Who on here has the highest mileage or oldest taurus? and what kind of issues have you seen along the way? I have a 99 wagon with a duratec (117,00 miles) and am trying to get an idea on how much longevity I can expect.

 

99 sedan with 260,000+ miles. vulcan motor, two tranny swaps,front and rear suspension, a few sensors along the way ,cadilitic(sp) converter. have an area now in front of right side rear tire that is rusting real bad hope fame rail is not loosing too much strength.

 

Did you do the tranny swaps yourself?

 

local tranny shop did the work.

 

Thanks for the reply, I have read that the tranny's can potentially be a problem, I'll try to baby it.

 

best thing to do is follow proper maintainence, I have 3 Taurus's, the '99 so far is the only one to have tranny problems. it is the highest milage of the 3, now I flush the tranny system every 30,000 mi and refill using Mercon V only. don't use the dexron/mercon fluid nor do I use the 'Multi Vehicle ATF'.

 

I just changed the filter and fluid in the pan with Mercon V, I must admit though to neglecting it for too long up to this point. I had read that the AX4N was designed to be a more reliable transmission, I hope this to be true. I'm very happy so far, no payments for the past several years. Thanks for the advice!

 

My Taurus has >271,000, Tie rod ends at 240K, Transmission at 39K, then at 230K, factory had installed the tranny oil pump rod incorrectly and it fatigue broke. Not covered under the warranty. AAMCO did the work I paid more for a lifetime warranty and got the second one for free.

Replaced the Serpinetine belt idler about 6 years ago. Last year replaced the power steering pump starter and alternator as a precaution. Probably didn't need to do the Power Steering pump.

No CV's yet. Minor air conditioning work.

I have used Mobile 1 since I purchased it at 36K miles. Until late last year when I developed a very minor read seal leak. I went 5K miles before in needed to add a quart. I change the oil every 10K miles.

It is so reliable I don't want to get rid of it.

 

I heard of someone with 220k miles on a Duratec and still going strong. All Duratecs have the AX4N which is the more reliable tranny.

Watch for rust. The lower coolant tube/ hose assembly is know for rusting out. It is a Pain to replace. To get it out it is easier to cut it or break it.
A good work around is to replace it with a coolant flex hose.