# 1988 Taurus needs help

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1988-taurus-needs-help/1921>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [July 19, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1988-taurus-needs-help/1921 "2007-07-19T00:04:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dhrodefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dhrodefe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dhrodefe)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1988-taurus-needs-help/1921/1 "2007-07-19T00:04:08Z")

</div>

I have a 1988 Ford Taurus 4 cyl fuel injected that occasionally stalls. Sometimes it restarts quickly, sometimes it takes 10 - 15 minutes. I have had it tuned up, a 3 step injector cleaning done and all filters replaced. I also notice that sometimes while driving at speed it loses power and I have to pump the gas to get it back. Any ideas. I know its an old car but it has been very dependable until this started. It only has 68K on the OD.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Roadrunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Roadrunner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Roadrunner)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1988-taurus-needs-help/1921/2 "2007-07-19T01:20:53Z")

</div>

The fuel system may be losing pressure.

Possibly from a worn fuel regulator or a weak fuel pump.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/1/d/1d47c66a543aa6c5a7873bb2320858f978ff52ed.png) [@system](https://community.cartalk.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1988-taurus-needs-help/1921/3 "2007-07-19T02:07:02Z")

</div>

If not a fuel problem…It could be the ignician module. They have been know to go bad in the Taurus V6’s.

Is the engine hot when it happens?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1988-taurus-needs-help/1921/4 "2007-07-19T02:11:01Z")

</div>

It could be a fuel pump going bad, but something you might consider is the ignition module.  
Your Taurus is one of the TFI-IV cars that were prone to module problems.

It’s the little gray module on the side of the distributor. It’s not too expensive and easily replaced. Checking them with a tester is an exercise in futility; they may check fine and still be bad.  
The symptoms car vary from cutting out to just flat stalling. Restarts may be 5 minutes or 2 hours.

If you change the module yourself, you MUST use the tube of electrolytic grease that comes with the new module. Failure to do so will fry the new module shortly.

Do a net search for TFI-IV Settlement if you want to read a few details on this problem. Hope that helps.