Engine shot?

[xAkirax2004]

Allow me to elaborate...

Friend of mine has a 1995 Mercury Sable wagon, 143K miles, 3.8 V6, Transmission replaced @ 90,000 (Pretty low, eh?) Got a new front brake job, new fuel line and an inspection last month. But heres the real problem:

So, he drives this to work everyday, (The block?) is giving a nasty rattling sound. Now, I'm no ASE certified mechanic, but it's a possible sign that the engines getting ready to blow. He took it to one guy, he said the manifold is rusted right off, not only causing the engine to give off a rattling sound it's also choking the engine by way of giving it too rich of an air/fuel mixture. Which make sense, because it idles very low and a lot of the time, cuts out suddenly. Especially when driving, and going into a turn or stopping.

Now, when he took it to this repair guy, he said that he doesn't do this work, so he took it to one that does. Looks at it for a good hour, says to him that is engine is almost shot. Huh? two different mechanics in 2 completely different towns with 2 different diagnoses. I guess it was bound to happen?

Also, theres another problem I wanted you guys to possibly figure out. Now, when the transmission was replaced, it wasn't new, it was used, but had low miles, according to the dealership. The problem is when my friend is driving, the transmission will act as if it just went into neutral. No power to the wheels whatsoever. To cure the problem temporarily, he just lets his foot off the gas and it will downshift and go back to normal.

All and all, with this slew of problems, it dosent seem like the car is even worth it to fix. But just for research purposes, I'm calling on you guys to see what it might possibly be. Could the problems be connected? I'm asking you, because I'm flat out of ideas.

If you have any questions, ask.

 

[Jim Prower]

Sounds like the dealer done gave him a lemon.

Okay, exhaust manifold rusted off? that can't be right. Those are usually fairly heavy, made of Cast iron. The bolts may have failed, but i doubt that, too. a good way to check: Climb under the car, follow the exhaust pipe to the engine. there should be a set of two manifolds coming off the engine. If the engine's cool, try and shake the manifold. If it shakes, that's bad.

One thing it could be is the heat sheild. Check that, too. Also have a mechanic check the valves and the oiling. Hell, check the oil level of the car yourself: Valvetrain clatter can come from inefficient oiling.

Trannys fail for several reasons, one of them is improper maintainance. Make sure your friend has the tranny fluid changed annually.

My reccommendation is to take it to a Ford dealer and have a Ford technician look at it. They're most familiar with the cars, and I'm pretty sure they'll be honest about the problem. from the sound of it, it's gonna be ugly.

Oh, and don't buy another car from that dealer your friend used.