Reman tranny & Rebuilt Engine Replacement.

1999 Windstar SEL, 216kmiles. Tranny throwing codes indicating slipping converter clutch. Engine "OK", but has been overheated at 90k miles.

First the question(s) was ... " do I spend the money to replace the tranny ... and then do I rebuild the engine simultaneously or not?" A rather thin wallet suggested that doing both might be the wise course of action... hoping to end up not spending too much money, but ending up with a van with renewed life. An exchange Ford reman tranny was about $1600, and a thorough refreshing of the engine I fiqured about $1200 ... maybe about $3500 for everything I thought. $4000 would have been a better guess.

And, of course, I expected to make a thorough documentation with images for everyones' benefit ... but as the van was needed back in service as quickly as possible, less and less time was spent cleaning hands and taking photos.. But here are a few. Click on to enlarge:
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.Using threaded rod to lower the subframe (in driveway), the reman tranny and reman rack were put into place:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/9131/pict0137it5.th.jpg (http://img221.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0137it5.jpg)
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.This view shows the overhauled engine-block and the tranny coming together. The flexplate is now just loose on the crank. This will be raised after bolting-up into the engine cavity where the pistons, rods, etc will be installed.:
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4097/pict0141aj4.th.jpg (http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0141aj4.jpg)
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.This view is of the front of the engine, showing the crankshaft position sensor .. the balancer/pulley is not yet installed. You can just make out the white stenographers fluid on the timing indicator point. ( ... to be used with pulley shown below):
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7586/pict0144fr4.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0144fr4.jpg)
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.The crank pulley below has been "enhanced" to show the markings. The centermark is the one that indicates top-dead-center (TDC) of piston #1 ... and this mark is the one to be used for all mechanical timing, of the synchronizer, etc.:
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4610/pict0146nz4.th.jpg (http://img265.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0146nz4.jpg).
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.The engine now has the heads in place, and paper shop towels stuffed into any hole that might attract "stuff" to fall in:
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1561/pict0147fn3.th.jpg (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0147fn3.jpg).
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. ... a bit further along, the lower intake and fuel rail are now in place. Towels still in use...:
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1284/pict0148tc1.th.jpg (http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0148tc1.jpg).
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.All the suspension rubber around the engine was replaced for a better "ride"; ... the subframe bushings, the engine mounts, etc. None showed a lot of wear except for the anti-sway bar bushings. Here is a new and old one side-by-side ...:
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1811/pict0133sw3.th.jpg (http://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0133sw3.jpg).
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.Test Ride ... kinda. The overhaul became a bit frantic as my wife was simultaneously trip-planning. There was almost no try-out ... as soon as I was remounting the front bumper and wipers, she was loading the rear end with luggage. I did have about 1 day and 100 miles to finished eliminating some skips (mostly air leaks) at start-up. Barely made it!

Then we went for a 30-day, 9,500 mile, 20-state plus BC tour. Luckily the beast (the van!) performed well. No leaks. Though the old ps pump did kinda give up the ghost on the twisting roads on the Oregon coast. Will get to that soon now that we are back home.
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.Oil changes on the fly!. By the time we travelled from Atlanta to Billings, Montana (-6 deg F), an oil change was well overdue. This is where I discovered the oil change service of Wal-mart. Very professional. Used a torque wrench on the drain plug! A second oil change was provided by a Wal-mart somewhere in southern California ... just as professional! BTW, can anyone beat the price of Mobil1 synthetic in the 5 qt jug at Wal-mart?
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.Fuel mileage!. Quite pleased! Of course you'd expect a engine with newly surfaced valves, new seals, and new rings to do pretty well. But this thing was loaded down with weight! We picked up another couple in Vancouver with their luggage. I already had a set of tools, a floor jack, tire chains, shovel, etc in the back. Then the women started shopping ... and even beach rock collecting! (And I bought about 10 liters of low-tax booze myself). Using the on-board computer daily, we got two 26+ MPG days, one 25+ day, two 24's, several 23's, etc. The worst day was across Kansas driving into heavy winds ... 17+MPG.

