Five problems related to vehicle shudder have been reported for the 1998 Ford Windstar. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford Windstar. The contact stated accelerated in an attempt to pass another vehicle when the front end started to shake as the vehicle stopped accelerating. The contact stated that the engine continued running. The contact's mechanic also stated that the gears in the transmission were fractured. The failure mileage and current mileages were 178,187.
I have a 1998 Ford Windstar with about 100,000 miles on it. The engine is good, but while driving on the highway, it suddenly shifts to low gear and jerks. Initially, this would happen occassionally, but now it has reached a point that it down shifts very often especially when running at slow speed and the vehicle vibrates a lot. As a consequence, the passengers experience a very strong jolting forward like as if somebody stepped on the brakes at high speed. A visit to my certified mechanic reveals that this experience is very common among Ford transmissions on various cars. It will cost between $1,500 - $2,000 to replace the transmission.
Transmission on van went without warning, stranded the complainant in a parking lot. Van had to be towed to repair shop to have transmission replaced. Thsi was the thrid major repair to this vehicle (repairs costing more than $1,000 each). Purchased the used vehicle in April 2001- had 30,000 miles on it, currently has a little over 100,000 miles. Just after the dealer warranty expired the van had parts replaced in the transmission, then parts replaced in the drive train (expensive). Entire rack and pinion replacement followed. The reapirs were done withing 18 months prior to this transmission replacement. Even after having the entire transmission and rive train replaced, there is still a growling underneath the vehicle when it idles at a stop sign. Vehicle also has erratic shifting when rounding corners at low speeds (clunking sounds and vehicle shakes when van drops into gear)- all of this even after the transmission was replaced! what a lemon!.
While driving if transmission reaches a certain temperature it drops out of 3rd gear down into 2nd. Engine rpms increase and vehicle vibrates and shakes.
After having two tires changed, consumer noticed vehicle would shake badly when going over 50 mph, and steering wheel was hard to steer because of vibration. Dealer told consumer it was transmission. There was recall 97v097000 concerning transmission.