Comments on: I am thinking of buying a Ford Taurus 1994… Any advice?

By: Low Gear

Low Gear — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:24 +0000

The 3.8 V6 are know to have head gasket failure so have a mechanic check the car over but for the price you cant go wrong if the car is mechanically sound and in good condition.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:24 +0000

For $1,500 it must be perfect. Value in my area are 1,435 excellent condition, 1,600 good condition, and 960 fair condition, It does have very low miles that’s a bonus. I have an 07 Taurus it’s been good so far. Maybe a better deal for a hundred or so less then I’d do it,

By: Cam2inthemorning

Cam2inthemorning — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:24 +0000

The 3.0L & 3.8L V6 had MAJOR concerns with blown cylinder head gaskets. The headbolts were of poor manufacturing quality and would break causing gasket failure. If this vehicle has already had the gaskets replaced you should be O.K. The replacement bolts were re-designed and should not fail again.

By: Everydaypeople

Everydaypeople — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:24 +0000

Steer clear of it, the 3.8 Liter’s were known to self destruct well before 100,000 miles

By: Ryan M

Ryan M — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:24 +0000

I have an ‘89 Taurus LX with the 3.8: head gaskets failures were not uncommon, but many 3.8’s never had this problem. The story with that is because they had aluminum heads on iron blocks, but new gaskets have since been made that work with these two metals without failure.
The 3.8 gets about 17 mpg city driving, and 27 mpg on the highway, if you stay below 65 mph. Expect oil consumption of about 1 quart every 1,000 miles. DO NOT use synthetic: stick to conventional 10W-30 oil. Change transmission fluid and filter every 30k miles.
My car had an occasional vibration that would occur on the freeway when it was in overdrive, and it would upshift to 3rd way too frequently. I thought it was a misfire, due to a blown headgasket, but it turned out to be a vacuum leak at my carbon canister from a plastic tee that cracked in half. Make sure all of the vacuum lines are good, otherwise, you can easily be tricked into thinking you have a much more serious problem.
Another problem I had was my battery would keep dying. I eventually discovered I had a short circuit in the alternator, and standard methods of diagnosing it would not work to find what was causing the battery to drain. When the car gets to 190k miles, the alternator will be worn out.
My Taurus currently has over 202k miles, so they can definitely last long, that’s not a question, but most people who say they’re problematic don’t know how to properly diagnose problems when the arise.