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Ford Thunder Bird Car Repair Questions and Answers

Question: 1994 Ford T-Bird : My car blew a head gasket, just had a valve job, runs great until I turn on the heater, which is the electronic climate control variety, digital temp readout, etc. The heater blows hot air for a few minutes then turns cold. The engine temp gauge, which was in the normal range, before turning on the heater, begins to increase toward hot. The temp gauge returns to normal when I turn off the heater. The valve job mechanic and other guys are stumped, can you help?

Answer: Verify that the temperature gauge on the dash is accurate. Do this by putting a thermometer on the radiator. If this tests okay, check for air bubbles in the cooling system as you could possible have an air lock in the heater core or it is partially plugged.

Question: 1997 Ford T-bird mileage 122,000. Hi guys, Last week my T-bird, (mechanically excellent), suddenly started smoking like a pig (super rich, actually had gas drip out the tailpipe!). The check engine light came on of course. I took it in and the mechanic finally identified the excessively rich condition as a fuel injector that was hung open (after he replaced a water temp sensor that OBD said was bad.) They replaced the injector, which stopped the smoking, but now it has a random misfire. They changed the plugs, guessing maybe one had a cracked porcelain, and they said that fixed it. When I picked up the car, about halfway home (15 minutes of operation) it started misfiring again... badly, but it was totally random. Sometimes I'd start off from a light and it would barely move, the next time it ran perfectly normal. It was like someone was throwing a switch, turning half the cylinders off and on. I pulled over and popped the hood. It shook at idle as if 1 or 2 cylinders were down and the suddenly it would hit on all 8, again totally random. While driving, it felt as though it was randomly dropping half the cylinders. When it wasn't misfiring, it was running great. It really feels like an ignition problem. I tired pulling plug wires one at a time, but it was missing too randomly to figure out if it was a bad wire or what. Now I'm thinking a bad coil pack. The ignition module is in the computer (which was replaced last fall) so I know that's not it. The odd thing is the misfire didn't start until the car had been driven for 15 or 20 minutes. Heat/resistance seems to be a factor. Could it be bad wires? Maybe the carbon was brittle and got cracked when they pulled all the injectors out. Any ideas?

Answer: Your problem may be a faulty ignition pickup coil or possibly some loose or poor ground wire connections. Was it scanned for fault codes a second time after you experienced lack of power?

Question: 1995 Ford Thunderbird mileage: 133,000. Hello, Help! Since I bought this car in January 1996, I've had nothing but trouble with the front end. I've carried the car to various professionals and not a one of them have been able to fix my problem. The trouble is when driving after a few moments the front end has what I call a steering vibration and the car pulls a little to the right and also feels as though it is going to shake apart. Just yesterday, I had the rotors and brake pads replaced to no avail. It still shakes! I have talked to several people that have the same model car and they all have the same problem. By the way, I have anti-lock brakes. The car will shake and shimmy every few minutes when driving, when it starts to shake I will let off the gas and that seems to help a little. Could my problem be in the steering column or is it the brakes? I don't know too much about car repairs but I do know when something is wrong. Another thing when the car starts to vibrate no warning lights of any kind come on.

Answer: We believe your transmission may be ready for service. Replacing the filter and fluid may correct the problem. It is possible be the transmission fluid is breaking down prematurely due to insufficient cooling which would cause the vibration within the transmission.

Question:  1998 Ford Thunderbird mileage: 83,500.  I have a leak in my brake fluid (master cylinder).  Is there anyway possible I could patch it up other than replacing it.  The amount to replace is over 1200.00 anything that could be done please advise.  Thank you.

Answer:  We do not recommend “patching” anything in the brake system.  $1200.00 sounds rather steep for a master cylinder.

Question:  2001 FORD T-Bird  mileage: 65,000.  Engine was running a little rough, so I pulled plugs and cleaned/re-gapped and put 'em back in.   Replaced #2 and #3 plug wires, no change. So, I replaced Cap and rotor...and then it happened.  I must have put wires back incorrectly on the Distributor cap, because when I tried to start it, pop pop etc.  Ok, so I got out the book, checked the firing order, direction of rotor rotation, (what I shoulda done in 1st place I know!)  But now, when I turn the key, nothing, no movement at all!  No cranking, no click, click, from a dead battery; nothing but a clunk like sound seemingly coming from the vicinity of the ”High Current fuse Box”.  Did I blow a fuse/circuit breaker?  Or, Is the engine frozen from the timing chain breaking because of the misfiring from my bungled plug wiring?  Battery is fully charged, Int. lights are bright etc.  HELP!  Please, Thanks Matt

Answer:  It sounds like the starter has failed. Replace with a new one. You will to get the firing order correct and you should be fine. You are due to change the timing belt if you haven't done it already.