Wow. I must applaud you for undertaking such a task. Not too many people do this sort of thing today. Most would just haul it to the salvage yard and be done with it. Hope you get many years out of your 'new' van :smile: .

Wow. I must applaud you for undertaking such a task. Not too many people do this sort of thing today. Most would just haul it to the salvage yard and be done with it. Hope you get many years out of your 'new' van :smile: .

Yeah I agree. I thought I was hot stuff for changing the water pump :). Nice work.

Did your Ford reman trans come with new sensors and servos.?

Thanks for the kudo's and well-wishes. Don't belittle the task of changing out a water pump ... kept me busy one long weekend!

Good question, Gary. Yes, all sensors were in place on the tranny ... even the digital range sensor. I have removed no cover or even the pan. The big surprise .... it was full of fresh fluid!!!!! Have not removed even the torque converter.

Thanks for the reply.. Thats keeping me going just in case I ever have to replace mine to go with the Ford reman unit.

Heck of a job 12ounce, a job of that magnitude would require consuming
a few 12 ouncers. While looking at your photos it appeared that the balancer end of the crank and the harmonic balancer didn't have a keyway,
was just wondering if that was the case, thanks.

Saw your reply, thanks.

That's close looking, Cnlk! No, the balancer has a regular keyway ... but it is still filled with RTV from the original assembly so it's almost invisible. The crank just happens to be turned so that the Woodruff-type key and way doesn't show in the photo.

Yep ... several 12 ounce'rs ... of the good stuff!

A couple more photos that might help anyone doing a similar task: The photos are fuzzy (too much good stuff!) but the info may be good;
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.This one shows several daubs of "white-out" used to mark/time the chain and all the shafts before the chain was removed:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1702/pict0150ld6.th.jpg (http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0150ld6.jpg).
These markings and the photo were quite valuable during reassembly.
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The following shows one-of-four threaded rod elevator-jacks that were used, along with nuts and washers, to lower and raise the sub-frame with engine and tranny:
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1815/pict0151if8.th.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0151if8.jpg).

12once

Did you replace the rod and main bearings? When I replaced the headgaskets on my 95 I also replaced the rod bearings. The majorty of them were showing copper on the top.

Dan

The rod and crank bearings were replaced ... but it was a close call, as the old bearings did not look bad at all. A couple had small hairline gooves, but nothing significant. (I think the machine shop just wanted to make the bearing sale.) The crank required no machining ... but it got the usual "polishing".

This crankcase has never had any water (except condensation) in it ... was very clean upon disassembly.

12ounce

What was the condition of the cylinders? Were they streight? I could see the factory crosshatching when I had my heads off and this was at 177,000 miles.

Dan

I could see cross-hatching also, but there was definitely ring wear at the top of stroke. The shop honed the cylinders ... not as much as I would have liked, as there was ring "shadow" left (1st and 2nd rings) at the top of each cylinder. I don't mind risking a bit of piston slap, so I would have pushed the cyl diameters more. But the engine runs well and is quiet, so all is OK now ... we'll just see how long it lasts. Probably longer than I will.

I was disappointed that with all the frequent (syn) oil and filter changes over the life of this vehicle... and gasoline cleaners/additives ... the oil rings were still gunked up and locked in place in the grooves. I think there is no way to avoid this condition ... its gonna happen! I just don't how long it takes ... 20k miles? ... 200k miles? The gunk wasn't heavy, but the oil rings were still locked.

The piston crowns and head chambers had a light carbon build up. Easily (as easily as I've ever seen) removed, but it was there.

And there is no way to avoid valve guide wear. All six exh guides were replaced.

12Ounce

Do you think the stuck oil rings may have been caused by the overheating?


Regards

Dan

That could be the case. Dunno. I've taken just a few modern engines apart ... but they all seem to have this common malady. I suspect the old way of sending oil thru the rod to the wrist pin and spraying the cyl walls would have washed the piston skirts better and keep them cleaner ... just my theory. Of course, the new arrangement is more fuel efficient ... lighter parts.

Do you think a dose or two of Auto-RX would help the rings? I keep reading good things about it on the BITOG board.

