Ford Forums banner

1990 Taurus Wagon lack of power on acceleration

981 views 2 replies 0 participants last post by  Robert W via CarKB.com 
G
#1 ·
Okay...I'm back with another question about my wife's 1990 Taurus wagon with
the 3.0 liter. It reads 97,000 miles, but it could very well be 197,000 as
we bought it used and the owner didn't know for certain.

The problem is a lack of power when you accelerate. It feels like you are
trying to pull a tank behind it. Zero to 60 in 8.5 seconds? More like zero
to 60 in 8.5 minutes. Seriously, it takes FOREVER to get up to cruising
speed. Also the check-engine light goes on and off at random intervals. I
just got the oil changed, and the light stayed off for nearly 200 miles, then
it came back on.

I'm sure this is something simple, but I'm a real dummy when it comes to
anything under the hood.

Little help?


--
Message posted via http://www.carkb.com
 
See less See more
G
#2 ·
On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:01:20 GMT, "Robert W via CarKB.com"
<forum@nospam.CarKB.com> wrote:

>Okay...I'm back with another question about my wife's 1990 Taurus wagon with
>the 3.0 liter. It reads 97,000 miles, but it could very well be 197,000 as
>we bought it used and the owner didn't know for certain.
>
>The problem is a lack of power when you accelerate. It feels like you are
>trying to pull a tank behind it. Zero to 60 in 8.5 seconds? More like zero
>to 60 in 8.5 minutes. Seriously, it takes FOREVER to get up to cruising
>speed. Also the check-engine light goes on and off at random intervals. I
>just got the oil changed, and the light stayed off for nearly 200 miles, then
>it came back on.
>
>I'm sure this is something simple, but I'm a real dummy when it comes to
>anything under the hood.
>
>Little help?


Could be many different things. Plugged exhaust/cat, plugged air
filter, plain old worn-out engine, just to name a few. I myself would
change the air filter and have a compression test done on it. Also,
have you ruled out some of the easy ones, like the parking brake being
engaged? Does it run rough or sound like it misses? Plugs and/or wires
may be in order if so. I also assume you ruled out crappy fuel? I'd
check the fuel filter also. If you take it to a mechanic to get a
compression test done, have them check for vaccuum leaks also.

As far as checking the exhaust system integrety, I'm not sure how a
person would do it without just replacing it from the get-go,,, which
is not a wise move due to the amount of money it would take, and the
fact that it's not 100% for sure the problem.

BTW, when driving through Canada in a '91 tempo, I experienced similar
conditions, turns out the floormat got bunched up under the gas pedal.
Could you be so luckey? Check it out.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top