Taurus Engine knocking, what could be the problem

[D22]

VIC:

"has anything happened since then? Did you drive it hard, through hot and really dusty conditions, did it overheat... something? "

Nope, nothing obvious at all. I am a relatively non aggressive driver - my cars rarely even hit 4k RPMs...

"Is the check engine or check oil light on?"

YES - And I already had it scanned. It gave a bad O2 sensor code and I have this scribbled on the back of an Autozone receipt "lack of H02s switch sensor indicates lean ECM detector bank 102 at it's lean limit"

"How loud is this?"

LOUD, it sounds like it is coming from closer to the top of the engine. It knocks constantly, even at idle. At first it was only knocking noticably around 3-4k RPMs, then it started knocking at 2.5k RPMs, and now it is constant even at idle.

 

[BUTCH1]

If the O2 sensor gets too bad the PCM should put the car into "limp mode" were it does not
use input from the O2 sensor as a means of determining air/fuel ratio. You could replace the
sensor and see if it helps but this sure sounds like rod knock(worn rod bearings) is the
likely suspect..

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

I had a '93 with that engine and it self destructed at 63,000 miles.

no, you didn't.

No doubt. Sometimes you gotta wonder how Dave thinks he can get away with lying so much (and so badly). There was no Duratec engine in the 2nd gen Taurus, those used the Vulcan and Essex engines (the OP's 96 is a 3rd gen). The Vulcan and Essex were pushrod OHV while the Duratec is DOHC. Not to mention that the Duratec 30 wasn't even introduced until 96.

And about his "There should be a Toyaota dealership on every corner" comment, has he never heard of Toyota's engine problems? Like a good friend of mine didn't have an Avalon engine blow at 35k miles due to the sludging problem.

It may not have been a "Duratec" but it was a 3.0 L engine and it died at 63,000 miles. I have not had a Found on Road Dead since.

It was a Taurus wagon that was named the Tortoise because it couldn't get out of it's own way. It had the longest 0 - 60 mph time I have ever witnessed.

I made damn sure I had a lot of room before getting on ramps on I-85 and 285 in Atlanta when I had that POS.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

I had a '93 with that engine and it self destructed at 63,000 miles.

no, you didn't.

No doubt. Sometimes you gotta wonder how Dave thinks he can get away with lying so much (and so badly). There was no Duratec engine in the 2nd gen Taurus, those used the Vulcan and Essex engines (the OP's 96 is a 3rd gen). The Vulcan and Essex were pushrod OHV while the Duratec is DOHC. Not to mention that the Duratec 30 wasn't even introduced until 96.

And about his "There should be a Toyaota dealership on every corner" comment, has he never heard of Toyota's engine problems? Like a good friend of mine didn't have an Avalon engine blow at 35k miles due to the sludging problem.

Is Toyota fixing or replacing the engines?

Ford wouldn't do sh!t for me.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

I had a '93 with that engine and it self destructed at 63,000 miles.

no, you didn't.

No doubt. Sometimes you gotta wonder how Dave thinks he can get away with lying so much (and so badly). There was no Duratec engine in the 2nd gen Taurus, those used the Vulcan and Essex engines (the OP's 96 is a 3rd gen). The Vulcan and Essex were pushrod OHV while the Duratec is DOHC. Not to mention that the Duratec 30 wasn't even introduced until 96.

And about his "There should be a Toyaota dealership on every corner" comment, has he never heard of Toyota's engine problems? Like a good friend of mine didn't have an Avalon engine blow at 35k miles due to the sludging problem.

Is Toyota fixing or replacing the engines?

Ford wouldn't do sh!t for me.

A guy here at work just had his Escape's engine repaired for free while out of warranty. Manufacturer defect on the oil pump. They paid for everything including rental, hotel stay (it occurred on a trip), everything.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

I had a '93 with that engine and it self destructed at 63,000 miles.

no, you didn't.

No doubt. Sometimes you gotta wonder how Dave thinks he can get away with lying so much (and so badly). There was no Duratec engine in the 2nd gen Taurus, those used the Vulcan and Essex engines (the OP's 96 is a 3rd gen). The Vulcan and Essex were pushrod OHV while the Duratec is DOHC. Not to mention that the Duratec 30 wasn't even introduced until 96.

And about his "There should be a Toyaota dealership on every corner" comment, has he never heard of Toyota's engine problems? Like a good friend of mine didn't have an Avalon engine blow at 35k miles due to the sludging problem.

Is Toyota fixing or replacing the engines?

Ford wouldn't do sh!t for me.