I don't know what could prevent it ... and not do more damage than good in the process. But I am pretty well convinced that once the rings are siezed up ... nothing's going to free them short of disassembly and much work. I have soaked pistons with rings overnight in all sorts of solvents ... nothing ever dented the carbon build-up. No "chemical bullet" is gonna fix it.

Can there be anything special about spark plugs?

I have never had a dog in the spark plug fight heretofore. To me, if a plug was made to the proper specs ... any brand was OK. And I bought new ones with that criteria ... whatever was the cheapest double platinum that the parts store had on the shelf was just fine. (Even Bosch.) Well, my feelings have changed.

During the initial rebuilt engine start-up, when there was still unresolved air leaks and resulting performance issues: I replaced the old plugs "just in case". I replaced the old Champion 7013's with new Autolite APP765's. The engine ran even worse!! I put the old Champion's back in and the running improved.

I then found and corrected the air leak. The engine ran super. Then I bought/installed new Champion 7013's ... the engine ran even better!

Here's an additional rub: This plug is not listed on the local parts store's list for my Winnie. In fact, the list shows a single plat plug by Champion ... which we certainly don't want. Not sure how I originally found this plug ... but I can now recommend it.

(BTW, AutoZone does not carry this particular plug in my area ... AdvanceAuto has it.)

I noticed this about Fords as well with some imports. You would think a spark plug is a spark plug as long as the gap is set right. Even using cheaper plugs in other cars ran fine but may not have lasted as long.. I worked on a Honda one time and the guy in the parts place said you may want to run NGK spark plug on that model.. Of course they were higher. So I passed.. went with the cheaper plug. I finally called my uncle because I could not get it tuned right and at the time he was an import mechanic. First question was what type of plugs was I running.. He told me to go and get the NGK's I was tuning up a CRX back in the early 90's For a friend. So little things like that over the years made me think other wise as well. Also you can't run Synthetic oil in a mazda Rotary engine. Not even the new RX 8. If you do I will bet you will lose power if not one of the Apex seals in less than a few days.. The Apex seal works like a piston ring in a regular engine. I have rebuilt 2 rotary engines in the past. To me they are one of the easiest to do. NO one really knows why you cant run synthetic in those motors but they do now regular oil keeps them running longer. I had an RX7 I ran 20w 50. Got over a 150,000 miles before it died.

Just a little update ... just finished another 5000 mile vacation! This time up from Atlanta up to Ontario and eastward to PEI and Nova Scotia ... back down thru Maine, etc. The Ford reman tranny and the driveway rebuilt engine seem to be doing fine! The van now has about 240 kmiles.

On the trip I saw 5, or 6, Windstars for sale ... parked on front lawns. And I saw two that had stopped and were abandoned on roadsides. Too bad these owners had not found this helpful website!

There are a lot of windstars around.....and a lot of them on the road.
Problem with most of us is that we keep driving until something goes wrong......and it snowballs from there.
Preventative maintenance goes a LONG way.
"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
I just turned over 200K miles last week.
From an investment standpoint.....few things are worse than a vehicle......of course one kind of needs one to get around in most parts of the USA.
However......buying another one every few years is throwing money away.....just to look good.
Getting as much life out of them is like putting money in the bank.......

It is really good to hear that your repairs have worked out.
Here is to looking at 300K miles.

Yes, I saw a number of Windstars on the road, one would assume: serving their owners well. A couple of very early ones seemed to be in super shape and condition ... as they passed me by.

I know is been a while since the last post, but I am going through the same process of rebuilding the engine and the tranny.
I have a question. After you lower the transmission,engine mounted on the subframe, what did you use to pull it out from under the vehicle?

I have a 2ton hoist with a 1.5 ton balancer which I will use to lower the above parts but I am trying to figure out what to use to pull them out from the bottom of the van after they have been lowered. I was thinking about buying two wheeel dollies rated at 1 ton each so I can wheel the subframe out of the van but I am not sure the wheels will hold. How much you would say the assembly (subframe,tranny and engine) would weight?

oops!

I read/responded to your private message before seeing that you had posted also.

Pulling/skidding the subframe with all its stuff out from under the vehicle isn't that difficult. But you will make good use of that hoist when raising stuff up to the work bench, etc.

