I heard a bunch of horror stories in the early nineties about this, but is it still true today?

I wouldn't say so. My 96 has 268000 and all I did so far,as far as repairs go,altanator and passenger,front wheel baring.Although,I do need front struts to.But with 268000 k I really don't mind.:smoker2:

My 94' GL has 190,000 miles+ on it. Had a broken motor mount, cracked radiator, and I currently have a miss. But I'm a hard driver and always try to make that weak 3.0L go. Just take good care of the car by doing regular maintenance and you'll be aight. You may also want to upgrade your transmission. Go to a Ford dealership for more info...better to spend now than later.

The automatic transimissions are notoriously unreliable, engine management often shuts down, clutches drop like flies and head gaskets crack- jut some common faults

Most of the potential problems in the previous post sound like they are associated with hard driving. On the late ninetys through current, drive like a sane person, keep up on maintanance, keep your eye on the gauges, and you should be fine.

If you want to drive like a ricer, then expect problems - with any vehicle.

Tery

My grandaddy got one of those, before 50,000 miles he replaced:
transmission
head gasket
cv-joints
motor mounts
power steering pump
alternator
tie rods
around 100,000 he had to replace all those again
by this time all the paint came off, but that's cool cause it looked like a DeLorean, people on the streets would walk up to him and ask:"is that some kind of prototype?".

he did have some fun times with the car:
air bag blew on his face whyle driving on the freeway!(fun!!)
green mist started to come out of the heater vents!(yum!)
and to top it all off the car caught on fire in rush hour traffic!(cool)
But all and all, I think he was pretty satisfied with the car:frog:

I have a 95 SHO w/146,500 on it. I just had to replace a motor mount and the radiator.

I have a 90 SHO with 232K on the original motor & trans. The only things I've had to replace are the altenator & clutch. It needs rear struts & leaks/burns a quart of oil every 500 miles, but other then that, its a strong runner.

The V8 SHOs have some cam failure problems.

my friend told me that head gaskets crack- only on the 3.8liter v 6.
and not the 3.0 liter engine.

My grandaddy got one of those, before 50,000 miles he replaced:
transmission
head gasket
cv-joints
motor mounts
power steering pump
alternator
tie rods
around 100,000 he had to replace all those again
by this time all the paint came off, but that's cool cause it looked like a DeLorean, people on the streets would walk up to him and ask:"is that some kind of prototype?".

he did have some fun times with the car:
air bag blew on his face whyle driving on the freeway!(fun!!)
green mist started to come out of the heater vents!(yum!)
and to top it all off the car caught on fire in rush hour traffic!(cool)
But all and all, I think he was pretty satisfied with the car:frog:

I am sorry for you. :frown:

the 3.0 vulcan (sohc, not the dohc duratec) is indestructable. transmission aside, the engine just can't die. now, put the transmission into the equation, its another story.

http://hometown.aol.com/mkbradley/year.jpg

http://hometown.aol.com/mkbradley/lemonaid.jpg

http://hometown.aol.com/mkbradley/nhtsa_2.jpg

Is the Duratec made by Yamamaha?

nope, thats ford.

My guess is all these people with extremely high mileage on their taurus have a lot of problems they are unaware of or they just like the car so they are down playing the problems they have had. I check out a ton of taurus's and most of the time they have a lot of problems. I guess maybe there are some lucky people out there who got good ones.

My guess is all these people with extremely high mileage on their taurus have a lot of problems they are unaware of or they just like the car so they are down playing the problems they have had. I check out a ton of taurus's and most of the time they have a lot of problems. I guess maybe there are some lucky people out there who got good ones.

either that, or we keep up with regular maintenance.

the vulcan is an indestructable beast. as long as you do regular fluid/filter changes, it'll go forever.

I have 160,000 MILES on my SHO, and no problems with the engine, or the rest of the car for that matter. In some places it shows its age, but its BY FAR nowhere near its end.

if anything i've played up what's wrong with my car. i had my engine in my 99 sable (duratec v6) replaced at 92k miles for some strange unknown reason. Just had a knock from the lower and boom it was gone after 2 days (I had my end year exams and couldn't be bothered with the car). Other than that the car has been extremely reliable and has never failed to start up. I have 105,000 on it now and it still runs great, I plan to take it up to 150 and beyond. It's a good car.

The transmission works great, it was an isolated issue in the early 90s and now although its still higher than average, tranny failures are still somewhat rare on the newer cars with the AX4N transmissions. As for clutches going, the clutches on the SHO's are fine for normal driving, if you drive it hard and modify it expect to upgrade your clutch too.

