2000 Ford Taurus, any common problems?

[Lubener]

By now, you know what to look for on a 2000 Taurus. I have used two Taurus's as company cars. Each one made it to 200k miles without the typical transmission or spring issues. They both had original starters. We did take maintenance seriously which makes a big difference. Corrosion is what makes the springs break on the lower portiion of the coils and lack of maintenance hurts the transmissions.Even the Ford mini vans were known for broken springs.For $1k, if it is in decent shape, buy it. If you get a year out of it, you got your money's worth. Myself, I would buy one if it checked OK for $1k and the tires were in good shape.

 

[atikovi]

Mainly here to see if there are any common issues that cost $$$$ to fix.

On a $1000 car you don't fix issues that cost $$$$ to fix. You either live with them or dump the car.

 

[Snagglefoot]

That car looks rusty, I wonder if that contributed?


For sure. How does that 20 year old Taurus look underneath?

 

[Andrew1972]

We are potentially looking to purchase my sisters old 2000 Taurus as a beater (beach trips / hiking etc.) The only main complaint I see on these are bad transmissions, but this one currently has just over 200K miles on it so maybe its a "good" one?

Anything to look out for on these? Would likely get it for $1000.

The car is 21 years old and it still runs/drives okay the "known" problems are irrelevant at this point in time. For a $1000 it is throw away.

 

[atikovi]

That car looks rusty, I wonder if that contributed?


For sure. How does that 20 year old Taurus look underneath?

Where? I don't see a picture OP posted.

 

[GSCJR]

Greg is referring to Snagglefoot's car.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Where? I don't see a picture OP posted.

Sorry. The comment at the top was the OP’s. While replying I accidentally blew away the quote box.

 

[gregk24]

I am going to try and get the car today and drive it up on ramps to get a better look at everything. I'd likely get the car for closer to $500 at this point so it's even more tempting.

 

[gregk24]

Here are some pictures.

 

[wildcatgoal]

My uncle had one that went 230K. He got his son one with 190K and it went to 250K. Terrible quality car but they have lasted.

 

[Wolf359]

The 2000 was the first year for that model. As I recall, I believe it had smaller brakes and the smaller fuel tank. First year is always worst. Looks like flex fuel version of the Vulcan engine. 8th digit of the vin would be a 2 for flex fuel, U for vulcan and S for duratec. Transmissions early on for the vulcan were the AX4S instead of the N, difference was that N could skip gears and S had to go through each gear. The N was more reliable but my torque converter still went at around the 220k mark on the my 2001 Taurus. You have the regular climate control, you can pick up the electronic one on eBay for under $50 and it fits right in so you can get the cassette player option and then use a cassette adapter to plug in your music. The front/rear springs breaking had a recall, but their fix was just to put shields on it. I replaced those springs/struts with Monroe quickstruts. They broke on me at the 80/90k mark. More of an issue in rust states, the salt killed them early. The rear springs sagged too so even if they were original, you'd want to swap them out. They sagged when the car had 30k on it.

 

[dishdude]

You're going to buy a 20 year old Taurus in order to try and preserve a 9 year old Accord that isn't even garaged? Put the money you'll waste on this bomb towards the Accord's replacement in a few years.

 

[MacManus99]

I owned a 2001 and loved it. I bought mine cheap, and didn't have high expectations for it, but it was a great commuter/loaner car for me. I had to change the water pump as well as the starter on mine. They're great beaters, I would suggest purchasing the one you're looking at, and regard the vehicle itself as a consumable item. I imagine it will pay itself off in convenience, like mine did.

 

[Wolf359]

Or try looking around a little more for the Duratec engine. That had 200hp as opposed to 155 on the Vulcan so that some claimed it was gutless but I think torque was decent but it was still a little slow compared to the Duratec. Had the original starter and water pump on mine. Went through 3 alternators though and it's harder to change on the Duratec, Vulcan is easy though as it's right on top. Duratec you had to get it it through the wheel well and flip it around to get it out, otherwise the book called for dropping the subframe which is a project. The quickstruts are only around $80 each, the used to be a lot more and the Monroe is a lifetime warranty although with that kind of mileage you might not be replacing them again, I did them at around 60-80 just because they were free, only had to pay for labor and the local indy only wanted $80 to do the pair as it's only about 1.5 hours to do it although book says 3 but they don't account for quickstruts. The rears can be a project though if the pinch bolts are rusted and snap on you, then you need junkyard spindles at $50, I think the OEM part was like $400 at the time. Did lots of stuff over my 12 year ownership, front and rear sway bar links multiple times, inner/outer tie rods, ball joints, 3 driver's side CV joints and 1 passenger side, DPFE, intake manifold gaskets once, coil packs a few times, power steering pump, motor mounts etc.

I'd look for 2004-2005 Taurus with the Duratec, I think 2005 was the last year for it, all Vulcan after that. AX4N standard on the Duratec, optional on the Vulcan but later years was standard, it was the better transmission. You could also look at the Sable LS, that trim line usually had the Duratec as standard and that had fog lights which the Taurus never had. I liked the look of the Taurus over the Sable but it was the same car. Taurus SEL was more likely to have the Duratec although some SES models also had it. More likely to get moonroof and leather along with the electronic climate control. As other said, look for the badge or look at the 8th digit on the vin or the picture of the engine.

