Exocet wrote: The advantage of the Freestar was the 4.2L V-6 produced 265 ft-lbs of torque. Great for towing. The downside is that Freestars are notorious for shredding torque converters. Been there, done that.
Interesting, I keep my ear pretty tuned to the automotive industry even though I don't turn a wrench for a living anymore. This is the first comment I've heard of this problem. A quick check of the internet does not confirm your statement.
A lot of people STILL confuse the Freestar with the earlier generation Windstars, which DID have transmission problems. Those vans had a different transmission, yanked from the Taurus, that was undersized for minivan duty from the beginning.
The transmission in the Freestar is a descendent of the transmission in the Windstar. The transmission reliability is much better, but the torque converters have problems. Check out the Freestar forum on Edmunds. A lot of reports of failed torque converters. Granted, this isn't a scientific sampling. But that many failures of the same component is suspicious.
2008 Nissan Titan SE, Crew Cab, 4x4
Long Bed, Big Tow
Exocet wrote: The transmission in the Freestar is a descendent of the transmission in the Windstar.
The AX4N transmission has several iterations with vastly different characteristics. It is misleading to some who see the designation and assume "same as". The version used in the Freestar is a beefed up version (also known as the 4F50N) originally designed to handle the V8 in the FWD Lincoln Continental. The AX4S used in the early model Windstars and Taurus models is the problem child everyone relates too.
And although the wiki doesn't mention it, there were further improvements made to the AX4N (aka 4F50N) strictly for the Freestar. The planetary cage was upgraded to five gears rather than three, and the hydraulics were improved for faster shift response times.
Nonetheless, I will keep an eye on my TC. So far we have (knock on wood) 70k miles on ours with a significant amount of towing and no problems to date. I have friends with 4L60-E transmissions in Chevy trucks who wish they got this far on their OEM tranny.
'04 Ford Freestar (Primary tow vehicle) '05 Subaru Forester (Backup tow vehicle) '65 Bethany popup (best popups ever made!) Looking for a tow vehicle Minivan towing
Freestar 4.2 was the minivan tow champ up until its discontinuation. The 07 and up Siennas MIGHT beat it, but you can't really tell from peak power and torque levels. IMO, displacement stills tells you a lot about how much power you will get in the rev range you WANT to be in.
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