wfgreen

Have an 01 SES with Vulcan engine,it is my daughter's car.Thought I heard a belt squealing or an alternator or water pump bearing noise but it sounds like the noise is coming from underneath the valve cover.It also makes a clicking noise once in a while.
Any suggestions?


thanx
wfgreen

thefonz

Use the poor man's stethoscope. Use something like a section of broken broom handle,long screwdriver,etc. Wrap your thumb over the end of it and place the knuckle of your thumb against your ear. Put the other end on different areas of the engine and other components to see where the noise is the loudest. It's possible the clicking noise is your air conditioner coming on and off.

jwko

I went thought a problem similar to that, mine started out as a clicking sound then ended up making a chirping sound at startup then progressed to doing it all the time. I drove myself nuts trying to figure the problem out as I could not pinpoint the area it was comming from. It turned out to be bearing failure in the Synchronizer Assembly which is really a "dummy distributor". Ford charged me 100 bucks for the Synchronizer Assembly and I installed it myself. Caution:Make certian you know what you are doing if this is the problem and you try to change it yourself, you can really throw the enging out of timing and do some serious damage.

wfgreen

Thanks for the replies.The belts,power steering etc. are located on the opposite side of engine where noise is coming from. The noise is coming from almost the exact area depicted in jwko's picture. I'll take it to my mechanic on Monday or Tuesday.

wfgreen

wfgreen

My mechanic was away this week so a dealer quoted me a price of 223 dollars to replace the cam synchronizer assembly.I dropped the car off there and they said there might be an additional fee of $100 for a diagnostic check. Told them there was no engine light on and that this seems to be a common problem so I didn't feel that was necessary.
Today they called me and told me that the sensor was bad also and that the total repair price would be $363.00,price for sensor part was 37 dollars. Even though it sounded fishy I told them to go ahead since I needed the car repaired.
Car sounds fine now but they told me that price was higher due to the additional labor to install the sensor. Wouldn't they have to have done the same labor even if they used the original sensor? From what I can see in Hayne"s manual the sensor is only held on by two bolts on top of the assembly.
I guess they get you one way or another.


wfgreen

1meanGT

I worked at a dealer that was just like this as Service Manager for 6 months. I left because of this type of behavior towards the people we were to be of service to. I am know the manager of an office equipment company and this is what we specialize in- service to our customers. Some companies forget who makes them who they are. What they fail to realize is the advertising value placed on recognizing your diagnostic and paying tribute. Please take the opportunity to express your feelings to the service manager as you expressed here. You should be able to have the $100 charge removed from your bill without any harsh feelings from any party. Trust me- you are not the first to ask.......

jwko

you are right. They would have to remove the sensor anyway, that should be figured in with the R & R of the assembly. What a bunch of crooks! At least you got the car fixed before it seized, Im sorry that some mechanics are like that I guess thats why I just fix it myself, and if I cant I get rid of it.

I used to work at a gas station when I was a teenager and the owner had a ring that he would wear, on the bottom of the band was a fold out blade and when he would raise the hood to check the customers oil, he would sometimes open the blade and stab the radiator hose, Now thats dirty. He would make sure he had a replacement before he did it. I can recall him saying nope, cant get that one, we need to order that hose. He would almost always do it to the elderly, usually a female.I finally told my dad what he was doing and my dad went in and quit for me and told his fourtune. The man said I was lying about the whole deal. At the time I didnt really think too much about it, now I feel bad. That old man ended up dying at his station from a heart attack.

wfgreen

Unfortunately all I had was a verbal quote over the phone for the replacement of the synchronizer assembly so I don't really have any proof of the original price I was quoted.I'm sure if I pushed the matter they would just say that the original quote was incorrect and was too low.I was charged $178 for labor(2.1 hours), $126 for the synchronizer and $36 for the sensor. Is there a web site where you can look up suggested labor hours for jobs?
From preivous posts on this and other Taurus forums I thought that the sensor might still be good since I wasn't getting a check engine light.
I do some work on my vehicles that I can but I didn't want to try this one due to the engine timing issue involved and the potential for serious engine damage.
The parts are available for a lot cheaper aftermarket but when you go to the dealer you have to pay their prices.Would have just waited for my regular mechanic to get back if it was a less serious problem.Didn't want to take the chance of having to repair major engine damage and you can't convince a teenager to park a car for a week because it's making a squeak.
The funny thing is this dealer is one of the more reputable ones in the area if there is such a thing.I'm sure they would have hit me for a 100 for the diagnostic also if I hadn't been so insistent when I dropped the car off that this probably wasn't needed because it is a common problem and no trouble light was on.
In the end they get you one way or the other.


wfgreen

tbird100636

Well, I thought it was a simple as two bolts too, as stated in the shop manual, but when we sold a 1997 Taurus G at my Dodge dealer it came back 2 weeks later with a check engine light on for the cam sensor, I found the fuel injector wiring assembly was covered in a plastic track, COVERING THE CAM SENSOR. F---!!! You have to remove the upper intake to move the harness out of the way to get at the cam sensor. I don't thnk you were ripped off.

wfgreen

Would the upper intake have to be removed if they were using the existing sensor instead of replacing it?



wfgreen