I bought my 97 Conti with only about 47,000 miles on it. I now have 55,000 miles on it. 2 months ago I had to have the celanoid ( I think that what they called it) replaced for my power steering. The Power Steering Assist light came on and would not go off and I could hardly steer the car. The total cost was $900.00! Yesterday the same thing happened so I had the car towed to the dealer. When they tried the car later it worked fine. I told him I didn't want it ack until they found out what was going on. He said they would put it on their computer. He called me back and said the computer showed it is a module (or whatever) and this will cost me about $600.00. I am of course really upset. I bought this car because of its low milage and I know for a fact that it only had one owner and he died and the son traded the car in for something else. It was in prestige condition in every respect. It this something that is a usual happening? Thanks for any help.
Power Steering in 97 Conti
- Thread starter Carol
- Start date
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
anything can and will fail on a car 10 years old.. regardless of milage.
Yes, low milage cars will usually be in better condition than high milage, but sometimes the low milage cars may have been neglected some. All cars need to be driven in order to keep all the parts of the suspension and drive train working properly.. its critical to the lubrication of them. they also need regular mantainance done, and not always at 3k miles for an oil change.. they put the 3 month due date on the stickers for a reason too.
Not saying your car is neglected at all, but you must remember, it IS 10 or 11 years old, and things start to fail on them when they get old (just like us humans, we get old, and we break down too).
Yes, low milage cars will usually be in better condition than high milage, but sometimes the low milage cars may have been neglected some. All cars need to be driven in order to keep all the parts of the suspension and drive train working properly.. its critical to the lubrication of them. they also need regular mantainance done, and not always at 3k miles for an oil change.. they put the 3 month due date on the stickers for a reason too.
Not saying your car is neglected at all, but you must remember, it IS 10 or 11 years old, and things start to fail on them when they get old (just like us humans, we get old, and we break down too).
napoleon1072
Dedicated LVC Member
My Conti is also a 97 but with 165k Miles. As mentioned above things do happen but these cars do hold up VERY well if you keep up the basic maintenance. Freak accidents do happen but once you get it taken care of it should last you a while so don't get bummed out 
Rock Strongo
LVC Member
Considering it sprang from the Taurus platform, the Continental is a very complicated car. As much as I love all the options, I accept that they are potentially more components that can fail. I got an error message regarding the power steering a while back on a particularly cold morning. Steering required great effort. I flushed the power steering fluid and it never came back.
Sounds to me like your mechanic didn't do a thorough enough job of diagnosing the problem before charging you $900 to throw a part at it. Now you have to drop another $600 and hope that solves the problem. I would ask the mechanic why he missed this the first time. Sad truth is that many mechanics do not really understand how to diagnose problems and just tend to start replacing components one at a time. Perhaps the labor should be at least discounted at this point.
You should probably expect other problems of this type to crop up every now and then. In truth, I probably would not have bought my '97 if I wasn't capable of repairing most things myself. I came home early today and spent the afternoon replacing the multifunction switch and all 8 plugs and wires. I spent a total of about $160 in parts, half of that being a brand new multifunction switch. I could have gotten away cheaper if I bought the switch used and non-Motorcraft plugs/wires, but I prefer to do things once. I am afraid to think of what a mechanic would have charged for the job and wonder if he would have taken the time to route the plug wires correctly as I did.
Good luck with the repair. I hope you get many trouble free miles out of her after this.
Sounds to me like your mechanic didn't do a thorough enough job of diagnosing the problem before charging you $900 to throw a part at it. Now you have to drop another $600 and hope that solves the problem. I would ask the mechanic why he missed this the first time. Sad truth is that many mechanics do not really understand how to diagnose problems and just tend to start replacing components one at a time. Perhaps the labor should be at least discounted at this point.
You should probably expect other problems of this type to crop up every now and then. In truth, I probably would not have bought my '97 if I wasn't capable of repairing most things myself. I came home early today and spent the afternoon replacing the multifunction switch and all 8 plugs and wires. I spent a total of about $160 in parts, half of that being a brand new multifunction switch. I could have gotten away cheaper if I bought the switch used and non-Motorcraft plugs/wires, but I prefer to do things once. I am afraid to think of what a mechanic would have charged for the job and wonder if he would have taken the time to route the plug wires correctly as I did.
Good luck with the repair. I hope you get many trouble free miles out of her after this.
Thank you all for the replies. I actually got a $300 discount on the first job because I was quoted $600 and when I went to pay for it they said it had needed another part and it was $900. They never called me to tell me the difference. Needless to say my salesman and myself threw a fit and I got the $300 off. After the second incident the owner of the Lincoln Mercury dealership, where I bought the car and have had it serviced, got involved and the mechanics got bawled out for not catching the module problem the first time. I got a 15% discount on this bill which the cost came to a total cost of $351.00. I do have my car serviced on a regular basis. In fact this fall I had all the fluids flushed and replaced plus of course the oil change and the filters. Hopefully this is the last big repair for awhile.
bradyelich
Well-Known LVC Member
On my Car, the power steering line with the power steering fluid filter was leaking. This caused loss of power steering fluid pressure and gave a warning. Make sure the system is not leaking - red fluid same as your transmission fluid - even a tiny drip is of concern since the pressure is monitored by the car's computer. Maybe the power steering fluid filter is plugged?
Also, use Mobil 1 ATF fluid in the power steering and it will work better.
Those 'Service Advisors' at Ford do not always advise in your best interest - they are for the shop's interest.
Regards,
Brad.
Also, use Mobil 1 ATF fluid in the power steering and it will work better.
Those 'Service Advisors' at Ford do not always advise in your best interest - they are for the shop's interest.
Regards,
Brad.
Rock Strongo
LVC Member
I didn't realize you took the car to a dealer. They may or may not be any good, but they certainly won't be the cheapest. I would suggest finding a reliable independent mechanic. Ask your family and friends who they use.
I've had the power steering light tripped before and again by a battery with a bad cell. It kept testing ok but low charge even after a 2 mile drive to autzone for a test after an all night slow charge. It eventually did test bad though.