the front wheel bearing for the windstar comes as a complete hub assembly. you have to remove the brake caliper,rotor,and axel. then remove the 3 12mm 12 point bolts holding the assembly on the spindle. beat the old hub and bearing out with a hammer and install the new one !

Note: Not all bearing have that 3-bolt connect. If yours DOES, consider yourself lucky! If it doesn't, you'll likely have to take the knuckle to a machine shop and have them press it out & in.

Note: Had trouble with hub after being pressed,as axle would not tighten up enough to hold in place...Suggest replacing half-axle (easy and cheap) if hub does not tighten down and stay tight. Had to have my hub pressed TWICE before I caught on.

The trans axle must be removed from the steering knuckle. Loosen trans axle nut and remove wheel. Remove brake caliper and disc. Disconnect the stabilizer bar link at top or bottom. Disconnect lower ball joint steering knuckle at pinch bolt and pry lower arm down out of joint. Remove the trans axle nut. A puller is required to push the trans axle through the hub. Remove wheel hub from bearing by prying at the front and hammer and punch from the rear. Clean and remove the bearing"C" clip at rear. Punch the bearing out towards the engine. Install new bearing in the reverse order. Note: A torch may be required to remove bearing from steering knuckle. Most difficult parts are removing hub and removing bearing.

I did mine without punching or torch by using a regular machine shop press. Just remove the hub assembly off the vehicle (one additional bolt IIRC)to remove from the previous comment in this thread, and setup on said press, use a round dummy of right size and old one slides out, new one slides in. Ben

They changed the design on this at some time. Your may press in, or it may use a 3 bolt system. Either way, you DO have to take the knuckle off. If you're not mechancially inclined, or you don't have significant upper-body strength (you, not the car), take it to a pro.

First one I did, took about 4 hours. Had the Ford dealer machine shop press it out & in (took them 30 minutes - they said sometimes they stick pretty bad). After $30 to the shop, and $50 for a new bearing, total cost $80. They said they'd do the whole thing for $150.

So the NEXT time one went (different Windstar, what can I say, I like 'em), I said to myself "No way I'm laying on the garage floor, screwing with that knuckle, etc, for a lousy $70" I took it to the dealer and let them fight with it. Best $70 I ever spent!!!!

The fronts are pressed into the hub assembly and better off to use a mechanic shop for that. The rears are very easy on that model - 2 piece bearing + seal, grease and torque to stop then back off till turn easy... install new cotter pin.

This is not easy . Get a manual on your car and it will have pictures and everything.

The step-by-step procedures are detailed & illustrated in Autozone.com's free online Chiltons repair guide - See "Related Links" below.

Notes:

• the steering knuckle needs to be completely removed from the vehicle - overall not such a bad under-taking.
• The new bearing needs to be pressed into the steering knuckle - be sure to check the auto parts stores if they'll be able to handle that part of the process for you.
• This is a good time to check the condition of the axle; CV joint boots; tie rod ends; lower ball joints; control arm bushings; stabilizer bar links; brake pads, etc. Since it's completely apart, easy enough to put it back together with new parts & save lots of time & effort in future repairs.

Yes the front wheel bearing for your ford winstar is pressed in with a hydraulic press.

Go to auto zone and have the codes read for free.

hello fellow light watcher. my light came on in the fall of 2000. my machanic said i needed a jump( ok the computer said that) and he was confused. so off to the dealer i went. their computer said it was an internal sensor (not covered) i asked at the time how much was that? they said $400.00. i then asked what would happen if it was not repaired? well they said i would stall on the highway. i very calmly put up eight fingers and counted then by 50..( my est. on calling a tow truck for a jump) "well after i stall eight times i guess i can kick myself for not getting it done." it is now five years later the light i believe burnt out. my machanic mentions is when i go in for any service, he laughed when i told him it wasn't on any more. oh and i have yet to stall out or need any kind of jump-start.

