Recall

[phil-l]

Wow: Another try at getting it right.

As it turns out, my axle was in pretty good shape when it went in for the first recall. I remember looking at the newly-added brackets and thinking that it looked like a half-baked bandaid approach. I'll be curious to see what they say about my van, now at 185K-ish miles.

Meanwhile, I wish Ford would do something about body rust. In spite of spending most of its life garaged, both rocker panels have rust issues. My doors are still hanging on pretty well: I recognized that was a weak spot early in the van's life - and I snaked a long tube into the bottom of the door to squirt some 80W-90 gear lube in there. The sticky oil seems to have done a good job preventing corrosion. I wish I had found similar access into the rocker panels...

[scubacat]

Originally Posted by phil-l

If you can remove the electronic portion of the ABS module from the van, there are services out there that can repair the module. Search eBay for "Windstar ABS repair" for examples. They are currently asking upwards of $100 for this service (and some offer it for much less).

Note that you can drive the van without the ABS electronics in place (of course, the ABS won't work). The hydraulic portion is still intact. Separating the electronic portion from the hydraulic portion - without removing the whole unit - will be difficult if there's a lot of corrosion on the underside of the van. The ABS unit is on the bottom of the van, basically below the driver's seat. The electronic portion is attached to the hydraulic portion with 6 steel bolts - that are threaded into the hydraulic unit's aluminum structure. This automatically creates the potential for corrosion that can make the fasteners difficult to remove without destroying them.

Some of the services send you the new one for a core deposit. I paid a total of $55 after the core refund and was able to do an immediate swap. It's worked great for me. I used a well established business with a storefront, and they offer a lifetime warranty on the repair, too.

Removing the ECU separately while the HCU is still attached is completely impossible if you have rust, and almost completely impossible still, if you don't.

[phil-l]

I just got my recall letter (recall notice 15S27) today, 26-OCT-2015.

Interesting: The letter claims "It may be possible that the rear axle reinforcement brackets were improperly installed." No mention of further corrosion after the brackets were installed (which was the reasoning I read about in some of the news articles when this recall was first announced).

The dealer is to inspect the brackets; if they weren't installed correctly, "...your dealer will replace the rear axle free of charge (parts and labor) if necessary."

It also claims "If you wish to have the rear axle replace for any reason...", the dealer will replace it for $300 (until October 31, 2016). I wish they had offered that option the first time around; I think I would have taken them up on it.

My Windstar now has some of the dreaded rocker panel rust; I wonder if they'll say anything about that. Further, I have AirLift 1000 spring airbags on this van, to firm up the rear end when towing a popup camper. If I get the axle replaced, I wonder if they'll complain about them...

[webbug]

Received my letter today....found this on the internet.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...5V608-4451.pdf

Wonder if the new axles will have a bracket reinforcement?
Where are these "new" axles coming from? just don't trust Ford anymore.

[12Ounce]

I would suspect the "new" axles will have a more effective anti-corrosion coating.

I have been keeping an eye on my rear axle and the front sub-frame, looking to see if there is any evidence of corrosion. So far, so good. My van gets little salt exposure, so even though the ac unit runs nearly year-round (dripping down condensate at the rear and the front) there is no paint wear-through ... yet. I keep planning to put more insulation on those ac lines in the left-rear wheel well ... but still haven't done it.

I long ago bought a new sub-frame as the original had some pretty severe road-debris impacts. So far, (422k miles) I haven't replaced it. I will paint on extra protection before replacing ... if ever.

[phil-l]

Hopefully, new axles will have proper heat treatment - which was the underlying issue in the first place (see page 7 below):

http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documen...s/13d0548p.pdf

[parkerb]

Originally Posted by 12Ounce

I would suspect the "new" axles will have a more effective anti-corrosion coating.

you never know. i read those toyota frames that were replaced had no greater protection on them than the originals.

[phil-l]

True, we don't know. I'm hoping...

[12Ounce]

Originally Posted by phil-l

Hopefully, new axles will have proper heat treatment - which was the underlying issue in the first place (see page 7 below):

Thanks for that link. I have the Benteler axle. (What a name for an axle!) Interesting that heat treatment was noted as the reason for this axle's failure ... and yet it also is of a totally different design. I wonder if the other axles, that did not failed the test, did so because of heat treatment ... or design. ??

Its interesting to me that cracks can form ... and be noticed, BEFORE failure occurs. It would seem to me that if this were a simple beam "in failure mode", total failure would occur as soon as cracks formed .. with no waiting period.

