As long as I'm pulling the engine. . . .

Hello Guys.

I finally figured out why my 95/3.8 (150K US) has been so horendous sounding when it starts. I suspected the actual cause from the the outset of the symptom, but, was praying for it not to be true. Confirmation came finally in the turn of the key, and only the high pitch of the starter spinning on the other side of the firewall. Yes. Broken teeth on the flywheel. Yes. I replaced the starter. And now Yes. I pulled the blooming thing off and turned the engine a full revolution with a rachet, and a light in the starter hole, broken tooth (and more on the way). My whole family loves this car, and I've gotten the go-ahead to fix it. So. I've got to decide what to address since the engine/tranny is going to be removed. Here's my list so far.

1. Flywheel.

2. Timing chain and THE GASKET. It's been kept in a garage since we bought it. In 2001 the car started to leave a silver dollar sized puddle of anti-freeze on the floor of the garage, every time we parked it. I replaced the water pump myself, only to find that the problem persisted. Thanks to you all, I now know that this is a timing chain issue.

3. Main seals (Any, that anybody knows about.)

4. Transmission rebuild? Now here's where it gets tricky. I have faithfully replaced my Trans Fluid (60K and 120K) and used synthetic Mercon III, but have not been able to knock out a tic in the shifting. The symptom is, at a stoplight with a foot on the brake, there is a "surge". The engine is taxed, then the engine computer surges to compensate. Definitely a tic. Also, sometime it drops from third to second hard. I really need some input here.

I'm willing to shell out the bucks to fix this car. It looks like new. I just don't want to overlook anything as long as I'm going through this ordeal.

I don't have the capacity to deal with dropping the engine out the bottom, so this is the first time a car of mine has been to a "shop", at my expense, so I'm a bit aprehensive. I don't want to miss anything as long as I've got the car apart.

Please reply with any insight. Thank You.



1. The combustion portion of the engine is sound. Head gasket job at 81K, but never any failure. Milage is 24/gal. Just as it was when we bought it in 1996, with 17K on the odometer. Started using pure synth. then, to see if it made a difference. Still using it now.3.

Talked to my trusty transmission shop. He want to test the trans, remove the Trans, fix the trans, replace the flywheel & main seal on the back of the engine but don't want to deal with the timing belt. Is there any way to seal up the water pump gasket leak without pulling the motor?

Coach
Do you have an indoor or covered space to work in? Will your tranny shop let you hand them the tranny for the rework ... and give you a discount?

You seem to be a DIY'r and I would encourage you to just lower the whole subframe for access to everything. I have never done a Winnie, but I really like cars with subframes.

General Steps:
1. Disconnect/remove battery, drain coolant, disconnect coolant hoses. Perhaps remove radiator. Remove air filter. Disconnect all elect harnesses etc from engine and tranny. Disconnect vacuum hoses to engine.
2. Remove(don't disconnect refrig hoses) ac compressor and hang out of the way.
3. Raise and support car on "frame".
4. Remove wheels, disconnect tie rods and remove struts. "Break" open exhaust system.
5. Inside of car, disconnect str col at floor line.
6. Lower subframe... I sometimes remove one bolt then find some longer bolts of the same thread to aid as jack screws.

In my neighborhood we have a couple of retired railroad men who have access to alot of material. We've concocted a ramp made of 12" I Beams set on their side to get under our cars, and a big chain suspended from an I-Beam to pull things up. These things are outside. (It's warm here in GA) Nobody here has any experience with dropping a motor, and I'm hesitate to try without having someone around who knows what their doing. I am hoping that I can have access to the block while the Trans is being worked on.

Karl, you pretty much need to drop the front suspension along with the engine when dealing with the WIndstar, so your amp would have to be modified to support the unibody and allow you to drop the front suspension and drivetrain.

I work full time. I cannot place the burdon of an undriveable vehicle upon my retired neighbors propety in good conscience. (Especially considering that he would have to gaze upon it from where he eats his breakfast and dinner every day.) I will someday own a place that will give me the capacity to marvel in this technological wonder that Ford has produced, but for now, I am thwarted. The Transmission Shop is a family shop, and I trust them. I'll keep you posted.

