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Sable Idles Fine But Chokes In Drive

4.1K views 24 replies 7 participants last post by  behlinla  
#1 ·
I am having a hell of a time sorting out the whats wrong with the hesitation and chocking when I am in drive idle and take off.. I just had an awesome leak with the power steering pump and it sprayed about the engine compartment some , mostly on the left side belt area.. as All this occurred my 2001 sable with a DOHC 3.0 Duratec engine started a nasty choke in drive while idling with hesitation during in drive acceleration.. I am a suspension guy so working with the engine is newer to me.. but if there are obvious items that need replaced I can knock it out... After looking around I am noticing that what i am describing is looking towards the EGR Family.. The valve itself has a vac hose connected to the top but there is no vacuum in idle... Is that normal or do I need to open conduit and start replacing tubes? I need some ideas:huh:
 
#2 ·
Sounds like it could be a misfire. Is your check engine light on?

First thing to rule out is a dirty air filter. I've seen people with the same complaint have a super clogged up air filter.

There should be no vacuum at idle. The EGR valve stays closed at both idle and WOT. You can test if it is working correctly by popping the cap off of the EVR (EGR Vacuum Solenoid mounted on the passenger side of the upper intake, has a round cap) and place your finger on the nipple inside it with the motor idling. If it stalls or almost stalls, the valve is working correctly.
 
#3 ·
NICE... I will do that in the morning... First thing.. Air Filter is good .. First thing checked... and I need to double check the part your speaking of... not you said it has a cap on it that you can lightly pry off and does this part have a sponge filter? if so I will know right where to go and I did renew that sponge filter in case power steering fluid mist clogged it up ...
 
#4 ·
#9 ·
How many miles? Are the plugs original?

Haha, I wrote that misfire guide with some help :D
 
#11 ·
How many miles on the current plugs? I mean it sounds like your plugs may be starting to go bad. Does it happen worse the higher the engine load. For instance, if you give it gas when it's in 4th gear around 40mph, does it hesitate and stutter?

Plugs should be double platinums, any other ones won't last nearly as long.
 
#12 ·
Well the trouble was all of a sudden not so much cumulative like fords usually roll... I have had the car for 60,000 miles and I think the dealer did a makeover pre sale... but this problem started at a flick of a switch and havent gone over 35 since it started this afternoon
 
#13 ·
I had it like that too. It all of the sudden started. Happened to be I needed new plugs, and then one of my coils went bad as well. Could be a vacuum leak. Read the codes, you may have pending codes on there that haven't been set yet.

If you smoke, or even if you don't, get a cigar, and do the cigar smoke test. A video on it is on that misfire thread.
 
#14 ·
First, check if the CEL works. When you turn the key to ON it should light up. If your CEL is burned out, I would take it to have codes read to make sure you don't have any. If you get any codes, post them back here. Ignore any suggestions the parts store clerks give you.

When it "chokes" do the RPMs go down? Or does the engine just get rough? Are you running the A/C or defrost when this happens? Does temperature make any difference (warmed up vs cold idle)?

Vacuum leaks are a prime suspect, but it could also be an IAC problem.
 
#16 ·
UPDATE... Just had codes read and no worries he didn't suggest anything to buy there lol... Check Engine Light is bad.. 5 codes came up ... p0402, p0161, p0141, p0102, p0113... Narrows it down some to items such as .. EGR Valve EGR Presure Sensor, EGR Valve Stuck Open, O2 Sensor heated o2 sensor (bank 1 sensor 2) faulty HO2S12, air intake leak ( cant be it is nice and silid)TP signal error, faulty MAF/VAF Sensor INtake Air Temo Sensor(ecm detected a high voltage condition on the IAT Sensor...

This was a brief explanation of the readings printed on the readings.. fuel pressure is good...
@ behlinla ... Chokes and hesitates at idle no load.. worse with load... little acceleration in drive chokes until car is moving then smooths out .. at a stop light I have to hold 1000rpm to keep a smooth idle in take off if I granny the accelerator I can get to speed kinda smoothly but it has no step on it to it.. I use too much gas it hesitates with no power not much of rpm loss.. just no power .. and durring the hesitation the vibration of death starts but not when I slow to accelerate...
 
