One problem related to blown head gasket has been reported for the 1997 Mercury Sable. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
My husband and I own a 1993 Mercury Sable wagon. We purchased it used 3 years ago. It currently has 44,000 miles on it. At approximately. 43,000 miles ( a month ago) it blew the head gasket. I am aware that Ford extended the warranty on 1994-1996 models of the Ford taurus and Mercury Sable for this same problem. My Ford dealer stated to us that this head gasket blowing has been a consistent problem on the 3. 8 engines, which ours has. It would seem to me that Ford is very aware of this problem and chose to do nothing about it for owners of 1993 cars. I feel is was their responsibility to help these customers financially--we just spent $1700 for this repair. Needless to say, it was money we didn't have. Why hasn't this problem been addressed with the 1993 models with the 3. 8 engine before this? Ford suggested that I address this with your agency.