Dear brucereid-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
Relax - This doesn’t sound like major surgery. You may have a faulty
vehicle speed sensor in the transmission. This sensor signals the
computer to shift the transmission and also drives the speedometer.
When it fails, it can cause your engine to rev up to pretty high rpm’s
without producing much power, then respond sluggishly or even jerk
hard into gear after a few minutes. If this is the problem (and I
believe that it is) it will eventually fail and the problem you are
having every 1500 miles will become a problem every time you drive
your car.
To be certain if I am right though, you’re going to have to ask the
vehicle’s computer. The onboard computer will provide a Diagnostic
Trouble Code (DTC) indicating what is not operating correctly. If you
take your car to AUTOZONE or some similar big name parts retailer,
they usually have a portable diagnostic machine that they will hook up
to your car for you right there in their parking lot. Usually they
don’t charge and don’t mind doing this as a customer courtesy because
they hope that if something is wrong you will buy your part from them.
This sensor costs about US$18.50 (perhaps a bit more outside the US)
and they usually have one in stock. If you cannot install it yourself,
BUY IT (if this is the problem) and take it to a mechanic to install.
Don’t buy one from the mechanic, because he will go to the parts house
and buy the same $18.50 part (or even less if he is a regular
customer) and will very likely mark up the price for his trouble. In
fact, he may charge you as much as $35-$50 for it PLUS labor!
Your other option is to buy a Chilton’s manual for US$16.72 from
AMAZON and repair the sensor yourself for an overall investment of
roughly $35.00 (your cost for the part plus your cost for the book).
The parts house may also have the book in stock, and a clerk there
(many of them are mechanics or former mechanics) can tell you how to
do it yourself. If you are mechanically inclined, or know someone who
is, this is really not a big job.
Go do the diagnostics thing, and if this isn’t the problem, I’ll eat
my hat!
GOOD LUCK!
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
FORDF TAURUS PARTS
http://www.fordpartstore.com/Ford_Taurus_21063.html
AMAZON.COM
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080199117X/ref%3Dnosim/broughsbooks/103-5986155-5589465
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
“1998 FORD TAURUS” TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS
“98 FORD TAURUS” TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS
“FORD TAURUS” TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS
“FORD TAURUS” TRANSMISSION SENSOR
“FORD TAURUS” SPEED SENSOR
“FORD TAURUS” CHILTON’S MANUAL |
