Engine Misfires in an '01 Taurus

[AClb5]

Has 150k Miles on it and it misfires while in Drive and parked (like when I'm at a stoplight). The car sort of jerks back and forth while I'm sitting still in the drive gear. I just had the tranny redone and the mechanic drove it around for a while to test the tranny and he said to replace the plugs and wires and that should fix it. Easy DIY fix or should I try something else first?

Thanks!

[shorod]

Plugs and wires are often the first suspect for a misfire. They are a common maintenance item and probably would only be expected to last 70-80kmiles anyway. If they've only been replaced once, they're probably due again. If the wires have never been replaced, then the car is probably due for a good tune up (plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, fuel injector cleaner, etc.). Depending on your tools and skills, any of these could be a relatively easy DIY or a weekend project.

Since you're a local, I could probably make some time to throw the scan tool on it and see if it points to something different.

-Rod

[AClb5]

Thanks for the info. I can probably just stop in at Auto Zone and have them get me the codes if there are any since I live like 2 minutes away. I think a full tuneup is a great idea since I already spent $1700 on a new transmission a ~$200? full tune up would be money well spent.

[shorod]

You might ask the AutoZone folks if their scan tool has the capability to monitor component parameters. The component parameters can indicate misfires on individual cylinders, even if the misfire counts are not high enough to trigger a diagnostic code. When I had my '98 Taurus SHO, I had to rely on the component parameters to figure out which coil was failing, they never set a diagnostic code when they misfired.

-Rod

[AClb5]

Got the codes. The guy at AutoZone gave me P1401 = EGR Pr tessure sensor, voltage higherhan expected. Also, he gave me code P0303 = cylinder 3 misfire. So I think I am going to try and do the plugs and wires myself and see if I can get rid of the misfire but I'm not sure what to do about the P1401?

[shorod]

One of the possible causes for the P1401 is the DPFE sensor, which has been a common problem with Fords in the past.

-Rod