cam sensor and tcc code???

[fireman12]

hello all new to forum i got a 97 ford taurus for a good deal use to be a fleet acount the othe day i the service engine light came on i took it to local mechanic they ran it and said cam sensor and tcc code he said the cam sensor had to do with the transmission is this common and how much will i be looking at cause he qouted me at 950.00 altogether is this price right or could i fix it my self and help would do thanks

[brooster42]

I had a cam sensor code on my 98 Taurus. Depending on the type of engine you have, the cam sensor could be in different locations. I have the standard 3.0 without dual overhead cams. There is no distributor on my engine, but there is a distributor-type shaft that sits where the distributor used to be. It engages the canshaft with a gear and drives the cam position sensor mounted to it. It is a "Hall effect" electrical device and I believe the electrical part is usually fine despite the codes. But the distributor-like part is the problem. The bushing wear out in it and it gets so sloppy that the Hall-effect is affected.

The other code - the TCC has to do with a transmission valve body solenoid...if I'm not mistaken. Does the transmission act up? Any problems? If not - maybe he just scanned a code that happened to occur once or twice but is not the reason your light came on.

For that matter, do you have any symptoms frrom the supposedly bad Cam position sensor? Does the engine sometimes skip a beat...or stumble. Sometimes while at speed on the highway, can you feel a thump - like a supersonic blast of air hit the front of your car. These are the kinds of things caused by the cam position sensor.

See if you notice any symptoms from either the engine or transmission. Then maybe you can address only that item. You might want to try this: Behind the engine on the firewall, a little on the passenger side is a big glob of wires held to the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) by a single screw.
Loosen that screw and unplug the wiring harness from the PCM. This will erase all the captured codes and re-set your engine light (off, that is). The computer will not turn your light on until a device has registered failure codes a certain number of times. That way a fluke won't "set off the alarm" (turn on the light). Whatever device is failing will continue to do so, turning your light back on. Then get the car immediately to the mechanic so he can check the codes at that time. Perhaps now there will only be one code - the true culprit.