Adventurous63

Just bought a 2003 Windstar at an auction. Engine sounds good, but it won't pull itself at all in forward or reverse. Read something on the web about a selector sensor or something under the air cleaner. I have found a tranny in a 2000, but cross-reference says only an 02 or 03 will work. Why wouln't a 2000 work? I suspect I'm looking at a tranny swap because the vehicle has a tow hitch on it and I've heard towing is a no-no with these, but I'd like to check out the selector thing first if I only knew what I was looking for. TIA

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Dirt's for racin' - Asphalt's for gettin' there.

360ci

Don't forget that the Windstar came with two engine options that required different transmissions as the torque output is different in 2000. I believe the AX4S transmission came on 3.0L models. The transmission you want is the 4F50N.

As far as towing goes it's fine up to 3500lbs providing a trans oil cooler is installed. I'd never tow with a car/mini-van anyway, since a lot of people don't realize that from that 3500lb trailer weight you have to take out cargo weight from the van. If you have a family of four and luggage which say, weight 600lbs altogether then you can really only tow 2900lbs safely. It's hard to tell the history of used vehicles. Change the fluids (transmission, cooling system flush, power steering fluid, brake fluid and engine oil), as that would be similar to reinstalling Windows operating system on a five year old computer. In other words it's a great start to a new life and the van shouldn't give you any problems. Before replacing the trans, try a flush and fill first.

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'00 Durango R/T 360ci 290hp (modded); 138,500m
'06 Pontiac G6 GT 3.5L 220hp; 44,000m
'12 Chrysler 200 Limited 3.6L 283hp; 13,000m
'99 Taurus 3.0L 2V Vulcan 145hp; 154,300m - Traded
Amsoil in all vehicles!