96 Taurus, stalling engine

Hi,

I have a 96 Taurus sedan, with 230k. I've been having a problem starting the car. At first the engine starts normally, with the car in park. I let the car warm up for a minute or two, depress the brake, and then put the car into drive or reverse, depending on how I'm parked. At this point the engine just dies. All the lights on the dashboard go on, the radio still plays, headlights are still on, steering wheel gets very stiff. If I put the car back into park, and try to restart the engine, it will crank, but not start unless I pump the gas fairly hard.

This only happens when the car has been sitting outside for several hours in very cold weather. After I manage to get the car running, drive for a bit, and turn off the car, within an hour or two I can start it up again without problems.

I don't know much about cars, and have already got the fuel pump replaced, but I still have the same problem, any suggestions??

Which engine do you have? If you have the Duratech, I believe you have vacuum secondaries (called Intake Manifold Runner Control - IMRC). I think 1998 is when they switched to electronic IMRC, prior to '98 was vacuum controlled.

If the vacuum for them is faulty (either vacuum hose or vacuum servo) they will not close when the engine starts like they are supposed to. On a cold engine, stuck open IMRC will cause it to die when put under load, even though it will idle just fine in park or neutral. The steering gets stiff because the engine is no longer running and therefore no longer turning the power steering pump.

You may need to pump the throttle to get more fuel to it to account for the open secondaries. Just guessing here though.

If you have the Duratech, watch the linkage for the IMRC while someone starts the car. The linkage should move as soon as the engine starts and creates vacuum. If not, and you verify that the linkage is not stuck, that's at least one issue that needs to be fixed.

-Rod

If you have the Duratech, watch the linkage for the IMRC while someone starts the car. The linkage should move as soon as the engine starts and creates vacuum. If not, and you verify that the linkage is not stuck, that's at least one issue that needs to be fixed.

Ok, I'll try to get this checked over the weekend and let you know how it goes, thanks for the help!!