Guys,
Lets face it. Not all people working at dealerships are the pick of the crop. The way they pay, and have a hard time keeping good techs would explain some of the shoddy work exposed here. There are times when we have no choice but to use them. There are also times that when you can help yourself you can avoid some of the problems. I'm sure there are lots of horror stories from outside shops too. If we find a really good shop with good techs you have to wait to get in because they are always busy.

 

OMG....if the dealership had it for a month and did all those things wrong I would've called a lawyer. That's beyond ridiculous and sounds like negligence requiring legal mediation. Many of the posters have said it only took one day to have it done. I believe the hours should be 6-8 total.
My dealer clamped the hood release cable at its midpoint rendering it incapable of locking back down, and the sheathing was cut from it. The steering wheel was off center and the car pulled to the left, and they forgot to connect an electrical socket that disabled the horn (dangerous), and cruise control that I didn't find out about until a nice 1000 mile trip. Perfect job, guys!
Bottom line is there is no excuse for crappy work like that from a dealership when they are supposed to be the experts on their make of car.
As for independent shops I've had bad ones too. I had the timing belt replaced on my previous Mercury Villager at a shop and they tightened the AC belt too much and the compressor bearings failed on a trip to Florida a few months later. Crap work at an independent shop, too. Why is it so difficult to expect competent work from a mechanic/shop?

 

@usecommonsensr:
As for the recall. It's only the torque converter, not the tranny itself. You still have your original trsnny after the recall.
@sonofawizard:
The coil pack is a common failure on these cars at 75-90 thousand miles. Did mine at 75k miles. The PCM waterproofing job is just a bunch of silicone caulk on the cowl where it seals to the firewall. Did that when the cowl was off for the coil pack.

 

@mercury4ever...

I know that I still have my original tranny after the recall was performed.

My pondering is in regards to somebody being told that their tranny is bad and being charged for a rebuilt tranny when infact, it was only a bad torque converter.

And then was the tranny actually replaced when they were told that they had a rebuilt tranny installed or did the shop just stuff in a new torque converter and still charge for a rebuilt tranny.

That's all my curiosity was wondering.

 

There have been so many negative posts on this subject and I thought it might be good to relate a positive experience just to let people know that there are competent people out there doing these recalls.
My van was running and shifting fine, but realizing that it could go south at any time I made the decision to bite the bullet and have the converter replaced. I had a recommendation from a friend and took my vehicle to Reynolds Ford in Edmund Oklahoma. They had it out the next day. Not even a greasy fingerprint on the entire van. It runs and shifts perfectly, and most times you can defy anyone to tell when it shifts. Amazingly the indicated "average miles per gallon" went up by a solid 1/2 mpg. Alignment was not affected and I have not a single complaint with the whole experience. How many trips to a car dealership can anyone make that statement about.
This is probably a first for me too. I liked my Freestar before, but I like it even better now.

 

Not trying to start trouble, but that Villager engine has a serpentine belt with an automatic belt tensioner -- so it's impossible to over-tighten the A/C belt. Your A/C compressor was probably already on the way out or there must have been some other problem.

 

@Blackston3:
You are incorrect. Perhaps later model years had a serpentine belt, but the 1993 Mercury Villager actually had 3 seperate belts. When my AC belt snapped the power steering, brakes, and alternater continued to work fine because their belts were fine. The AC would not work because it runs off its own belt. The bearings started making a bad rattling noise for a few miles and then kaboom. I worked on it myself after the AC compresser failed and replaced the belt with the help of a Haynes owners manual.

My sisters 1993 Mercury Villager still runs great and she hasn't bothered to replace the belt even with 180,000+ miles on it. I should've done the same. What's that saying..."If it ain't broke, don't fix it". That was the case then. I hope with Monterey torque converter that saying doesn't apply, because it was running fine when I brought it in and I've had all kinds of little issues since then.

 

My bad then. But I worked on a later model Villager (actually a Nissan Quest made for Mercury) and I distinctly recall there being a serp belt in there. No matter, I'm sure your '93 was not configured that way if you say so.

 

Good to hear good news. My situation: I had the t/c replaced last week. Like Use Common Sense, I hesitated for almost a year and now wish I hadn't as the van runs a bit worse than before. Now I have a terrible droning/shuddering at between 1400-2000 RPMs, worst at 1500 and at 40 kph or 1500 rpm and 80 kph. Dealer told us exhaust flex joint was on its way out but they likely had to break it to get to the t/c. Would not povide a rental. Took them two days as they had to check with Ford to see if THEY would be reimbursed to fix the van's exhaust that they had cut off seized exhaust bolts on.

I usually drive around 80 and the droning sound is so bad it hurts my ears. Any suggestions on why the drone? Only other changes I notice, when idling at a stop light the RPMs used to be ~ 150, now they are ~ 500. The gas mileage used to be 13.3 litres/100 kms and now it's 14.8. Been driving it a week hoping the drone would disappear but so far no luck. We had sway bars replaced and the brakes done right after from a reputable indie shop, tires rotated properly. The indie mechanic mentioned that Ford is having problems with their remanufactured t/c's as well. Should have left well enough alone.

 

I just purchased a 2004 Freestar. How would I know if the transmission recall work has been done?