28th Apr 2009, 00:43
The mechanic who posted the comment above is correct. Had this happen to a 2000 Ford Taurus SE on the highway. Thankfully did not blow the engine. Had the car towed, garage recommend all of the same repairs, ran me about 650$. Did have to screw with mechanic not getting clamps tight, slow leak, had to take car in twice more to get it 100%. So make sure you check the levels after a service.
18th May 2009, 13:59
I bought a 1999 Taurus in August of 2000. Vehicle had 16,000 miles, it was a rental car, I replaced the belt in January of 2009 and now I am having the brake pads replaced because they are getting thin. I have had no problems with this vehicle at all. I need to knock on wood. My Taurus must have been made on Wed. and not Friday or Monday.
26th Jul 2010, 00:34
I bought a 99 Taurus new, gave it to our son in 2008. It currently has about 145K miles.
Brake wear has been good over the years.
It was very reliable until it hit about 110K miles. Since then we have replaced the alternator, battery, tensioner pulley, serpentine belt, torque converter ($1600, of which $1200 was just labor), motor on the AC, and today, the power steering pump and power steering pulley.
Also, the O2 sensor has failed repeatedly, we've just learned to ignore it. There is an electrical glitch somewhere in the steering column that turns on the wipers occasionally. My main gripe with this car is how hard, to impossible, it is for the do-it-yourselfers to do their own maintenance or repair. Good luck changing the 6 spark plugs, the engine had to be removed to do it! We've only paid for the alternator, torque converter and O2 sensor to be replaced. Everything else my son and husband have been able to do themselves. Now that my son and his wife are expecting a baby, I shudder to think of what's going to go wrong next. But really, it HAS been a good car.
3rd Feb 2009, 14:51
If your 99 Ford Taurus came out with the dex cool antifreeze, that is what has caused your heating problems. It causes your hoses to deteriorate, which causes sludge, which eventually stops up your water jackets in the head and engine block, which cuts down the water flow through out the engine.
It also stops up the heater core, which stops the water flow through the heater core, which means no heat.
The sludge will also wear out the water pump bearing, which causes the pump to start leaking through the weep hole.
I would recommend changing the thermostat, flushing the system with cooling system flush then replace the heater core. If this doesn't fix your overheating / no heat problems, you have a vent door problem that is not letting the system change the cold air to hot air through the through the heater core.
I am a mechanic by trade, so I wouldn't tell you wrong. Replace the red antifreeze with green even though it recommends the other; this will keep your cooling system working properly.