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My mom has a 2003 Taurus SES with only 38,000 miles. 3.0L Vulcan not flex fuel
She has had Ford take good care of it ever since new, but it is now out of warranty and decided to die shortly after starting on her yesterday. She didn't even make it out of the parking lot. She said it ran very rough and died after she drove a short distance. Then she could not get it started again. She never applied any throttle when trying to start it again. She said there was never a check engine light when it was running.
When the wrecker showed up, it of course started right up like nothing was wrong. The wrecker looked under the hood and mentioned he noticed a cracked hard vacuum line. She decided to have the wrecker tow to a nearby Ford dealer, but they are obviously not reputable and are quoting a sky high diagnostic fee.
I figure I am going to drive it to my tools tomorrow and hopefully fix it.
I know that she is good and always keeps the gas tank full, so I don't have to worry about water in the fuel.
I know that a not starting Ford is usually due to a bad Idle Air Control Valve and I can change that pretty quick and cheap.
I know I will fix the hard-line vacuum line and look for any more leaks first thing, but I am skeptical that would cause a car to die without a check engine light.
Where else would you look? Do you think if I took it to a parts store and had the codes pulled, that there would be code of any use? What maintenance could Ford have overlooked while it was under their care that could cause this sort of major issue on such a young unused Taurus?
I want to tread lightly because the miles are so low because she basically only drives to and from church.
A point in the correct direction would be greatly appreciated. I will have my digital camera and laptop with me when I am working on it so I can post updates.
She has had Ford take good care of it ever since new, but it is now out of warranty and decided to die shortly after starting on her yesterday. She didn't even make it out of the parking lot. She said it ran very rough and died after she drove a short distance. Then she could not get it started again. She never applied any throttle when trying to start it again. She said there was never a check engine light when it was running.
When the wrecker showed up, it of course started right up like nothing was wrong. The wrecker looked under the hood and mentioned he noticed a cracked hard vacuum line. She decided to have the wrecker tow to a nearby Ford dealer, but they are obviously not reputable and are quoting a sky high diagnostic fee.
I figure I am going to drive it to my tools tomorrow and hopefully fix it.
I know that she is good and always keeps the gas tank full, so I don't have to worry about water in the fuel.
I know that a not starting Ford is usually due to a bad Idle Air Control Valve and I can change that pretty quick and cheap.
I know I will fix the hard-line vacuum line and look for any more leaks first thing, but I am skeptical that would cause a car to die without a check engine light.
Where else would you look? Do you think if I took it to a parts store and had the codes pulled, that there would be code of any use? What maintenance could Ford have overlooked while it was under their care that could cause this sort of major issue on such a young unused Taurus?
I want to tread lightly because the miles are so low because she basically only drives to and from church.
A point in the correct direction would be greatly appreciated. I will have my digital camera and laptop with me when I am working on it so I can post updates.