We're on and transitioning

Fords-Stall.com is up and highly categorical. I'm transferring posts from here for the next couple weeks as I think a bit more about the long term.

Windstars and Websites

Soon, darn soon, I'll be relaunching this site as Fords-Stall.com. Domain is registered, host was chosen (total funding only $28/year) and wicked good software was installed for creating a highly functional database that can be thoroughly categorized for easy utilization. I will transfer a few posts but most of the content will be redone.

I'll keep you posted. Or stop by fords-stall.com once in a while (not yet) and see how things are going.

By the way, the only way the small bit of traffic get here are via search engines looking for "windstar + problems". I think the Windstar is actually worse than the Focus! Could it be true?

A Stall in Progress

When I started this project all I had knowledge of was Blogger.com for software to build the repository of stalling Fords that plague most of humanity. Almost immediately, I realized the limitations of Blogger for this type of application. Blogger's native commenting system stinks and posts cannot be categorized. The latter feature is absolutely crucial if a troubled Ford owner is to make any use of this growing repository of examples. Otherwise it's just an incoherent link farm of anecdotes. I'd like people to find all "2001 Focus" models or all "2002 Windstars" that stall, etc. And a comment system is a strength of blogs. People with common interests can discuss problems without going through the annoying process of registering which is the default practice of every agonizing forum on the net.

I could be accused of poor planning but these limitations only surfaced as I tried to build the database. So, I need to retool in a major way. Here's the plan:

1. Buy a domain, $8. I'm considering the following: fords-stall.com, afordstalls.com, fordsthatstall.com, etc. I want the name Ford to be part of the url in case the Ford Motor Company wants to buy me out so my family and I could move to Tahiti and start pissing some other major company off from a wireless cafe. Leave your suggestion in the comments or email them to me at afordstalls@yahoo.com.

2. Find a cheap host with tons of bandwidth (I'm an optimist). There's lots of them these days. Disk space and bandwidth are becoming cheaper everyday.

3. The biggie. I'll be switching software to Word Press. I can categorize posts till my heart's content and make this repository extremely useful at all stages of its creation.

4. I have to learn how to install Word Press on the host's servers. It's supposed to be easy.

5. I also have some really, really great things going on now personally and I'm busy so these goals may take a while. I'm not worried. Fords have stalled forever and probably always will. I do hope to try to make a dent in the problem. It'll just take a tad longer than I originally thought.

Windstar

source: alldata.com/techtips/2002/20020322c.html, posted 2002

year: 1998

mileage: n/a, presumably 4 years old

situation: stalling at low RPM (for 3 months), e.g., at stop lights, especially when maneuvering in parking lots. It shivers a little and stops. The Check Engine light hasn't come on and the shop says without the light on, no error code shows.

attempted fixes: "Your vehicle’s engine could drop dead at every stop light and still not set a computer code. From your description it sounds as if there is a basic system problem that the computer cannot/does not control"

comments: This is a tip site that provides Q&A. Isn't this pathetic? Diagnostic codes can't fix this and this is what the garages try to do. Take your car and try to get it to stall and find codes to fix it. So does this stalling thing have a code? It didn't for my case. Ford management should be shot.

Windstar's Next

Wow. I thought the Ford Focus was a mistake. Man, the Ford Windstar absolutely SUCKED. I'm perusing the ComplaintStation.com as my first database to abstract stalling problems and am moving from the Focus to Windstar since that seems to be dominating the searches that get people here lately. You know the front suspension coils on these pieces of crap routinely break! There's even a few cases where it happens at high speeds. It's amazing.

By the way, in the interest of objectivity I put my own car in the other day and there was a tiny little fraction of entries for the past 4 years compared to any single model Ford. Well, got a lot of data to go through. "Windstar Wasteland", here I come.