As for the car that caught on fire, I find that hard to believe. Well, maybe a lesson learned--don't buy a first-of-generation vehicle if you don't intend to take it in for recalls, I believe there were some electrical TSB's on the 96.

Magazines never give the car respect because they seem to hate everything that isn't an import. Although I realize my car is far from perfect and not as reliable as say a Toyota Camry, I like the car and I know I can count on it...I just don't see the kind of things that most people complain about.

I have a 93 lx w/ 145k+. So far Ive replaced the radiator, trasmission, water pump (twice), motor mounts, A/C pump, Power steering pump, Front wheel bearings, blinker timer modual thing, and heater core. The motor is indistructable... its the car around it that sucks. My car is on its way to the junkyard due to an accident... One less non SHO on the road!

I am extremely happy with my 88 taurus. It has 3.0 v-6 and automatic trans. It has 235,000 miles on it and the motor or transmission have never been apart. I have replaced the waterpump, alternator(both twice), new blower motor, rear struts,ignition module, cv boots, brakes several times, and that is it. It only uses about a quart of oil every 1500 miles or so. The body is really rusty because I used to live in Minnesota (lots of road salt), but otherwise it runs great still get about 25 mpg and am totally impressed with this car. I know that the 4 cylinder models did have transmission problems back then and that 1991 was a bad year. I drive it fairly hard and have had it over 100 mph now and then. The last time the water pump went out all the water drained out and I ran it so hot that it quit and would not turn over till it cooled down. I thought that was the end of it but it still runs fine after i replaced the waterpump.

HAHAHA. just my luck i had to buy the 91 taurus. Had i known about those statistics i wouldn't have bought it. i'm at 158,000 and am on my third transmission, and have replaced so many parts that i could have easily bought another car. fortunately i can do all of this myself. otherwise i would have left it on the side of the road a long time ago.

My grandaddy got one of those, before 50,000 miles he replaced:
transmission
head gasket
cv-joints
motor mounts
power steering pump
alternator
tie rods
around 100,000 he had to replace all those again
by this time all the paint came off, but that's cool cause it looked like a DeLorean, people on the streets would walk up to him and ask:"is that some kind of prototype?".

he did have some fun times with the car:
air bag blew on his face whyle driving on the freeway!(fun!!)
green mist started to come out of the heater vents!(yum!)
and to top it all off the car caught on fire in rush hour traffic!(cool)
But all and all, I think he was pretty satisfied with the car:frog:

Wow, you don't need a mechanic...you need an exorcist! :evillol:

I am extremely happy with my 88 taurus. It has 3.0 v-6 and automatic trans. It has 235,000 miles on it and the motor or transmission have never been apart. I have replaced the waterpump, alternator(both twice), new blower motor, rear struts,ignition module, cv boots, brakes several times, and that is it. It only uses about a quart of oil every 1500 miles or so. The body is really rusty because I used to live in Minnesota (lots of road salt), but otherwise it runs great still get about 25 mpg and am totally impressed with this car. I know that the 4 cylinder models did have transmission problems back then and that 1991 was a bad year. I drive it fairly hard and have had it over 100 mph now and then. The last time the water pump went out all the water drained out and I ran it so hot that it quit and would not turn over till it cooled down. I thought that was the end of it but it still runs fine after i replaced the waterpump.

You drove your Toerus over 100 mph? are you trying to kill yourself?

I have a 95 taurus, 3.0L. I bought it with 20k in 96. I have neutral banged it, reverse J turns, 360s, used it at work, basicaly treated it like crap, and the car has run great, giving me NO problems, except for brakes. Now the car has 107k on it, and I whish I never did the things I mentioned.

It still runs great, except for the transmission. Its strating to slip, started shifted hard from 1st to 2nd around 90k, and the check engine light comes on and stays on after 10min of driving from a cold start. All in all, great car, guess I`m a lucky one.

I am not sure how they got this many miles on these cars - they must be rich to afford the Ford repairs. Ford sure isn't going to cover ANYTHING.

Well, my car was 1995, the last year of the "robo-cop" shape. The new cacaroach Tuarus looks ugly, and runs like crap.

I think 95 was the last good year.

I have a 90 taurus wagon.Transmission went on the way home from banff(140,000k).Put in a used one and one year later same thing.After that I got it rebuilt,so far so good.I have only owned about 6 cars but my taurus is the biggest lemon i've had.Lots of things always breaking down,air conditioning being the latest......It's for sale now by the way.

Somebody in motocraft didnt think too far ahead when they made the intake manifold on the 3.8s aluminum and the block cast iron. They expand and totally different rates, which puts a lot of pressure on the head gasket. Ford put a recall on all cars under 100,000, but that doesnt mean that just under or above a hundred means it wont blow. Other than that, the trannys problems are the only other i know of.

