Time for a new engine?

[oddo]

Hi there all,

I have a 1996 V6 3.8L with 89K miles on board. Althought the temp. gauge never shows the car overheating, after long trips of >500 miles, hot air is felt coming out from around the hood. The car then sound likes it's about to die when restarted, such as after tanking up. You really have to push on the gas pedal to prevent it from choking and dying. Last time we drove it about 600 miles the "check engine" light came on and we were told it is the harmonic balancer. Replaced it twice and now again same type of groaning rumbling noise coming out esp. at lower speeds of 40-50 mph. Going up hills seems to make it worse as it almost seems like it's not shifting properly. Ford has repeatedly claimed that there is nothing wrong with the car, but when it doesn't start easy and runs with a deep groaning sound I find that hard to believe. It also seems very sluggish compared to when we first bought it.

SHould we start thinking about getting a new engine? With all the money spent on replacing balancers, etc...we could've already had a rebuilt car!
Is it possible to put in a V8 without changing the transmission?

Thanks for any advice.

[97Bird]

First thing is take it to Autozone and have the codes checked and let us know what they are. Autozone and other places will check the codes for free.

[oddo]

The check engine light did not turn on this time so there are no codes. The thing is that despite the car's running rough and failure to start up after driving long distances the check engine light does not show up nor does it appear to be overheating based on the gauge reading. It does smell like antifreeze but we were told that everything checks out fine at the tune-up prior to this trip.

Last time the engine lights came on and we took it to get the code read they said there is no code appearing so just reset the computer, but it turned out the harmonic balancer got destroyed so badly during driving that it had to be pried off the crankshaft.

[nikerw]

What Is The Problem When You Have Just Put A Thermostat On And The Cooling Fan Is Working Behind The Radiator But The Temperture Gauge Is Showing It Is Running Hot ,i Have A 94 T'bird 3.8

[97Bird]

Blocked cooling system, bad sending unit, incorrect thermostat, bad thermostat, thermostat installed backwards (I don't know if this is possible to do in your 3.8), air in system, bad water pump............