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Ford Windstar Introduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.

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Old 01-10-2008, 11:36 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Default great, head gasket problem

my 98 3.8 is showing telltale signs of head gaskt failure. two days ago i replaced the heater core and changed the oil, and upon filling it with new oil i noticed a little bit of milkshake action on the oil filler cap. i didn't notice any coolant in the old oil when i drained it, so i don't think any coolant really worked itself into the bottom end of the engine. i'm also getting a some white smoke out of the tailpipe until the engine has reached operating temperature. i already replaced the lower intake gasket less than a year ago, so i am pretty certain the head gaskets are leaking, rather than the intake gasket.

what i want to know is if i should drain all the fluids and let the van sit until march (my spring break, i'm a college student, and that will be the only time when i'll have the time to do any repairs) and replace the gaskets, or ditch the van and get a new car. the van has a rebuilt transmission (less than 20,000 miles ago), a new alterator, heater core, new ball joints/ lower arms, tie rods, sway bar links, and a lot of other new parts. i don't want to drive it much more and wreck the engine, but do you think it would be worth it to fix or should i forget about it?

mileage is 142,000 BTW.
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Old 01-11-2008, 05:29 AM   #2 (permalink)
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I would drive it. The goo is a sign of oil burning. Even aircooled VW will have that goo in the filler cap. Try changing to an oil for high mileage vehicles.

You can watch the coolant tank for air bubbles as the engine warms up, a sure sign of head gasket leak. White exhaust from a cold engine in the winter is normal.

GB
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