We have owned four Tauruses, I work on them and have done extensive research on the unit. Our 1st (after spending a great deal of money: new Ac, engine, head job, steering rack, etc.), an '88 burned down 230 miles after replacing the engine - only 87K on the clock.

Instead of detailing all the caveats of owning a pre-96 Taurus, do your research on the web on the lawsuits and service bulletins. Those alone say volumes. Ther e are pages and pages of bulletins!

I don't mind them because they are good value cars and I've worked on them so much I can zip though complex repairs - I'm familiar with the enemy. Want reliability? Get a late model Taurus (2002+)

The biggest problem with these types of Tauruses is the 3.8L model. The transmission fluid lines age, check and then leak onto the exhaust system causing a fire (like ours). The fuel rails used to have cracks and cause fires. The head gaskets MUST be replaced by a good mechanic using special bolts and gasket material to allow the different expansion materials to move properly and not destroy the gasket.

We have 187K miles on our 93 3.8. I love the car. But carry an extinguisher and have a nice repair budget (will absolutely need one transmission job) for water pump, P.S. pump, steering rack, alternator, and be SURE to install a good transmission cooler after your transmission job!!

Most of all, ensure your St. Christopher statue is glued to the dash at all times!!!!

My '95 Taurus with 93k has been as trouble free as any car I've owned. I've kept up the maintenence per recommendations. Uses no oil and at last tranny change no wear obvious. Since it's not worth anything if I sell it, what do I have to lose. I'll just drive it and if it falls apart, my loss in value probably wouldn't make up the difference for trading it for an unknown. Maybe a Taurus won't hold up quite as well as some of the imports, but I like the way it drives better than my '01 Accord so I'll just stay with it. IMO the differences in car's reliability are way overblown, especially if they're properly maintained.

Our '95 (3.0L - BIG difference) has 114K and runs like a top. I maintain our motor pool fastideously. If you would like to, just go to repair shops and discuss the Taurus, esp. 1994 and earlier 3.8L's. You'll get an earful! Obviously I agree with you on the car. I love 'em. Good luck!

Should have said my '95 is a 3.0 L. This is my fourth Taurus or Sable. The Sable had the 3.8L which I didn't like because it had very little more power and worse gas mileage. My first Taurus, an '86 bought new soon after they came out, had a few problems, but none that I considered serious. I loved it! The '95 has suffered only self-inflicted problems (fender, etc., bent wheels, etc.) except for a fuel pump change I had done. It didn't go out, just started to 'whine' so I switched it out and considered it maintenance.

Ford did something after '95 - the line improved considerably (as reviewed by Consumer Reports). I am surprised that you feel the 3.8 has a marginal gain in observable power. Taking a trip to Canada in two of our T's really contrasted the difference in power. The 3.8 had to rarely, if ever, downshift for hills (cars were both loaded). Now I'm really curious. We'll have a more scientific test to render a % between them. Remember, the 3.8 has 187K on it to boot!!

The 3.8L had more torque but was rated at about the same horsepower. Guess I don't drive hard enough for it to make much difference to me. Certainly not enough to make up for the lower gas mileage. I made a point to get the 3.0L next time.

My guess is all these people with extremely high mileage on their taurus have a lot of problems they are unaware of or they just like the car so they are down playing the problems they have had. I check out a ton of taurus's and most of the time they have a lot of problems. I guess maybe there are some lucky people out there who got good ones.
No,you don't have to guess.They definitely have alot of problems.Did they make a few good ones??I'm sure they did.But, I'd imagine those are few and far in between.I'm not a Ford fan.But even I have an open mind and have to admit a good car when I see one(those are not it.)

I just bought a '93 Taurus LX with 96000 miles on it for $500.00! It's one of the best running vehicles I've ever had.

i bought a 1997 Taurus G a few years ago, it was a one owner vehicle who had all of the service records. After reviewing the records i discovered the only work done to the vehicle was a new power steering pump at 80000 miles other than regular repairs like brakes. The indestructable car now has 145k on it with the original engine and tranny. The only repairs I have had to make is a new right front wheel bearing and camshaft position sensor on my Vulcan engine (not bad I would say, 3 minor repairs in 145000 miles??). I have seen many Taurus' like this, no problems other than tranny on a few. It seems to me as if these people bad mouthing Taurus' on this message board either dont do regular preventive maintence (oil changes, air filter, fuel filter, tranny filter and NOT the fluid) or just drive their cars like idiots. I have never seen a Taurus with problems like people exaggerate in here.

