How has your Windstar treated you? Has it been a nightmare from hell or a dream van.

Well I have had my Windstar 9 years now since it was new and it has 108500 miles as of today. This vehicle has been one of the most reliable vehicles I have ever owned. I have had few problems and it has yet to leave me stranded:uhoh:. I average about 24mpg Highway and 18 City. (My wife gets about 19/16 she is a bit of a heavy accelerator.)

The van is very versatile although the seats are a bit of a pain and very heavy. The 3.8L is powerful enough to move this heavy van if needed it will get up and go even still at 108K. The only real problems I have had with it are the power doors and the wheel speed sensors. The power doors sometimes dont shut all the way and require a lot of lubrication. The abs light comes on about every couple of months for a day or two.

The tranny is starting to show its age but still shift fine.

Major Repairs
I had the lovely p0171 p0174 code debacle
Valve Cover Gaskets at 65k
EGR Port Cleaning at 100k it was spark knocking real bad under load. This fixed it for about 3k and it came back slightly so I buy 93 Octane gas and it doesn't do it.

It does seem to chew through brakes more than any other Ford I have had. I am looking at my 3rd set of Tie-Rods and 1st set of Ball Joints. Replaced the original Struts and Shocks at 75000. (My 95 Taurus went 150K on the OEM Suspension!)

I live in the Rust Belt but I have no Body Rust issues at all. A couple small amounts of paint peel on the tops of the doors.

Really overall I cannot complain about this Van it has served me well
and I will be keeping it as a second vehicle when I purchase my new Flex

For the pinging, FORD issued a TSB to check the IMRC connecting rods to make sure that they are still connected to the 2 shafts that pass into the lower intake manifold.
There are nylon clips that tend to break, or otherwise become disconnected.
If the IMRC shafts are not connected to the actuator, then you can have the pinging issue that you mention.

For suspension, mine made it to 183K miles before things started needing replaced.
I used a grease needle, which goes onto the end of a grease gun......to poke into the rubber boot over the joints.....and pump some grease in.
Not as good a having a grease fitting, but the best I could do as there is NO provision to add a grease fitting on the OEM joints.
At the 183K time, I had both front struts/springs replaced......due to a broken spring.....just outside the 10 year unlimited extended waranty on the front springs.
At 209K miles, I now have new inner and outer tie rod ends, lower ball joints, and sway bar links.
The shop installed MOOG aftermarket parts.....which have grease fittings.

I had the lower control arm replaced to do the lower ball joint.
This also gives you new bushings for it.

I had 1 front wheel bearing replaced at 183K miles.....due to very slight play that had developed.

Lower intake manifold gaskets replaced around 160K.

My 1996 had rust come through the rocker panels (below the door sills) during the winter of 2007/2008.
Not bad for a vehicle driven in the salty winters for all of its life.
None of the rust is structural.....as the underbody is still great......I have touched up the rustproofing under there a couple of times.

I had a genunie FORD remanufactured transmission installed in 2002, at which time I went from having the dealership do 30K fluid and filter changes to doing fluid myself every year and the filter every other year.....using fully synthetic ATF.
I also installed a big auxillary transmission cooler.
So at 109K miles on it.....the transmission is still doing very well.

Keeping on top of routine maintenance is key to preventing problems.
No guarentee that you won't have any problems.....but sure prevents a lot of them.

Some folks have had nightmares ... and are shocked when I say the Windstar is a fantastic vehicle for the DIY'r who will learn its few foibles.

I recently took a Volvo XC90 for a 600 mile trip. Frankly, I prefer the road feel of my Winney.

I have a 2000 Winnie too. Same issues, no real major issues. Wondering when the tranny is going to puke.

ive has an 02 for almost 4 months.

so far ive dont a good deal getting it up to speed as i bought an 110k van with unknown maint.

but i have to say, the car has a cartain charm? :lol


i dont mind working on it. :lol

ive had done

ac lines to the rear

ive done

maint - plugs wires serp belt, tensioner, idler front pads and rotors oil change, air filter, etc.

fixes - coolant reservoir, ps pump and rack

'99 LX with 132,000. Windy is just 2 weeks shy of her 10th birthday. The first six or seven years were turbulent:
- New power door motor at 8,000 miles
- New tranny at 38,000
- New brakes at 39,000
- New tie rod ends at 41,000
- New cam and roller rockers at 75,000 (broken cage let roller turn)
- New front brakes at 76,000
- New blend door motor at 80,000
- 171/174 work done at 81,000
- new dbl plat plugs at 96,000
- Driver's window bound up at 98,000
- new cam sensor at 100,000
- new alternator at 101,000
- New tie rod ends at 102,000
- new brakes at 110,000
- new plug wires at 128,000
- new DPFE at 132,000

This is the strangest handling vehicle I have ever owned. It wanders from side to side regardless of tire type, alignment, etc. Brakes require a ton of effort and lots of pedal travel. The driver's side passenger has rot that I have repaired twice. Other than that she is in very good condition and looks great. The spruce green metallic holds up well. Kids are older now. Our van days are over. We hope she will keep going another 2-3 years.

This is the strangest handling vehicle I have ever owned. It wanders from side to side regardless of tire type, alignment, etc.

It's strange because I never had this problem. Mine is very stable, even w/ unflated tires.

Brakes require a ton of effort and lots of pedal travel.

This is because the van is very heavy. It's not a sport car.
But it's not that hard.

My '99's brakes are superb. Nothing fancy, just AutoZone parts and periodic attention. Even with a "vacation load", it makes panic stops quickly and with control.

I wonder if your vacuum booster is on the way out ... ?? And long pedal travel says adjustments and repairs are needed.

Also have never had a "wandering" sensation ... always in control. Except braking on ice, of course. Have you ever replaced sway-bar bushings? The trouble may be in the rear end. ??

The brake pedal effort and excessive travel have been inherent with this van since new. Also the odd handling. I did a "primo" brake job using the best quality pads, rotors, and drums I could buy. Careful bleeding, etc. Pedal effort and travel were as "normal". Maybe the rod was mis-adjusted from the factory?

My 2000 has 106K. Same problems as everyone else so I won't bore anyone with that. I'm wondering about the tranny too.

- About 18K ago I did a filter and fluid change and there were some tiny roller bearings and cage material in the pan. I panicked at first but thought for a bit and realized what it was. We used to park on an inclined driveway. That would preload the tranny when shifting back from Park to Reverse/Drive. It would always clunk when trying to over come the preload from the incline. I'm pretty sure the roller bearings are from the mechanical shifter system. The tranny is still working fine to date at 106K on it. So if you park on an incline...beware! I even set the parking brake prior to shifting into Park at the end of the trip and it still didn't help when shifting back to Reverse/Drive on the next run to the grocery store. Avoid parking on inclines!!

- I changed the belt tensiometer once because the engine would clunk when the a/c compressor came on. It's starting to clunk again.

- No rust noticed. I had it Zeibarted when I bought it back in 2001.

- P/S pump seal has a slight leak but nothing worthy to change just yet.

- The usual intermitant ABS light

- I have to clean out the cabin air filter vent tube once a year to get rid of the leaves/debris that accumulates in there.

Other than that, she's still moving along.