I bought a 1998 Taurus about a month ago. It's just an A to B vehicle for me to get to and from work. 172 000km, very clean, no rust, and I got it for a very good price.

I've noticed that since I've owned the car, it has a slight hesitation (almost like a sputter or a slight "grabbing") when I'm going between 50-60km/h (30-35mph-ish) and 110-120km/h (65-75mph-ish). It's not konking out or slowing down, it's just a slight hesitation. I had chalked it up to the possibility that the plugs and/or wires possibly need to be replaced. But, last week the service engine soon light came on after filling up the tank. I haven't noticed anything else wrong or odd with the car. It still runs great, but I have to drive to Buffalo on January 27th, and don't need anymore bills after forking out for this car, a Windstar for my wife and all of Christmas.

I've called a Ford garage and they said it would be $79.95 to hook it up to the computer to find out what the light is on for and that it could be anything from the gas cap to the O2 sensor, but if the car's performance hadn't changed, then it probably wasn't anything major. I then called the Mufflerman, and they told me the same thing, but they would only charge me $34.50 to hook it up. After hearing that, I played around with the gas cap to see if maybe I had not put it back on correctly or if it wasn't tight, and the light is still on. Does anyone have any insight they can pass on about this or a similar problem they have encountered?

Aaryn

 

Hey there.

If you have an Advance Autoparts store near you, they should be able to hook up their scane tool and pull the codes from your cars computer. That would be a big help here. They dont charge to pull codes for you. Write down the codes for us, and we might be able to help. Auto Zone does the same thing. Good Luck

 

Thanks! I'm taking the car in tomorrow to have it scanned. 10:30am.

Aaryn

 

Hey.
Good deal. Let us know what is found, and we might be able to help. Good luck hope its a simple thing.[&:]

 

The scan came up with the ever-popular "P0401" EGR fault. I asked about HAVING to replace it, and was answered with "Not unless you need to go through emissions again. You can drive it like that for a couple years if you wanted. Here are your keys, have a nice day. No charge. Enjoy your trip to Buffalo."

Cool! No charge. Free is good, right? But, I then inquired about how much (ballpark price) it would cost to fix. I was told without investigating further to see what part of the EGR was causing the fault, it could be around $500 (give or take $100).

So now I ask if anyone on this board knows........

1. If the hesitation/sputter/grab is caused by this? If not, what could it be?
2. If replacing the EGR with a used one is recommended?
3. Is $500 (give or take $100) is a good price? I'm in Canada keep in mind.
4. Should I leave things the way they are and drive it with the SES light on until I have to go through another e-test in a couple years?

Any input would be appreciated.

Aaryn

 

Hey AbNormal27

Thanks for the reply. Before you change the EGR Valve, I would replace the DPFE sensor. I see a lot of these on our fleet ford trucks. I dont know how much automotive repair knowledge you have but with a little time and a Haynes repair book, i think you could do a little diagnostic work yourself. Under section 17 page 6-16 in the Haynes book, you should fined all that you might need. The DPFE sensor is most likely a silver box, with two hoses and an electrical plug on it. I think its about 2 3/4" long x 1 inch wide. The egr valve can be checked by applying vacume to the port where the vacume line plugs on. With the engine ideling, apply vacume to the egr valve. Y ou should see a stumble or stall of the engine. Valve should be ok. Un plug the DPFE sensor electrical plug, Turn the key to the run position(do not start). Use a volt meter to check that you have 5 volts accross the harness terminals +or - 1 volt. This test that you have power to the sensor. With the sensor plugged in and engine cold. You will need to backprobe the connector with your volt meter. Start the motor, and let it idle. you should have 0.4 volts to 0.6 to 1.0 max volts. As the engine worms up, run the motor to about 2000 rpm. You should see a voltage of 1.5 to 2.5 to 3.0 volts. Some tools that would be good to have on this adventure would be a volt meter Digital is a must. A vacume tester so that you can apply vacume to the EGR. Small socket set up to about about 10mm, and a flashlight, screwdriver. I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes. If i could scan the pictures i would

 

bosshoss, thanks for the info. Once the chill has left the area, I will try your suggestions. Funny thing, 2 nights ago the light went off! I was heading to the gas station to fill up (I was nearly on fumes), and the frickin' light went off! I filled up, and have made several trips since then, and it hasn't come back on. Weird. I'm glad I didn't soend any $$$ to have anything replaced.

Aaryn