tranny,coolant color, and door lock accuator questions

bigred1984 · 09-25-2009, 08:25 AM

I have a 2000 ford windstar SEL with 150,000miles on it.

1.I need to do a coolant flush. What color coolant does my windstar need? Does it matter what color I use?

2.Both of my front doors locks are already dead, the lift gate and now the drive side door sliding-door lock motors are going out.Will the door lock motors/accuators from any year windstar work or are they year specific?

3.I called my local parts store to get a price on a tranny filter and gasket for my van and they told me there are two different trannies for my van. How do I find out which one my van has?

Thanks, brad.

theoldwizard · 09-25-2009, 01:50 PM

1) Green is always safe and cheapest. Check around here (and the the Taurus section) about flushing cooling systems. Windstar (and Taurus which is a close relative) are difficult to clear sludge out of the heater core because of the built in bypass.

2) Check eBay. New door lock motors aren't too expensive there.

3) I believe the AX4S has 17 bolts holding the pan on. The Ax4N has 19 bolts.

bigred1984 · 09-25-2009, 02:38 PM

How much coolant do windstars hold usually?
A junk yard will sell me the four that I need for about ten bucks a piece if I pull them myself. Thanks for the advise.

theoldwizard · 09-25-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigred1984

A junk yard will sell me the four that I need for about ten bucks a piece if I pull them myself.

$30 new on eBay, Free shipping. Think it over. Do you want a used, questionable assembly and the hassle to remove it, or a nice new one ?

Nick M · 09-25-2009, 07:26 PM

The door lock actuators require some drilling or cutting to remove. I used a dremel tool to grind off the head of the rivet in order to remove the bad one and put it back together using a sheet metal screw. Probably not worth the effort to remove a used one to use in your vehicle. I went the ebay route without any problems.

balogne_t · 09-26-2009, 01:12 PM

The driver and passenger side door lock actuators simply slide off but the latch has to be removed in order to reach them, 3 bolts holds it in place. 1A auto sells the front pair for $54.99, there made in china and worked perfectly for me. 98 and newer including the freestars and many other ford vehicles use the same door lock actuators.