Six problems related to engine exhaust system have been reported for the 1998 Ford Taurus. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Engine oil is leaking on exhaust system from back side of engine. Strong smell and oil on ground' 81,000 miles on vehicle. I purchased vehicle new. Replaced valve cover gaskets. Still leaking oil.
Smoke was rising from underneath car on the right side. Turned engine off and found oil was running down and hitting the hot exhaust pipe causing the smoke. Car was towed to the repair facility. Repair facility found the oil pan gasket was bulged out on the right side about 3/4" thus allowing oil to run out of the oil pan. Oil pan gasket was replaced.
There were particles coming through the air vents and all over the car. The consumer's children have become sick and the consumer wears a mask. The consumer has taken the vehicle to the dealer for repair with no solution.
I bought the 1998 Ford Taurus used but in good shape,at 70,000 the complete exhaust system failed the dealer fixed it but 5 more thousand miles and it would have cost over 1000. 00 dollars. On July 31 2002 the car had a complete transmission failure including all the components that connect it to the engine. I take very good car of my cars because I live in a rural area with the nearest city of any size 45 miles away. The miles might sound like alot but they are all easy highway miles. I contacted the local dealer but they said it was out of waranty and said it would cost over 3500. 00 to fix,I had it worked on in a shop in reno nv and they informed me that the damage was not normal wear and tear and they work on hundreds of transmissions on Ford car. After doing some research it is a ongoing problem with many Ford's with the 3. 0l and 3. 8l v-6 engines. It seems wrong for a relatively new car that I am still paying on to have this king of major problem and Ford need's to come clean that thier is a major design flaw. P. S I am also having problems with my 2001 Ford winstar's transmission too.
Car has no engine braking on coast down. In fact throttle seems to open when coasting down a grade. This requires braking to prevent runaway. Believe this has resulted in premature brake wear and warped rotors. The last car I owned that had this problem was a 1972 nova, which opened the throttle to prevent no2 emissions. I thought we had progress. Ford needs a better way to control emissions.
While driving could smell fumes, and mold. Also, while stopping would hear a loud squeaching noise or metal scraping.