 

[blufeb95]

Or try looking around a little more for the Duratec engine. That had 200hp as opposed to 155 on the Vulcan so that some claimed it was gutless but I think torque was decent but it was still a little slow compared to the Duratec. Had the original starter and water pump on mine. Went through 3 alternators though and it's harder to change on the Duratec, Vulcan is easy though as it's right on top. Duratec you had to get it it through the wheel well and flip it around to get it out, otherwise the book called for dropping the subframe which is a project. The quickstruts are only around $80 each, the used to be a lot more and the Monroe is a lifetime warranty although with that kind of mileage you might not be replacing them again, I did them at around 60-80 just because they were free, only had to pay for labor and the local indy only wanted $80 to do the pair as it's only about 1.5 hours to do it although book says 3 but they don't account for quickstruts. The rears can be a project though if the pinch bolts are rusted and snap on you, then you need junkyard spindles at $50, I think the OEM part was like $400 at the time. Did lots of stuff over my 12 year ownership, front and rear sway bar links multiple times, inner/outer tie rods, ball joints, 3 driver's side CV joints and 1 passenger side, DPFE, intake manifold gaskets once, coil packs a few times, power steering pump, motor mounts etc.

I'd look for 2004-2005 Taurus with the Duratec, I think 2005 was the last year for it, all Vulcan after that. AX4N standard on the Duratec, optional on the Vulcan but later years was standard, it was the better transmission. You could also look at the Sable LS, that trim line usually had the Duratec as standard and that had fog lights which the Taurus never had. I liked the look of the Taurus over the Sable but it was the same car. Taurus SEL was more likely to have the Duratec although some SES models also had it. More likely to get moonroof and leather along with the electronic climate control. As other said, look for the badge or look at the 8th digit on the vin or the picture of the engine.

Just pay attention the duratecs before the 2008 model year have issues with the cam caps bolts can back off and ultimately destroy the valve train.

 

[gregk24]

You're going to buy a 20 year old Taurus in order to try and preserve a 9 year old Accord that isn't even garaged? Put the money you'll waste on this bomb towards the Accord's replacement in a few years.

It’s about keeping the wear off of both our vehicles. For instance, we don’t just let our dogs jump in the back seat of our current vehicles, they would tear up the leather / upholstery. We don’t go out for a swim at the beach then get back in our ride all sandy and wet. We take the time to clean off, but even then it’s impossible to keep the white beach sand out and it’s near impossible to vacuum that out of black carpet. Sounds silly to some, I know. My wife and I are both very particular about taking good care of all our belongings. They are only material possessions and hold no long term value but we work hard and try to make what we have last. So, having said that we both would like a cheap beater that we just don’t care that much about. Something that can get mud, sweat, beach sand and dog hair in, take a ding or two and not care.

 

[dbias]

I never owned one but two that I know of had springs break.

 

[Nick1994]

It’s about keeping the wear off of both our vehicles. For instance, we don’t just let our dogs jump in the back seat of our current vehicles, they would tear up the leather / upholstery. We don’t go out for a swim at the beach then get back in our ride all sandy and wet. We take the time to clean off, but even then it’s impossible to keep the white beach sand out and it’s near impossible to vacuum that out of black carpet. Sounds silly to some, I know. My wife and I are both very particular about taking good care of all our belongings. They are only material possessions and hold no long term value but we work hard and try to make what we have last. So, having said that we both would like a cheap beater that we just don’t care that much about. Something that can get mud, sweat, beach sand and dog hair in, take a ding or two and not care.

You take good care of your cars Greg, and I guess I could see the use in this. The only thing is, I’m not sure I see you letting this one be a total beater. I just see it eventually getting new struts and springs to improve the ride, brand name tires, fixing any leaks, etc.

 

[Wolf359]

I never owned one but two that I know of had springs break.

Both of mine broke. First the rears broke at around 80k and then the front broke at 90k. I was going to replace the fronts after the rears broke, but didn't get around to it and then they broke on me. Both times it happened in the parking lot, just came out to see that the car was low one day and noticed the broken spring. When the fronts went, it popped a tire, broken bit of spring went into the tire. I lucked out though, had a road hazard warranty and got it replaced under the warranty. I thought it was reliable overall. Only left me a stranded a few times, those broken springs and once one of the coolant hoses went. Otherwise I thought most of the stuff that went was maintenance, muffler, flex pipe, upstream oxygen sensors, etc. A few things broke like the passenger power mirror but never really used it, the rear driver's side power window stopped working too, but never got those things fixed. I had the 6 cd changer cartridge in the center console also, last time I used a CD changer in a car, current cars have them but I've never used them. A few bulbs in the dash went out and it eventually got kinda dark at night so I even pulled the cluster to change the bulbs. The auto headlamps also stopped working at one point, normally it was just a $10 relay but for my year, you had to replace the enter computer which was around $300 so I never bothered and just had manual headlamps. The sensors for the alarm would also go bad, I think at one point I disconnected the ones in the trunk and hood as it would sometimes randomly go off.

 

[gregk24]

You take good care of your cars Greg, and I guess I could see the use in this. The only thing is, I’m not sure I see you letting this one be a total beater. I just see it eventually getting new struts and springs to improve the ride, brand name tires, fixing any leaks, etc.

I don't have any emotional attachment to Ford, this will be a beater. Just fluid changes for now and a good cleaning. Probably will polish with Nufinish to clean the paint and lay some form of protection on it. This car is full of chips, dings, dents and scratches. No amount of work I can do at home with my tools will make it look how I would want it to look.

Having said that, you know me well and I will probably go farther than most for a 20 year old beater!