At least in Texas you can't pass state vehicle inspection if this light is on. H+++

Pull the codes from the computer, match the code to the troubleshooting procedure, follow the procedure to find the source. Repair the source, light will go out if that was the only problem. There are "monitors" or self tests the computer runs the car through a drive cycle, if a problem occurs, it may not run all of the self tests until that problem is taken care. Therefore, another problem may exist. It is emission related. OR hook up a scanner that is capable of clearing codes, and hope that none are still active.

The " check engine light" is by far one of the most misunderstood technological advances by the public. This is an needed in-depth understanding for the public. It is a warning light that is illuminated when there is a problem affecting the EMISSION SYSTEM only. Emission system being the pollution control system. Don't get a hard on against it as it is a good thing once you understand it. One point that was brought up a a recent meeting of technicians was that the amount of hydrocarbons is greater when the gas cap is left off than when the engine is running. Hydrocarbons are part of pollution emitted as gasoline evaporates. Going a step farther, one facet of the emission system is the "Evaporative" portion. This is when the fumes from the gasoline are leaking from the system into the outside air. This is one part of the emission system that can trigger a check engine light. I would say that about 7% of the vehicles that have a check engine light are the result of a loose or inadequate gas cap. But understand that many scenarios are possible with the "check engine light" The vehicle's powertrain computer (note that some vehicles have 17 different computers) will run a series of self-tests. They will only run under certain criteria. And they can be vastly different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some self-tests are not run until preceding ones have run successfully. So if there is a problem in one particular area that is preventing another self test from running, you can have a situation where one problem is fixed, but another still exists. If you fix a problem and drive the car through a drive cycle that sets the monitor (or self test) the light will go off as it passes that criteria that triggered it in the first place. After 1996, the auto industry went to a idea called OBD II (on board diagnostics). This was to get all the manufacturers onto a similar plane for troubleshooting and powertrain control. While they still differ vastly, many corrections and adaptations were made for technicians to better fix the check engine light problems. Prior to this there were so many different and poor troubleshooting data from a check engine light problem that resolving the problem was much more difficult. Many early warning light of this nature were set to illuminate based on mileage. An Oxygen sensor was one of the things that were meant to be replaced when that mileage was hit. This is much like many current "Change oil lights? that are set based on a pre-set mileage.

I have a 1995, not 97, and none of the things you have mentioned has anything to do with my light.My light has to do with the EGR Value, it is clogged.Needs to be replaced, but does absolutly NOTHING to make the car run bad.The light can be reset,but it will eventually come right back on, until the EGR value is cleaned or replaced.MOST, EGR values get clogged with carbon,and DONOT break,(unless you have the plastic type,it can crack)therefore if you was to go purchase some carborater cleaner. remove you EGR value and cleaned completely,you have a chance of the light going off.If Not you probably have a sensor clogged or defective.Taking the light is could be risky,if you ignor a problem too long it could make more things go bad and cost you more in the long run.A Ford Taurus, MUST BE ERVICED TO SURVIVE, it's not the best car in the world.It's only as good as the machenic or person who takes care of it. Can you answer the question:WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE CAR? Yeah yeah yeah, you said engine,or some other thing.But the answer is not enigne,IT'S FLUIDS, If you' just keep your fluids up and full you'd be ALOT happier.

It will be impossible to give you any better than a broad answer here, because there are literally hundreds of possibilities as to why a malfunction indicator lamp(MIL) comes on. The system would have to be scanned to retrieve whatever fail codes there are. Then we would use a manual (that is literally 3 inches thick)that contains flow charts with pinpoint tests, using a voltmeter, to hand diagnose, and find out what is wrong. This process can take a few minutes, it may take a couple of hours, depending on what is actually wrong.

Now here is the "why" of a MIL: What is actually turning on the MIL is the Powertrain Control Module(PCM), commonly known as the engine control computer. Inside of a PCM there are actually two separate systems. One is control, the other system is diagnostics. PCM diagnostics acts as "big brother," constantly looking over the shoulder of the control side of the PCM. Diagnostics is constantly monitering systems to see if the expected voltages and values are present.

