1995 Mercury Sable Where to take car - recycler, tranny sho

Tiny
GUSBROWN
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 MERCURY SABLE
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 77,000 MILES
Driving the car the other day, rpms dropped car stalled. Car starts/runs fine but as soon as we put it in gear, it stalls again.

We are financially impaired and are wondering (roughly) what general repairs bills might be if we have to replace the transmission or torque convertor, etc. Nothing firm - just a ball park. Car is in Iowa.

Thanks!
Monday, July 26th, 2010 AT 11:10 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
BRAVESTAR1
  • MECHANIC
  • 234 POSTS
Your problem is a Fuel Pump. I have that this before. Your able to start the car, which is odd when you think about it, but when you stick the car into gear it cuts off the engine.

It is highly unlikely you need to replace the transmission. That would be the case if the car was bleeding trans fluid on the ground.

Another cheaper possibility you may try to solve is to replace your fuel filter. It's a little can under the passenger rear door. Costs about $11 at Walmart. Drain the lines into a nice pan, then replace it. They're pretty simple to do, and should be done every 2-3 years, depending upon driving conditions. One thing to note, when you do this, it will be hard to start at first.

Sit in your car, and turn the key to ON (not start) do this a few times. If you hear an audible sound like a whirring sound, then you should be all set, and in about 3 minutes of trying to start your car to pressurize the fuel rail, it should start eventually. If you hear nothing, check your fuses. There might be a blown one. These are located under the dash above the brake pedal. Cumbersome to reach I know. If that isn't the case, another possibility is the fuel cut-off switch, located on the passenger side in the trunk may be popped up. It looks a push-button switch in the trunk, mounted on the back fender. You probably will have to remove the panelling, which is not hard to get at it. Just pry out the push pins in the center of them.

Lastly if you still don't hear anything and you've check all of this, then it's your fuel pump. Having done the filter yourself will save you $40, so the total bill should be between $300-$400 to replace the defective pump. Been there, done that before.
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Thursday, August 12th, 2010 AT 8:21 PM

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