I am having a real big problem with my used 1995 Ford Taurus Wagon. When I first bought the car last year it sounded and ran fine. To be on the safe side, I decided to get a tune up and get the belts and hoses checked and changed if necessary. I went to a mechanic recommended to me by two very finicky people so I trusted their recommendation. However, when I got my car back it was making chirping sounds and within a week it sounded like someone was hitting the underside of the hood with a hose. That sound turned out to be a shredded belt which apparently shredded because it was not replaced correctly. Long story short, the car has not been the same since.
After a starter failure (faulty part put in by a different mechanic), I had the car towed to a Pep Boys. They changed the starter and then ran some diagnostics and determined that the chirping sound was occurring because I need a new idle pulley and a new power steering pump.
Whew! Okay, here’s my question. It will cost close to $400 to have these two things replaced. I don’t have that kind of money right now. Is it safe for me to drive the car with these parts needing to be replaced? Will the car break down sooner than later?
Thanks a million for any advice you can offer.
Regards
When I had a similiar noise on my 95 Taurus I used my high tech/state of the art mechanics stethoscope (also known as a 3 foot long piece of garden hose)to find the noisy idler pulley.
The part was 22 bucks at Napa and a couple minutes of my time to replace it.
Odds are the steering pump is just the typical noisy Ford pump & it’s probably fine.
How does the steering feel?
Do you ever need to add steering fluid? How many miles on the car?
Wow! Thanks for replying so quickly! The car has a little over 108,000 miles on it. The steering feels fine and I haven’t had a problem with the steering fluid. When I had the car towed to Pep Boys, the mechanic used a stethoscope to find where the noise was coming from. That’s how he determined it was the idler pulley.
Is it dangerous to drive with the idler pulley needing to be replaced? Could I possibly break down?
Thank you so much.
If the time 87 Ranger posted is an indicator of when he’s on the internet here, I’d guess he’s at work, so I’ll offer my opinion.
If the idler pulley is jamming at times on a worn out bearing or is wobbly, the serpentine belt will either shred itself or will jump off.
With no belt to drive the water pump, alternator, etc., you’ll find yourself at the side of the road with lots of dash warning lights on.
You say you don’t feel anything is wrong with the steering then I’d say there is no problem wih the steering pump.
Thanks Roadrunner, i had some problems getting logged on or I would have responded sooner.
As Roadrunner mentioned, I think your steering pump is fine & all that needs to be done is to replace the idler pulley.
Heres how it’s done:
Step one: release the tension on the serpentine belt & slip it off of the idler.
Step 2: remove the bolt from the center of the idler & slip the new idler onto the bolt. Replace the bolt.
Step 3 Make sure the belt is centered on all the pulleys & release the tensioner.
An independant shop should’nt charge you any more than 80 bucks for this very simple 10 minute job.
Odds are your new belt was shredded because step 3 was’nt followed, and the belt was installed incorectly.
BTW, this should be a very good car for you. Other than having to have the transmission rebuilt on my wifes 95,it was a very good and reliable car for the 150,000 miles that we owned it.
Heres a very simple little test that you should do once a week on your Taurus.
After a drive & when the engine is warmed up take a look at the coolant level in the overflow bottle. Wait 2 hours & check it again. If the coolant level is now lower all is well with your cooling system.
The last time my wifes car failed this test it took me awhile to find a pin hole leak in one of the 8 (what was Ford thinking) cooling system hoses.
Enjoy your new ride.