Another update ... 40k miles since engine rebuild and tranny swapout ... 255k miles total on vehicle ... it ain't good news unfortunately!

I'm beginning to see heavy traces of engine oil in the coolant. For the past few thousand miles there has been some coolant loss. When I did the rebuild, all those engineered coolant lines across the top of the engine were not replaced... so I first thought it might be a leak in one of those. As a test, I have been running the last few thousand miles with the reservoir top loose ... this causes a lowering of coolant pressure, especially "outside" the hot zone (between the water pump and the thermostat). So somewhere, I have a cross-path between the oil and coolant ... that seems to be aggravated when I loosened the pressure cap ... at least, there now seems to be more flow of oil into the coolant. I have not noticed any evidence of coolant in oil ... but unfortunately did not pull an oil sample during today's oil change ... will have to wait a few thousand miles and pull an oil sample to send to Blackstone's.

The engine and the tranny continue to perform super. But that is now at risk.

If there is no trace of coolant found in the oil, I am faced with redoing the lower intake gaskets and the front cover gaskets. If there is coolant found in the oil .... well, those Volvo's look awfully nice! I don't think my better half will let me redo the engine again!

I am really sorry to hear of this.
I don't know what to suggest......I have never become so involved in motor repair.
I do know that there are a lot of places that one can come across a problem in this level of repair.
Oil into the coolant does not seem to be high up in the normal failure modes on the Windstar.......so past history will not be of much help.
Would oil into the coolant (with no detected coolant loss) point you more toward the lower part of the motor?
I am trying to remember if there are actual oil passages through the lower intake manifold.....there is chance for some splash otherwise...but how would that happen to the extent that you are seeing when the coolant system is (before your test) normally under pressure.

With all the work......it is possible that maybe the front cover is not seated just right (maybe a luckey break with re-checking the bolt torque?).....or even a crack in the front cover.

After all this work.....I was hoping for AT LEAST another 100K miles for you without major engine/tranny repair.

You're giving me cause to focus more clearly. Yep, you're right ... there is NO high pressure oil in the lower intake gasket that I remember. In the head gaskets, yes, there is high pressure oil (Oh, I hope the head gaskets aren't failing! ... and I think not). The (Mickey Mouse) front cover gasket is my best hope ... and very likely. Unless there is coolant detected by Blackstone in the crankcase oil .... then one could believe that the crossover takes place in a low-pressure area such as the lower intake. ?? Stay tuned.

UPDATE about oil-in-coolant concern... 45k miles since eng rebuild/tranny swapout ...260k miles total

Well, I opted to redo the intake manifold gaskets and seals ... all the way down thru the lower manifold to the block. Sure enough, the Ford gasket set (installed at rebuild) had failed me ... there was a coolant passageway leak on the LH side. The leak seemed to be "to the outside" ... I guess oil spilled around the filler port was making its way into the coolant.

At any rate, the latest aftermarket Felpro gasket set seems to be doing well after several hundred miles. I installed a new clear reservoir so the coolant can be better monitored. Knock on wood ... so far, so good!

UPDATE about oil-in-coolant concern... 45k miles since eng rebuild/tranny swapout ...260k miles total

Well, I opted to redo the intake manifold gaskets and seals ... all the way down thru the lower manifold to the block. Sure enough, the Ford gasket set (installed at rebuild) had failed me ... there was a coolant passageway leak on the LH side. The leak seemed to be "to the outside" ... I guess oil spilled around the filler port was making its way into the coolant.

At any rate, the latest aftermarket Felpro gasket set seems to be doing well after several hundred miles. I installed a new clear reservoir so the coolant can be better monitored. Knock on wood ... so far, so good!
Any update????????????????????????????

Kinda glad you asked: 280+ mile update:

It's still rolling along ...runs just fine! Need to repolish the headlamp covers. Passenger door lock is getting "iffy". Windshield has a crack. Tune-up is overdue. So the Winny needs some attention ... but it has been dependable.

