1997 Mercury Sable irregular idle at all speeds, loss of en

JOSTHAUS

MEMBER
1997 MERCURY SABLE
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
110,000 MILES

I have a 1997 mercury sable, 110,000 miles. Two days ago, the engine has started to run very rough and was at a loss for power, almost like it isn't firing on all cylinders. I changed the plugs and wires, but stll no better. All the plugs are creating a spark so I think the electronic distributor is okay. I was thinking that the fuel filter may be blocked, but in that case, it should be idling okay. Also, the "service engine soon" light is flashuing on and off. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jonas

3 Replies

BLACKOP555

MECHANIC
10,371 POSTS

First go get the check engine light scanned, it will save you alot of money in the end.

Post back your results and ill walk you through the process.

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Sunday, December 30th, 2007 AT 7:39 PM

JOSTHAUS

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I scanned the codes, there are two:

1. P0303 - Generic cylinder 3 missfire detected.
2. P0174 - Generic system too lean (bank 2).

Any ideas?

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Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 AT 5:24 PM

BLACKOP555

MECHANIC
10,371 POSTS

The missfire is either causing the lean bank problem or the lean bank is causing the missfire problem. First you should change the plugs, and wire for that cylinder, and perform a compression test on that cylinder also, listen to the fuel injector if it is buzzing I would suggest you replace the o2 sensor. If one of those listed first solves the problem then the o2 sensor is good unless the code doesnt go away.

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Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 AT 7:34 PM