coolant bypass kit

have a 96 taurus. how would I know if I have the coolant bypass kit installed?

Does your heat work?

yes. how would I know by looking under the hood? did they add hoses?

"did they add hoses?" Not necessarily 'add' a hose but rather connect the heater 'in' hose to the 'out' hose therby by passing the heater core. Thinking it through, . . the only reason to do a by pass is if the heater core was clogged, but you say your heater is OK. Does something under the hood cause you concern or doesn't look right or is it is running hot? I'm wondering what triggered your question in the first place so please be kind enough to give us some more info and we'll discuss it and perhaps come up with a skematic of hose routing for your Taurus.

If you have a friendly Ford dealer swing by and ask them if the original factory hose routing has been altered. Find one in a used car lot or salvage yard and ask them to let you look under the hood to compare your hoses to theirs.

If we're thinking the same bypass kit (the heater core bypass is the only one I've read about) - you won't have any heat if you have the bypass kit.

"If we're thinking the same bypass kit (the heater core bypass is the only one I've read about) - you won't have any heat if you have the bypass kit."
Roger all that old Buddie. Yeah, kind'a sort'a dazed and confused me and hoping he'll come back with some clarification.