Ask the Car People.SM


Taurus/Sable Maintenance & Repair

2996 messages,  Last post on Dec 01, 2012 at 9:47 AM

You are in the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 256 of 300

#2546 of 2996 Re: 2001 Sable squeaking front end [moerod] by rmncoknme

Jan 17, 2007 (6:56 pm)

Replying to: moerod (Jan 03, 2007 9:27 am)
Do NOT use heat on your front end. You will destroy the balljoint, and even if you do intend to replace it you could also damage the wheel bearing, CV joint and anything else in the neighborhood whether by burning the rubber, making the grease run away, or softening the parts by annealing out any heat treatment done to them. Torches are for people with the wrong tools. Period. I posted this about ball joints on my Sable a while ago, and it worked for me. But I think the squeal you hear is probably from the shocks; I'd suggest you just replace those first.
 
#2443 of 2545 Re: lower ball joints 98 ford taurus [jrolf] by rmncoknme Aug 18, 2006 (2:56 am)
Bookmark | Reply | E-mail Msg
Replying to: jrolf (Jul 29, 2006 7:35 pm)
 
I have the Haynes manual; it's not in there.... So when I went to replace mine it was all by sight and feel. Anyway it worked. You'll need a press kit, I hate it when they say "bash it out, then smash the new one in". So, simple things skipped....
  
Remove the wheel bearing nut, it's about 30mm (you should need a breaker bar). Jack up that side of the car, support on the frame rail where the driveshaft goes through it. Remove wheel. Remove brake pads, caliper, caliper support, disc. Loosen and remove nut on bottom of ball joint. Remove the lower part of the plastic support from the suspension (white thing about a foot long). Remove the end of the steering tie-rod from the steering knuckle (you'll probably need to press it out).
  
Loosen the nuts/bolts on the lower control arm where it is attached to the frame; if you don't it's really hard to remove the other end from the balljoint stud (my trick to you).... Using a press, push the balljoint out from the control arm, so now it's just held in by being pressed into the steering knuckle.
  
Get a steel pipe nipple about 2.5" long (actually get several, in 0.5" increments in this area) and 3/4" diameter, thread a cap onto that. Put that over the balljoint so it rests agains the top part of the balljoint that is pressed into the steering knuckle. Now use a press to get it out.
  
Probably it's necessary to remove the steering knuckle, but at this point it is just by loosening the pinch bolt on the strut. This makes it easier to press in the new balljoint.
  
For assembly, it's reverse of removal. One trick though. When tightening the nut at the bottom of the balljoint, put the car's weight on the control arm so the friction between the tapered surfaces will stop the balljoint from spinning.
  
Good luck....

#2547 of 2996 Re: Fan not working propertly [mcm020] by danford1

Jan 18, 2007 (9:32 am)

Replying to: mcm020 (Jan 12, 2007 10:35 am)
I also have an 03 Taurus. I noticed yesterday that the fan ONLY works on high. I do remember smelling rubber burning when I first drove the car in the morning. It didn't smell like wire burning, it smelled like rubber. I thought it was outside from another car at the time. Now I think something is related to the fan problem.
 I'm going to go out and have a look at things. My guess it's the resistor, but finding it isn't going to be easy, plus it is 29 degrees and I'll be in snow checking this out
 
Danford1

#2548 of 2996 Re: Fan not working propertly [mcm020] by gyates

Jan 18, 2007 (12:18 pm)

Replying to: mcm020 (Jan 12, 2007 10:35 am)
My 2001 had the same problem. The fan resistor caused the problem. It is a rectangular shaped piece located on the fan motor behind the glove box. It has an electrical connector to is, and if I remember right, the connector has 2 wires running to it. Lay in the passenger side floor, and you will see it. The resistor is available at your dealer, about $15.00 or so. The squealing sound may be a fan motor issue. Some Taurus' have a problem with water leaking from the the front cowl, right below the windshield wiper, which covers the cabin air filter. If this cowl piece is not sealed properly, water leaks down and gets into the fan, causing it to rust. On mine, the fan motor itself is working fine, I only had the resistor problem.

#2549 of 2996 Re: Fan not working propertly [gyates] by mcm020

Jan 18, 2007 (1:52 pm)

Replying to: gyates (Jan 18, 2007 12:18 pm)
Thanks for the help. I will probably just replace this resistor and see if that fixes it. It's funny you mention the water leaking from the cowel... the winshield wiper fluid line has broken more than once, and a I just tape it closed... I will let you know if replacing the resistor fixes the problem. Thanks for all the help!

#2550 of 2996 I fixed my 03 Taurus fan today - sort of... by danford1

Jan 18, 2007 (3:31 pm)

Replying to: mcm020 (Jan 18, 2007 1:52 pm)
I found my problem. It is a bad fan switch. First I pulled the glove box (03 Taurus) then unscrewed the 2 screws holding the resistor unit in. The resistor looked good, no broken elements.
 I then pulled the radio out and unhooked the fan switch wiring harness. I used a jumper wire in the harness to varify that the fan works on all speeds. It does, so the switch is bad. I left the jumper wire hooked up to the medium speed until I get a new switch.
 The switch is only held with one screw and is very eay to change.
 Anyone know of a decent place on line to get the switch? I don't live close to any stealerships.
Thanks.
Danford1

#2551 of 2996 Re: I fixed my 03 Taurus fan today - sort of... [danford1] by mcm020

Jan 19, 2007 (10:22 am)

Replying to: danford1 (Jan 18, 2007 3:31 pm)
danford1, that sounds like what I'm looking at... not literally... I would like to find a manual before I start ripping apart my dash, I guess chilton doesn't make them for an entire repair manual for an 03, do you know if haynes makes them? Or another one I could use? Also, yeah, I checked my local parts store, they said the electical fan switch is a dealer part...

#2552 of 2996 Re: I fixed my 03 Taurus fan today - sort of... [mcm020] by danford1

Jan 19, 2007 (11:23 am)

Replying to: mcm020 (Jan 19, 2007 10:22 am)
No I don't know of any repair manuals. I haven't looked yet. This car is "new to me", I bought it used. This is the first problem I had with it.
 
 I did find the switch on line. I searched for 2003 Taurus heater fan switch in Yahoo. After a few picks, I found a dealer website and found the part. It was $9.92 so I ordered it. The shipping was $6.95 though. I was too lazy to try a dealer in my area so I just paid the shipping and ordered it.
 
Danford1

#2554 of 2996 Re: '95 Sable - found fuse box, but how to open? [daneroney] by buffybot

Jan 19, 2007 (3:01 pm)

Replying to: daneroney (Jan 13, 2007 4:10 pm)
The radio fuse is #11 in the fusebox beside the steering wheel. Now, how do you get the cover off of the fuse box?? There aren't any bolts to remove...nor is there an arrow to "push up on" !!! Thanks for any help!

#2555 of 2996 Re: I fixed my 03 Taurus fan today - sort of... [danford1] by foggysail

Jan 20, 2007 (10:30 am)

Replying to: danford1 (Jan 19, 2007 11:23 am)
I had the "high speed fan" problem that I fixed yesterday. It was the resistor, purchased a new one from a Ford dealer for $16-.
 
I found the manuals such as Haynes to lack the details I search when trying to do repairs. What is somewhat better is a Ford Service & Repair CD-Rom. I do not know if they are actually the same disks used by the dealers but they do have far more info than the repair books.
 
I purchased several for different cars on EBay for less than $15 each, delivered. You may want to at least look at this avenue for alternate ideas.
 
Good luck---
 
Foggy

Messages Page 256 of 300

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement