Drive your car to death, save $31,000

1997

What motor?

3.0 Vulcan, of course.

Of course.

VSS $40 part + $40 labor @196K mi.

Steering rack - ~$110

Ball joints - ~130K mi.?

Broken front springs - ~$110

Front stabilizer end links - x2, twice, for $28 x 2 total as they were warrantied. They rattle annoyingly when they fail.

1 rear hub - ~$40

Both Front Hubs - Unk $... ~$40 ea.?

I did the front struts at ~188K miles with the springs. They were still good, just ratty looking & hard to extend.

Biggest single repair - camshaft position sensor, ~$210. I drove in "limp mode" for about 6 months before getting to it. ~190k mi.

All pretty common Taurus issues.

-Tires are $65 each.

-Oil changed w/ Mobil 1 about every 15K to 18K mi. I'm at 10K+ now & the oil is clean & full.

ATF cooler line repair(NE salt corrosion) ~$30. I use Mercon V. Also gas tank corroded at the seam @~ 170K mi. $200. That one made me mad as the car doesn't have any rust otherwise.

& an oddball repair - the tailgate glass hinges fatigued. ~$80.00 for the pair.

Brakes - checked & serviced at 50k to 60k mi. Off-the-shelf parts from Advance or AutoZone are ridiculously inexpensive and warrantied.

I've never been stranded or towed, which is kinda' nice.

I'm looking for a replacement in about a year.

Rob

I'm not gonna ask how your diagnosed cps ... I didn't even know they had one.

Not too bad, all things considered.

Of course, it's easier for someone like you to efficiently get

200+k mi. from such a beast because you know so much about 'em ...

I've heard repairs would've been less with, say, a Camry. But they cost more and I'm not sure I believe 'em anyway.

**Full** after 10k mi.? No non-trivial leaks? On a Ford product with 200k on the motor?? Lawdy, Mercy!! :-)

Yeah, that one definitely sounds funny. Like maybe they failed to seal/apply finish at the factory.

'Tis indeed.

Another Honda perhaps?

Cheers, P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

I know one can easily run any car to well over 150K, if they performs the proper preventative maintenance.

Beside my 2006 and 2007 cars, I own four old cars, three have between 100K and 200k on the clock. The fourth is a '71 Pinto with 302,000 miles on the clock. They all looks and run like new but I would not want to depend on any for my primary vehicle. I only drive them once a month and take them to car shows.

mike

96 & up. SES light on, OBDII scan tool.

No way. A Taurus.

Our current Honda, like the last one, is now leaking almost a half-quart a month through the oil pan and I'm trying to get to that now. It only has 145k mi.

The Honda manual says to service the brakes every 6 months in northern climates. And they're right - the calipers bind up if you don't.

The distributor grenaded at ~100k mi. - the refurb part was over $300. The engine is otherwise good, but it sucked in the valve cover gasket about the same time.

It's an interference engine, so the timing belts must be changed every

100K or better.

Rob

B-B-B-But .... a "new" Taurus is no longer a "Taurus"? :-)

Maybe one of the following:

a.) 2007 "Taurus" Taurus (with Vulcan OHV?) on dealers back lot.

b.) 2008 Five Hundred or Freestyle-based "Taurus"

c.) Used late-model Taurus in flawless shape and with very lo miles.

Eh?

I my po' self swore off new autos back in the late '80s.

Blew the pan gasket? Somebody knocked a hole in the pan?

That's curious.

Hmmmmm.

If a priority of reliability supercedes performance, do interference engine designs really make sense? All belts/chains are gonna break: it's just a question of timing. Install a defective belt and it's gonna crunch pistons/valves when it breaks?

Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

I depend on my 1995 Escort as a daily driver. It has over 150,000 miles on it. I'd drive it across the country if I wanted to. Everything on it works perfectly.

Best bet. Taurus/Sable wagons are a dime a dozen.

RUST.

I challenge you to find a Vulcan 3.0 with a failed timing chain.

Rob

Oh? I hadn't looked, but I thought Taurus/Sable were holding value pretty well. Only the wagons are cheap?

Hah! That's sillier than the Taurus gas tank.

Forgot to ask: about how much at the average dealer for the ball joint job?

Doesn't answer my Q. Interference engines are perhaps so ubiquitious (sp?) that it doesn't matter anymore?

I was assuming Vulcan was not an interference engine. Maybe I missed the mark there.

Vulcan is iron heads/block, very reliable. The all-aluminum Duratec ohc had/has numerous problems?

Thx, P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

My 1994 Pontiac TransSport has over 350,000km 0n it and I'd drive it anywhere.Daily driver and work vehicle.

Have seen a few at my brother's shop where the cam stopped turning. Engine replacement time.

Taurus oil pans rust through too. As do Aerostar and Winstar 3.0 oil pans. And Chrysler (Mitsu-shitty) 3.0 oil pans. Cast aluminum pans don't rust, but oil-changing 'droids strip the threads out.

Why do they rust thru? Is there a problem with specification of thickness, finish, etc?

Did such problem exist with common motors from previous periods i.e.

60's, 70's??

Did GM 283 cu. in. rust thru? MoPar 361/383??

P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

That may be but the odds of something going south any day are pretty high. There is no question any car can easily be run up to 200K or more, given the proper maintenance, but the likelihood of a failure grows with the mileage once you get over 150K.

mike

My experience is that by 150,000 the weaknesses are known and fixed, so in many cases you are LESS likely to suffer a breakdown than with a newer car. I've gone to the east coast with a 20 year old car with over 100,000 miles with no problems whatsoever, as well as to Oklahoma in an 18 year old truck with over 225,000 miles (from Ontario) with no problems, and lost a transmission and a driveshaft on trips west with half the mileage on vehicles half the age. Also to the east coast with

12 and 14 year old cars with 100,000 ish miles. The newest, lowest mileage one lost both a timing belt and alternator within 48 hours of each other (12 year old Vauxhaul with roughly 84,000 miles).

Mileage on a car means NOTHING to me - it's maintenance and how well I know the car. After 240,000km you are getting to know the car pretty good.

There is no question a low mileage vehicle can break down and one with over

150K may not under similar conditions, but logic dictates the odds are far greater that one with over 150K is far more likely to do so. ;)

mike

But since when is a machine logical?????????