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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 95 Windstar GL with what may be a blown head gasket but I am not 100% sure. Here are the symptoms:
*Gasoline smell in the radiator fluid reservoir. Fluid is brownish. Also, bubbles come out of the hose connected to it when the engine is running and continue to do so for a minute or so after the engine is shut off.
*White smoky exhaust with a sweet antifreeze smell.
*After 5 minutes or so of driving the temperature gauge approaches the red and I have pull over to let it cool off.
*Engine runs a little rough sometimes, but for now it still can be driven until the temperature gets too high.
We have owned this van for 10 years with few problems until this started happening a couple weeks ago. Because there is only 61K miles on it and it has been dependable transportation for our family, we would like to keep it for a good while further.
I have also heard that the engine was a flawed design and head gaskets could be expected to go out frequently. Because of this, does anyone know if it would be a safer bet to get a new engine instead of just fixing the gaskets? I am worried that the engine may be damaged in some way and this might happen again anyway. Thanks.
Sounds like a head gasket blown or a cracked head. Couls also be a warped head. Nothing short of tearing down the topside will reviel that.
More than likely this repair should take care of the problem. With the low mileage on the motor it should still be good for a while. A carefull inspection with the heads off will help determine this.
after repaired lots with head gasket and the heads plained never had them return for the same problem, but make sure you do BOTH. 20 to 30 head gasket problem from windstar to taurus and t-bird. the first one have done was about 7 to 8 years ago and its still running around town.
Thanks for all your help. Do you think it would be wiser to go to a Ford dealer, or would a local shop be just as good for this type of work? Also, would anyone know of a cost range for this? From what I have heard this may be around 1500 or so. Again, thanks for the suggestions.
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95 Windstar Blown Head Gasket? 
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