Question:  1994 Ford T-bird mileage: 75,900.  I had transmission trouble in November.  I had the transmission rebuilt.  In Feb., it started acting up the same way.  I took it back to my repairman and he claims he cannot find anything wrong with it.  It will downshift out of overdrive at anytime...at 55 miles an hour on a straight road for no reason.  What can be causing this if the transmission is ok?

Answer:  You may have to replace the torque converter clutch solenoid (TCC) as it may be “hanging up”.  Also, scan the power train control module for fault codes.

Question:  1997 Ford Thunderbird mileage: 43,000.  Last August a small shudder showed up when the car shifted into 3rd gear (automatic) and the engine was under a slight uphill load. This only occurred when I was very lightly pressing on the gas pedal.  If I accelerate even a small amount, the shudder goes away.  Over the past few months its gotten worse, meaning more frequent.  But I have noticed that it never happens when the engine is cold.   It has to warm up for a while.  I have had it to a transmission shop that comes highly recommended.  They say there is nothing wrong with my transmission or torch converter.  I have also replaced the spark plugs and the plug wires.  There is one more observation worth noting.  When it does occur and I can keep it in the 'shudder mode', it sort of cycles in and out of the mode, cyclically and very periodically like it is part of a failing servo loop or something.  If I were to guess, I would say it’s like the fuel to the engine is being modulated like the system erroneously thinks, the engine is running to rich so it leans the mixture, which causes the engine to stumble slightly.  This stumble (shudder) causes the system to richen the mixture and the engine pulls harder, then the process starts over again a few moments later.  I have thought about seeing if I could find the oxygen sensor and unplugging it to see if that would affect the problem.

Answer:  We think that your transmission may be ready for service.  Replacing the filter and fluid may correct the problem. The factory has a notice out for T-birds. 1994 through 1997 as well as a few other models for those years.  It has to do with a design flaw that does not allow the transmission to cool as well as it needs to; causes the transmission fluid to breakdown causing the T converter to appear to be failing.

Question:  1998 Ford T-bird mileage: 116,000.  I just bought this car, and it runs good most of the time.  Periodically it misses and jerks, and then runs ok again.  At idle, the rpms dip sometimes, but it does not die.  Could this be a fuel filter problem?  It passed California smog test, and had a recent tune-up.

Answer:  Check the fuel pump pressure.  Your car is equipped with a computer controlled engine management system.  An independent auto service center can scan your computer for fault or error codes.  The information should pinpoint the malfunctioning components.

Question:  1990 Ford Thunderbird lx  mileage: 73,000.  I have heard that a good ignition coil will improve my engine's performance.  I am sixteen and looking forward to becoming a car nut.   I have no close relatives who are knowledgeable and I am wondering if what I heard is true about the high performance ignition coil?  If it is in fact a way to improving my car, what kind should I buy and how hard or easy is it to install; what exactly does an ignition coil do?  What other ways are there to up my little V-6's performance that are not too expensive?

Answer:    High performance ignition coils are generally used on high performance engines.  Putting a high performance coil on a stock engine would not be of any benefit.  Keeping your car tuned-up properly will give you the best possible performance.

Question:  1997 Ford Thunderbird mileage: 106,000.  My spark plugs, cap, wires, and rotor were changed and the timing was done with a timing gun.  My car lacks power, the turbo psi comes on sometimes and the gas pedal is hard to press.  As soon as the car warms up it does not do this, but it still will not take off fast when at a standstill, it takes awhile to pick up speed.  The timing was set at 30 BTC and started right, now it is at 10 BTC and is hard to start.  The engine light comes on after driving for a while.  The codes I get are 42 and 14.

Answer:    Code 14 is erratic ignition signal for PIP.  Code 42 is heated exhaust oxygen sensor too rich.  You might want to check the fuel pressure regulator; it may be faulty.

Question:  1996 Ford T-Bird mileage: 56,000.  The problem I had was the temperature gauge would fluctuate going very fast to hot, stay for a minute or so then back to cold very fast.  Mechanic changed thermostat.  It worked for about a day, took it back to Mechanic three times with the same problem.   Each time he changed the thermostat.  This happened about three times.  Finally, he installed thermostat for a turbo charged 3.8 engine.   The car now takes a long time to heat up.   Do you have any knowledge of what is going on with this car?  My mechanic is at a loss...does not know what else to do.  He even consulted with the Ford people.  If you have any explanation on this, it would be very greatly appreciated.

Answer:    Check for air in the cooling systems and check the radiator cap to see that it is working properly (pulls coolant from overflow tank when engine cools).  Also, check the water pump impellor as we have found the impellors sometimes fail or corrode away resulting in insufficient coolant flow.

Question:  1995 Ford Thunderbird mileage: 65,000.  Brake lights, turn signals and emergency flasher quit working.  Checked the fuses and bulbs, they are okay.  Where do I look next?

Answer:   Next item to check would be the turn signal switch.

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