1999 Ford Taurus Act's like its out of Fuel after 30+ minut

Tiny
KRAMERICA
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 FORD TAURUS
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 135,000 MILES
The 1999 Taurus 135,000 miles acts like it's not getting any fuel.
It does it when it has been driven about 30+ Minutes.

If I pull over, it also has a very rough idle - bouncing on the verge of stalling.

If I step on the gas the tachometer drops RPM's. The car loses speeds and
continues to slow down. If I pull over and shut the car off, and turn it back on
it runs fine for a couple of minutes and it does the same thing. (The next morning or even after a cool down it is fine again)

Several times I've been on the highway - at 70mph, and I've had the vehicle act like
it's out of gas. If I push the acclerator peddle down more that it already is, it doesn't respond.

The car seems to be fine for MONTHS on end - but if I take it for a long drive, I'm
can almost guarantee it will exhibit the 'out of gas' symptoms. I have taken it to
the dealer, and they tested the fuel pump. They said that under heavy acceleration the
"fuel pump does not provided adequate pressure."

It does not appear to be related to the amount of gas I have in the tank, it will
do this at 3/4 of a tank, as well as 1/4 of tank.

I am not having any problems with the transmission or shifting.

Here is what I've done so far:

============================================
I had the EGR Valve replaced - no effect.
I had the fuel filter replaced - no effect.

Paid the dealer to tell me what's wrong: They want to replace fuel pump.

Since the fuel pump is in the tank - it's expensive to drop the tank, and replace. I am skeptical that
this will solve my problem since the fuel pump is a mechanical device and imersed in the gas, How can it
decide to suddenly act differently on a long drive? If the dealer says it doesn't have pressure under
'high acceleration'- I'm ok with that. This is my daily driver, not a race car.


Any ideas. I do like Ford, however, problems like these make it difficult.
Friday, July 11th, 2008 AT 8:03 AM

4 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
If the dealer who has the proper testing equiptment thinks the fuel pump is no good, see about going elsewhere to install it for less? On site testing by the dealer, if they have good techs, is better than off site webb answers?
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Friday, July 11th, 2008 AT 8:35 AM
Tiny
KRAMERICA
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I was hoping for a little more information on 'what could be the problem' not where to go to get a fuel pump.

Do you get my 10$ donation for that response?
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Saturday, July 12th, 2008 AT 10:45 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
What would you like me to say? Iagree with an onsite fuel pressure test? Have it done.I only answer the questions, I don't ask em, or even know what you paid!
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Saturday, July 12th, 2008 AT 3:24 PM
Tiny
MOTORMAN
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
I have the EXACT same problem with my 1998 Taurus.

I can drive it around town, no problems. But get on the highway and go a long distance and I get a similar problem.

What happens with me is it acts like its out fo gear, like I threw it into neutral.

I'll be driving along and BAM the RPMs drop to zero. But if I accelerate you can hear the engine increasing RPMS. The speedometer drops to zero as well.

Sometimes the engine catches and instead of just cruising along, the engine goes back in gear. Other times the car just glides and even though it's in Drive the engine acts like it's disconected to the wheels.

This is some scary driving, you have to pull to the side or just come to a complete stop. In the middle of traffic.

I had a local mechanic look at it and he said it was some sensor. They replaced it and it still does it. I think they couldn't figure it out so they blew me off and charged for some repair they probably never made.

It's like a problem with the software or some sensor somewhere. Because the rest of the car works fine.

Maybe ford put in a software bug to bust after 8 years of driving it.
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Saturday, August 16th, 2008 AT 4:56 PM

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