1996 Taurus Misfire codes

I have a 1996 Taurus with a 3.0 overhead valve engine. I am getting 3 codes during testing, 0301, 0302 and 0153. The car is missing. I have had the o2 sensor problem for a while but it has never caused a problem. I had a water pump go a few months ago. One day while driving on the interstate the car shut off on its own at 65 mph. I have changed the plugs and wires and recently the crankshaft position sensor (based on research and its location under the water pump) but it still has the problem. Any one have any other ideas? I am considering the cam position sensor, the o2 sensor and the mass air flow sensor next. Any help would be appreciated.

have you considered a dirty or clogged number 1 and 2 injector? Do you use an inector cleaner from time to time? You may want to check the wiring to the injectors a make sure it is not mouse eaten or otherwise damage.

Good luck

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I tried fuel injector cleaner. I haven't gone through the entire tank of gas but it did improve some. Now the car only misfires when it sits at idle for 30 seconds or so or more. It will run fine until I get to a stop light and once I get stopped and have to sit at idle for a while the check engine light starts flashing and the car starts missing.

i work for audi and they have this problem too often. carbon builds up on the back of the intake valve causing airflow disruption which causes the missfires. remove your fuel injectors and look at the valves. purchase some good carbon cleaner. you might have to do it a few times. if that doesnt work make sure you check your injectors. if thsat doesnt work you might want to do a compression check.

i also have a 96 taurus and one day while i was driving to work the car shut off. and i could not turn it back on. i replaced the cam shaft sensor just for the hell of it and it started up no problem about 2 weeks later i was turning onto my street and the car shut off in the middle of the turn i replaced the ecu(pcm) and now it starts and runs fine but cel is on and it is my camshaft sensor which i replaced 3 times already. something is making the sensor messup. keeps setting the code every time i clear it...maybe same problem???

0301,cylinder no. 1 misfire detected
0302,cylinder no 2 misfire detected
and 0153, upstream heatedo2 sensor circuit slow response bank 2....not sure if you knew those codes or not bt thats what they are. if any help..

your camshaft position sensor will most likely cause this problem. if your crankshaft position sensor is bad your vehicle would not start so that RULES OUT THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR. replace your cam sensor and as 93eclipse said for code 0153 you will need to replace that o2 sensor. good luck!

I had the same problem abd i found out it was my plugs. I put bosch platnium plugs in and about 8000 miles later the misfire cam up on the engine light. It was cylinder 3 so i pulled the plug and found that the platnium piece that is incased around the ceramic (electrode) Was gone.
Replaced it and runs great again. I had other friends with the same problem with the bosch platnium plugs.
wpracing05

I have replaced the cam position sensor and now the miss is worse. Have not cleaned the injectors but doesn't seem to be the problem if the sensor change made things worse but I could be wrong.

did you clear the codes and remove the ecm fuse for 10 minutes? did you check the fuel injectors, the spark plugs, and the compression? this should have been your first step. i have had many cars with carbion buildup on the intake valves do this as well. let me know everything u have done.

Well the missfire cam back on another cyl. and i pulled the plug and found out it was bad again. This week end im pulling all my plugs and taking the bosch platnium out and putting in NGK plugs. If anyone is running the bosch plug pull one out and check the little platnuim piece on the plug. There should be a little piece at the end of the ceramic. If not it is no good. The plug i replaced before was still good but the other cyl's i looked at were no good. The miss was real bad. Its not that bad under throttle but on idle or cruising speed it was bad and getting worse. Im telling ya check the plugs before you go buy anything else. I heard this is quite common with the platnuim plugs.
wpracing05

Did you check what Ford calls a sychro?The shaft in the syncro bends and tear up the cam sensor.The syncro is $147-$150 from the dealer and that is the only place you can get it from.If the shaft is bent and needs replaced,do not attept to replace it without the special tool to set it.

Well the missfire cam back on another cyl. and i pulled the plug and found out it was bad again. This week end im pulling all my plugs and taking the bosch platnium out and putting in NGK plugs. If anyone is running the bosch plug pull one out and check the little platnuim piece on the plug. There should be a little piece at the end of the ceramic. If not it is no good. The plug i replaced before was still good but the other cyl's i looked at were no good. The miss was real bad. Its not that bad under throttle but on idle or cruising speed it was bad and getting worse. Im telling ya check the plugs before you go buy anything else. I heard this is quite common with the platnuim plugs.
wpracing05
Yep. I've said this a million times: Don't put Bosch spark plugs on a Taurus or, frankly, anything else.

I'm thinkin it could be the EGR. Did u have it tested?

Mfirman,

I have a 1996 Duratec that had a missfire. It was the number 1 injector - I had them flow tested, ultrasonically cleaned, and flow tested (this verified flow on each injector). The lower intake gets plenty of oil residue so that needed cleaning too. The injectors must be removed for ultrasonic cleaning. Cheers and good luck.