All photos of the failed axles that I have seen, those that have broken in-two ... and those that have just exhibited cracks ... have had those failures near the bearing hub area on the left end of the axle. This under the exposed ac lines in the left rear wheel well. I have noted, on my axle, that there are "stains" in the paint in this area, and exactly in the location of the cracks and the breaks seen in those photos. I have always assumed that ac condensate is a main contributing culprit ... but it may be just a high-volume water drip area. I haven't looked in quite a while .... I think this weekend it needs to be done.

[phil-l]

I wasn't aware of the Benteler name.

Hmmm.... This:

http://www.autonews.com/assets/html/...utomotive.html

...implies that Benteler made all of the later "crushed tube" design Windstar axles. Anyone know if this is correct?

Interesting: In retrospect, this quote from the above article:

...unique zone heat-treating process for flat stampings.

foreshadows the problems we're seeing today.

[webbug]

Thanks for the replies.. The 2000 Windstar is my mothers, she's 84 years old and still driving it to church, I thought we had this issue fixed several years ago with the bracket repair. Now here we are again...very disappointed in Ford. I see others are having problems even after the axle repair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE3_7uvfzI

[12Ounce]

Wow, these are some rusty axles that are failing. If my axle was this rusty, I would not drive the vehicle! I wonder how much was saved by not applying hot-dip galvanizing?

[scubacat]

Good morning, all. Just completed my axle recall.

I took our 2002 Windstar to the stealership yesterday, by appointment, to get the axle inspected and replaced. Honestly, it wasn't THAT bad, but decided that, given the age, I opted to spring for the $300 anyway since it costs nearly $500 just for the part and this is obviously a once-in-a-lifetime deal for getting this done. I met with the service advisor yesterday who was obviously not as aware of the details of the recall as we all are on the forum but handled the ordeal very professionally, I felt. I left it with him and he said he'd call me with the results of the inspection within half an hour. When he called, he mentioned that all they found was one tiny crack and that he honestly wouldn't recommend replacement since it was in fairly good shape. [Do realize that they do not make money off of warranty and recall work, contrary to what people think. The labor rate is only a fraction of what it is for a cash job, so they're really losing money vs doing cash jobs. Thus, keep in mind their motivation here.]

To be fair, that is a valid assessment based on my observation as well, but I was already set on replacement. It's practically impossible to REALLY tell what condition a stress item like this is in, anyway.

Here's where it gets interesting. The letter we all received says that if the brackets were not installed properly, the axle replacement would be covered. So, thanks to the internet, I reviewed the previous document on how the brackets were supposed to be installed:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...0V385-9203.pdf

Lo and behold, no expandable foam inside my bracket. So -- always being polite and appreciative -- I calmly asked Paul, my service advisor, to submit his photo of the small crack he found along with a note saying there was no expandable foam to Ford and see if they'd cover the entire replacement.

Guess what? Approved! I almost fell out of my seat when he called with the news.

So, the moral of the story is do your research. Nothing is guaranteed, but you'll want to review that doc above and see if YOU can find anything wrong with the installation. I had to pay $18 to replace the break pressure switch that was clearly leaking brake fluid, but due to my ignorance at the time, they got away with just putting the fusable link and handing it back to me. Luckily I learned that lesson in time. And, I think this makes up for that $18, eh?

Footnote: I recommend avoiding Gwinnett Place Ford for service to anyone in the Atlanta area based on that and one other little incident. When they did the front subframe recall, they *destroyed* the motor mounts and just acted dumb about it. I don't live around there anymore, but just thought I'd share anyway. (Their parts counter guys were friendly, though, and they actually discount the parts a little over list price, which is fairly unusual.)

[phil-l]

Scubacat -

Thanks for sharing your experience. I haven't taken mine in yet.

Good catch on the foam: They put expanding foam inside the the ends of my axle during the first recall, so I won't have that one to fall back on.

I'm not sure how I'll proceed: Visually, my axle looks better than many I've seen - but my wife is making noise about liking recent Ford Fusion models, so putting money into the Windstar may not make sense for us.

[Mustang_Driver]

yeah but it seems as soon as you cross the border the recalls just go un-noticed as i went to the dealer and had a recall check done and nothing turned up on their computer.... i can do a recall check online as well and nothing comes up and the notice that you guys posted is for U.S. dealerships what happened to Canadian dealerships.... oh maybe we are a little lax in our safety standards here...i am just getting frustrated with ford altogether as us has all kinds of recalls for these vans but in Canada nothing exists