Basically everything that could!
A few fuel pumps.
Two starters.
Fuel gauge.
Radio light.
It rusts like bare metal.
Almost every plastic part on this car is cracked.
Hood supports.
Right now the car has various unsolved problems.
It rattles during acceleration.
It struggles at speeds over 50 mph.
Sometimes the heater will not work.
Somewhere there is a bad connection to the turn signal, as these do not always work.
Do yourself a favor next time. If you're going to buy a vehicle with over 100k miles on it, go with a Camry, Corolla, or an Accord. Those American cars will nickle and dime you to death when they age, especially if they weren't well maintained.
You bought an old Taurus. You did throw your money away.
I have an 88 Ford Taurus that runs and drives great. This is my 3rd Taurus and I enjoy these cars very much. Comfortable to sit in and drive short or long distance. I will buy another Taurus soon, but It will be much newer.
I do have a problem with my current car though. When it gets hot, the engine cuts out and eventually dies, and then is not able to start, but when it cools off, it is fine again? Anyone have any idea bout this?
I think you should put a tank of premium gas in your Taurus. I remember my mothers Taurus stalled on me when I was doing my paper route, and it did not start for a minute. After that I put some premium gas in her and she was fine. Engine: 3.0L V6.
My 88 Taurus did the same thing. I replaced the ignition module and coil and haven't had a problem with it yet. They are easy to change and will only run you around 60 dollars for both. Good luck.
It has nothing to do with the TYPE of gas in the tank (high octane is simply for high-compression or advanced timing engines - knock inhibitor)...it's HOW MUCH gas is in the tank. In hot weather the fuel pump gets over-heated and shuts itself off - especially when your tank is nearly empty. A lot of fuel in the tank keeps the ambient temperature around the pump much cooler.
Happened to my '92 Taurus a few times before I was told what the problem was.
What did you expect from a car that is almost 20 years old? The thing isn't going to run problem free forever,
I don't think even a 20 year old Mercedes would be problem free regardless of how well maintained it was, if it has average miles for the age of it you should expect to have ongoing problems... There isn't a car out there I know about that will be perfect after 20 years of daily driving.
Maybe you should get some antique plates for it and drive it only on Sundays?
I finally got to the root of the turn signal problem on my 1988 Taurus GL, after much frustration and changing the electronic blinker module. It was simply oxidation/corrosion of the breaker bracket that feeds it power. It's a little rectangular box that bolts on to the output of the starter relay, along with three other cables. The schematic in the Haynes doesn't show the breaker at all!
If, when your blinkers don't work, but the hazard blinkers do, that's probably it.
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