Upon leaving work I started my car and noticed white smoke billowing out of the tailpipe. I drove less than 1 mile from work to home and had my boyfriend look at the car immediately. He advised me it was probably a blown headgasket. We had a mechanic come pick it up and tow it to the shop. Sure enough the headgasket had blown on both sides and water was in all 6 cyclinders. The car never overheated nor did it give any warning signs or lights. It just blew the headgasket with less than 60,000 miles on the car. Ford has a problem with their 3.8l v6 engines built in 1995.
1995 Ford Mustang engine complaints
Page 10 of 13: complaints 251 to 280 of 341, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Service required included replacement of defective thermostat, engine cover, both head gaskets and complete remachining of engine
Head gasket blew. Asked ford customer service reps if repair covered under extended warranty since my car has same engine as the engines covered (3.8l-v6); told no. Reason: coolant flow different on rear wheel drive than fromt wheel drive.
Ford has extended warranty to taurus and windstar owners which has same 3.8l engine. I think it is extemely unfair that they have excluded the mustang. I believe this is a defect because for the 1996 ford mustang the head gasket was changed....why change a part if there is no defect!
Blown head gasket, requiring new long block and assembly. Total cost for repair $3,300.
Blown head gasket.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Cracked head gasket/factory backordered/spoke w/litterally hundreds of owners w/same problem the head blows for no apparent reason my car was started & cold andwhen I backed out of the driveway wham it blew. Talked to dealer said not their problem.a problem w/a vehicles head is a major problem. Please reply on actions being taken.
I am logging this issue to report a head gasket failure on my ford 3.8 v-6 engine. Altought no one was harned, I did experience the engine failure in rush hour traffic on my way home from work. I did have to pull over on a poorly lit road at night with heavy traffic. Luckily no one was hurt. My real complaint is that I incurred a $3800 engine repair bill from a premature failure of an engine component and ford does not feel they should reimburse me or 100's of others that are experiencing this same problem. Is there any help your agency can provide in this matter. Can you require for to recall this engine? Please advise. Thank you.
When traveling engine head gasket blew out, causing loss of power. Also, vibration was coming from front end. Consumer has contacted dealer. Please provide any further details.
Engine head gasket failure on 3.8l engine. There should be a recall on this.
A blown out engine head gasket of a 3.8l engine caust coolant to leak and engine to overheat. Manufacturer notified, and informed consumer that there was no recall on that part.
Engine head gaskets have blown, causing coolant to leak onto the engine. Dealer has been notified.
Radiators are bad all over. No parts avail in s.e. Usa. Plastic reservoir is cracking! Help! Nhsta!!
Heard of many problems with this car, was told there may be a recall, but ford knows nothing of the sort. $1700 please help us out. Many 3.8 mustangs have had this problem. No safety defect listed in summary.
Blown head gasket, prior to incident vehicle experienced misfire.
No summary listed for abov evehicle.
9/17/99 had to have vehical towed off hwy. Because of fear of burning up engine. Water pump was replaced and radiator was sealed at a ost of $272.19. For the next 3/4 of a month I ran the vehicle without a thermostat on hot because we couldn't imagine the moter having problems with this few mileage on it. However, on 10/17/99 it again became very hot and I had to have it towed. I had the VIN # searched and it did not register as a problem engine, go figure! I had several friends send me articles as to the fact that ford knew there was somthing wrong with these 6cylinder engine gaskets needing replaced, however the mustangs were not cited as problem head gaskets. The way I understood it was mostly the aerostars, contours,etc. Isn't that conveinant? So I kept the head gasket to show you the problem, and I'll bet it will look just like the failed head gaskets on these othe recalled vehicals,ie.aerostars, sables, etc. As I have not the extra means to afford this kind of cost, I would appreciate being reimbursed $929.99 spent on reparing my ford mustang. I have bought many fords and had way more miles on them and never had to replace a head gasket. I'll be anxious to hear from you. Thanks, candace
Vehicle experienced vibration while traveling on the highway at approximately 55 MPH under normal road conditions. Vehicle taken to a independent repair shop for inspection, and was informed of a possible blown engine head gasket or a crack in engine block. This is a 3.8l engine. Dealer notified.
While driving engine would die out for no reason. There would be no warning prior to stalling. This happened at different speeds. Vehicle would restart sometimes. Taking vehicle to dealership to have mechanic look at it.
Heater blowing cool air. Mechanic replaced radiator cap. Car overheated--replaced thermostat. Car still overheating--replaced radiator. Still overheating--replaced thermostat again. Still overheating--dealer says it is a cracked head gasket! All of this happened over a period of about ten days. This appears to be an epidemic among ford 3.8l engines. Any help you can provide would be very much appreciated.
I wrote to mr. Jac nasser personally using certified mail and was subsequently contacted by a mr. Lance tang. I was told nothing could be done because the vehicle was outside the warranty period even though the repair cost $3316.88. I must say I thought this was quite a travesty when ford motor company have this head gasket problem with similar engines in other vehicles.
While traveling on highway, the engine overheated and heat not working. No engine light came on. Was able to make it back home when the car stopped running. Took it to local mechanic who replaced thermostat, changed coolant and oil. Next day car still overheated and no heat. Took it to ford dealership, who did same as mechanic with same result. They checked the water pump, noticed white substance in radiator. They recommended and replaced radiator. I was told head gasket is ok at this time. They released the car to me. I drove the car for a week, and temperature gauge fluctuated and heat very sporadic. Took it back to dealership, and they state I need new head gaskets. They will not refund money for radiator replacement. I contacted ford motor, and they stated they will not refund money for radiator or pay for head gaskets.
Overheating engine....replaced everything...now says blown headgasket??? I see tons of these!! Need help!!!
Engine head gasket failed on way to work car was towed to manteca ford and heads torn down, head gasket and additional work estimated at $2200, refused work at that time, had car repaired at later date, total cost $900. Automatic transmission/ overdrive failure while driving in town, car taken to garage 10 components repaired or replaced, total cost $1583.77. Car has only 82,000 miles on odometer and is not raced or used in a haphazard manner, it is main transportation to and from work (round trip 1.5 mi) and as travel car for vacation, has never towed another vehicle nor been in any accidents or incidents. Believe head gasket failure precipitated by electric cooling fan failure 3 mos. Prior. Fan replaced at personal cost, no problems.
I wonder why ford hasn't recalled the mustang along with the other cars with this engine?
The car overheated and had no heat inside on a drive home from our parents. When the vehicle was taken in, the first time, the dealership said it was a faulty thermostat. It was replaced, and on the way home, with no heat inside again, the car overheated. The second time it was taken in they said nothing was wrong. So I drove home once more in the cold car thinking it was ok, however there was no heat and the car once again overheated. On the cars third visit I was informed the head gaskets blew. No problem, only a week has passed without my car it's only $1200.00 to fix... Also I found out that the taurus and windstar were recalled for faulty head gaskets. Hey, don't those cars have the same engine? Made in the same two plants? Sounds funny to me..... Any help in this matter is appreciated.
Head gaskets blew after engine overheating with no warning from temp. Gauge. Dealership wanted to fix head gasket problem and faild to notice ring damage which lead to low compression after assembly of engine. Dealership took no responsibility for failure to notice ring damage.
This problem seems pretty frequent with this engine; I counted 27 other complaints filed on the interne.
Engine building up pressure in cooling system, engine overheating, no heat in the car, we replaced thermostat, still having difficulty, took to local garage they pressure tested, looked ok slight leak around timing cover. Called local ford dealership, both said possible head gasket blown. We know about recalls for other v-6 ford engines, (3.8 also?)
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