The coolant reservoir has remained clear and new looking ... so the last gasket job must have worked. Never knew "precisely" what the original leak was. I used the same amount of care in this last gasket procedure ... I have no idea why the other gasket set failed .. there was nothing obvious. I continue to leave the reservoir cap a half turn loose.

And we have another around the country trip planned ... meeting the same German friends in Vancouver and doing more or less the same road trip ... but this time in Summer instead of Winter. This should add about 10k miles .... if it holds together! ??

Back home ... 12000 miles on trip ... 294K altogether now.

Old Winny took some beating on this trip ... many miles of unpaved roads in various parks .. along with road repair going on everywhere in the boonies. Now the windschield has two cracks ... about to meet in the middle. I learned that my practice of leaving the coolant pressure cap a bit loose ... may work fine here near sea level, but can get a guy in trouble when high elevations are encountered. I was lucky not to have overheating!

I've had a MIL light just about the whole trip ... something to do with new fuel pump I had just installed before leaving.

Plus the alternator just died! Glad it waited to get back home!

Alternator dies.......that can cause voltage issues......and cause a MIL.
Don't forget to check out the battery.....a weak battery can place a major load on the alternator.

Fuel pump?......not sure how it would cause a MIL.......vapor recovery system not holding vaccum?......The windstar does not monitor fuel flow or pressure.
So....any codes caused by a fuel pump would be vapor recovery (leaking gasket) or a symptom cause by lack of fuel delivery (pressure/flow).

You are getting good service out of your vehicle......nice job!

Good read... that's an amazing mileage total. Ours is only around 117k, and I have to keep convincing my wife that we are far better off driving it than replacing it, in spite of all of the little things I need to do (door lock actuators, peeling paint on the hood, broken seat base covers, sway bar bushings).

Dropped the fuel tank once again... Lots of fun, not! Replaced the, fairly new, pump and sender assembly once again. No cost replacement from AutoZone. Sure enough, the terminals to the tank pressure sensor were totally "open" when checked with ohmmeter. The new one checked properly.

And the MIL has not shown up after a few hundred miles of driving. Now to replace the windschield and do a bit of brake maintenance. Maybe even wash the thing!

UPDATE: THE BEAST STILL ROLLS ALONG ...320k miles on vehicle .... 100k + miles on engine overhaul and tranny replacement.

Engine: Runs pretty good. Due a tune-up which it may not get for some while. Even tho I've got parts ready. New crank-pulley/harmonic balancer. New front cover seals (small coolant weepage to outside. I have an old synchronizer assembly that I've installed a grease fitting in. Probably will replace spark cables and coil. Will replace sub-frame because current one is so beat-up.

Tranny: The Ford Reman continues to perform well even after 100k + miles. Recently dropped pan ... wiped out, did not replace filter. Tranny insides were amazingly free of black stuff .... NIL! I went ahead and did a 15 qt flush. Finally installed extra cooler that I purchased years ago.

Knock on wood!

UPDATE: 1/3 MILLION MILES REACHED!

Actually on 337k miles today! Except for an occassional unexplained Trac Control engagement, it purrs along with few surprises.

UPDATE: 375K MILES REACHED ... a little work needed!
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I guess we shouldn't be surprised that a little service was required recently. Had some leakage on the lower intake manifold and the front cover... so both were replaced, along with front struts, lower control arm, harmonic balancer ... etc, etc. The harmonic balancer had not yet slipped, but the rubber was showing a number of cracks so I was a bit afraid of it.

To get access to the front engine cover, the sub frame was lowered a bit onto two 4x4 wooden beams. This is with the front struts, wheels, rotors, etc .. removed. The exhaust was unfastened as was the steering. Then the sub frame was moved over using Windstar jack. This provided enough room to do all replacements, including using torque wrenches. I used Permatex #2 on both sides of gasket .. hopefully this will help stop leakage.

The upper was cleaned thoroughly, as was the inlet passages into the heads. I use twisted paper towels pushed down into passage to prevent gunk from reaching combustion chamber. Thin wire wrapped around the shop towels guaranteed their retrieval. Metal erosion was seen around coolant ports on the lower ... so extra Permatex Gray was used around these ports. The synchronizer was oiled. All the injectors were work bench cleaned. Plugs, wires, coil were renewed.