Focus

source:complaintstation.com ID=00048628, posted Aug 04

year: 2001

mileage: n/a

situation: Car driven on 1/4 tank gas would "hiccup" and stall. Upon towing, it'd start just fine for the garage who towed it (undoubtedly after cooling). This person is waiting to have their fuel pump replaced (after 2 months on waiting list).

attempted fixes: Another person on the thread said their fuel pump was replaced but the problem persisted.

comments: No addt'l comments.

Focus

source: thecomplaintstation.com ID=00039016, posted Feb 2004

year: 2002

mileage: n/a

situation: when coming to a stop, hesitation, then stalling focus

attempted fixes: this happened after the fuel pump module was replaced (so it's a repeat problem)

comments: no additional comments

Recent Searches

In the most recent update, I mentioned some visitors are actually getting here via search engines. Here's a few recent search expressions and the search engines that were used:

• 98 windstar stall (google)
• tfi modules (google)
• ford focus stalling (yahoo)
• wants to stall (yahoo)
• 1998 ford escort iac valve (google)
• crown vic egr valve (aol)
• causes of engin stalling (google)
• tfi ignition (google)
• escort stall problem (google)
• tfi ignition (comcast)
• ltd ford intermittent stalling (shaw.ca)
• fords is shit (yahoo)

None of these were made up. Note that the "causes of engin stalling" came from a ford.com server. Maybe if they learned to spell, they could manufacture a vehicle that wouldn't stall.

Fords Stall: Update

1. Summaries. So far I'm still looking and settling on my format for examples. Realize they are no more than excerpted summaries from the databases listed on the sidebar. These databases contain discussion threads that are painfully slow to download (with a cable connection) and my summaries provide a direct link to the original thread and what I feel are the critical points of the conditions of stalling. I tend to write what I'd like to see and I haven't seen anything this conveniently summarized on this problem.

2. Search. I've had a correspondence going with the folks at blogger.com (by correspondence, I mean begging) asking for categorization of posts. They said it's on their list. Just don't know when the feature will arrive. Until then, I'll have to work on search tools as this repository grows.

3. Model Year. I said in my last update I'd be looking for very recent models to see if this is still a problem (I have no doubt it still is) but a consistent part of this problem is it often doesn't occur until the car is comfortably beyond warranty - about 3 years. So the most recent we might see examples is probably 2002. So I've adjusted my window of useful examples to 1998-2002 (and, of course, more recent if I see them).

4. How are people getting here? Some visit randomly, some friends are jokingly visiting and a significant chunk is coming by way of google or yahoo. This latter category are the most important. The site is actually getting out there and coming up sometimes highly ranked in search engines. People who visit Fords Stall are working stiffs like all of us and trying desperately to find information to arm themselves when they visit their Ford mechanic or their lawyer. I feel your pain and I'm trying to help.

Focus

source: complaintstation.com ID=00032599, posted 2003

year: 2000

mileage: n/a

situation: My ford focus 2000 has been the biggest disappointment: the gear shift removed itself from the car at a cost ot 396.00, the tire almost fell completely off on the highway, the ingnition switch did not want to work, the engine that could catch on fire at any moment, the brakes that have been done and re-done several times, the trunk that would open when the mood hit, the 13 recalls. I feel a class action suit against Ford is needed. [some of this was edited]

attempted fixes: ha, ha, ha, ha

comments: This isn't a stalling problem, it was just too funny not to share.

Focus

source: complaintstation.com ID=00039016, posted 2004

year: 2000

mileage: n/a

situation: intermittent stalling, not much detail

attempted fixes: fuel pump module replaced

comments: A followup comment informed this victim of another of many recalls that year on the fuel pump.

Focus

source: thecomplaintstation.com ID=00022947

year: 2000

mileage: n/a

situation: "2000 Ford Focus shuts down while driving in hot weather. No lights come on and there is no warning. After sitting for an hour or so cooling down, will start again, but will shut down again and again."

attempted fixes: "Have made complaints and paid over $5,000 to fix this problem that Ford can not find the problem"

comments: the clutch has a problem too, this was posted in Aug 2002.