QUOTE: "You drove your Toerus over 100 mph? are you trying to kill yourself?"

I have a 2003 SE. It is not happy unless it is cruising around 95 mph. Yes, I have seen 100 mph+ quite a few times with it. It doesn't start to get light until you get past 115. And before you ask, yea, the ECM has been modified along with the intake and exhaust to open it up a little. I don't know what it will top out at. On a hard shift, the tach is at 5,300. It will drop down out of overdrive at 97 mph (appears to be its drop down limit) for a wicked kickdown and will not shift out of it until about 114 mph. At 100 mph it is running at about 3,250 rpm in overdrive.

My 3 year old SES has only had a light bulb replacement. Before you bad mouth a car, should consider how it was driven and/or taken care of. Some people will screw up an iron ball. Consider the expense of maintaining an older luxury car vs. the Taurus well taken care of. A lot of folks around with little car knowledge but plenty of car care sense get very good service from their Taurus.

I agree with ya Willy. I have not had mine a year yet, it is approaching 60K. The only problem that I have had is the brakes, but I am hard on the car.

Gang, just remember, the newer Taurus' rear brakes are adjusted by setting the park brake. If you do not use it, your pedal will gradually go towards the floor and that dang antilevel device on the axle will make you think that the master cylinder is failing. Been there, done that.

I just bought a '93 Taurus LX with 96000 miles on it for $500.00! It's one of the best running vehicles I've ever had.

Still going strong!!! Still one of the best running vehicles I've ever had!!!

I have a 94 that I bought two years ago with 94,000 miles on it, I drive alot and it has 135,000 miles on it. All I have had to replace is the Radiator and the starter. Everything else seems to work as it is suppost to.

No,you don't have to guess.They definitely have alot of problems.Did they make a few good ones??I'm sure they did.But, I'd imagine those are few and far in between.I'm not a Ford fan.But even I have an open mind and have to admit a good car when I see one(those are not it.)

I don't know about you, but Ford is all I buy. My first car was an 1986 Escourt witched died in 99 then I got my 1991 Topaz and traded it in for my Taurus. I have never had any problems with my car, of course with reasonable driving, the car runs and acts like it should without tearing up.

my '88 has 159k--but I have had to replace the tranny at only93k!
Then I replaced the ingition module, ps pump, alternator, water pump, cv boots, engine mounts, fuel pump, o2 sensor, fuel injector, heater core and then a bunch of routine maintenance stuff. It is lucky that I did it all myself (except for the trans) or it would have cost me a fortune!

I heard a bunch of horror stories in the early nineties about this, but is it still true today?
HOPEFULLY , Most of the owners had their head gaskets replaced with the recall. Also a More expensive Stop Leak may help avert a problem with any gaskets plus heater vapor plus radiator leaks. Also the tranny flush if the car has had some previous pan oil changes helps prolong life.
But dirty oil and a flush could cause the tranny to act up. ;)

the engines in the old 3.8liter were junk but that has been fixed now with the end fo the 3.8 - and trannys are junk but keep up on fluid changes should cure this - radiator problems but coolat flushed cure that - all and all - if you do your part the car will do it's just fine

I have a 1998 Ford Taurus LX. I bought it a year ago for $1600. It has 213k Miles on it now, I had a mechanic look at it before I bought it and they said the engine(aside from a little rust) looked perfect, it ran fine, breaks were excellent, handeling was great, the only thing is the tires were nearly bald.

I bought the car took it home, I did have plates and insurance yet so I continued using my old car, a 1988 Buick Regal Custom Edition, It was luxery at its time with the casset deck :) Anyway the Buick had gotten 12mpg, I was looking to upgrade to atleast 16mpg, the buick had to be ridden hard, but not to hard or else it would stall or over heat lol, My sister had the car before me and for 4 years had only gotten one oil change, she never changed the fluids, she ran the poor thing on hot all the time(it had a couple leaks) When I got the buick I replaced some hoses(help stop leaks) Bought Stop Leak for various fluids, changed the oil, I had that thing running like a dream. Then I let my brother borrow it, It pulled to the left ALOT, sometimes I'd switch gears and the car wouldn't agree with them(I'd put the car in reverse and it would leap forward) My brother made a sharp turn going 80(top speed is 85 idk why he decided to drive my car like that when I was in the car with him) anyway, he hit the curb, and some how I lost power steering. In 2 months(He came back home after being out of state for a year) he destroyed my baby, which before he came home my other brothers friend a mechanic(same one that looked at my taurus) said If i keep taking care of it, itll give me another 3 years or so. I had him look at it later especially when the thing randomly began to shake Alot more - did it before once in a blue moon when I would slow down, and only for a few seconds.now it did it all the time- and he said 6 months tops. I need a nice ride.

