Questions about a few car concerns

Hi, I'm new here and I have a few questions about some issues with my 1999 Taurus. It has 147,000 miles.

First, there is a broken sway bar pin and I've been riding on it for 3 months now. I will eventually get this fixed, but is this something that you drive on c manage temporarily? Can people ride on highways? Do you just have to take caution with turns?

I had an oil change and was advised to flush out my trans fluid. I last had it changed in 2004 at 80,000 miles. It's now at 147,000. Another guy said you have to take caution given the miles and how long it's been since it was changed and they do not highly recommend right now. There can be a danger of doing further damage. The fluid is not clear, but not dark either. I'm not having any problems as of now when it comes to this issue when driving. What is the best thing to do? It seems like there are different opinions on this.

Finally, is it serious if gaskets underneath are leaking? There's no leaks seen on the ground. What should I do here? Is changing gaskets necessary?

Thanks

Welcome to the forum!

Your car will handle differently with a broken sway bar end link, so yeah, you should be careful to avoid any high speed maneuvers. Unfortunately, the other folks on the road may not be as cautious and could cause you to need to make such an abrupt maneuver. The only real mechanical damage that I could see possibly being caused by a broken end link is that it could possibly rip the CV boot. If that happens, you'll be replacing a half shaft along with the end links.

The general consensus on flushing transmissions is unless you know the complete history of the vehicle and the fluid was changed very regularly. avoid a flush. The concern usually relates to the potential for static contaminants to get dislodged from the hoses and cooler lines during a flush and cause damage as they begin to circulate again. The folks that generally disagree with this concern point out that if you "flush" the system with normal pressures, the risk of breaking contaminants free is minimal. My recommendation would be to change the transmission fluid and filter by dropping the transmission pan, then continue to change the fluid and filter on a regular interval.

As for leaking gaskets, the answer to how important it is to fix them will depend a bit on which gaskets you are referring to. If the oil pan gasket is leaking, there is an environmental concern, but if the leak is so little that the car is not leaving spots, then it's probably not worth the expense to fix, or the "leak" is actually just due to oil dribbling to the pan ledge when the oil filter is replaced. If a valve cover gasket is leaking, there is still an environmental concern, but additionally there is a fire concern as the oil may be leaking on the the hot exhaust manifold and burning off, explaining why you don't see spots. Obviously burning oil is not a good thing. If the gasket that's leaking is a manifold gasket, again there is the possibility for a fire, as well as decreased fuel economy and damage to the catalytic converters due to a misfire from the leak. If the leaking gasket is the head gasket, then you could be doing significant damage to the catalytic converter, cooling system, and/or engine bearings by continuing to drive the car.

-Rod

Thanks for the info. ANother thing I'm wondering about when it comes to transmission fluid. Can you test if it's low on fluid by opening the hood and doing the stick test thing that is also used to see the color and smell? Also, is this the same way you can check for leaks as well?

Yes, the transmission dipstick is primarily intended for checking the level of the transmission fluid. Assuming the dipstick is the one that came with the car, it will have a cross hatch area on it representing where the fluid level should be. You want to check the fluid level with the engine and transmission up to temperature (after a drive) with the engine running and the transmission in Park.

If you start with a baseline reading of the fluid level, then notice that the level is dropping, that is a way to check for a leak. If the fluid level is dropping, the "missing" fluid is going somewhere, and it's usually a leak.

-Rod

as far as the oil gasket leaking, it's the plan looking object up front, ahead of the trans pan and under the engine. Thus far there is no leaks seen on the ground. Is this considered serious and in urgent need of a repair?

Any chance you could post a picture of the leak? From your description I'm not sure if you are referring to the oil pan which would be to the side of the transmission pan on the transverse engine, or the radiator/condenser.

-Rod

It's not the radiator/condenser. It sounds more like the former based on info .