is mercon ok for power stearing fluid. Thats what the ford parts guy said to use. I have a 1996 3.8

My 99 uses Mercon V for the tranny and Mercon for the power steering. I don't know when the transmissions changed to Mercon V but I am sure it was after 96 so you may need Mercon in both Transmission and Pwr Steering

This info is covered in detail under "service station info" of the glove box manual.
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for a pdf downloadable glove box manual:
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http://www.genuineflmservice.com/default.asp?page=E4