 3 or 4 miles down the road I was driving down a hill and the car stalled out again, with all of the lights on the dash coming on again. I tried pumping the gas pedal but it was to no avail. I parked it on the side of the road, tried starting it a few times even while pumping the gas pedal (and it kept turning) and proceeded to call AAA. After about 10-15 minutes waiting and talking on the phone with the agent, I went to start the car again, and it started right up. I drove it home and have had it in the driveway for about a week now, attempting to find the issue.
I researched a bit online and the only thing I have found that can be similar to this issue is having a leak in the water pump that drips onto the CPS and into the catalytic converter. I got this from SHOtime which brought me to my hypothesis:
Stalling is often caused by failed crankshaft and/or camshaft position sensors.
Failures of these sensors are many times heat-related; however, failure of the crankshaft position sensor can also be caused by a leaking water pump. Coolant can leak from the pump onto the sensor, and then down onto the catalytic converter where it evaporates, leaving little evidence of the source of the problem.
A textbook symptom for this problem is the tachometer reading dropping to zero while the engine is still turning. The tach gets info from the DIS system. If the engine dies due to a fuel concern, the DIS system will still be trying to run the engine. Since the tach is going to zero, then that tells you that the DIS system is not running the engine.
I love this car to death, and the last thing I want to do is have to get rid of it especially when it could be just a simple fix to keep it running. Please someone help me revive my baby back to health.
