QuestionHello,
From a private buyer, in Nov.'04 I purchased a used ‘02 Ford Taurus SES with a 3.0L Vulcan engine and column shifter. The odometer read ~21k miles at time of my purchase, and ~24k now.
I have 2 concerns…
1.) I took the car to a Ford dealer service yesterday to look at a couple things (oil leak, and cricket sound in the serpentine belt area) unrelated to the following. After taking samples of fluids, they claimed that I needed a transmission flush/cleaning/refill because the trans fluid had degraded, and an engine coolant flush/refill because it was brown instead of the proper green color. They let me smell the trans fluid (after I drove it 45 minutes), but it didn't really mean much to me – I took their word for it, as I don't know if that smell is normal when hot. They also showed me the coolant, and it was brown. We both thought it to be quite odd for those fluids to have degraded that badly at that mileage.
This dealer initially thought that maybe the odometer had been tampered with, but after a closer look they thought not. They offered up that maybe it had been driven hard HIGHWAY miles. That was odd to me, as city driving seems worse – I thought maybe the car had been driven very short trips, or maybe extensive idling while gear engaged.
I also took the car in to Ford back in Dec.'04 to have them look at the trans for what I called surging when engaging R & D, and excessive pulling at stops. It takes more effort than I've experienced on other cars to keep the car stopped at a red light. Also, when engaging R or D, there is a noticeable surge – probably more so when engine/trans are cold. They upgraded the transmission software and sent me on my way. It didn't seem to help, but I'm going to let it be for now.
COULD THAT SURGE/PULL HAVE ACCELERATED THE DEGRADATION OF THE TRANS FLUID?
IS THIS A COMMON ISSUE ON THIS ENGINE/TRANS ON '02 TAURUS?
ANY ADVICE?
2.) I've also had the car in a couple times for an oil leak. Both dealer service agents claim that the leak is from the oil filter, and that it just needs to be wrench tightened. It didn't help the first time, but they did not replace the filter. Yesterday I asked if there was a permanent/long-term fix, and if '03-'05 have the same problem – they claim no, except the '03 has the same problem.
DO YOU KNOW ANY MORE ABOUT THIS OIL LEAK FROM THE OIL FILTER?
DO YOU KNOW IF ANY PERMANENT/LONG-TERM FIXES?
DO YOU KNOW THE CAUSE OR POINT OF THE LEAK?
ANY ADVICE?
So, $400 later (for a 30k maintenance), I'm wondering if I'll be going through this again at 48k miles!
Thanks in advance for your response,
--Greg--
AnswerHello and thanks for the question... I'll try to help.
The coolant, as a general rule for my customers, should be changed yearly, if not--every other year. As well as the thermostat. This is because the traditional coolant is corrosive and will and can cause a "elecrtical charge" to be stored in it if left untreated/changed. I would say that it was time for your coolant to be changed, even though your mileage is over the norm of 7k miles per year a typical vehicle does.
As far as the tranmission goes. I would look in to that further by having the dealership or another garage take a look at the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) for any codes that may be stored or sensors that are "out of range" that aren't setting codes. It isn't typical of the Taurus to have to apply the brake in an extreme way to keep the vehicle from moving. They are usually pretty good.
On that note, I hate to mention it, BUT, has the vehicle had the tune-up condition looked in to? Also, what is the engine idle of the vhecile when in gear (Reverse or Drive)?
The oil leak that you are speaking of is not an uncommon thing. I would just be sure that when they do change the oil and install a new oil filter, that they apply a coat of new oil to the oil filter sealing gasket (the rubber ring in the oil filter) and that they do tighten it to spec. There are no TSB's (Thechnical Service Bulletins) that I know of to cure this problem.
I hope this helps,
Erik
