Strange Problem...please help?

[Krenzy]

Ok, so I bought my 95 Taurus SHO ATX 3.2 two weeks ago, or so...and since it's used and had just over 100K they cant warranty it at all...well, here's the problem. A few days after I got it, after driving for a while, the car would lose RPM's and die. Not so much sputter at all, just quietly lose RPM's and die. LOL. I have terrible luck with cars as it is, but c'mon lol. It's happened about 7 or 8 times since then, and usually all it takes is 5 minutes of sitting with the engine off to get it running right again. But after a while, it tries to die again. One time it did it, and I attempted to give it gas, and it still died; kinda fluxed then died lol.

Battery and Alternator check out fine. I can't really afford to take it to the shop right now, I got home Saturday from a weeklong vacation, so funds are somewhat depleted. Anyone here have an idea? I have been recommended the possibilities of MAF sensor and/or EGO? Not sure if they would be the culprit, or even where they are on the car. Ford's are pretty new to me; atleast working on them is.

Any help at all is greatly appreciated guys! Thanks!

Krenzy

 

[spiegeltuxer]

Sounds like a Crank Position Sensor to me.

 

[Vsho93]

if the car still runs after it dies check the cam position sensor , my car did the exact same thing you described to a t when I first bought it in 2000 , I replaced that sensor everything went back to normal

 

[Krenzy]

Thanks for the tip...where's the crank sensor located at? I have no manuals or reference pictures.

Edit: Are we thinking Cam Position Sensor or Crank Position Sensor?

 

[jessemachone]

check shotimes.com - they have a great write up on it IIRC

 

[Krenzy]

Ok I'll check it out when I get up tomorrow...were we talking the Crank Position Sensor or the Camshaft Position Sensor? Are they different?

 

[SlowHeavyObject]

play it safe and replace both if you can afford it. saves additional headaches later. if you can only replace one right now i'd do the cam sensor first. my friend had the same exact problem when he broke his. but seriously try to replace both cause 3 days later his water pump leaked water on the crank sensor. the sho is full of them.

 

[Vsho93]

They are different sensors .

btw. I agree with slowheavyobject , replace them both if you can it will save you headaches lol seriously , anyways the cam sensor is on the rear head on the passenger side , it's kind of round can't miss it easy to replace, the crank sensor if you've never replaced one take it to someone who honestly knows about sho's to put on , that one can be installed lose and a belt will snap it in half and the car will not start ( the previous owner of my car attempted it and I had to walk home .) While your at it have your water pump checked and replaced if needed when you have the crank sensor put in since it's already within access ( if your not sure when your water pump was changed ,change it. )

 

[JoesSHO]

replacing the water pump is smart because if the pump is leaking, it shorts the sensor you're replacing, causing the problem you're having. If you don't replace the water pump, it'll short the new one in time, as well- just so you know.

 

[Krenzy]

Ok, well, I haven't been around the SHO much lately, but I did bring it to a shop, where a Ford guy looked at it, and found absolutely no traces or signs of a water pump going out. Good. But he was considering a fuel pump maybe, or alternator. Anything like this sound like it could be the cause? I honestly have no clue. And as of yet, I have not replaced the mentioned sensors.

 

[Vsho93]

I had the crank sensor replaced 2 weeks after she was bought , but Ford could not figure out why my tach stopped working and the car died , they also couldn't figure out why she wouldn't start up again neither , many many trips to get diagnostics done (large towing bills charged to Ford ) showed nothing , one day out of the blue one of the shoforums member ( sorry can't remember your name but thanks a bunch ) told me to replace the cam position sensor , vioala ! never had the problem again. In your case have the fuel pump checked to be safe ( those also fail ) but honestly if the tach dies and the car still runs for alittle bit, even before it dies it's a strong indicator that one if not both of the above mentioned sensors are failing, to be safe these should be the first thing anyone who purchases a SHO should do maintenance wise.

btw: did you get a chance to pull the codes?

