Where's the wagon photo thread?

[4EyedTurd]

I'm not sure if my search function is broke but I haven't seen a wagon photo thread, do we have one? Also, what V6 came in the early 80's LTD wagons?

[BadZ]

3.8l.... ewwww.... I threw up a little when I said that, lol.

[FoxChassis]

3.8L V6 came in two variations:

EFI (all years)
carb (1984 only)

[ZephyrEFI]

3.8l.... ewwww.... I threw up a little when I said that, lol.

The early 3.8 was okay, wasn't it? It wasn't until they put SEFI on it and started putting it in Tauri that they started blowing head gaskets left and right. Right?

[Travis T]

No, the early ones had worse head gasket problems.

[ZephyrEFI]

No, the early ones had worse head gasket problems.

Alrighty, haha. Perfect excuse for a V8 swap then.

[4EyedTurd]

Crap, that's not what I wanted to read. Does anyone know if the accessories and transmission will bolt to a v8?

Also, is there a thread that I missed with wagon photos?

[Flyin'Montdude]

Here ya go:
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...agon-roll-call!

[ZephyrEFI]

There ya go. I knew there was one.

[roadkill]

No, the early ones had worse head gasket problems.

Relatively easy fix tho. Ford had program some years back that extended the warranty on the head gaskets, and the service kit and revamped head bolt torque procedure and sequence fixed the problem. Saw many a repaired 3.8 go 150/200k with out any head gasket failures.

[ZephyrEFI]

Relatively easy fix tho. Ford had program some years back that extended the warranty on the head gaskets, and the service kit and revamped head bolt torque procedure and sequence fixed the problem. Saw many a repaired 3.8 go 150/200k with out any head gasket failures.

Really? I just remember seeing the shop full of them. My mom might have kept her '94 Taurus a lot longer if it'd had the 3.0.

[BadZ]

Owning a service center, all I see are the bad ones. hahaha! Most are very tired at this point. I'd swap in something else and be done with it. I would love to see someone do a 2.3l turbo in one.

[Dean_T]

The power steering pump, alternator and maybe the air injection pump may be reused but you will have to get the V8 specific brackets to install them on the V8. I'm not sure about the AC compressor because of the many variations I've seen so that may just need a V8 bracket for the particular AC compressor. The transmission should have the same bolt pattern but you may need a V8 torque converter - not sure if the one for the V6 will bolt to the V8 flexplate (I can find out since I should have them left over from my '82 Cougar wagon). As long as the V8 isn't more than 200HP the trans should be fine without worry of self-destruction. Unless it's an AOD then you may want to upgrade it for reliability and strength.

[4EyedTurd]

Thanks Dean, hopefully I won't be doing an engine swap. I still need to find out what year it is and hope it's not completely gutless.

[ZephyrEFI]

If you're worried about gutless, count your blessings if it's not an I-6.

[JACook]

I got to do the head gasket job twice in our '95 Windstar. The second time around Ford had released
the kit with the revised head bolts and torque specs. But the real fix was, IIRC, in 1996, when the rest
of the 3.8 line got the larger head bolts used in the SC engine.

Never had any engine problems in the 2K Windstar, it just couldn't go much more than about 40K miles
on a transaxle. Last FWD Ford product we ever owned...

[4EyedTurd]

I found out its an 83, in 83 is it just a regular carb or did it have any electronics like the 85/86 4cyl? Would it have a regular mechanical fuel pump? He said it has a clogged fuel line and runs if you feed the carb gas. So, if its a mechanical pump I'll run a temporary line to a gas can.

[roadkill]

Really? I just remember seeing the shop full of them. My mom might have kept her '94 Taurus a lot longer if it'd had the 3.0.

Oh, the Ford store I worked at back then was full of them too. The, er, "good old days" when a tech or a parts guy could make a good living just off warranty repairs !

[LTDScott]

3.8L + AXOD = worst factory powertrain combo evar! I used to be a Ford tech and there was a time that I could practically swap out a Windstar transmission with my eyes closed.

[83gtstang]

This is my 80 Fairmont box top wagon. Currently a 200 six auto C3, but unfortunately I have made the decision to part my 85Gt to make this a little sleeper. I paid $300 plus about another $300 worth of yard work and hanging fans for this old man and woman. It's now mine!

[Dean_T]

If the '83 LTD is a straight 6 that would be a carbureted 200 CID engine. The upside is it is possible to adapt the 302 V8 T-5 bell housing to fit and have it bolted to a T-5 transmission. Unless someone had replaced the '83 200 with an '81 or earlier high mounted starter then things get a bit tougher to adapt.