1995 Ford Taurus Engine changes

I just got done with using the scanner and got a 111 on KOEO and engine running. Ran the car at idle for a good hour and temp went up and down and the fan kicked in at
the A in normal and cooled it down. One thing I did see as I was watching the temp gage is that it had little blips, so to speak, that were fractional, i.E. Jump up a little jump down a little with no emphasis on the word jump, if that is of any significance. When the fan cooled it down, it was pretty steady. Had an occaisional bubble in the reserve tank and noticed that the water in that tank wasn't even hot, but tepid. Now I'm thinking that maybe my radiator may be, at least partially, clogged, but would that cause the problem that I posted originally.

Jack,
I'm conceding that there is a head gasket leak. This a.M. I removed the radiator cap and there was a string about an inch long of brown paste, and I know that is what you get when you mix oil with water. So the mystery is over except to find out what side is leaking. I prefer the right side, since it's in the front and easier to work on for me. Have you had an experience with things like Thermogasket?

I concur, but at the risk of frustrating you, It's difficult for me to "buy" the head gasket thing. A further look at the rad cap stuff proved to be rust, rather than oil & water. The doubts come from the fact that there are no obvious symptoms and the car is so markedly affected and, it seems, that the car doesn't act up until it gets to op temp. I'm going to do a compression test next and see what happens there. Have a good day. Bob

I've started to take things apart and realized that you may not be aware that I had the distributor out when I removed the front cover. Could inproper timing cause the problem? Meanwhile, I removed the fan to get at the 3 plugs on the right side of the engine or in front as you stand in front of the car. There is no evidence of water, but each has a black mark on the insulator about 1/3 of the dia around. I don't know if that has any significance.

Jack, Today, July 4, 2010, I ran the engine. It got to the second a and the l in normal and the fan came on and cooled things off and I repeated the process 3 thimes. I pressed the gas pedal, gently, and it seemed like it was retarding or starving. I decided to attach the vacuum gage, since it felt like a vacuum leak and by now the engine was up to op temp. I am getting a reading of around 12. I don't know if this means anything, but it doesn't seem right. I wanted to check the timing, but there is no way that I can see the pointer or the markings that apply. Ford did not intend for people like me to do these things on a car. So, that's where I am today. Hope you enjoy the 4th. Regards, Bob

One other thing. Got any advice on how to set the timing with a light. Can't seem to see the things you are supposed to.

Jack,
I think this thing might be boiling down to a distributor timing problem. I was puttering in an attempt to get the engine running smooth. Since I can't time the engine with a light because I can't see the pointer and the other stuff, I put a vacuum gage in place and loosened the distributor enough to be able to turn it. I started it up an discovered that I have to turn it as far as it can go, CW, to get it to run best with the vac going at 17 1/2. I noticed that the cable/connector to the distributor is folded under the distributor and that doesn't seem right to me. I think it should be straighter and in line toward the distributor. I think I might be off a cog or two on the installation of the distributor. Where should #1 be (using the clock numbers) if I'm standing at the fender right side facing the engine.

Jack,
With all of he verbage that I have written in the past couple of days and today, I have to tell you that I made a discovery. I was going to reinstall the distributor, thinking that I might be off a cog on the gear with the intention of getting the timing set better. I took the distributor cap off and discovered that the tab on the rotor that makes contact with the carbon on the top inside of the cap is gone and there is some melting of the plastic. I thought that this might have happened today, so I put it back in and the car started and ran without it. No doubt I'm going to replace it, but before I do, can you tell me what happened and is there something that has to be corrected before I just go ahead put it in and run the car.

OK. I think you mean to lift the distributor out and go one cog on the gear.?

I think I got it. Then I will have to turn the dist. CCW in order to reset it and at the same time, it should straighten the cable/connector going to the distr. One thing that throws people off is when they put that raised #1 on the cap when they molded it.

Moving the wires didn't work. It brought the cable/connector back out to, where I think it should be, but that's about it. I was able to move the distributor CW or CCW, but I couldn't get the car started. When it cranked it always sounded as if wires are crossed. (Which they weren't). So I revereted to the original position and started the car again. I moved the wires in the CW direction.

Jack, I started over, I went back and got #1 up and checked the damper and the arrow was at the slot on the damper puller. I then pulled the distributor and went over one cog and re-positioned #1 and straightened out the cable/connector going to the distr. It's better, but I think the timing is off a little still and I'll probably take it to the garage to have the timing set. There is absolutely no way to use a timing light on that car to set the timing, unless I'm missing something. Too, I'm going to pull the radiator and flush it because, I still think the temp comes up too soon.