#$(%*#)$(*)#($*)@!!($$&****~!!!

[BreakfastSurreal]

That's how I feel right now. Yeah, my fucking FORD mercury piece of shit decided to shit on me again today. IN A DRIVE THRU!!! TRAPPED between 2 cars! I had to lay on my horn for a good minute to get these people to MOVE the fuck out of my way so i could get out once i got it started again. I called james and he thinks its an idler problem or something. It stalls out when im idling..and hesitates...it almost sounds like my car is trying to hock something up out of its throat, but then instead of throwing up, it just dies. I wish i had a fucking sledgehammer right now.

Oh and word of advice: When someone's car is broken down, and they tell you what's wrong with it, and they've been waiting in the TEXAS HEAT for over an hour for you, and you don't know anything about cars, don't tell them that there is nothing wrong with their car...unless you wanna face their wrath. Seriously. OH YEAH YOURE RIGHT!!!! I MUST have imagined the ENTIRE thing! hahahha.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

IACV - Idle Air Control Valve.

About Idle Air Control Valves

That's my best guess.

 

[alleycat]

What kind of car is it? a Taurus or Sable?

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

sable. ugh it makes me sick that i spent $5500 on this car less than a year ago. fuck man. I want my new car like now. im getting a bike. not a motorcycle...but a regular one soi can ride to walmart which is less than a mile away lol. everything i could ever need is at walmart...

 

[TheOriginalJames]

What kind of car is it? a Taurus or Sable?

Taurus' and Sables' are the same thing... just different name and exterior cladding.

Kind of like the Escort and Tracer.

 

[DanTastic]

ive seen this case before and it ended up being a faulty MAFS

 

[Tegan]

I hope it's not a MAFS, that's a pain in the ass. If it's the idle control valve, I can probably replace it. If it's a MAFS, forget it. I will need a mechanic todo that.

Clare, MAFS is the mass airflow sensor, it's what regulates air flow to the engine.

That said, if it is the MAFS, wouldn't it sputter and die randomly regardless of engine RPM? If you give her car a little gas, it stops sputtering, which makes me think it's the idle controller.

 

[Tegan]

Oh, and Clare, I never said nothing was wrong with your car, I said it's not doing anything that will stop you from getting home. It's just a rough idle, the car still runs fine.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

umm no matt i will fix it. i want to learn about cars, so that next time im told to make do with a piece of shit car i can take care of it myself instead of asking other people for money to fix my car all the time.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

this is what we need. its $86.
http://napaonline.com/masterpages/N...ber=229692&Description=Idle+Air+Control+Valve

 

[alleycat]

Taurus' and Sables' are the same thing... just different name and exterior cladding.

Kind of like the Escort and Tracer.

I realize that. I was guessing at what kind of Ford or Mercury she had. By what she described, I guessed correctly that it was either a Taurus or a Sable and I even guessed the engine before I knew the year... Thank you very much.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

I realize that. I was guessing at what kind of Ford or Mercury she had. By what she described, I guessed correctly that it was either a Taurus or a Sable and I even guessed the engine before I knew the year... Thank you very much.

Sorry Ali. I didn't realize she didn't say Sable in her first post.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

I hope it's not a MAFS, that's a pain in the ass. If it's the idle control valve, I can probably replace it. If it's a MAFS, forget it. I will need a mechanic todo that.

Clare, MAFS is the mass airflow sensor, it's what regulates air flow to the engine.

That said, if it is the MAFS, wouldn't it sputter and die randomly regardless of engine RPM? If you give her car a little gas, it stops sputtering, which makes me think it's the idle controller.

If it's the MAF it may not even start at all, or yes, it wouldn't matter how fast, what RPM, where she's at.

Rough idle is normally the IACV.

 

[alleycat]

I asked her if it was revving up and down, which is the major symptom of an IAC failure. The 3.0s are notorious for IACs.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

whats the best manual i can buy?? lol. not just for this..but apparently im never going to have a NON piece of fucking shit car so i better learn how to fix em myself if i want to drive until i can get myself a real fucking career and afford a nice one.

 

[Tegan]

Yes, it would sit and the RPM would start to flux up and down, then it would die. If you give it a bit of gas, the problem corrects. It definitely sounds like the idle controller is going.

 

[Tim]

If you can get the car to an AutoZone, have them hook up a code reader and see what code you are getting. That will tell you what the hell is going on. My Taurus had the same thing happen and it was a $12 part that went. It was the TPS throttle position sensor. Taurus's are known to have these go bad, and your onboard computer needs feedback from the TPS to idle the car properly. DON'T just start replacing parts that you might think it is when you haven't checked the cars codes. You will end up just throwing money away

If you really are serious about learning about fixing your car, buy a Haynes manual for your car. Make sure it matches your model and year, also pick up a code reader that you can plug in and read your own codes, you should be able to get one under $40.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

cool i need to get one of those. and i will do the autozone thing first, i can drive it its just scary as shit because id ont like being STUCK.

 

[Tim]

when my TPS went, it would run kinda ok, but when I would let off the gas it would just die, and it was hard to start sometimes. So when I would come up to a light in traffic, I had to keep my foot on the gas and the brake, and even then it was a damn crap shoot.

 

[Tim]

what's the year of your car? And is it the 3.0 engine?