Hey folks - cool forums. I don't own a truck but I do own a 2000 Taurus with the Vulcan engine. I've learned some interesting things from reading this forum. Though my car's nickname is Truck, I thought that might qualify me as a poster here!

I am having problems with my car, primarily I think with the engine. Hence my post - if this is impolite please forgive this ole mechanically challenged driver, and politely send me on my way.

I'll try to post all the symptoms - I was hoping someone could identify a few things that may be worth investigating. I don't have the ability to look at most of the things that are probably under suspicion, but a friend is coming to stay soon and he used to be a mechanic. So there may be one or two things he can look at.

2000SE Vulcan flex fuel 57000km. 87 regular gas. Approximately 14L/100km around the city.

There was a period where it was running rough prior to being serviced. I had new plugs, I think a new O2 sensor and some work sealing a vacuum leak. I'll have to dig out receipts to get the full list of work.

The check engine light is NOT lit. The temperature gauge shows a normal temperature and never rises above normal.

There are no weird smells coming from the car, but I do sometimes think that it is emitting more heat than I would expect from underneath the car. Also, one night I checked under the hood two hours after arriving home and engine was still pretty hot.

Choking and Hesitation

When the engine is cold and the temperature outside is cool (10C) it doesn't hesitate or choke as much.

When the engine is cold and the outside temperature is hot (30+C) then it hesitates and chokes.

When the engine is hot it hesitates and chokes. The symptoms seem directly related to the temperature outside - the higher the temperature, the more it hesitates and chokes.

Once the engine is warm, if I push the gas pedal to the floor, once it gets to a reasonable RPM level it accelerates nicely (at least in comparison to normal).

I had the fuel injectors purged - that seemed to make a slight difference for a day or so but then things went south again.

Pinging/Rattling + Power Loss

When the engine reaches normal running temperature and I've been driving for a while, I suffer pinging (rattling) and a loss of power. My typical daily drive includes city driving with brief spurts of cruising at 50km/h-80km/h, which presumably means the car is in overdrive.

I experience the pinging/rattling and loss of power when accelerating (maybe when cruising, but I think it's when I'm cruising and I accelerate slightly).

The hotter the outside temperature, the sooner I suffer these symptoms.

The foreman at the dealership sat with me and heard the noise, proclaiming it to be pinging. They then re-programmed the PCM (for the drivetrain?) to retard the timing. This didn't solve the problem, it simply reduced the level of pinging and reduced the overall power of the car.

Further observations:

Also, when cruising in overdrive (60km/h to 80km/h) when I accelerate the revs drop even though the speed increases. Is this normal?

I have no problem starting the car, even when it was around -35C to -40C last winter and +30C to +40C this summer.

Also the car seems to idle ok at these temperatures (though I'll double check once winter hits soon).

The car doesn't stall even when braking to a stop.

I tried driving in D (equivalent of '3' on other transmissions?) this morning and it didn't seem to hesitate or choke as much - it was cool this morning (~ 10C). I'll try again after work as it's supposed to hit 28C to see if there's a difference.

I've tried 89 octane but didn't notice any change in the pinging.

Anyway, any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Like I said I am reading the forums and I have found a few things to look at:

- MAF (maybe dirty?)
- Plugs (cooler rating? whatever that means) (if accessible my friend may be able to check them)
- Coil pack (dealer will have to check)
- O2 sensors were replaced last year (must check receipts to confirm)
- Check coolant
- EGR may have been looked at with past 12 months (must check receipts)
- Fuel/air filter
- TPS (not convinced this could be the problem)
- Catalytic converter (don't know how to check)

Thanks

 

Welcome to FTE!

How about the fuel delivery system? Has the fuel pressure been checked? Fuel filter been replaced recently?

 

Hi Rockledge, thanks for replying.

I can't remember if the fuel pressure has been checked, but the filter was replaced in the past 12 months. Still need to dig out my receipts for the work. It may well need to be replaced again - from what I've read it's probably not in a location that I can get to.

My main problem is that I've thrown money at this, but noone's really fixed it. So I'm hoping to try to get some clearer ideas as to what parts need to be looked at, so I can be more specific the next time it goes in for work.

Thanks again!