common problems

Hi, I am thinking of buying a 1999 mercury Sable. I was wondering if there are any common problems I hsould knwo about. I know that Ford excorts can't keep transmissions and I want to make sure this car won't haev a similar problem.

In the early to mid 90s an inordinate number of Ford trannys did have issues. By '97-'98 they were largely improved upon, and, proportionally speaking, problems were about average thereafter (this info taken off several differents car forums)

However buying ANY used car without knowing its background (e.g., sevice history) can be a risky investment. Some good advice is to spend a few hundred $ up front and have a mechanic take a look at the car b4 you fork over the bigger bucks.

I'm closing in on 270,000 miles with my 98' Sable. It has the 24valve Duratec motor. The tranny had to be rebuilt @ 100,000 miles ago. The engine is starting to go through a quart of oil every 1,200 miles, but no major work yet on that. The water pump shaft seal went out this past summer, so wasted a weekend replacing that. There is a radiator hose down low at the front that is mostly metal tube that had eaten away from the outside in, probably from road salt. Couldn't get an aftermarket and the dealer got me for $200 for a new one, just the hose, I put it on myself. But before I did, I put about five coats of paint on the metal portion, hoping that it will now last twenty years instead of ten. The front suspension is worn and ready for replacing just about everything. Replaced the fuel pump two years ago and a few months ago the fuel gauge has been steadily going down. A full tank now only reads as a quarter. I still average 28 miles per gallon each tank, though I add the miles and gallons for four tank fulls to get the calculation since I'm never quite sure that I got it the same up to the full mark each time. The interior still "looks" new, but man, the foam in the drivers seat has turned into a rock. The toreador red on the outside is still great, but there is one small bubble above the passenger side rear wheel that indicates rust is under there and wants to come out. Twelve brake jobs. Five sets of tires. Three accidents, two of which it was parked and the idiots just hit it. One in the front and one in the door. Their insurance fixed it. The other I got rear ended by someone with no insurance. Luckily I had uninsured coverage at the time that even covered my deductible. The door lock issue,(door ajar) which is how I found this forum and saved the money of taking it in by using penetrating oil on them. Rebuilt the multi-function switch. Replaced the oxygen sensors the last time it had to be smog tested. Had to switch to 15W40 oil. The oil pressure sensor kept coming on with anything thinner and the computer would go into "limp it home" mode constantly because of it until it got the heavy stuff. The headlights are getting dim from all the scratches and pits in the lenses, and the bulbs themselves are probably at the end of their useful lives after ten years of being on anywhere from 1 to 5 hours a day, every weekday. I commute around a 130 miles a workday, two-thirds of it on the expressway. If I get any kind of bonus this year, I'm going to rebuild the motor and front end. Then hope for another ten years, maybe even a million miles. If I don't, then I'm going to drive it until it dies, or I do.
This is one story of a Sable. Every car is great when it is running good, and crap when it isn't. I usually think that the day mine went down the assembly line, 99% of the parts just happen to not be defective when they all came together. I will never buy a used car much more than a year old. And I will keep it for at least ten years to get the full value out of it. If I sold this Sable, I will tell everything there is to know about it. But it will be as is, buyer beware, because a week from then may be the time everything had reached its end, and I'm not giving a refund.

When looking for a used Sable, look for one that has the Duratec engine (there two different engines used, the Ford 3.0L V6 Vulcan (used 1986-2005) and the Mazda 3.0L DOHC V6 Duratec (1996-present).

The Vulcan engine/transmission combo has a poor record and the Duratec's is excellent. Better performance as well.