1998 ford windstar

[miami man]

does anyone else own a 1998-2000 ford windstar. i have some problems with it and it may be a bad head gasket but not sure how difficult it is to change one on that vehicle.

it looks like oil or trans fluid in the radiator but not sure but no water on the dipstick and the oil looks fine.


thank you in advance

[Sandm849]

they commonly had problems with head gaskets....depends on how automotively inclined you are as to how bad it is to do.

[miami man]

it does not over heat but oil in radiator. someone said on another forum that some of them came with oil coolers and that may be the problem.

[yblock]

check the tranny fluid for water.

[jglutz]

I had a 94 and 96 Windstars....over 100k on both....never a lick of engine trouble.
Changing plugs was always a treat.

Anyway....with a blown head gasket...it is more likely to find coolant in the engine oil rather than oil in the coolant.

More likely is tranny oil in the coolant....if so just a radiator change....not that hard to do...just messy.

I would definitly check the tranny stick for signs of water and then....
Idle the car in the driveway....allow the engine to warm up....when the cooling fan cycles on....pull the tranny stick and look for signs of steam coming out. If so it's the radiator. Make sure you flush the tranny.

Another option would be to pressure test the radiator...you can rent a pressure tester from AZ. If there is a leak in the cooling system...it will be dificult to hold pressure...also you might find the sourse of the leak. Pull the dip stickS (oil and tranny) and also the plugs and listen for or look for water. A radiator shop can do the same for about an hour's labor.

[FB71]

is it a '98, or a '99-'00? They have different heads between those years. '95-'98 had habitual head gasket issues. '99-'05 have occassional lower intake manifold issues. Both of these can cause mixing of coolant and oil.

[Sandm849]

Thats right jim bringing back the old ford days again lol

[FB71]

I had a 94 and 96 Windstars....over 100k on both....never a lick of engine trouble.

Joe, I think you may have had Aerostars, not Windstars. Windstars started production in '95, and were FWD, based on the Taurus platform. Aerostars were RWD, and shared some architechture with the Ranger. Windstar= 3.8L v6 (headgasket eater) and 3.0L v6 Vulcan (unique FWD block). Aerostar= 4.0L v6 and 3.0L v6 Vulcan. Windstars were fairly easy to change plugs on, but Aerostars were SOBs. One bank was easiest to change thru the fenderwell.

[miami man]

it is a 1998 winstar with a 3.8

[FB71]

most likely headgaskets then

[miami man]

thank all of you for your replies. if it is a head gasket then we will sell it because it is a beater.

[jglutz]

Jim...I had Windstars...the 94 may have been a 95...it was purchased in june of '94.
Both Plum Mist (dark purple)...the first one had had chronic transmission problems. The second one....only maintenance other than tune up was an ABS ring tone sensor and the master cylinder pressure switch blew out on night. By far the first series on windstars were the nicest mini vans I have ever been in. I still miss having one. The only draw bak was taking the rear seats out.

[FB71]

^^^ ah yes, the AXODE trans, made me lots of money... The tone rings were fairly common, along with the brake pressure switches. Personally, I never really cared for the Windbags. I had to adjust WAY too many sliding doors. But, I did love that color!

[jglutz]

^^ Oh yeah....I forgiot about those sliding door contact plates....I had to keep a piece of scotch-brite in the car to keep them polished...if not the door ajar would indicator would falsely illuminate.

I just loved their size and ride for a a mini-van. A true 7 seater.

[gotrootdude]

I had a '95 windstar. Went through five transmissions and two head gaskets before I junked it.

Comfortable ride, nice styling and possibly the worse minivan on the road. Constant headache.