 

[Krenzy]

Whenever I try to pull the codes, I cannot be 100% sure if they are correct, they flash too fast lol. Otherwise, if they are correct, I get a bunch of HEGO/EGO, and MAF codes. Can you show me exactly where the cam sensor is? I can't find it.

 

[95greenmachine]

thats what happened to me, and everyone on here told me to change the crank position sensor...
so i did and it was fixed, was an easy one too!!

 

[JoesSHO]

The shorting of the crank sensor caused by the water pump is a result of the pump leaking, not failing... That is a great example of why most refuse to take a SHO to a dealer- they know very little about these cars. Started the car for 10 seconds, checked the coolant flow, "yep, that's great, runs good"

 

[Krenzy]

thats what happened to me, and everyone on here told me to change the crank position sensor...
so i did and it was fixed, was an easy one too!!

The CRANK sensor was easy to do? I thought everyone says it's hard as **** to get at, and you have to remove the tire to do it?

 

[USHOMEISHOU]

the water pump leaking on the crank position sensor is not the only reason that they fail!mine gave out over a period of time the exact same way that you are explaining.

the car will die unexpectedly a couple of times and then start right back up.
as it gets worse the time period that it is out (engine cranks but no spark) only gets longer from here (five minutes...ten minutes...an hour...)

mine(after about a month of not knowing when it was gonna die) got to the point that once the engine got to normal operating temperature it would die and not restart until the engine cooled down completely.

once I replaced the CPS (my water pump was fine and there were no leaks anywhere in the area) the car ran fine and hasn't given me any problems since.

REPLACE YOUR CPS! you wont be sorry (and since you're in the region you might as well change your timing belt as well )

 

[artsho]

I agree....change those sensors ...... Check out this link for step by step instructions ... http://www.shotimes.com/php-bin/mod...le=article&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0&sid=65

 

[Vsho93]

I too will never again use dealer , Just cause the car says Ford doesn't meant thats where it should be taken , most of the mechanics have no idea what their talking about when it come to the SHO. In my 7 years of owning my ATX only one Ford mechanic hit the nail on the head and he lononger works there. The good news is there are some shops out there that specialize in the SHO where we will be fine . I still think for my 15 year ATX this car was pretty ahead of it's time and most Ford service techs honestly will never know where to start.

 

[Krenzy]

Ok, well, here's the latest. I lent the SHO out to a friend to drive for a month while her Regal was getting worked on. She has been driving it back and forth from Marshall MN to the Twin Cities, and today to Hinckley (basically lots of highway adventures). Every so often it would stall on her, and after a while it would start back up. Well, today, she told me it killed while she was driving it, around 50 mph. That's a first; it's never died while at those speeds.

I'm at a loss. What is it? What do I do? She's 80 miles away with my car, about the have it towed to a shop. Her friend Laura took over the phone and told me it won't go past 1000 RPMs; that they give it gas to keep it running, and once they let off it sputters and dies. Her friend said her car did the same thing and it was just a battery.

Any ideas? Please help me fix this damn thing.

 

[Krenzy]

Ok, so the place I bought it from is going to take the car in for a look...yes they're a dealership lol. Here's the kicker: the guy who sold me the car quit lol. SO now I'm forced with dealing with the manager myself. I'm going to see if I can make them fix it for free.

I'm going to tell him exactly what's wrong with the car, and that since day 1 I've had problems, and his salesman told me to just ignore it; that it just had intake work done and it should go away soon. I'll tell him that I kept calling, and when I DID get a response, the salesman told me to keep an eye on it, and let him know if it got worse. Long story short, it obviously hasn't gone away, and now I'm stuck with a turd.

Here's the plan: if all goes well, I'm going to tell him to replace the Crank Sensor and give me the old one (kind of as proof), what else should I have them do? Connect it to a computer? I may do the Camshaft Sensor myself, unless the computer shows that it's bad, and then I'll have them replace it. Just wondering what I should have them do?