My new car - 03 Mercury Sable LS

[spk2000]

Don't actually have it yet but test drove a 03 Mercury Sable LS. Pretty well loaded leather and sunroof with 70,000 miles. Told the guy I would pick it up later this week and he was good with that. $1,200 out the door seemed like a pretty decent deal. I have had too many of these boring cars but seemed too good to pass. There is a catch though. The car is missing on 2 cylinders. Idles a bit rough but driving down the road barely noticed it unless under heavy acceleration. I had a coil pack go bad in my Sable Wagon and think this might be the same problem. For some reason this was a common issue with the OE coil Packs. I had 2 go bad and finally went aftermarket and been great for years now.

Another reason I have a 16 year old daughter so a fairly safe car and should be good for some years once I get the misfire taken care of.

 

[Wolf359]

Is that the one with the duratec engine? The 03 might have individual coils. But usually misfires are always coils or plugs. They're pretty cheap to keep going, had an 01 Taurus over 200k before I got rid of it. Oh, it could also be the intake, those intake gaskets tend to go, replace PCV valve if you're in there. I think the LS should have the climate control if not, they're an easy swap and can be had on eBay for $50 or less.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by spk2000
The car is missing on 2 cylinders. Idles a bit rough but driving down the road barely noticed it unless under heavy acceleration.


Head gasket. Frequent issue on those models. That, and transmissions that die around those miles.

 

[spk2000]

This one is the LS and has the 24V duratec. Coil-pack has all in one. Drove it fairly hard and transmission seemed fine as did engine and rest of car.

Wasn't really looking for one but these cars can go a long time usually without too much trouble. They are fairly boring cars but I do like saving money. When I am retired hopefully I can pay cash for some nicer cars.

I am thinking I can easily get 100k miles for the $1,200 and some money the find the misfire issue. I have heard some people say they have transmission issues but I have a wagon version. Transmission was spitting fluid one summer after long drive so I had a flush done and changed to synthetic BG fluid. Has been flawless for over 10 years now.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by spk2000
This one is the LS and has the 24V duratec.


That Duratec has it's own set of problems. If I recall, the pushrod 3.0 is the one that is good.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by spk2000
This one is the LS and has the 24V duratec.

That Duratec has it's own set of problems. If I recall, the pushrod 3.0 is the one that is good.

Yeah but the Vulcan was missing about 45hp over the Duratec. Certain things like the alternator is tougher on the Duratec and the oil leaks, but it was still fine vs the Vulcan.

 

[Snagglefoot]

A Motorcraft coil pack is the way to go in my opinion. Try out www.taurusclub.com for advice.

 

[Dave9]

If you are only speculating on it missing based on your past experience with one event in a different Mercury, you may be jumping to a conclusion too soon.

It could be something much simpler (especially if it uses a waste spark system) like a loose plug wire, bad plug wire(s), or due for new plugs. Factory plugs should have been 100K mi platinums but that's assuming a normal driving pattern, not one that only puts 70K mi on it by now.

Is the check engine light on? Pull the codes, hook up a scan tool showing live data and look at that including fuel trims.

Could be a warped head, head gasket, bad fuel has clogged two injectors, etc, etc. I would make it a condition of sale that the guy lets you pull the plug wire from the coil to see if it's not making spark. If not then you have at least determined it's in the realm of a lower expense repair, except if it has been driven like this then the cat(s) may be about shot.

 

[Wagonmaster261]

Also check vacuum lines. They would be due for replacement account age.

I want to say Sable LS would have the Duratec, GS would have the Vulcan.

Sometimes I miss my 99 Sable LS with the Duratec. Very at home cruising down the freeway. Unfortunately, the floor mats became structural items.

 

[Andrew1972]

Hope it works out.

 

[Kestas]

Check the coil pack for cracks. If you find any, you've found your problem.

I had to replace mine (01 Sable). Rockauto had a choice of coil packs that ranged from $20 to $90. I opted for the OEM Motorcraft for $90.

These models have a cam synchronizer that generally needs replacing at around 100K. The problem shows up as chirping coming from the transmission/engine block interface area.

Another area to inspect is the a/c clutch mechanism. The ribs develop fatigue cracks.

 

[SatinSilver]

So the car only has one coil pack or are there six of them?

 

[Kestas]

One coil pack.

 

[Kestas]

One coil pack.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Originally Posted by spk2000
Don't actually have it yet but test drove a 03 Mercury Sable LS. Pretty well loaded leather and sunroof with 70,000 miles. Told the guy I would pick it up later this week and he was good with that. $1,200 out the door seemed like a pretty decent deal. I have had too many of these boring cars but seemed too good to pass. There is a catch though. The car is missing on 2 cylinders. Idles a bit rough but driving down the road barely noticed it unless under heavy acceleration. I had a coil pack go bad in my Sable Wagon and think this might be the same problem. For some reason this was a common issue with the OE coil Packs. I had 2 go bad and finally went aftermarket and been great for years now.

Another reason I have a 16 year old daughter so a fairly safe car and should be good for some years once I get the misfire taken care of.


I have a 2000 Taurus wagon we bought with 90K miles in 2008 (it has 155K now). I can confirm that all 6 coil packs have gone bad at this point (replaced with Denso from RockAuto). When I bought the car, it had a slight misfire that later turned to a CEL which led to a bad coil pack.

I bought the DOHC and it's been extremely reliable engine. Change out all the fluids and the fuel filter (under the rear passenger door) and you'll be good to go for many years.

 

[Wolf359]

I changed out lots of stuff over the years, front and rear struts, lifetime warranty Monroe quick struts. Moog sway bar links, front and rear, inner/outer tie rods. Check the straps for the gas tank. DPFE, upstream O2 sensors only (original downstream ones when it was dumped), water pump belt, serpentine belt, motor/transmission mount, muffler, flex joint in the exhaust, the back and front radiator hoses, hood latch, intake gaskets, alternator (3 times, get lifetime warranty one), master cylinder, power steering pump etc. Starter and water pump were original though. Front and rear brakes of course several times. Certain years had the single coil pack and other years had individual coils. Oil pan gasket also leaked, but I never fixed mine as you had to drop the exhaust to get at it.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by spk2000
This one is the LS and has the 24V duratec. Coil-pack has all in one. Drove it fairly hard and transmission seemed fine as did engine and rest of car.

Wasn't really looking for one but these cars can go a long time usually without too much trouble. They are fairly boring cars but I do like saving money. When I am retired hopefully I can pay cash for some nicer cars.

I am thinking I can easily get 100k miles for the $1,200 and some money the find the misfire issue. I have heard some people say they have transmission issues but I have a wagon version. Transmission was spitting fluid one summer after long drive so I had a flush done and changed to synthetic BG fluid. Has been flawless for over 10 years now.


Consider an add on transmission cooler .