Need some advise, and possibly a quote...

[MapOfTaziFoSho]

Apparently the head gasket issue was fixed on 1998+ windstars. That being said her car still runs strong after a nice tune up by me. It has 120k miles on the original engine/trans. FYI everything is a HUGE PITA on that van. :blackeye:

 

[Barge]

I would say a minivan is the most practical vehicle for hauling people and crap. The whole cargo space comparison thing is silly because of the drastically different arrangements of space and the fact that the minivan can be converted to have considerably more.

SUV's for the most part are a waste of space.

 

[Tomato]

I still dont think a windstar is a good idea, the 3.8L is nutorious for head gaskets, I dont think any of the GM older minivans are good either, my sister-in-law's parents have a chevy venture, at 40K miles the A/C system catastrophically failed. Later the intake manifold gaskets fell apart, and after that the trans failed at about 102K, differential exploded. On top of that at only 105K it drives like a pile of junk, has all kinds of klunks and bangs, and the rotors are so warped that you bang your head on the dash the first time you use the brakes, and rotors have less than 10K miles on them.

its the same story for my mom's friend's venture, trans failed at about 100K, A/C quit.

The only minivan I have driven that was tolerable would be the Chrysler town and country, it was... fair, however the trans had issues on it, but the motor was pretty sound.

Like I said, look into an escape, occasionally i see them go with fairly good mileage for around 5K. Of course, this would be a first year escape though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001...206597663QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150206597663

that one is a little rough in 1 or 2 areas, but the price certainly is right.

I still think you should look into a Taurus wagon, they are nice to drive, cheap to run, cheap to buy, either of the motors (Vulcan or duratec) are reliable as hell, and on top of it all parts are extremely available and cheap if you do run into any issues. Plus the Cargo Volume of a windstar is 26.30 cubic feet, where as the Taurus wagon's cubic feet is 39

I think I'm starting to get the jist of why everyone on here busts your balls at every occasion.

You don't think any of the older GM minivans are good. I'm glad you think but don't know.

How does A/C fail catastrophically? Compressor/leak or condenser. Intake manifold gaskets have been recalled by GM on the 3.4L.
As for the trans being garbage, I was pushing over 320WHP on my stock 4T65E, same trans as featured in the GM minivans. Def rock solid compared to my MTX-75 that was babied and still grenaded a diff.

Warped rotors....WRONG. Read the stoptech article sometime, warped rotors do not exist. You've got some areas of the rotors that are harder, don't wear as easily causing a high spot and a bit of run out(prob replaced with a cheap offshore brand) , IE machine them or replace them. Seems like maintenance to me non?

 

[BenS]

I don't really care for what anyone thinks about Jared. I'm just glad someone will help me with my tour...

 

[bagged]

everyone can say what they want about jared but he is up right now helping me install a motor at 4:52 a.m

 

[AliasJerk]

I think I'm starting to get the jist of why everyone on here busts your balls at every occasion.



Warped rotors....WRONG. Read the stoptech article sometime, warped rotors do not exist. You've got some areas of the rotors that are harder, don't wear as easily causing a high spot and a bit of run out(prob replaced with a cheap offshore brand) , IE machine them or replace them. Seems like maintenance to me non?

anything that is a recall is a major problem and inconvience in my book, if you get a car for your wife to be running errands in, a minor fix becomes a big issue with daily life and commuting, that damn simple.

A/C failed... There was a leak, then no more than a week later the bearings and clutch exploded. I say thats quite the catastrophe.

I dont care if I am right or wrong about "warped rotors not exisiting" does it cause my car to stop like ? yes? fine, they are ****ed, replace them. Brake pulsation means wrecked rotors, time for turning or replacement. Period.

all you did was explain why problems happen man, you actually reinforced what I was saying by adding more detail and tried to make me look like a dip****, move on man; the plain simple fact of the matter is that there is a reason why a lot of car manufacturers are walking towards crossovers rather than minivans; hell, look at dodge's new caravan, ugly as hell and nothing new, you can tell they are giving up on the product line.

everyone can say what they want about jared but he is up right now helping me install a motor at 4:52 a.m

actually bagged, we were pulling a motor , and its the 2nd one TODAY, and I was more then happy to lend a hand, whether I am pulling an exhaust off, or holding a flashlight im happy to be there.

Let me know how jeff is doing when he wakes his goofy ass up

 

[Sudzy]

YEs to ford taurs wagon

YEs to ford taurs wagon

still think you should look into a Taurus wagon, they are nice to drive, cheap to run, cheap to buy, either of the motors (Vulcan or duratec) are reliable as hell, and on top of it all parts are extremely available and cheap if you do run into any issues. Plus the Cargo Volume of a windstar is 26.30 cubic feet, where as the Taurus wagon's cubic feet is 39

Now is know this thread is old old old, but, the above is so accurate. I loved my taurus wagon. I was at 125,000 miles and she just purred. I hauled anything you can name in it. Make me sad just to think about it. Son drove it to school.. A 16 yr old girl, FIRST DAY DRIVING, a jacked up Ford F15 backed right into my wagon...Sigh..I actually cryed when the tow truck drove away to the junk car graveyard...What a great car. On well.. Sudz

Why program anything? Put the new cylinder in and swap the chips in the keys. Done!

Maybe the keys on the Contour are different but the Cougars have a small access point that you can pull the chip out from...