#17 ·
I had rather the same mess a month ago. Found the source by accident; went to pull the plugs to see what they would tell me, and the clip inside the boot on #2 stayed on the plug when I pulled the sparkplug cable. I never would have known otherwise. Put on new cables (bought Motorcraft this time, not the house brand) and all is well.
 
#18 ·
Another thing to check is a clogged fuel filter and a restricted exhaust. Both would result in loss of acceleration and loss of high-end power, such as freeway driving. The exhaust can be restricted with a broken ceramic monolith in the converter. This can be commonly found using a "kick test". If the converter rattles with this test, you have a bad converter and a restricted exhaust.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Okie dokie, time to get some stuff done!

P0402 - EGR Flow A Excessive: Let's just fix this one right now. It is the DPFE sensor. Think about it. If the EGR was stuck open (which would cause this code), then you would notice a rough idle. Your idle is smooth, so it's probably the pressure sensor.
EDIT: I'm sorry about the P0402 code, your EGR could be stuck open. I have been reading and replying to so many misfire and rough idle threads that I forget who's symptoms are what!! You could have a stuck open EGR valve and not a bad pressure sensor.

Since you have BOTH P0102 AND P0113, to me it sounds like your MAF isn't plugged in or it is bad. Cleaning it won't help here.

Check the boot around your intake, it may be sealed wrong or have cracks in it. Do a cigar smoke test for vacuum leaks. Probably not PCV since you only have one bank lean code.

I have no idea with the O2 sensor, lets see that as a coincidence, it could be a factor in this, but I don't know how it would be. Read the O2 sensor blurb on the misfire thread. You said it was good, but what's good?

Let's test the fuel pressure too, could cause the lean code if you don't have vac leaks. Should be 35-40PSI. Should go up not down when you rev the engine.

I find it weird you have no misfire codes o_O Could simply be that stuck open EGR valve.... Test it by taking the cap off of the evr, putting your finger on it and if the engine stalls or almost stalls it is probably functioning correctly. However that MAF problem will cause rough engine problems too... so thats obviously part of the problem.
 
#20 ·
Did the finger on the evr valve and it stalled instantly, I suppose the o2 sensor would have play in this ... Bummer about a MAFS .. those cost..lol But I have an idea for one

@ Kestas... only the heat shield rattled and just had the fuel filter done 2 oil changes ago.. about 2 months estimated ..

I have new plugs and wires... got the platinum ... I will get a couple parts switch them then plugs n wires...give me a couple hours :) I will update.. but keep the ideaa flowing I get push notifications.. :)
 
#21 ·
Do you use a forum app for this? Just curious how you get the push notifications.

VACUUM LEAKS! Let's get that cigar smoke test. Go to the gas station, buy a cheap cigar, and SMOKE it out :D It's a fun test to do haha. If you're a non smoker (like me), don't inhale the smoke (duhh), and you won't get cancer from one cigar.

You need double platinum plugs IIRC. I guess swap the wires out, but honestly replacing parts right and left doesn't really help. Make sure you use quality parts and not cheap-o stuff, it can make the problem worse.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Replace the dpfe (egr pressure sensor) with a Borg-Warner part#631 from Advance Auto or O'Reilly. Clear the codes and see which, if any, return. Might check the pcv hose buried down in front of the intake even though you're not getting po171/174 lean codes...yet.
 
#23 ·
I agree P0402 is probably a bad DPFE.

For the MAF and IAT codes, make sure both sensors are plugged in properly.

You have circuit codes for both downstream sensors. First make sure they're both plugged in properly (blue connectors). You should also check fuse #28 (15A) for the O2 sensor heaters.

Not sure what the vehicle history was, but it sounds like it might have been driven by the type that doesn't understand modern emissions systems and would rather unplug all the sensors to make the CEL go away. Obviously that didn't work, so he either took out the CEL bulb or it burned out from being on all the time. I would give all the sensors a good inspection for hackery.
 
#25 ·
It's possible but not likely. You would probably have other EVAP related codes.

You have codes for the MAF and O2 sensors. Those two alone are pretty big issues, so you should focus on correcting them first and then moving on to the other things after the main things are working properly.