So I got the taurus. I was getting my money together to get the Taurus it's plates(as the buick would be passed on to my brother) I instantly loved the drive, i loved the radio(my buicks antenna wouldnt go up so I had no music if I didnt have the MP3 player and casset hook up.) I loved Air conditioning. I loved the 4 doors, I loved the one touch window.

However, once I got the plates to my car I started driving, and after a week I noticed the engien running hot. It took a while but we found the problem. There were two metal hoses connected to the hoses going to the heater core that were rusted over, So, we bought some heater hoses and redirected around the metal hoses. Problem was solved.

Then, when I was driving a lady tried to merge into me... I went to honk and realized my horn don't work(BTW how much would it cost to fix the horn? lol) This didn't bother me much, before I had the buick I had to drive my mom's PT cruiser and it's horn doesn't work(my brother took it out and now the air bag light is always on and the horn don't work lol) So i was use to not having a horn, it does limit how you drive though lol.

Anyways after a few weeks of breaking the car in I went to hang out with some friends. They were goign to get in and I went to unlock it and the unlock didn't work. So I had to reach across and pull the lock up. The unlock button works... just randomly lol... 7/10 times it works. lol.

Then winter came, I was use to driving the beast that is the buick(The buick could destroy ANYTHING and still be drivable) it never slid in snow, on ice, or in rain... The Taurus slid everywhere, I had forgotten the tires were bald. And by the time I was able to afford them, Winter was over lol. I slid everywhere... It was fun, and scary.

I had gotten pizza for my mom and family for dinner, and I went to set it in
the passenger seat i goto unlock the door with my key... The key doesn't work lol, It only works on the driver side lol... I'm fine with that, I don't normally use passenger side.. So now, I just get in drivers side with anything I'm carrying.

One night last febaury I was on my way home from work, I was going 35 on a 45 because it was slippery as hell and my tires suck. As I drove down the road I kept my eyes open so I could slow down if anyone pulled out. I see this trailer park and this orange Aztec, when I first see it the Aztec is way into the trailer park makign a turn, usually in good weather it takes people 30 seconds from that turn to get to the stop sign on the main road I was maybe 10 seconds away from the parks exit, so I figure I wouldn't have to worry they'll go slow, so they shouldn't slide to much and if they do Ill already be gone. As soon as I finished that thought I looked over to the aztec it was gone. I looked infront just intime to see the aztec cutting me off missing me by inches, I slammed on my breaks and began to slide, It seemed after their speeding they decided to slow down so inorder to avoid them I swerved, when I swerved I spun aorund twice, both times coming an inch away from my read end hitting theirs. Eventually I slide onto the side of the road saved by a snowbank, from goign itn othe muddy ditch. I thought I was stuck for sure, but my tires finally did good and got me out. After I got the car on the road I seen the Aztec swerve in front of another car to make a left turn int oa suburb, then I seen him pull out and drive bakc towards the trailer parks... Anyways.. point of that was.. after that it knocked loose a shield(soemoen told me ait was a heat shield) so it rattles under my car.


To sum it up

MY car is sweet except
it had a rusted through hose (fixed with 10 dollars)
the horn don't work(perhaps blown fuse? I checked the fuses they seemed fine but yeah)
The tires suck Im buying new ones soemtime next week.
the unlock button has a hard tiem working..
the key only opens one door
Theres a shield of some sort rattling...

Most of which I plan on fixing.

Short of 10 years of normal wear and tear the car runs great. looks great. Sounds great(with exception to the sheild rattling)

Glad to hear you're happy with your purchase, and welcome to the forum.

I must ask though that you keep in mind the age of the thread you are considering posting to, and try not to resurrect a thread that is more than 8 months or so old (since the latest post).

See POSTING IN CLOSED OR OUTDATED THREADS: (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/guidelines.html) in the guidelines you agreed to when registering for this site.
-Rod

Is the Duratec made by Yamamaha?

No only the DOHC 3.0L SHO engine untill 1994-95?? then they added the 3.2L, same size, but bigger bore, and then Ford made the SHO V-8 that had CAM problems(they would break, Allot untill wou had a mechanic weld something.)
so not the duratec.

The 3.2L was introduced for the 1993 model year and only available with the automatic transmission. In 1996, with the significantly redesigned exterior, Ford switched to the V8 which had problems with the cam gears walking. A common preventive repair was to weld the cam gear to the camshaft to prevent the walking. You didn't want just anyone doing this though as it was possible to warp critical parts and end up in worse shape than before starting the weld job.

It appears that it's time to close this thread....

-Rod