Six problems related to axle assembly have been reported for the 1996 Ford Windstar. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While driving rear axle cracked in two parts. No reason was found, and dealer /manufacturer had been contacted.
Consumer was traveling 20mph & heard a strange sound from rear wheel area. Consumer stopped & saw the wheel up against the wheel well. Underneath the metal bar (axle) was broken. Vehicle has been repaired,but consumer was looking for some type of reimburstment. Vehicle has not been damaged for this to happen.
Driving west bound on I-94 just part menomonie, WI, the left rear wheel fell off around 7:30 pm on 1/2/99. About 40 miles before that, the abs light came on. The brake pedal would go to the floor, but you did have minimal braking power by pumping the brakes up. The tow truck operator and my brother (who came to pick us up), thought it was a froozen wheel bearing. The patrol officer who took the rest of the family to the perkins while I waited for the tow truck found the wheel with the drum attached to it (all lug nuts were tight). Within the first couple of months of ownership of the car, the right rear wheel bearing had frooze and locked the car up. We have also had to add about 4 ounces of brake fluid each year to the system due to the brake light coming on. We have also complained that when going down a hill and braking hard that the steering wheel would shimmy pretty bad. Some other backgound on the wheel falling off is that we left gulf shores, alabama at 2:00 pm on 1/1/99. We drove I-65 up to I-90 in indiana. And then took I-94 heading for st. Paul, minnesota. Due to the bad weather those days (1/1/99 and 1/2/99), we had to drive through rain, freezing, rain, snow, and high winds. As stated, the wheel fell off around 7:30 pm on 1/2/99 about 3 miles past (west of) menomonie, WI. I had to wait until about 8:50 pm for the tow truck due to other cars being in the ditch. They couldn't tow it to stillwater, minnesota (where I leave, about 50 miles away) since they were busy that night. Northtown Ford called on 1/8/99 and stated that it would cost around $1,800 to $2,000 to fix. I've asked for the cause(s) of this failures, but they have been unable to tell me. Please contact me if more information is needed and let me know what my next steps should be. Thanks.
\vehicle hit curb and was sideswiped at about 3mph backwards. Impact bent rear axle assembly, causing other parts to fail. Also shifted axle so that tire jammed body at wheel well. Vehicle could not be driven.
While backing out at approx. 4mph, tie rod end detached and axel pulled out from vehicle, resulting in wheels couldn't rotate.
Owner states while backing out of the driveway her rear axle broke. Owner also notes that dealer said it was from a pothole.