Those with older model Taurus's

[camperbob]

Just had a thought, and maybe it will help someone. A large portion of Ford Taurus's prior to 2004 had extremely bad cooling systems that would turn the coolant to "chocolate milk." In a majority of the ones I have seen, this does not signify any potential engine problems, but it must be flushed before it creates additional more costly problems.

#1 Plugged heater core. And yes, very timely/expensive to repair because of the dash removal to replace.

#2 Corroded water pump impeller. I have seen on a couple instances where the water pump impeller fins we so corroded away that that it wouldn't even circulate much.

Flush the system, flush the heater core, and flush the coolant bottle. During your flush, start the engine and make sure you have good flow from the heater lines.

Catch it in time and your fine. Wait too long, and you wont like the outcome.

 

[901Memphis]

They used the Vulcan engine all the way until 2007, which had issues I believe all the way through. I have a 99 Taurus with a plugged core even with regular flushes.

 

[zach1900]

Good info OP, what's the mechanism for turning the coolant bad?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My 2001 Taurus was the rotbox of all rotboxes.

Cooling system worked fine for me. I flushed it every other year.

 

[GatorJoe]

Agree. I had a '96 Taurus in the late '90s and process cooling issues were its only problem.

 

[zach1900]

Reminds me of just how badly Ford let the Taurus rot from its former 1985 glory.

 

[salv]

My '99 has a partially plugged heater core. Muddy coolant almost right after it is flushed. It is what it is. Solid vehicle otherwise.
Cooling system is definitely junk on these. It probably accounts for a lot of the cylinder head cracks on these vehicles. Cracked heads are common.

 

[abycat]

I had a early 90s taurus. It spent most of its life with a huge hole in the intake hose. inside the manifold was a quarter inch of dirt. The thing still ran fine after a couple hundred thousand k's of it like that. coolant seemed to be good the few times I checked it.

 

[Chris142]

There's a trick to replacing the heater core on those. Makes an 8 hr job into a 2 hr one.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
There's a trick to replacing the heater core on those. Makes an 8 hr job into a 2 hr one.


Ya I was gonna post that. There is a video on Youtube showing the secret, that jerk...

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Chris142
There's a trick to replacing the heater core on those. Makes an 8 hr job into a 2 hr one.


Ya I was gonna post that. There is a video on Youtube showing the secret, that jerk...


Yep every dealership and Indy mechanic knows how to do it fast but still charges full 8 hours labour regardless.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Chris142
There's a trick to replacing the heater core on those. Makes an 8 hr job into a 2 hr one.


Ya I was gonna post that. There is a video on Youtube showing the secret, that jerk...


Yep every dealership and Indy mechanic knows how to do it fast but still charges full 8 hours labour regardless.


Yup, gotta pay the tool truck bill somehow.

 

[Bob5150]

I have a 1995 Sable with the dreaded 3.8 Essex. I've put about 30k miles on it, (has 138000 total). So far no cooling problems, I flushed the coolant when I got it and have been doing drain and fills on the rad each spring since then (2012).

It's a shame these cars have a (sometimes rightfully earned) reputation of being unreliable. My wife has a 2010 Chevy Cobalt that is in far better shape than my car, and she comments that the Sable is much more comfortable than her car.

I would gladly buy a brand new 1995 Taurus or Sable today if I could, and keep up on the maintenance, hopefully avoiding some of the more common problems.

 

[oilboy123]

I've had my 98 Taurus since 99. I have flushed it out at least 4 or 5 times. The original rad lasted about 14 years. On the 3rd one since replacing the original. I replaced the original heater core about a year ago. Been running Amsoil coolant for most of the time.

They are dirty little systems. But the engine keeps on a humming. I have 218,000 miles on mine right now.

 

[Stephen_G]

The process is the galvanic response of a cast iron engine to the formulation of the coolant. Basically it reacts weird to the additives. 30k with green is what people do, problem is most of these cars were never given a coolant service ever.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I installed a Napa coolant filter on a friend's Sable. Filter plugged at 2700 miles in operation, second went 8500, then third went almost 11000. 4th is still kicking at 14000.

I couldn't flush that thing enough. Garbage kept right on coming back, even with fresh G-05.

 

[Stephen_G]

On the taurus forums they say just run green coolant and back flush it every 30k. The 1996-2007 Taurus has a flaw in the cooling system, the heater core is at the lowest point of the system so it gets all the gunk stuck in it.

The Duratec does not get these issues.

 

[Da Game]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Chris142
There's a trick to replacing the heater core on those. Makes an 8 hr job into a 2 hr one.


Ya I was gonna post that. There is a video on Youtube showing the secret, that jerk...



Can someone PLEASE post the youtube link, my nephew just got a used 2004 SEL Taurus. Thanks

 

[901Memphis]

The shortcut is sometimes more of a headache. You don't get enough room to get the core out easily.

If you have a helper the partial shortcut is moving the dash far enough to rest it on the passenger seat.

Either way here's the best video on the job imho.

https://youtu.be/Z6b1GaRQAJY

 

[901Memphis]

Here's the shortcut video.

https://youtu.be/LsZoFoiJsdw