Where is the oil drain plug and filter on a Taurus - Sable?

Answer 1

Oil drain plugs are nearly always on the backside of the oil pan...

That means if you are lying on the ground with your feet sticking out the front of the car, you're most likely NOTgoing to be able to see it!

Identify the oil pan and scooch up a little further underneath the car so you can see the back edge of the pan - then look/feel just up the backside of the pan and there is the plug!

I've done 5 Spring oil changes this week on my mini-fleet of Ford products - and it's always the same - once you know where to look.

Btw, it seems that 15mm box wrenches work on most of the plugs - not always room for a socket wrench to fit up there. ---- ---- * See "Related Questions" below for information regarding what type of oil to use

* BE SAFE! Use jack stands and wheel chocks to keep the car in the air when your head is underneath it! Car jacks can, and DO fail, and cars can roll backwards when lifted in the air - not always, but you don't need to chance it.

Ramps & wheel chocks are another good way to make room.

* Have plenty of rags handy for when removing the oil filter - most of them will spill oil onto parts of the frame (Windstar), or pipes below (Sable, Taurus, Contour).

* Most v6 engines have the oil filter in such a place as to require a filter wrench that grabs the bottom of the filter - using a socket wrench and some extensions.

* Filters on v6 engines are not always easy to spot - use a flashlight and look every where! It's gotta be there somewhere...

* Most auto parts stores & quick oil change locations will take your old oil for recycling for free.

* Refer to the Owners Manual for how much oil your specific year of car and engine holds - See "Related Questions" below for more == == ---- Oil pan, bottom of engine. ---- On a 1995 (3.0 Liter OHV "Vulcan") Mercury Sable, the oil filter is located in the front quarter of the engine in the center (from left to right) approximately one third of the way up into the engin block. Lying on one's back and looking up into the engine, when your head is about eighteen inches in from the front of the car anf you are roughly in the center (from left to right), you should see the oil filter, a cylinder roughly four inches across and four inches deep that screw clockwise into the oil reservoir. Don't forget to drain the oil out of the reservoir using the plug before removing the filter. The filter is also visible looking straight down into the engine under the hood, about eight inches past the visible front of the engine in the center (from left to right) and about eighteen inches straight down. If you have a 3.8 liter, the oil filter is not readily visible: look towards the front, passenger side of the engine. It is up in a small opening above a part of the frame crossbar. This location makes it pretty messy as the bit of oil that spills out of the filter lands on this frame member - be quick with moving the drainpan to catch it! ;) When you are under the car, about 18 inches from the front of the car the oil pan is directly in the middle of the car. You can't see the drain plug probably because the plug is on the side of the pan in the back. Use a 16mm wrench to take out the plug. The oil drain plug is under the car. You'll have to jack up the car high enough to see it. Once you do it'll be easy. The hard part is get the car at least 18 inches off the ground. Use a hydraulic jack and jack stands to do so. ---- The oil filter is located in the front, passenger side corner - tucked up above a part of the front frame.

Kinda messy, without a clear access for the wrap-around / band style of filter wrench. The oil drainage plug on a 1996 Ford Taurus is located approximately 18 inches to the inside of the right front wheel, 10 inches towards the back of the automobile.


Secure the vehicle, raise the front end and put it up on jacks Crawl under the front of the car and look up at the front of the engine - the oil filter is a small cylinder off of the front of the engine near the bottom
Without knowing what size engine you have, I'll offer that the 3.8 engine oil filter is in the front passenger side corner - accessible from under the engine.

Be forewarned it's kind of messy as the oil that naturally spills when removing the filter, lands on a support bracket. Have a couple rags handy and be ready to quickly move the drain-pan.