New van old problems
 

I'm the new guy here and justed wanted to say hello to all the other FordForum members. But, I do have a question (of course). I just bought an 04 Freestar Limites with 69,000 miles. The list of things that I know that are already wrong with it is pretty short but includes the liftgate latch, the drivers side rear door being difficult to open and close, the rack and pinion needing to be replaced and brakes all the way around it but for the price I paid and the condition it's in it's a was a great deal and I am capable of doing most of the work myself. One question I have that I have not seen a post for is the smell of exhaust inside the van and a slight miss in the motor. Has anyone had a problem with this before? And if so what did you do about it. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

The slight miss could be caused by a number of things. It could be ignition or fuel related, or it could be a vacuum leak.

I have an '03 Windstar. I had to replace the small plastic bushings for the IMRC units. It caused a slight roughness. Is that miss happening all the time or only when it is warming up? Is the CEL on?

I think you need to find out where the exhaust is leaking from. It is probably under the hood and manages to get into the vents. If the back pressure in the exhaust is affected it could also cause a slight miss or roughness. Check the headers for cracks and bad seals, check the pipes and connections to the catalytic converters and the flex pipe.

Periodically I have to clean the runners for the doors with WD40 then I lube the bottom wheel with a dab of grease on the outside. Now I also have to clean and lube the middle runner. It helps a lot.