I had an honest discussion with a Ford engine mechanic away from the dealer Sunday. I asked him his opinion on the Windstar and from what he has experenced is that they are very reliable and he rarely works on them at engine level ever since the head gasket problem was resolved (86-87 models).
His dealership is in Ontario.
I think the trannies in these vans are flakey myself. What causes the bump-shift in traffic conditions? I think many owners have that. I have noticed this since I bought it with 79,000km.
I will accept the odd problem like my passenger side door lock since the van is 4 years old but not trans problems with relatively low mileage!

Does the SEL model have a tranny cooler?

Cheers!