Picked up 04 Taurus Wagon for a bargain...

Did you take any pictures? You can just tell from the engine. Or if it had the 24V DOHC badge on the side of the car. Also what trim level is it? The higher end had the climate control and the cassette player. I think you could just get the radio/climate control on eBay for around $50 and you could just swap it and get the cassette player and the auto climate control. Then you could get a cassette adapter and hook it up to bluetooth to play music in the car from your phone. As for the oil, yes, very common for those to switch to 5w30, that was the original spec. I always ran 5w20 most of the time but it did leak oil on the Duratec. You had to drop the exhaust to replace the oil pan gasket and I never bothered. It leaked less with 5w30 than 5w20. It was also picky about plugs, it's good you got the Motorcraft ones. Transmission fluid should be Mercon V which you can easily get at Walmart, I think they still carry Supertech Mercon V.
Its an SE trim level, power windows & seats with an AM/FM radio and single CD player. Posted alittle earlier -- 8th digit from the left on the VIN is a -- U which equals a Vulcan engine.
 
Its an SE trim level, power windows & seats with an AM/FM radio and single CD player. Posted alittle earlier -- 8th digit from the left on the VIN is a -- U which equals a Vulcan engine.
Oh yeah, the 2004 was the slight face lift. I know the earlier models you could do an exact swap with the manual and auto climate control and gain the function of the cassette player and then you could get an adapter to plug into a bluetooth player. Not sure about 2004+. But I guess they're still out there on eBay, here's one for $80.


Other standard stuff that went was stuff like the cv joints, the boots on the left driver's side tended to rip more than the right. Alternator is easy on Vulcan, tough on the Duratec. Sway bar links would go all the time, I went with moog, the factory ones never lasted more than a couple years. Check the gas tank straps too, mine rusted away and one of them snapped, but the tank didn't drop.
 
Oh yeah, the 2004 was the slight face lift. I know the earlier models you could do an exact swap with the manual and auto climate control and gain the function of the cassette player and then you could get an adapter to plug into a bluetooth player. Not sure about 2004+. But I guess they're still out there on eBay, here's one for $80.


Other standard stuff that went was stuff like the cv joints, the boots on the left driver's side tended to rip more than the right. Alternator is easy on Vulcan, tough on the Duratec. Sway bar links would go all the time, I went with moog, the factory ones never lasted more than a couple years. Check the gas tank straps too, mine rusted away and one of them snapped, but the tank didn't drop.
Appreciate your feedback.

Thanks, Dale
 
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