 Even if your 98-03 Windstar has the exact same problems as recalled vehicles but your VIN doesn't qualify, you are going to have to raise hell trying to get your car back on the road, Ford simply knows they built a bunch of loser unsafely designed vans (and Taurus', by the way), with cheap torque converters, subpar frame and axle design and materials, and other common problems, Ford won't back up their gamble and they are losing lots of the American market.  Do I feel bad about buying foreign these days?  Yeah, but what do you do when you need reliability, parts and service if American companies feel they can sell you crap?!