Upon start-up the engine did not run that well. A compression test was taken ...180:170:160:178:172:172... so no problem there. Then a induction type timing light was used to check firing ... pretty erratic ... so it was then a new crank position sensor was installed. The new harmonic balancer did not have the massive toothed-wheel the original one did, so this probably affected sensor performance. With new sensor, the timing light test showed all to be well.

Now it purrs again ... smooth and powerful.

Update ... 416600 miles reached ... that's 200k miles on reman tranny and "refreshed/over-hauled" engine ... Aug 2015.
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There's probably fewer readers here to care these days. But I still see many Windstars on the road. I have been happy with mine. It now runs well and even tows a heavy trailer with little effort. It needs some little work ... the ac needs some attention ... the steering wheel air bag needs replacement ... the driver's seat fore-aft doesn't anymore; but at $600 for replacement, it stays "as is". Happy with engine work. Happy with Ford reman tranny.
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I may try to reach 500k miles. However, the wife wants a new vehicle ... so time will tell.

WOW... time does go fast... Congrats on a job well done, hope you reach 600K on it! I remember reading your post and freaking out since everybody kept saying this trannys had a 100,000 mile lifespan on them. I kept telling my wife I wanted to ged rid of ours before that milestone. We stopped taking it on long drives and was treated as the secodary vehicle.
Well, our 2000 Winnie is now my daily driver... lost the Malibu on a head on collision back in Feb and she's still going, true that I drive it like grandma and always pray it stays together everytime I get on the seat! LOL

We're at 160K on ours but it gets used mostly for short trips. It takes a little work to keep running (last weekend was the passenger window motor -- a pretty common repair) but boy, the insurance costs practically nothing these days and being almost 14 years old, I don't care if the dogs mess it up or drool all over the place. Heck, the left quad seat has been out for over a year thanks to the new giant beast the wife brought home. That 88 lb rescue collie occupies that space regularly since it's the only thing she'll fit in. I even discovered the windstars at the junkyard with a bench seat have 2 covers for the slots for the right side mounting holes, so I pillaged 2 vans and got 4 covers for the holes so paws don't get stuck in there now (which would generate yet another endless vet bill.) Here's to hoping for another 160K out of this baby!

Oh, and still original transmission. I had some shudder last spring but it was just old fluid. Changed about 7 quarts of fluid, and it went right back to it's old form.

Good job. Your mileage achievement shows these are good vehicles and that you've taken good care of yours. We're putting miles on the DIY rebuilds that was completed last summer. It just turned 333,333 total miles, with about 25k on the rebuilds. Everything is OK so far, although I need to work on the front suspension due to torque steer, partially from wear on the knuckles caused by loose pinch bolts on the lower control arms.

Have your lower control arms been replaced or re-bushed? They take a terrible beating.

I've replace the arms at least once each. I think the last time was a bunch of years ago. I've had the knuckles (aka spindle) off a few times since then for changing bearings, changing the struts, working on the transmission, etc.

I can pry on the bottom of the knuckle (while attached to the lower control arm/ball joint pin) and see the pin moving up/down in the knuckle. This is despite maximum torque on the pinch bolt. When the knuckle is removed from the pin you can feel that the hourglass shape of the pin has been worn into the inside of the hole in the knuckle. Consequently it takes a lot of spreading of pinch to get the pin out of the knuckle.

I think this condition started many years ago when the inside faces of the pinch were "dimpled" when a chisel was used to spread the pinch open. This kept the pinch from closing tightly on the pin, and the wear has been occurring since then. I eventually removed the dimple with a thin file, but the damage was already done.

I think this design makes it very difficult to tell when the pinch is tight on the pin, so I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, let alone failure of the knuckle due to cracks in the pinch zone.

The ball joints seem OK and I didn't notice any issues with the bushings where it attaches to the subframe.

Do you suppose a 3/4 wrap of shim "paper" brass would help?

I don't imagine it would cost too terribly much to grab replacements from a junkyard. I can't get the balljoint stud to move on mine half the time even with the bolt OUT let alone with it in. heh.

