boots6868

Hi all! im new to these forums and have my first question (im sure not my last since im a windstar owner now)lol.
I just bought this windstar today for cheap$$$ heres my problems.

got her cheap because of bad headgasket so im told.. it does indeed have water in the oil (milky) but it could be from the timing cover/water pump.

anyway this old farmer i got her from has been running it this way and it did indeed fire right up for me when i went to look at it. It had no misses, no check engine lights, no smoke from exhaust. But it did have rod knock when it warmed up. with 190k on the engine im thinking just rebuild the old girl and be done with it. I can get a kit for 360. but then i need to pay my machinist to mill the heads and push the wrist pins out for the new pistons. I can rebuild all the rest in my shop no problems there.
Heres my dillema: I found a 2000 windstar 3.8 on Ebay for 399. picked up (its close to me) has 90k on it and tested fine with a warranty.
First off will it fit? meaning bolt up Im sure some things will need to come over from the 3.8 like intake,oil pan etc..
I guess the key thing is will it actually work. this is where you guys come in.. I need some help making my decision. thanks all

Sterling_Six

Go for it...

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Good Luck and good repairing Sterling_6
"You know, just like in that Book, When Jesus beats up Moses to get Religion!!"

boots6868

Thanks for the reply Sterling! I am going for it.. I purchased the engine off ebay last night and I pick it up Friday. Are you familiar with anything on this change you seem confident that it will probably work.
Also on a side note do you know the easiest way to pull the motor?
ive been doing some research and getting varied input some say drop her out through the bottom some say they made out nicely pulling it out through the top. I would really rather not get too involved with all the mess. but im looking for suggestions. thanks i will keep you posted on the swap

boots6868

I swapped it out!!!
I used a 99 windstar 3.8 w/95k on it.
Have to do's
use your 98 3.8 intake upper and lower, injectors rails, egr valve and bracket, egr tube, I also used the 4mm intake gaskets as the 98 calls for 3mm and have leakage trouble terribly. the 4mm fit nicely. I also re-used the the 4mm intake gaskets from the 99 and cleaned them perfectly as well as the heads and intake surfaces (do not use wire wheels on the aluminum surfaces they will scuff and scratch easily also no utility blades) i use a flat steel block and 600 grit wet/dry with wd40 on it. I also used the red rtv sealant on both sides of the gaskets. no problems thus far.. i have already put on 250 miles with no ill effects.
You basicly are using the donor block, heads, oil pan, and water pump if you wanna chance that ( i bought a new one didnt want problems with that too hard to change later). you can use any 3.8 engine from 94 thru 2000 that i know of. hope this helps someone out there. oh yeah i also pulled my engine out the top. no problems there either. just remove the cowl panel/s then take all the bull crap off the motor, take your time and label everything make notes of removal sequence also take alot of pics and print them out of all the electrical connections and vaccum lines i found the pics invalubale. tricky things.... power steering pump you need the tool to remove the pully as one bolt hides behind it (the same tool should also re-install the pulley too) mine did. water pump.....you will find the bolts too long to remove as it sits.. once your too the point of stripping the engine down remove the two nuts on the motor mounts. then lift the motor and tranny together about 4 inches that will let you remove the water pump, then set it back down and finish removing the bell housing bolts, starter, converter nuts then pull the motor as usual. oh dont forget to support the tranny in 2 spots with bottle jacks with long boards on top to protect the pan. if you skip this step the tranny will tilt over once motor seperates then you got a mess. I hope this helps someone down the line. go slow be patient and thorough

Bert

Thanks for all the info. I'm sure it'll help somebody.

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Bert