A guy here at work just had his Escape's engine repaired for free while out of warranty. Manufacturer defect on the oil pump. They paid for everything including rental, hotel stay (it occurred on a trip), everything.

An Escape already out of Warranty?

Well maybe Fix Or Repair Daily has learned something from screwing people over.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Vic
No doubt. Sometimes you gotta wonder how Dave thinks he can get away with lying so much (and so badly). There was no Duratec engine in the 2nd gen Taurus, those used the Vulcan and Essex engines (the OP's 96 is a 3rd gen). The Vulcan and Essex were pushrod OHV while the Duratec is DOHC. Not to mention that the Duratec 30 wasn't even introduced until 96.

i honestly think the vulcan was indestructable. it has quite the reputation for durability. in my own experience, when i got rid of my '91 taurus there were hoses that had rotted apart and the engine still ran. so, i'm going to call shens on dave even having engine problems at 63,000 miles. transmission? yeah, i'd give him that. but engine? nope. at least, assuming he didn't have a SHO model (though, iirc, the V6s were pretty good, it was the later V8s that had cam-sprocket failure).

I have a friend who is a big SHO fan, he has a 91 with the Yamaha V6. The original engine made it to about 150k. He replaced it, and the new one has been doing fine.
He got a 99 SHO with the V8, and took it to someone who fixes the cams before they blow up.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

I had a '93 with that engine and it self destructed at 63,000 miles.

no, you didn't.

No doubt. Sometimes you gotta wonder how Dave thinks he can get away with lying so much (and so badly). There was no Duratec engine in the 2nd gen Taurus, those used the Vulcan and Essex engines (the OP's 96 is a 3rd gen). The Vulcan and Essex were pushrod OHV while the Duratec is DOHC. Not to mention that the Duratec 30 wasn't even introduced until 96.

And about his "There should be a Toyaota dealership on every corner" comment, has he never heard of Toyota's engine problems? Like a good friend of mine didn't have an Avalon engine blow at 35k miles due to the sludging problem.

It may not have been a "Duratec" but it was a 3.0 L engine and it died at 63,000 miles. I have not had a Found on Road Dead since.

It was a Taurus wagon that was named the Tortoise because it couldn't get out of it's own way. It had the longest 0 - 60 mph time I have ever witnessed.

I made damn sure I had a lot of room before getting on ramps on I-85 and 285 in Atlanta when I had that POS.

Did you test drive the car before you bought it? If it was so slow, why did you buy it? My dad had a 96 or 97 with the Vulcan engine. I borrowed his car and liked it so much that I jumped on my current daily driver (98 Sable) when it was for sale. While my dad's car was hardly a speed demon, I had no problems keeping up with traffic and accerating from a stop.

 

[D22]

My mechanic looks at it yesterday and told me the timing chain jumped and my valves are likely bent since the duratec is an interference engine. he said it is likely I will just want to do an engine swap if i even want to keep the car...

Just tto double check him i am going to call the dealership and tell them what happened and see if they confirm it...this sucks

 

[Jeffwo]

Originally posted by: ed21x
obviously the timing is off....

Yeah, this would be my guess also, without actually hearing the 'knocking' myself.

Unless, of course it has been run hot, which would almost certainly be terminal in a Taurus.

 

[exdeath]

Can you hear it worse from the valve covers, oil pan, or timing cover?

No codes?

Edit: reading other posts and trying to think of a few new things.

Check the connectors at your MAF sensor, that can cause all sorts of lean/rich/knock/timing problems. It's the most important sensor in the entire system.

Edit: nm, saw the final diagnosis.

How the hell does a timing *CHAIN* jump? They need to stop using plastic for vital things like timing sprockets and radiators...:|

If the timing was off so slightly that it was still running, albeit roughly, I doubt you have bent valves. The engine would stop running and wouldn't even start anymore by the time the timing was off far enough to bend valves.

Hopefully you can just tighten down all the sprockets and time it and be good to go. Just be sure to check for missing teeth and stuff like that, they like to use nylon teeth in timing sprockets these days...

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: D22
My mechanic looks at it yesterday and told me the timing chain jumped and my valves are likely bent since the duratec is an interference engine. he said it is likely I will just want to do an engine swap if i even want to keep the car...

Just tto double check him i am going to call the dealership and tell them what happened and see if they confirm it...this sucks

No need to do an entire engine swap, just get the heads rebuilt and new timing chain, tensioner and maybe sprockets.
Or start looking for a new car.

 

[D22]

but how much does all of that cost? an engine swap would be roughly 1000-1400 total and would give me a nice new 30-50k mileage engine. unless what you are speaking of would cost under $500 I might as well swap it and at least give my car some fresh life