Here is an example: If the PCM diagnostics knows that it has been so many minutes since the engine was first started, then the engine temperature should be around 195 degrees. In our senerio, if the engine is still 160 degrees, it sees a problem, and sets the MIL. The technician has to use pinpoint diagnostics to see if we have a stuck thermostat, if the Engine Coolant Temp(ECT) sensor if sending a false signal, if the wiring between the ECT and the PCM is bad, or if the PCM is faulty and interpreting the signal received from the ECT incorrectly. But the PCM is not capable of monitering everything all at once, so it basically goes down a checklist, over and over again, as you are driving down the road. Sometimes a problem can come and go intermittantly, at the right times so as to avoid detection by the PCM.

That is why sometimes a MIL doesn't always come on everytime there is a problem. Sometimes you can unplug a sensor even while the car is running, and it takes a while for the MIL to come on, just because the PCM diagnostics hasen't gotten back around to looking at that area yet.

Our senerio only talked about one area that a PCM moniters. There are dozens of sub-systems that the PCM looks at, and dozens of possible failures within each of those sub-systems, that could cause a MIL. answer The two main causes for the engine light to appear lit up are (1)gas vac sensor, (2) the pip(at least that's what it is called by my mechanic). The gas vac sensor is responsible for the engine light coming on in every make of vehicle, especially in Dodge's. It is caused by turning the gas cap either less than three clicks or more than three clicks. It causes a disruption in the vaccuum and kiccks the gas vac sensor to light up the check engine light. Disconnect the battery for 30 minutes, loosen the gas cap and replace it by turning it three clicks exactly. Best way to prevent this problem is not let the gas jockeys replace your gas cap after fueling. As for (2) the pip is a very common problem for engine light on Tauras' with 3.0L engine. The pip(in where your distributor is)twists and causes the sensor to break apart thus causing the engine light to light up. I'm no mechanic but the one I go to used to be an engine specialist with GM so I take his word as gospel. He's never been wrong yet and saved me a fortune.

I just took the positive terminal off the battery for 30 seconds which reset the computer and the "service engine soon" light was no longer on. I assume that whatever caused the light to go on in the first place is no longer tripping the warning.

take the battery cables off and put them back on.

The check engine light (CEL for short) is triggered when one or more of the many sensors on the vehicle detects a not-normal reading,

There are 2 basic steps to determining the cause of the CEL coming on:

1. Have the codes read - many places offer to read the engine codes for free. Autozone even provides a printout of the codes, and a short description of common causes
2. Research those codes! Find out the true cause and reason for the not-normal reading. It is not often that the sensor itself is bad and requires replacing.

There are countless sources of information on engine DTC (diagnostic trouble codes) on the internet - including Wiki s!

Pay attention to those check engine lights - they're there for a reason. And with the internet today, you can readily find the information to keep your car healthy, and even save some $$ in the process.

No reset button. Easiest way is to disconnect the negative battery cable for a couple of minutes, then reconnect. This will erase any codes stored in the computer. If everything is okay, the check engine light will stay off.

disconnect the positive terminal on the battery for 30 minutes,this will drain the ecm. after 30 minutes, reconnect the terminal, start engine, and hold at least to 750 rpm for five minutes

Use an OBD code scanner, find out what's wrong, fix the problem then, if necessary, clear the code with the code scanner. Often just replacing the faulty component will solve the problem, other times you need to clear the code manually.

You must have an OBDII code reader to turn of the light.You can save money by going to your local autoparts store.They can tell you what made it come on and then reset the light.

Repair the problem that caused the light to come on, and reset the light with an OBD2 scan tool.

You can disconnect the battery for about 2 minutes and then connect it and start it and it should clear.

try disconnecting the battery for about 10 mins. If this does not work have vehicle scanned to determine problem or have codes cleared--most auto part stores will do this

try completely disconnecting the battery for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Disconnect the battery and then reconnect it. Or bring it to an auto parts store and they can hook it up to the tester that they have for it, tell you what's wrong with it, and then it will reset.