Ford FreestarThe Ford Freestar is a solid, highly capable minivan that performs well and offers all the latest safety features. Much of the Freestar's structure and design came from the Windstar it replaced. Windstar offered class-leading safety and solid performance for its time. Freestar is the highest quality minivan it has ever built.
So I just get my van back a week ago from a $2,400 transmission job, and today, the darn thing's engine light starts blinking and idling very rough. Lifted the hood, and the whole engine is shaking. Also, air conditioning going back and forth between blowing cold and hot air. What the heck could this be? I am quickly going from loving this van to hating this van. You've got to be rich to own this thing because it'll be in the shop every week.
Checking for vacuum leaks.
Some of the sensors and some of the actuators either read the amount of vacuum, or use vacuum to move controls, therefore it is important to the proper functioning of the engine that your vacuum system is fully intact. Otherwise one may get codes falsely indicating that there is a problem with a controller/actuator, or a sensor when in reality it is caused by a lack of vacuum.
Look at your rubber vacuum hoses (they are about 1/4 - 3/8 inches in diameter, if they are dry rotted or cracked, replace them. IF they slip on/off of their connectors too easily, they may have stretched out a little bit, cut the ends off, and put them back on.
You may listen for a leak. Sometimes using a cut off piece of garden hose is a good aid to listen with. Sometimes a cardboard tube (like from gift wrapping paper) is helpful. Just remember that whenever you stick your head inside a running engine compartment, that you are not wearing any loose clothing or jewelry that can get caught.
Another suggestion is to use a spray can of carb cleaner and spray around the bottom of the intake manifold, and the base of the throttle body assembly. IF there is a leak, you should hear a change in your engine.
Keep a fire extinguisher handy, or use water instead of carb cleaner (it works, but not as well.) Be aware that if you use water and the wires get wet and it runs worse... your wires may be bad, and the water is allowing them to arc instead of jump the gap of the spark plug.
Another suggestion is: to take a propane torch, turn it on (but don't light it) and move it over the vacuum hoses and connections. The engine RPM's will increase if there is a leak and the propane gets sucked in.
Courtesy of TheOldWizard ford-forums... Don't forget to remind folks to check the PCV valve, hose and grommet !
Courtesy Ramnasal ford-forums... Clamp off the hose that runs to the vacuum booster (brake booster) or pull it and plug it. It is possible that the diaphram on the inside of the booster may go bad and cause a vacuum leak.
__________________
BroncoJoe19
2006 Alt Fuel Jeep (electric)
'98 windstar 3.8L
'99 Crown Vic 4.6L
'90 Full Size Bronco 5.0L
I'm not a professional mechanic, take my suggestions with a grain of salt, or a cup of coffee
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The shop just called me. Bad cylinder. Going to cost hundreds. I'm done with this van. Once it's fixed, it's gone and I'm buying a Toyota. I have owned this supposedly "certified" vehicle for all of 8 months and have had four big things go wrong with it, most notably the transmission and now this. Goodbye forever Ford/Mercury. Hello Toyota. I was going to try and stick it out with this van, but if in doubt about this vehicle, go check the other message boards like Edmunds. Everything is going wrong with these vans at once. If I stick it out much longer, I'll have another $3,000 down the drain with some other god-forsaken problem. Thanks guys for your help with some of my questions over the past few months. I'm off to go shop for a Toyota.
How many miles were on the van when the trans went and how often was the trans fluid changed? How many total miles on the van? Just curious, since these vans have transmission challenges.
I was also curious Monsoon Mike - was your transmission failure sudden like mine?
It's interesting about your cylinder problem, they replaced my headgaskets under the Carmax ESP about 20k ago when it blew, and I saw the invoice for that - it was a huge bill. LOL!!
I am having serious doubts about keeping this thing to - seems like it should have alot more miles on it before these things start to happen. I always take it for the Maint. called for in the owners manual. Did they determine what the cause of the cylinder problem was? Mine was a blown headgasket between two cylinders on the back of the engine and it didn't look fun to change either - I saw it tore apart when I was there to pickup some things out of it.
The shop just called me. Bad cylinder. Going to cost hundreds. I'm done with this van. Once it's fixed, it's gone and I'm buying a Toyota. I have owned this supposedly "certified" vehicle for all of 8 months and have had four big things go wrong with it, most notably the transmission and now this. Goodbye forever Ford/Mercury. Hello Toyota. I was going to try and stick it out with this van, but if in doubt about this vehicle, go check the other message boards like Edmunds. Everything is going wrong with these vans at once. If I stick it out much longer, I'll have another $3,000 down the drain with some other god-forsaken problem. Thanks guys for your help with some of my questions over the past few months. I'm off to go shop for a Toyota.
OK, maybe Im going on a limb here, but seems REAL strange that you lost a cyl RIGHT after the tranny was put in. Frankly these engines are pretty good. Im thinking I would bring it somewere else to diag the issue.
Hey sorry guys. Haven't checked this board in a few weeks. I all of a sudden see everyone asking me questions. LOL. I'm usually faster at responding:
jcasaccio, 68K on it when the tranny went suddenly one night in June. I did purchase it pre-owned but supposedly dealer certified last November with 50K on it with promises all fluids had just been changed, but just to play it safe, I went out on a limb and changed it again at 60K just so they couldn't say I didn't "follow the manual." Ha ha. That was a joke. I should have saved the 200 bucks tranny fluid change at 60K to save up for my total rebuild at 68K.
woodstockfreestar, yes, sudden as can be. Purring like a kitten with smooth shift changes one second. Revving at 8,000 RPM and drifting off to the side of a scary 4-lane highway the next second. Diagnosis at independent shop that everyone around here says is honest and good: blown torque converter with metal splines through the tranny. Total rebuild needed with heavy duty torque converter. Mechanic said Ford should be ashamed of this torque converter. The cheapest looking he ever saw. I refused to take this to a Ford dealer to fix since I knew I'd get the same cheap torque converter and I'd be dead again on the side of the road in a few thousand.
s1120, you're not the only one who thinks it's fishy. Yeah, this local guy is trusted and yeah I'd still go the local route compared to going back to a Ford dealer and giving Ford a dime more of my money for cheap parts, but the chances of a cylinder going 4 days after I get the van back is almost one in a million. Of course the dealer denies it and says it was a coincidence. And in all reality, he may not be trying to hide anything but honestly didn't know he botched a cylinder when everything was torn apart. I'd probably deny it too if I were a mechanic. It still is discouraging because I shouldn't have had a tranny go at 68K in the first place.
And now, the thing still, IMO idles a bit too rough. And this is only after all the work the past two months. So much so that I swallowed my pride and took it to a FORD dealer so they could do one of their "pressure tests" on it, something the local guy didn't have the equipment for. They say everything checked out A-OK and the rough idle is "normal" even though it never did it before.
Whatever. I'm fed up with this van. I see a nice 2000 Toyota Sienna sitting in the used lot of the local Toyota dealer that I'm this tempted to trade this van in for, but it's one of those things that after you spend $3,000 on something, you hate to trade it in for potentially another set of problems.
Oh the dilemmas of owning a Monterey or Freestar.
Hope I answered everyone's questions. I'll try to write back quicker in the future. Been a busy couple of weeks for me and my family.
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ANOTHER Problem 
Linear Mode
