How to Remove the Engine in a Ford Windstar

Connect a fuel pressure gauge to the valve on the fuel rail, place the gauge's bleed hose in a small gas container and turn the valve to bleed the excess fuel and relieve the pressure.

Disconnect the battery at its negative cable, loosening the clamp nut on the post with your wrench.

Mark lines around the hood hinge plates with a scribe or marker to indicate the position, then remove the retaining bolts as another person supports the hood. Remove it.

Disconnect the air cleaner ducts by loosening their clamps with a screwdriver, then remove any fasteners for the air cleaner assembly and lift it off its grommets.

Drain the engine oil, loosening the drain fitting on the oil pan with your wrench and letting it drain into an oil drain pan. Loosen and remove the oil filter with a filter wrench.

Remove the drain fitting at the radiator and drain the engine coolant into a large container. Drain the remaining coolant from the drain fitting at the front end of the engine block.

Label and disconnect all the vacuum lines, emissions system hoses, electrical connectors, ground straps, fuel lines and coolant hoses that will interfere with removing the engine. This includes the accelerator and cruise control cables and the shift linkage, fluid cooler lines and electrical connectors at the transmission.

Unbolt and remove the fan shroud and cooling fan. Disconnect the transmission cooler lines and radiator hoses, then remove all the radiator's bolts with your wrench and remove the radiator.

Rotate the tensioner for each drivebelt with a wrench on its bolt and remove each drivebelt.

Unbolt the power steering pump with your wrench and set the pump aside without disconnecting or twisting the lines. Disconnect the air conditioner compressor in the same fashion.

Disconnect the wires to the starter motor and the alternator and then remove their mounting bolts to remove them.

Unbolt and disconnect the exhaust system from the engine; these bolts might need penetrating oil before the wrench will work on them.

Raise the van on a vehicle hoist and remove both of the front wheels, making sure the steering wheel is turned and locked in the straight ahead position. Unbolt and remove the brake calipers (don't hang them by the hoses) and slide off the brake discs.

Loosen the pinch bolt at the steering column's connection to the rack using your wrench and remove the intermediate shaft.

Remove the hub nut on each of the front wheels with a ratchet wrench, disconnect the antilock brake electrical connector, remove the nut on the lower balljoint steering knuckle and drive out the pinch bolt with a punch. Pry the lower control arm from the knuckle with a prybar.

Insert the prybar through the lower A-arm and against the frame of the each driveaxle, then position its point behind the inner CV joint's flange. Pry the driveaxle out of the transaxle.

Unbolt and disconnect the stabilizer bar links, connect a two-jaw puller to the hub flange with its center bolt pushing on the axleshaft, and remove the driveaxles from the vehicle.

Raise a subframe jack under the subframe to support it and the transmission.

Remove the four bolts connecting the subframe to the body using your wrench and then raise the vehicle hoist until only the subframe and drivetrain are on the subframe jack. Remove the jack with the drivetrain assembly.

Connect an engine hoist to the engine's lifting hooks and raise the engine and transmission enough to access the engine mounts. Unbolt and remove the mounts with your wrench.

Raise the engine slowly and separate it from the transmission and then raise it out of the subframe.

Paint marking lines on the driveplate to show its relationship to the crankshaft and then unbolt and remove the driveplate.

Mount the engine onto an engine stand, bolting the engine block to the stand with long, high-strength bolts. Make sure the bolts are tight and then lower the engine hoist so the weight is on the mount.