I went for a tail light and upper cowl (I got a little too rough with the ice scraper last winter and basically destroyed it... oops) and also picked up some covers for the seat holes where the second row seats go so I can remove one for the giant dogs and keep dog paws from getting stuck in there. You can find all kinds of cool stuff at the junk yard.

"Do you suppose a 3/4 wrap of shim "paper" brass would help"

Funny you should mention that... I bought some steel sheet metal, about 24 gauge, and made a shim that wrapped around the pin, a little more than 3/4 around. I also removed the "bump" in the hole with a sanding drum in my hand grinder.

I torqued the pinch bolt a fairly high setting, and I eliminated the vertical movement of the pin in the hole, but I still had lateral movement. Now I couldn't see what was moving because the boot on the ball joint was covering the "action", but my guess is that either the ball is moving in the socket or a taper in the hole allows the pin to move at the bottom of the knuckle even though the pin is gripped at the top.

So, my next step is to put on a new control arm, and if that doesn't cure the problem then find a good recycled part. I found they can be purchased for $50 each, but the final cost will be a good bit more if I install new bearings.

You must have a lot of road salt in your area ... that's the only way I can imagine this connection area would become very loose. The outer end of the lower arm only sees loading during braking and acceleration. If the ball joint is in good shape, there is almost no radial twist. The cinch-bolt is mostly there to prevent the seal-boot from being over compressed, up-down ... pushing out the grease. No real loads to speak of. I think you will be surprised what a new lower arm will do for you.

You would have to get the metal really clean for it to be effective, but Loc-Tite use to sell a product call "Bearing Mount" that might close up the looseness quite well.

I "rebuilt" the front suspension (new control arms, new tie rods (inner & outer), new anti-sway bushings & links). The ball joint pins on the new control arms is a little bit larger, and I worked the hole in the knuckle to remove the taper. That and a new (and somewhat better) shim seems to be holding much better than the first try.

However, just in case I have a used knuckle that I can replace this one with if it doesn't hold over the long haul, but it's been on there for a couple thousand miles and seems to be working.

TRANNY REPAIR AT 473 K MILES:

This is my third tranny "event".
(1) A broken tranny pump shaft replacement at 97K miles.
(2) Total replacement with Ford reman at 216 K miles. Did the labor myself: $1700 replacement costs.
(3) After approx 260 K miles of service, the reman began slipping. I knew total shutdown was gonna happen soon, so I spent the last tranny miles going to a local tranny shop ... made it! No towing fee! I wanted to do the work myself, but there are just too many projects going on, so I jobbed it out. $2400. The repairs seems to be good, but time will tell.

Hope this major expense carries me beyond 500 K miles.

TRANNY REPAIR AT 473 K MILES:

This is my third tranny "event".
(1) A broken tranny pump shaft replacement at 97K miles.
(2) Total replacement with Ford reman at 216 K miles. Did the labor myself: $1700 replacement costs.
(3) After approx 260 K miles of service, the reman began slipping. I knew total shutdown was gonna happen soon, so I spent the last tranny miles going to a local tranny shop ... made it! No towing fee! I wanted to do the work myself, but there are just too many projects going on, so I jobbed it out. $2400. The repairs seems to be good, but time will tell.

Hope this major expense carries me beyond 500 K miles.

Wow, that's only the second thing I've ever seen cheaper in the Chicago area than it was in Atlanta. I got mine rebuilt for $1750! Although it did take a couple of return visits before they "found the problem", but it's now been 18 months and it drives like new. So you're at 476K now?

Will cross 476 K tomorrow morning.

It kinda hurt to shell out the cash for a rebuild. I wanted to replace myself, but have gotten too slow to keep up with my needs. The shop seems to be good one, been around for a while. One year warranty, unlimited mileage.

Will cross 476 K tomorrow morning.

It kinda hurt to shell out the cash for a rebuild. I wanted to replace myself, but have gotten too slow to keep up with my needs. The shop seems to be good one, been around for a while. One year warranty, unlimited mileage.

I feel like we're among the last of the mohicans, although I do see windstars on the road still fairly often. I guess only people with some DIY experience (or with a shop) keep them going. Still, they're out there...