OK, got the car back. Bill came to 586.74 (US), Broken out, $450 labor, $50-Flywheel, $20-Main Seal, $58-Transmission Seals & fluid. Starter was shot, but came from NAPA, so it was free. He told me that the transmission was fine, didn't need rebuilding. Engine was fine (for 150K miles), and to ignore the coolant leak from the timing chain cover. Golly I'm thrilled. I thought this was going to cost 2 grand. Now if only I could knock out that engine stumbling at idle. It's as if the car has a slight vacume leak, but I suspect some other emissions related gizmo. Anybody have experiece getting their high milage 95/3.8 to idle smoothly?

CoachKarl,
There is a part in the '95 tranny that was of aluminium or some SOFT metal that did NOT hold up....and is the main reason that the '95 had more tranny problems than the later years. If you are having this one rebuilt, check and see if your tranny shop will replace this with an improved type. If they are a good shop....they will know what I am talking about much better than I do.

Also, If you plan to hang onto this car (I plan to hang onto my '96 that has 142K+ miles on it for a LONG time yet), you might consider having a hefty transmission cooler installed.
You will also want to change the tranny fluid every 30K miles at MOST.....21K for "severe" service.
I use Mobil 1 Mercon in mine.
You will want to use Mercon and NOT Mercon V which is used in newer windstars....It has a different frictional specification and is NOT compatible in a Mercon tranny...

While you are at it, you might want to flush out the power steering fluid. My '96 uses a "Type F" fluid.
I put "Redline Power Steering Fluid" in mine. It is a synthetic. Newer windstars use Mercon, but not our older ones. Do NOT use "Power Steering Fluid".
The Windstars seem to cook the power steering fluid....even with the power steering fluid cooler that they included on them as standard equipment.

Another note..... A standard brake job does NOT include "bleeding" the brakes. It came as a BIG suprise to me. I bled my brakes for the first time at 135K miles.....and the first cup or so out of each wheel came out looking like coffee. Now-adays they just push the piston back...and force the fluid back up into the master cylinder.
I did a complete flush of my fluid......I used the Motorcraft Brake fluid as it has a higher "dry" boil point (Like 550 degrees) than the standard DOT 3 or even DOT 4 fluid. There are other brands that have the higher dry boil point....but I was not able to locate them except at a speed shop (which is where I had to go to get the Redline Power Steering Fluid).
I have been very happy with my Windstar......
So I fully understand your wanting to hang onto yours. A nice solid ride....and as economical (MPG) as pretty much anything else out there in the same size range.....even today.

First on my list of thing to fix on this buggy is to figure out why the thing misses at idle. Several posts about MAF & IAC cleaning have me intigued, I'll try that, then go look for a vaccume leak.
Brake fluid is next on my list. I've gleened from these forums that ABS is particular about clean fluid, so I'll change mine soon. The driving terrain around here is flat, so my transmission has seen little abuse. I'm sure this is what has saved it thus far. An extra trans fluid cooler doesn't seem like a bad idea though, I'll look into it. Finally, I want to get a wrench on that timing cover bolt located behind the oil pump housing to try to stop an antifreeze drip. That should take care of the car for another year. (Other than the routine stuff.)
Thank you all for this forum. The search function is great, and watching the detailed questions and answers go by has become one of my favorite pastimes.

Karl.

Karl
I'm changing the oil in my '99 Winnie just now and looking at the possibilities of getting to that front engine cover (TIGHT!!!). And by the way, my engine is beginning to consume more and more coolant...I suspect I'll someday soon be facing the cover/water pump job..or worse. (So far, at 150k miles, nothing on the engine front has been serviced..no idler..no belt..nothing).
Anyway, I see that there is about 4" of space between the tranny and LH engine compartment metal. If the frame was supported so that the front wheels were hanging, and the subframe loose (not lowered) and resting on a couple of left/right 2 x 4's...one could scoot the whole business over far enough to get to the front cover. Yeah, there are few things that are in the way...rad hoses, air filter, battery and battery support. And a few things to be "freed" ...such as the ac dryer, str column, various hoses,etc, that are clipped to the body...but it looks "doable" to me.
If I keep this thing (looking for something AWD and with more towing capacity), I'll probably tackle it next summer.