I purchased this '95 Ford Thunderbird 3.8 ltr automatic when the car has 31,000 original miles. I always ran Mobil 1 synthetic in it and drove almost entirely highway miles @ 70 mph. The car immediately had transmission shudder that was remedied with a trans flush every 30,000 miles.
What was worse was when it developed an audible rap or knock on start-up and with acceleration. I had problems keeping the anti-freeze at the correct level and various mechanics warned me about warped heads on this engine. This engine never overheated by the way! The rapping continued until a catastrophic event on the effin New York State Thruway @ Syracuse. The rapping got loud and it threw a rod at 70 MPH. The oil ignited and the car became like the space shuttle.... a huge fireball came out from under the car. I nearly lost control, but regained it enough to get it to the side of the road.
The point is that this car was babied it's whole life. It never towed anything and it had primarily lazy highway miles most of the time I had it ( since 31,000 ). It blew at 95,000 miles and the car was in pristine condition.
NEVER trust one of these 3.8's ! No wonder Ford lost so much market share!
I purchased this '95 Ford Thunderbird 3.8 ltr automatic when the car has 31,000 original miles. I always ran Mobil 1 synthetic in it and drove almost entirely highway miles @ 70 mph. The car immediately had transmission shudder that was remedied with a trans flush every 30,000 miles.
What was worse was when it developed an audible rap or knock on start-up and with acceleration. I had problems keeping the anti-freeze at the correct level and various mechanics warned me about warped heads on this engine. This engine never overheated by the way! The rapping continued until a catastrophic event on the effin New York State Thruway @ Syracuse. The rapping got loud and it threw a rod at 70 MPH. The oil ignited and the car became like the space shuttle.... a huge fireball came out from under the car. I nearly lost control, but regained it enough to get it to the side of the road.
The point is that this car was babied it's whole life. It never towed anything and it had primarily lazy highway miles most of the time I had it ( since 31,000 ). It blew at 95,000 miles and the car was in pristine condition.
NEVER trust one of these 3.8's ! No wonder Ford lost so much market share!
- jlash55, St. Joseph, MO, US