Howdy, folks;
I could really use some advice with a problem that has appeared in a
2000 Ford Windstar that I bought used back in Jan. 2004 with about 55,000 miles on it at that time. It has the 3.8 liter V6 engine.Back in late March of this year, at a bit over 72,000 miles, I noticed that the transmission was slipping and not shifing properly, and when I checked the ATF (Mercon V), it was a quart low. So I filled it back up to spec, and was hoping that was that.
No such luck, though, unfortunately. I had to add another full quart at around 74,000 miles, and today, at the 76,400 mile mark, I have added yet another quart. That's an average of about one quart of ATF per
2,000 miles -- not good!One puzzling thing is that I have not seen one little drop of ATF on the ground, and believe me, I've looked time and time again. I would think that such an amount would drop at least some little bit on the ground, but I've seen nothing.
I've been told that sometimes leaks of this sort can spring up where the engine and transmission mate together (at the flywheel, or torque converter, or whatever it's called). Someone else mentioned that some vehicles can actually leak ATF into the coolant system, but I don't know if this is true for Fords and even if so, I have not seen any evidence of it when I checked the coolant.
So, I am at a loss. I'm afraid that in the area where I live, I simply don't have any auto repair shops (not even the local Ford dealership), which I consider to be skilled enough and trustworthy enough to take this to without running the severe risk of getting this fixed properly and not being taken to the cleaners in the process.
Anyone have any experience/advice with this? Any and all constructive ideas are greatly welcomed.
Thanks,
Joe Brower Venice, FL