I picked up a 2001 Ford Taurus not too long ago, and it will not start for anything. So the question that comes to my mind is, why won’t my Ford Taurus start? Through all of the research, I have looked through this is what I found.
Why won’t my Ford Taurus start? There are a few things that you need to
have your vehicle start. Your vehicle needs fuel, spark, air, compression, and timing. Let’s look further into this together and see how we can solve our problem of a no-start situation.
Why won’t my Ford Taurus start?
As I stated in the previous paragraph, there are a few things that your vehicle needs for it to be able to start. These things are the following fuel, spark, air, compression, and timing.
Always remember before starting to troubleshoot your vehicle. These things are to make sure you have charged your battery up to 100%, you have fuel in your fuel tank, and you are using the proper safety precautions needed for the repair.
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Fuel
You will be able to check your fuel pump by turning the key to accessory and hearing the hum of the fuel pump engaging. You can also check your fuel pressure by the strayer valve on your fuel real.
If you do not have this valve, it is because it was replaced by a fuel sensor by the manufacturer. This sensor can be checked with a live data code reader.
The live data code reader will be able to tell you the fuel pressure that is being read by the fuel sensor.
But just because you are receiving fuel pressure does not mean that the injectors are letting that fuel into the engine where it is seriously needed.
So you can check this by getting a big flat head screwdriver and put the tip against the base of the injector, and nowhere else. Make sure that your screwdriver is not touching anything else but the injector.
When you put the vehicle to accessory, put your ear to the end of the screwdriver, and you will be able to hear a clicking noise at a few seconds interval away from each other.
As long as you hear this clicking that means that your injectors are working and you are receiving fuel at your cylinders.
Air
Next, you need to check your air supply. Air plays a vital role in the fuel to air ratio to make sure that the engine has the means to be able to start the combustion process. There are two specific sensors that you will need to check to make sure that you are receiving the air that you need for your engine.
These two sensors are the throttle body sensor and the Mass Airflow sensor. An easy way to check both the sensor’s one at a time of course. It would be to unplug one sensor at a time and attempt to start the vehicle.
If the vehicle starts without the sensor being plugged in, then you have found the culprit and that sensor will need to be replaced.
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Spark
The next step would be to check the spark that you are receiving at the cylinders. This spark, of course, is coming from your spark plugs, spark plug wires, and distributor. If it is a newer vehicle than you do not have a distributor any more, you have coils.
These coils are told by the computer of the vehicle when to send the signal to the spark plugs. These coils can become pricey when needing to be replaced, but they are quite easy to replace.
The way you are going to check for spark is with a spark plug tester. This tool connects on one side to the spark plug and on the other side connects to the spark plug wire.
When you crank the vehicle to start it, you will need to look in the sight glass of the tester. In the sight glass, you will be able to see the sparks that are being passed from the spark plug wire to the spark plugs.
As long as you are receiving flashes at a significant rate, then that spark wire is good to go, and you can move on to the next spark plug and spark plug wire.
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Compression
So you have made it through three of the five checks that we need to do for a crank but no start situation with your Ford Taurus. The last two things we need to check is compression and timing.
With checking compression, you can get a compression test kit quite cheaply online, which is where I picked mine up. I put it in the Tool Library if you need one.
You need to remove the first spark plug from the cylinder block that you want to check. First, install the Compression test kit as per instructions that came with your test kit. The instructions say to screw in the adapter where the spark plug was removed.
Then you are going to bump the engine four times. On the 4th crank, you need to look at the gauge to make sure that it is above 170. As long it is above this pressure then your compression is good to go, and you can move on to the last check.
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Timing
How I wish the timing were easier to check in the Ford Taurus as it is in a Honda Civic, but sadly it is not. For the 2001 Ford Taurus, it has a timing chain and not a timing belt.
You are going to need to remove the passenger tire for this portion. You will have to remove the alternator, the serpentine belt, harmonic balancer (crank pulley), and water pump housing.
Remember with the parts you remove you will need the new gaskets as well for the reinstall of these parts.
Once you get the covers removed you will be able to see the timing chain and the mark it on the chain and pulleys.
The vital fact with correcting the timing on a vehicle is that if the timing chain is loose, the car can then throw itself out of synchronization. This will cause significant damage to the engine.
The crazy part is that many people forget their timing chain or belt is in the scheduled maintenance interval with their vehicle.
But most of the time the repair is so costly that many people will sell the car before they have to replace it. Ford states that in the 2001 Ford Taurus, the timing chain should be replaced every 100,000 miles.
Here is the steps you will go thru to replace your timing chain.
Step 1- Remove the front engine cover and crankshaft position sensor pulse ring.
Step 2- Put your crankshaft at Top Dead Center. The mark is on your oil pump, and the keyway groove should line up.
Step 3- The camshaft sprocket should line up on top if it doesn’t turn the engine one full turn until they do line up.
Step 4- Disengage the timing chain guides, tensioner arm, and tensioner bolts so you can remove the timing chain.
Step 5- Discharge the tensioner ratchet/pawl mechanism by the access opening for the tensioner. You can do this with a small wire being placed inside the top of the piston so you can unseat the oil check ball.
Make sure to check your timing chain sprockets for any damage. If any damage exists you need to replace these sprockets before the new timing chain can be installed.
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To reinstall the timing chain here are the steps you need to follow.
Step 1- Make sure your number 1 piston is still at Top Dead Center. The keyway groove and your oil pump mark’s should line up.
Step 2- Line up the sprocket and timing chain Mark’s, now you can install the timing chain.
Step 3- Reinstall the camshaft sprockets and torque them down to 48 to 70-foot lbs.
Step 4- Reinstall timing chain guides and torque the tensioner pivot bolt to 25-39 foot lbs. Then torque the retaining bolts to 14-20 foot lbs.
Step 5- Align the timing chain index Mark’s with the crankshaft, camshaft sprocket, and balance shaft driven gear index marks.
Step 6- Connect the crankshaft position sensor pulse ring to the crankshaft. The crankshaft key and the sensor ring keyway should line up.
This will complete the timing chain removal and reinstall, and now it is time to start your Ford Taurus up.
What is causing my Ford Taurus not to start?
One or multiple of the previous five things stated is missing from your engine, and this is preventing your engine from starting.
Remember your engine needs fuel, air, spark, compression, and timing to work correctly. As long as your engine has those five things, you will always be able to start your vehicle.
This will also help you in the future if you have any friends or family that cannot start their car. Remember this post and the five things every engine needs to start, and you will be good to go.
When will my Ford Taurus not start?
There is no set time that someone would know when their vehicle is not going to start. It is not the best part of your day trying to figure out why your car won’t start. Forcing you to postpone everything on your schedule due to this problem.
As long as you keep your vehicle under a consistent maintenance interval schedule, you should not run across any occurrences that your vehicle does not want to start or work properly.
It all comes down to remembering to keep your vehicle properly maintained, so you do not have to worry about these costly repairs ruining your day. Here is the book I got all the torque specs I needed for this repair.
How do I fix my Ford Taurus so it can start?
Troubleshooting is vital, make sure you go through the five things that your engine requires so it can start. Go through the previous paragraphs so you can troubleshoot your no-start situation and before you know it you will be back up and going and driving around town.
I hope you enjoyed this article everyone, and it was indeed my pleasure writing it. Check out my YouTube channel as well and subscribe to the channel! I hope you enjoy my next piece as well!
