I own a 1998 Windstar with the 3.0L Vulcan motor in it. It has 158,000 miles on the original motor and transmission. This motor has been trouble free and has had only one tuneup ( at 120,000 miles). Oil has been changed every 4,000 miles and coolant has been changed twice. It does not even use any oil between changes at this point in time. I expect to get 200,000 miles out of this motor no problem. Definetely a lot better motor than the 3.8 liter motor which is also put in this vehicle. Head gaskets seem to be the big problem with the 3.8 liter motor.
Originally posted by Mustanglover I own a 1998 Windstar with the 3.0L Vulcan motor in it. It has 158,000 miles on the original motor and transmission. This motor has been trouble free and has had only one tuneup ( at 120,000 miles). Oil has been changed every 4,000 miles and coolant has been changed twice. It does not even use any oil between changes at this point in time. I expect to get 200,000 miles out of this motor no problem. Definetely a lot better motor than the 3.8 liter motor which is also put in this vehicle. Head gaskets seem to be the big problem with the 3.8 liter motor.
Welcome aboard!
Those oil changes every 4K are indeed going to reward you in the long run. I like to change my coolant more often, though, probably every 15-20K or so.
You're right, the 3.8L "Essex" is unfortunately very prone to head gasket failure, but when it isn't popping gaskets, it does deliver some very decent torque (I used to own a '93 Sable w/3.8L and fortunately never had a HG problem).
BTW, as long as I'm posting, I may as well update the mileage on my Vulcan ...it is now at 100,100.
I notice the comments about Head Gasket problems on the 3.8/4.0 V6. I,ve only had one of these engines, in a 1993 Mercury Marquis, and never had any problems with it. Conventional Wisdom then was to keep the oil changed to prevent the oil return passages from the heads from clogging (I had to pour oil in mine slowly to keep it from overflowing at the filler opening)
However, I had a 1984 Plymouth Voyager with the Mitsubishi 2.6 4-cyl engine, and these were notorious for blowing the head gasket on the outside of the #4 cylinder, mine included. Through trial and error, I found I had to re-torque the head every 8000 miles or so, because the aluminum head would loosen on the cast block. I never replaced a head gasket after that.
I don't know if this will help 3.8/4.0 owners or not. Comments?
Originally posted by SHABBONA_RR I notice the comments about Head Gasket problems on the 3.8L... However, I had a 1984 Plymouth Voyager with the Mitsubishi 2.6 4-cyl engine, and these were notorious for blowing the head gasket on the outside of the #4 cylinder, mine included. Through trial and error, I found I had to re-torque the head every 8000 miles or so, because the aluminum head would loosen on the cast block. I never replaced a head gasket after that.
I don't know if this will help 3.8/4.0 owners or not. Comments?
Bob Nicholson
Bob that's a good question you brought up. I do think that re-torquing the headbolts regularly would help extend the life of a 3.8L headgasket, but I honestly don't think it's a complete solution. And that's because a lot of the problems with the 3.8L HG was/is design and construction of the OEM gasket itself (even the early replacements were weak). And IMO, the 3.8L Sable/Taurus also had a less-than-ideal cooling system design which caused the engine (and tranny, which of course runs cooling lines through the radiator) to run hot all the time, increasing the liklihood of greater metal expansion & cooling disparities between the different metals.
In contrast, my '94 SHO engine, built by Yamaha, has big aluminum heads (24v) and a cast iron block, and yet head gasket issues are few and far in between on these motors, a result of different gaskets and a cooler running engine by design. And these days, on the more modern engines, mating aluminum heads to iron blocks is rarely cause for concern, head-gasket-wise. This is because of better design and construction of the HG's themselves, and also better design of the engines in general. At least that's how I see it.
It is time for my annual oil change for my '99 . I replace the Mobil l and filter every February. I drive it a little over 3K a year, just turned 15,000. It's my toy.
Join Our Site - Its free, quick and easy!
miles on 3.0
