Replacing headgaskets on a 3.0 ford Taurus

[Ondonti]

So over the phone I diagnosed the problem, he had a mechanic comfirm it and also the 1800 dollar bill. Its a 1992 3.0 Taurus wagon that is in very good shape but its not worth it to repair it. If he gets another car he can at least sell this one. The car is in really nice shape.

I told my dad when I visit on school break I would do the headgaskets for him but I want to make sure there are no weird problems with these engines that causes the headgasket failure (which would prevent an easy fix) like a head going soft etc.

At most I was thinking of having the heads resurfaced and then throw on some new gaskets with some copperseal and call it a day.

Ive done so much engine work this last year I dont see this being much more then "exercise"

Just want to fix the car as a "present" since in college I'm just a financial burden that lives 1000 miles away.

[karlak]

dont know when they started making it....... if it is the dual overhead cam 24v it will be a project

[Ondonti]

this is a 12v 1992ish motor

My dad has 2 of them now that my grandma stopped driving her 93.

[22mopar]

this is a 12v 1992ish motor

My dad has 2 of them now that my grandma stopped driving her 93.

it is a really EZ job. not uncommon for a head gasket to fail just like with any 2.2/2.5. but you'll need to RTFB for this job. I had 3 14yr old kids do head gaskets on a taurus 3.8.. gave him a book, tools and a place to do it. not a problem for them.

[Ondonti]

rtfb?

Ive done the heads on my 3.0 6g72 too many times (not because of headgasket failure though, just general motor teardowns) Ill just have to have the book for all the stuff Im not familiar with on the taurus.

[Anonymous_User]

rtfb?


Read The F___ Book


My Taurus Wagon Story:

Bought a REALLY nice fully loaded Taurus wagon back in.... oh.... 97?? It wasn't new, came from a used car dealer without warranty. Test drove it, bought it, drove it home about 20 miles. When I stepped out of the car in the driveway, the tranny puked all of its fluid. Convinced dealership that sold me the car to split the cost of a rebuild - had to use the mechanic they told me to go to. My cost: 600.

A month later... tranny goes out, no forward gears. Mecahanic that did it gives me a load of BS so I go elsewhere. Tranny rebuilt by shop that sounds like they are familiar with the transmissions. My cost: 1100.

Winter comes around... no heat. Well its got the digital climate control and I don't feel like messing with it. Take it to a shop where they have the whole dash off IIRC. Diagnosed a bad flapper motor. My cost: several hundred.

Spring time... car is making some engine noises. Tell wifey to bring me the car ASAP when she is done with errands. Doesn't make it. Roller on lifter failed, little needle bearings throughout motor, lifter and cam shot.... have dealership install new (used) engine. My cost: over a grand.

Two months later.... tranny loses all forward gears. At this point I got out of the vehicle. WALKED to the nearest dealership and traded it in just like that. They went and towed it in. I think I got like 1k out of it or something.

I haven't owned a Ford family car since then.

[88_pacifica]

Funny thing about Fords, especially the Taurus... Either you have one with 0 major problems for the life of the car or it's a daily basketcase. It's the most bizarrre thing I've ever seen... My ex's parents had 3 of them, all different years with never a single major issue. Family friends mother had one... daily problems and a major headache!

[Tony Hanna]

I guess that's true. John had a 3.0 Taurus that he drove to well over 200,000 miles without so much as having a valve cover off the engine. He did have to put at least a couple transmissions in it though. From what I've always heard, the 3.0's are practically bullet proof, but the 3.8's eat head gaskets for a living.

[Dodgeglht]

My dad's got a 94 Taurus wagon, and aside the tranny going out at 129000 miles it's not been a bad car. Although in excellent shape it's not even worth 700 bux. Sad really, the car needs around 500 bux in repairs not including mechanical & it's not worth fixing. We want to drive it until it dies but the stupid thing just wont. It ate a distributor & thought it wouldn't last much longer after replaciing it, but nope. It still runs.

[440SCOUT]

those taurus's/sables are horrible i've been going to tow auctions for ten years and have yet to see on that does not have a tranny problem (they are just as bad as the chrysler 3.0 minivans) ... all the people that i have known that have owned these cars have put at least on trans into every one of them too..:(
i stay away...:thumb:

[Dodgeglht]

Yeah, but what car doesn't have tranny problems anymore.eems most cars are built with throwaway trannys. The manufacturers just want you to buy a new car instead of driving the old one till it dies. Had an 85 Celebrity that started having tranny issues after 220,000 miles. Ended up being a plugged filter. It was the original filter from 85. Can't get that out of many cars these days without heavy failures.

[440SCOUT]

I agree the newer they get the more they have been moved towards "engineered obsolescence" as my dad would put it...
i have had a few pos beaters that have surprised me though.. 1 was a 1986 grand am with a 5 speed (best $35 i ever spent)
another was a 1988 tempo with a 5 speed, that car was awesome i got it for free because it looked horrible ..
i sold it to a friend who proceeded to unmercifully beat the crap out of this car for over a year.
after that he bought a new car and offered it back to me so i took it back and abused it myself for about six months , drove it back and forth to las vegas twice (vegas is 450 miles from reno for people who think they are the same place) at a high rate of speed ( we averaged about 100mph on both trips) then i entered it in 3 , :thumb: derby style races at the local race track where it took an overall 2nd place and then drove it to the wrecking yard ...:nod: :nod:

[Ondonti]

I guess that's true. John had a 3.0 Taurus that he drove to well over 200,000 miles without so much as having a valve cover off the engine. He did have to put at least a couple transmissions in it though. From what I've always heard, the 3.0's are practically bullet proof, but the 3.8's eat head gaskets for a living.

Yeah so my dad totally mislead me.
he said it was the same as my grandma's taurus (3.0) but its a..

3.8L
A REAL ----- to work on with its stupid 90 deg design or whatever it is.

Headgasket fire ring on the front passenger side piston (sorry on my 3.0 6g72 I could tell you what piston # that was :P ) looks like it got blown apart by detonation when the engine might have gotten a bit to warm.
No leakage on the head surface
leakage through the gasket I guess.

Im telling my parents that the head doesnt need to be milled IMO cause nothing happend to it (and I dont think increasing compression anymore would be a good thing.

Can you adjust the timing on these? What causes the detonation/fire ring failure? Should I get the heads milled? Seems to me that if the headgasket blows again it will have nothing to do with the head surface or the block surface and everything to do with detonation................I dont really know though.

Thanks...

[Dodgeglht]

Nope. Timing is not adjustable on these cars. Whatever it is from the factory is what you need to leave it at. The 3.8 is known for blowing head gaskets so there's not anything that can be done to prevent it. I say just throw the gasket on the car & keep going.

Matt

[cordes]

My old roomate put new gaskets in his GFs car after I helped him to the HG in his shadow. If he can do it with only the haynes manual, then I guarantee that anyone can.