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Ford WindstarIntroduced 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.
I have a 2003 Windstar with the 3.8 and I assumed I had tranny problems as their was a constant shutter from 1st gear to 4th but only in over drive.
Took it to the tranny shop today and they said my catalytics are clogged causing the shutter I am feeling. My fuel mileage is about 16mpg even with the suggested clogged catalytics.
The van seems a little sluggish, I can here a loud swirling sound when I honk on the loud pedal and there seems to be the sound of marbles that are almost not apparant.
Has anyone ever experienced catalytic failure in a vehicle that is only 5 years old?
Leaded gas will kill a cat quickly. I've heard that running too rich will, too.
Quckest way to check a cat is an emissions test. It will have too much CO with bad cat. Another way is to look inside. One I pulled on a VW was a pile of rubble, instead of a lattice work. Save old cats; the platinum is worth $$.
I am running 89 octane and i usually put Throttle body cleaner through the intake every 15,000 km's - 20,000 km's.
Just checked with Ford of Canada in regards to the emissions warranty system and their coverage is 8 years or 130,000 km's.
As my luck goes, I am 8,000km's outside the warranty so I am NOT covered.
FIGURES
Everything seems to go wrong outside of the warranty guidelines
This van is actually a Rear-Entry wheelchair accessinle vehicle and I am wondering because of the way they have modified the exhaust system, if this may be the culprit as to why the catalytics have clogged.
Last edited by midnight rumbler; 07-30-2008 at 10:17 AM.
First, if you remove the cats, insist on getting them from the mech. They are worth serious $$. They're being stolen all the time.
I would get a second opinion on the cats, unless the shop showed you failure codes condemning them, which I doubt. Also, the Electronic Fuel Injection may not perform correctly without the cats. My neighbor had them pulled off his 4wd pickup, and had to put them back on, so it would run decently.
Throttle body cleaner sounds like something for Throttle Body Injection, which the Windstar doesn't have. In fact, something like that could possibly coat or permanently damage the airflow sensor in the intake.
It's unlikely the wheelchair conversion would damage the exhaust, but a good shop can put it up on the hoist, inspect it, and let you look for yourself.
You have a valuable vehicle there, so it's worth fixing and making reliable once again.
It states right in the owners manual that 89 octane is the norm for the 3.8 motor.
This is not a supercharged or turbo charged motor requiring 91 octane or higher.
As for the cats, the new ones are installed and she seems to be running better.
If the Windstar does not have a throttle body, what exactly does it have. I would be under the assumption as I am mechanically inclined that the throttle cables from the fuel pedal are leading to what we know in the industry as the THROTTLE BODY. I am not aware of any other terminology for these air controling meters other than the terminology I have used.
You have the air filter, the mass air sensor and than the throttle body where inside you will find the butterfly where the throttle linkage will be hooked up to in order to control air flow and desired fuel
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Clogged Catalytics 
Linear Mode
