Yesterday I replaced a started on a Ford Tarus. The car only had 53k on it. Wow, I'll put that on a car in 2 years and this old lady has had it for 9 years.

Rolled the thing on the ramps and 4 bolts later it was off (after the battery was disconnected). The thing with the core was something like $150.

I also changed the plugs. They say you have to remove the intake to get the plugs out but I didn't. You can reach the plugs on the back of the motor without removing the manifold but it's not easy.

So, she said the car was also running rough as well as not starting. Kinda the "when it rains it pours" situation. Some guy at a gas station told her that her battery was bad. Then Sears told her that her starter was bad and I told her that something else must be wrong with it if it was running rough since the starter would not cause that. I got involved to help an old lady for my friend (her mom).

Well, she got the car towed to me and I said that I would replace the starter for her, added the plugs & air filter since she said that it had never been tuned up. But it still ran rough after the plugs were replaced. Pulled the plug in the MAF and it ran strong and steady. Wasn't 100% sure it was the MAF I suggested that she'd have someone PROFESSIONAL check it out and she said on. Gave her the car back and she has called me 3 times whining about the car running rough as if it wasn't running rough when she had it. I tried to tell her that the STARTER was working and that she needed to get the MAF check out but she still had this tone with me that her car should be running smooth since the starter was replaced with the plugs & air filter. No good deed goes unpunished. I offered to start throwing parts at it but she didn't want to do that.

I will say one thing. I was surprised that the plugs for the V6 are $4.99 each at Oreily's. That's pretty bad.

 

That's life man, people are so ungrateful. Lately I tell em I don't have the tools just to get them and their car out of my face/yard..

Ford? 53K? Unheard of!! should break down right off the showroom floor.

 

Ford? 53K? Unheard of!! should break down right off the showroom floor.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, It's a Taurus, what was she expecting. She was suffering obviously, and acted rashly for a reason.

 

Shame on you! I can't believe you did not go right out and buy a new MAF for her out of your own pocket! My usual technique to avoid these issues is to talk to the people in a "Rain Man" sort of voice. If that's not enough, I pour a small amount of water on my crotch when they aren't looking. The combination almost always gets me out of "helping"!

 

LOL, I have to try that water crotch techique. That will likely do the trick.

After she called me several times, I showed up on her door step and asked her "What can I help you with?" She asked why her check engine light was on, I told her it was to let her know that her car was running rough. It just took a few miles to inform her. She still didn't want to throw parts at it so I red the codes for her, reset the light and went my way. I should have charged a $125 house call fee.

I guess that's why they call them idot lights. To let people know things that they should have already known about. I mean DANG, the thing was running rough days before I seen it. Oh well.

 

Got a call from the old lady this morning. She told me that her mechanic cleaned her MAF and she's good to go.

She called while I was at a shop with one of my neighbors. When I was walking this morning I noticed they were sitting in the driveway with the hood open on their Explorer. Had steam going out all sides. I asked what they were up to and they said "adding water so I can drive 50 miles to work">>> I urged them to skip a little work and get the car fixed before they cracked their block. Sad, sad situation. The lower thermostat housing was cracked and loosing coolant. It's a plastic part.

 

I sold a 00 Ford Mustang to buy the V70 with twice as many miles on it. I have seen on Fords that all it takes is one bad a$$ butterfly to get in the induction system and wreck havok on the maf. I replaced mine 3 times with an oem one from Ford. When they go out the ecu thinks the car is at the elevation of Colorado when it should be at sea level or vise versa. With a scanner you can watch the baro pressure literally watch it drop out.

 

After I replaced the starter I actually unplugged the MAF and drove it around. I was surprised how well the car ran without the MAF plugged in. It just idled rough with it un plugged.

 

Typical Ford. I can't count how many I have seen go out when I was working on cars.

 

Ok I'll chime in here!!!!! Most likely if it is a 24v which by the intake spark plug comment it is! Most likely older 2005 or older! Those suck to diag for a "runs rough" concern mostly because of the coil pack design! If it has the big coil pack on the back valve cover or front if its a 12v, replace the coil and wires! I used to sell that package all day long at the dealer! You can chase it all day and try to limit to 1 component! Impossible the way the ignition works in that system is "waste spark!" 2 cylinders share the same coil but it fires through both cylinders everytime! You may end up with a cyl #4 misfire but the bad wire on cyl #1 is causing it! So to save us/ the tech headache and save the cust the many phone calls just one quote and done!! My 2 cents!!!! Good luck!!!

 

Ok yes I'll admit I'm a dumbass!! I could have looked at the title of the thread and saw it was a 2002!!! Ha-ha!!! Must have just been too excited to jump into the topic! Well anyway what I said would work!

 

Can't believe it but this lady called me while I was heading out of town and asked me to call her when I got back to get her a MAF and install it for her.

 

Your story is why I refuse to do any work for neighbours, paid or not.
There is an old, excellent saying "No good deed goes unpunished".
It's sad, but I've learnt that it's best not to help people, even if asked, as it always costs you way more than you expect, both financially and emotionally.

 

That is so true.

 

They're getting better. I have an '07 Fusion as a company car. It has 285,000 miles on the original motor. I never thought the engine would last that long.

Oh, and if you wind up dealing with this car again, check the IAC. That will produce a lot of the same symptoms and is prone to clogging on the 3.8L. Pull it and Seafoam the heck out if it.

 

I would hope that this V6 is not 3.8L???

I think the lady is waiting on me to call her and let her know I'm back in town.

 

don't call her, wait till she comes to ur door then say you can't help her, you've got too much of ur own **** to worry about...

where are those pics of the wagon?

 

Gah! Sorry, brain fade. Probably a 3.0L in that one. The Windstars had the 3.8L.