Ford ThunderBirdFord thought they'd take their own stab at the nostalgia business. There are quite a few last-century icons that wear the blue oval. For a revival subject, why not use a car famous enough to have been the subject of Beach Boys songs, starred in George Lucas movies, and has been gone long enough to be missed? Why not indeed. In 2002, the Thunderbird was reborn.
hey everyone, im new to this forum and fords actually...... i just bought a 1996 thunderbird, its the 3.8 (non s/c) with 205,003 miles. the engine idles and runs really good and it drives smooth. the only problem is the transmissions leaking? (anyone know any common leaks?) im just wondering what are somethings i should do, tune up wise to help make the car the best it can be; i know plugs/wires, air filter(done), fuel filter, should i do a tranny flush? the car has a new radiator and misc. gaskets. any advice or suggestions is appreciated
are there a lot of high mileage 3.8's out there?
Last edited by 96'3.8Tbird; 10-11-2009 at 05:34 PM..
Reason: thought the leak was oil, but it was tranny fluid!
well new radiator blah blah blah!............ this is the first morning of me owning the T-bird and i go outside and there is coolant all under the car. it looks to be from the radiator itself. its leaking from the bottom right hand(driver side) side. what would make a radiator leak only when the car is cold and its cold out. it didnt leak allday i was driving it yesterday and its not leaking now. all i did this a.m. was drain the coolant and fill it with water to see if it still leaked. HELP why would it only leak at night or when its really cold, im so confused!!!
Where do you live (what is the temp outside at night)?
Water freezes, You might have cracked a tank on the side of your radiator!!
i live in northern california, it was maybe like 49* outside and at the time it had the proper 50/50 mix in it, i just refilled it with water so it wouldnt leak all over my drive way.
Now I love the birds just as much as the next guy, but lets be honest, thats ALOT of miles for a bird. You should be able to see where the leak is coming from, I hope for your case its not the head gaskets because thats pretty costly. If its the radiator, then the guy lied. Could be a thermostat, at 200,000 miles, im sure a bunch of things are ready to go.
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1993 Ford Thunderbird LX
77k, 3.8 V6, CAI
ok i fixed the radiator leak, it was leaking from a seam(on the radiator)..... so i got a used one from pic n pull and its been working good.
now another problem its had since i got it is; it stumbles/vibrates really bad (seems to be in the front end) under hard acceleration but only when you are first taking off, if you take off slowly and then give it some more gas once you get going it wont stumble. it kinda feels like its has to do with the suspension? it only does it under load it doesnt do it when in P or N when you give it gas. could it be the fuel filter? other than the stumble the car runs REALLY good for 205,000 miles. thanks for the advice!
it kinda feels like its has to do with the suspension? <snip> could it be the fuel filter?
With a little experience in driving vehicles with different problems, I would expect that a person would have a pretty good idea if the problem was engine related, or transmission, front end, motor mount related.
Perhaps you have a friend who has a dad who is pretty mechanically inclined to point you in the right direction, by taking a little test drive. With that info we may be better able to help you narrow down the problem.
My first thought is motor mounts. But it could be a missing engine, that you are not discribing in a manner that would lead me in that direction.
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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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[b][i]My first thought is motor mounts. But it could be a missing engine, that you are not discribing in a manner that would lead me in that direction.
ok yeah maybe i shoulda explained it better, this car has me . its definetely not the transmission and i really dont think its the actual engine doing it either. the RPM's stay smooth and steady. also it doesnt do it everytime you take off, it does it randomly, maybe depending on if the road is angled????idk?when it does it, it feels like your driving on a very bumpy road.
(and yes im sure its not bumps in the road LOL) im gonna change the fuel filter today since i dont know when it was done last. thanks for the replies BroncoJoe
ok i just figured out it happens almost everytime you give it a more than 20% throttle when accelerating out of a turn.
ok iv herd this problem b4 when u take a car thew a turn and it stumbles and it was from the trans not having enough fluid in the pan and when u take it thew a turn the fluid sloshes around to 1 side and the pump in the bottom in the pan dosnt pick any trans fluid up giving it that stummble thew turns or on a slanted road and u did say u got a trans leak rite? check the trans fluid if low refill it and take it for a drive
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96' 3.8 bird with 200k miles.......... 
. the engine idles and runs really good and it drives smooth. the only problem is the transmissions leaking? (anyone know any common leaks?) im just wondering what are somethings i should do, tune up wise to help make the car the best it can be; i know plugs/wires, air filter(done), fuel filter, should i do a tranny flush? the car has a new radiator and misc. gaskets. any advice or suggestions is appreciated
ok yeah maybe i shoulda explained it better, this car has me 
. its definetely not the transmission and i really dont think its the actual engine doing it either. the RPM's stay smooth and steady. also it doesnt do it everytime you take off, it does it randomly, maybe depending on if the road is angled????idk?when it does it, it feels like your driving on a very bumpy road. 
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