Automobile / Mercury / Villager

MORE: Mercury Villager Repair Questions

Question: 1994 Mercury Villager  mileage: 125,000. My Villager has a very strong fuel odor in the passenger compartment. I located a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 97-26-16) for this problem. I called a dealership and they would not give me any details of the TSB except that I should bring it in for them to fix. I don't need them to do it; I just want the details so I can do it myself. Where can I find this info, and do you know the cause. Once I have this, I can move forward! Outside the car the odor only seems to be in the engine compartment, not anywhere near the gas tank. I have checked all over the engine compartment for wet or oil spots, and have found none.

Answer: The bulletin you refer to explains that there may be a missing sealer between the fuel filler opening upper flange and the fuel filler base assembly. The recommend fix is to reseal the gaps in the fuel filler opening.

Question:  1999 Mercury Villager mileage: 101,580.  Hey there guys...  I own a 99' Villager.  The "Check Engine Light" came on right around 100k.  If I recall, I had a Geo Tracker that did the same and found out that it was a factory scheduled 100k maintenance thing.  My guess is that this is the same thing.  If so, I will take it on vacation and then take it in.  If not, I will take my other vehicle.

Answer: The “check engine” light will “light” when there is a malfunction in the engine management system.  The fault code is then stored in the computer.  The computer must be scanned to retrieve these stored faults to pinpoint the malfunctioning component.   Because the check engine light indicates something is wrong, a trip to you neighborhood automobile service center sooner rather than later is recommended.

MORE: Mercury Villager Repair Questions

Question:  1998 Mercury Villager  mileage: 115,000.  My Villager has developed a metallic ticking sound on start up and acceleration.   The oil level is okay.  The noise level isn't very loud and can't be heard at idle after the engine warms up.  I can still hear it on acceleration.  Is this a sticking valve?  How do I fix this?

Answer:   Look for a possible exhaust leak or cracked exhaust manifold.

Question:  1993 Mercury Villager  mileage: 80,600.  We are considering buying this car.  We drove it and tested everything we could lay our hands on and everything worked well.   We did notice a couple of the inherited problems such as a broken latch on the glove door but the important things were excellent.   We negotiated a fair price but are holding off until we can determine if a timing belt replacement is necessary.  We were told that this model uses a chain but I find that hard to believe, if a timing belt is necessary I can add $500 to my anticipated cost. Is there any way to tell if it has been replaced or must we assume the worst?

Answer:   The engine in question is equipped with a timing chain.

Question:  1999 Mercury Villager  mileage: 80,600. Thank you for taking my question. Does not stall or hesitate, but it starts so darn hard, especially when the car is cold. I tuned it and timed it. Now, I don't push on the gas when cranking it. It cranks fine but takes longer than normal to start. When it does start, it runs flawlessly. Is there anything I can do or is this a problem that requires diagnosis?

Answer:  A test to perform on your car would be a fuel pressure test. Perform the test with the engine cold to duplicate the hard start condition. If the fuel filter has not been replaced lately, you need to replace it.

MORE: Mercury Villager Repair Questions

Automobile / Mercury / Villager

Look up more Mercury Villager Questions in our Car Repair forum section.

Try looking up your problem in our Auto Repair topics section

Got Car Repair Questions? We will answer it for free.