15th Oct 2009, 17:00

I bought a used 1999 Taurus wagon, with 65,000 miles. It now has 110,000 miles. Liked it at first, but problems have cropped up. Have replaced the tie rods, struts and shocks, full set of tires, and brakes. I consider these as normal wear and tear. Brake rotors warped very easily and I brake gently; but previous owner may have used cheap rotors. Also had transmission problems - new shift cable needed. All of these things I can deal with because car parts do age. The check engine light went on and the mechanic found it was the fuel filler spout, which has cheap plastic parts; everyone else uses metal parts. A replacement would be $250 plus labor.

But, like everyone else, I'm pretty upset about the cooling system. I've paid to have the system flushed twice, replaced the thermostat, and had the water pump and blowers checked several time. Coolant runs brown again, for the 3rd time and I have no heat. Again. My mechanic told me that certain Ford models are notorious for poor cooling systems. I finally had to install two T-connectors so I could flush out the heater core. Lasts a few weeks each time. I've read its because Ford left casting sand in the the engine blocks, which causes the rusting.

This is the second Taurus. I should have learned after the first one (1991 model), which was not great either. I thought by 1999, they would have worked out the problems. Nope, Ford took the profits and gave it away in bonuses instead of R&D. Not sure what vehicle to buy next, but I hesitate with Ford.

9th Feb 2010, 15:52

I have a 1999 Ford Taurus SE, and the problem of no heat, but it's not the heater core, it was a royal pain to locate the actuator, but I actually was able to remove the radio and pull the actuator.

Some mechanics recommended observing if it moves when I adjust my electronic temperature controls, but it does nothing, so I took the actuator apart and cleaned the inside and hooked it up again, and again nothing, so I found another post that suggested hooking up a small battery to the motor inside the actuator to see if it works, and it does.

It's really a pain when you have to drive down the road in the evening without heat, and need to clear a foggy windshield with a t-shirt while scooting down the highway.

I am able to use the little wheel from the actuator to manually turn the blend doors, and heat comes out, but when you turn off the car, the blend doors clunk and they return to the normal position of closed or cold air.

If anyone can share if this could really be an actuator problem, since the motor works when I hook a battery up to it? I'm not too savvy using a volt meter, but if anyone has a diagram of how to test the connector hooked up to the actuator or anything else, I'll be happy to give it a shot.

I'm trying to avoid getting a new actuator and that not being the problem. Feel free to email me at donremail2000-houston@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance.

16th Jul 2010, 07:48

1999 Taurus. We bought it used. It was a good car for about a year, then things began; lights coming on and staying on, that should not be on.

As others mentioned; problems with the brakes and vibrations, heater quit working, nightmare with over heating, rust looking junk in the cooling system.

Replaced everything I could, replaced head gaskets, water pump, thermostat, also replaced res-tank 3 times. I hope it lasts for a while.

16th Jul 2010, 09:14

Did you replace the pipes going to and from the heater core?

That's where the rust in the coolant comes from.

5th Sep 2010, 12:44

I purchased a '99 Taurus wagon in 2004 for $5K. Seemed like a decent price at the time. I have since put at least double that into it... Transmission, gas tank, entire brake system, cracked heads, water pumps x2, CV joints x2, rack part of steering system.

Have recently replaced both heads, head gaskets, water pump and thermostat, and the engine still wants to heat up too high on a hot day. I put in a switch, so that I can manually turn on the fans when needed, but this is a band-aid at best. I am convinced the cooling system is just plain marginal at best, and as the engine wears, it becomes inadequate.

What amazes me, is that there was a spring shield recall a few years ago. When I got the notice, I checked the shields and they were fine. Ford was adamant that I bring the car in to have them replaced, so I did. Go figure why they can't fix the real problems instead.

I have owned perhaps 6 Fords in my life, I will not own another.

7th Sep 2011, 21:22

Having now faced two of these, I can tell you with pretty good certainty that your lack of heat is the classic 3.0 head gasket failure, especially the rear head. As my mechanic friend (he warned me, but we bought it anyway) explained it, a poor design has the EGR system overheating the rear head near cylinder 6.

Our 2003 (I know, but...) Taurus has 240k miles on it without a lick of trouble other than usual wear and tear maintenance being done, so they seem to have improved the engines.