1999 Taurus Se. 3.0 strange idle etc.

I have a 99 Taurus 3.0 that surges at idle in a rythm like Darth Vader's breathing. It is enough to tax the breaks at a stop. It happens all of the time, in all conditions with one exception. When I first drove it, I took it on the longest drive it had in several years. At the end of that drive, it did not do it, but it started up the next day again. I also heard another Taurus making the same noise at a stop sign near my house, so I am thinking that it is a common complaint. Does anyone know about this?

The car also shifts really hard especially into 2nd after reving higher that seems comfortable. I have not check the fluid level as I just got the car. Is this also common?

Any help will be great.

Thanks
LFJ

One thing to check for common issues is to use the "Search this forum" tool from the Taurus forum main page. In this case though, I'm not sure what to recommend as a good keyword to search for if you don't have an idea what the problem is.

For the surging, I'd suggest you start by adding a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to the tank and giving it about 50 miles to work. If that doesn't seem to help, then you may want to check the back side of the throttle plate for build up of carbon. Next would be the Idle Air Control (IAC) and associated passages.

For the transmission shifting, as you suggested, check the condition and level of the fluid, then post back if the level and condition is fine. You do know to check the fluid with the engine idling in Park or Neutral, right?

-Rod

I was thinking it might be the throttle body position sensor. It seems to surge a bit at highway speed, and it does not coast like it seems it ought to. It seems like the throttle does not drop fast enough. 2000 rpm with foot off gas, but on the thruway. The cruise does not work either. Maybe there is a connection.
I got this car for free from my cousin, his son was abusing it for a bit so who knows?

What is the mysterious "Tanny Problem" that gets mentioned alot?

The tranny problem you refer to may be the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS). That part can cause some strange electrical symptoms.

I wouldn't expect a Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) to keep the cruise from working, but neither would any of the items I mentioned previously.

If you have a multimeter or a scan tool with datastream mode, you can pretty easily test the TPS sensor for linearity.

-Rod