Stalling/Idle Problem

[shyce]

First post; I need to learn more about cars so I'm going to take the intiative. My '98 Ford Taurus just died on me in a matter of a day. The idle is flawless when in park. As soon as I shift it into drive/rev/1/2 the idle dies and the car stalls. If I "gas" it out of first gear I can at least drive it until I slow down or stop. At which point, it dies again. Any idea on what I can try?

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

There are a couple of main suspects. One would be the torque converter clutch. If the torque converter clutch is locked and staying locked, it will kill the engine as soon as a gear is engaged on the transmission under normal engine speed.

You may also have a nasty vacuum leak. As soon as a load is placed on the engine, the vacuum drops and the engine dies. Does the engine seem to run rough when you successfully shift it into gear?

You don't mention which engine you have. If you have the Duratech (24V) the secondary intake runners may be stuck open. If that is the case, the engine will run exactly as you describe when cold. However, usually when the engine warms up, it will handle a load at idle better.

Good luck!

-Rod

[shyce]

I haven't gotten an opportunity to test it yet as I've been at work all day. Thanks for the quick reply; I'll see if it stalls any slower, if at all after warming up after work tomorrow.

[wes28]

Shyce...
That actually sounds a lot like a Mercury Sable Wagon that I used to own. It was an little older of a car than your 98 though. It was an 92' model with the 3.0L V-6. The issue was with the fuel map sensor! Do you have any warning lights on, like the "Check Engine", ect?? You would think that IF it were a vacume leak that it would throw an error to the computer, causing a "check engine" light!
If your computer IS throwing a light on, if you have an Auto Zone Auto Parts store bring it by there and they will scan you computer for error codes for free. If no Auto Zone near you, call some of the other Auto Part Supply Stores, some others will scan for free. If you have no Engine Lights on, really would not do much good to scan computer for errors unless Check Engine light isn't or might not be working, in which case when you just turn the key on to listen to the radio, ect without starting the car, the Check Engine light will not light up at all at that point.
In my experience when its your torque converter Shyce, when you put it in gear (Any Gear) without giving any extra gas, the car will usually "jerk" a second before the car dies out.
Could be a host of other issues as well. Since I don't really know how the car dies, or what the car does EXACTLY when its put in gear, it could be a fuel issue. A dirty fuel filter, a fuel pump going out, and not able to supply adeq. fuel pressure under increased engine demand.
I know this really offers more questions than answers, but without knowing EXACTLY what the car does at the time it dies, or RIGHT before it dies, its hard to diagnose, as most any other issue over the internet!

Good Luck, and hope this might help a little!
~Wes~

[fdunford]

If it were me I'd take off the Idle Air Control (IAC) and clean it with a carburator or throttle body cleaner. This valve controls the air to the engine at idle and can get built up and stick. If this were the case the problem would ony persist at idle and not while under load. The IAC is real easy to remove and free to try.