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[quote=Fopeano]
People in the new car trade-in loop of always driving a car less than 5 years old may also be out of touch with the normal amount of upkeep an aging machine needs.
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This is true. I think part of the problem is they don’t realize a car’s lifetime can exceed 200k/300k miles these days may have been burnt by crappy American cars of many years ago. Not to mention, suckers for addictive marketing and hard pressure tactics.[quote=Fopeano]
You should just keep being realistic about it and keep it around for when it is needed, as it’s not really worth selling unless dire financial circumstances strike. If you make the effort to preserve it by parking on the driest surface possible, keeping it clean and sprayed with a WD-40 type oil underneath, and rinsing salt out from under it during winter driving, it will not deteriorate quickly.
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Thanks for the winter care tips, much appreciated.[quote=twiggy02919]
I think you should keep the car and fix it up as it is worth more to you knowing it’s history than it will be to a stranger.
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I absolutely agree, that’s an often overlooked variable of the “more value than it’s worth” equation.[quote=twiggy02919]
BTW, my 2000 Sienna has 132,000 miles on it and I plan to keep it for much longer.
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Thanks for sharing your experience with southern cars in northern climates. May your Sienna give you many more years of good service. 🙂[quote=DaFirnz] I would say do the work to make it safe and reliable, and let them decide. If they want it, the estate can reimburse you for the parts and whatever labour. Unless you can afford the $1500. If they don’t want it, buy it from the estate for fair market value and flip it. Just make sure they understand that is your intent.
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I guess that’s also the problem I have. I’m dead broke at the moment, otherwise I would fix it up no questions asked. But you do make a convincing argument that perhaps I/they can even recover that money if I fixed it up.Cheers!
[quote=”Evil-i” post=146080]Who legally owns the vehicle at this moment? Is it still in your father’s estate, or has the ownership been transferred?[/quote]
Legally the car is in my mom’s name (father’s estate). The car is in my possession, atm. My intended role is simply to look out for her and my younger brother’s best interests as far as I’m capable.[quote=”stiv625″]
In my experience it doesn’t really matter where a car is from or where you take it if it’s well maintained…
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[quote=”13aceofspades13″]
This here, no car does good here in the northern states, particularly Michigan…
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Thanks for the input, stiv and 13ace! Much appreciated. Happy Labor Day Weekend!Eric’s video is full of interesting view points but kind of a contradiction. He’s probably put more money in his Acura then “it was worth”…and I totally get it, its as he says “a reliable pos”, which is what I see in this car. Overall, I agree with most of his statements, though he admits when it’s time to let a car go is quite subjective. My gut feeling is the car is worth holding on to, as far as I know the engine and tranny are in good shape, the body has 0 rust was never in an accident. My guess is it will survive another 50k+ miles easily, once maintained which will last at least another four to five years. Or is that unrealistic? So $1300 is the ridiculous amortized sum of $22 / month over 5 years, though the car is only worth $1000 or so in present value. This of course makes that assumption that there isn’t some magical force of nature that FL cars turn to crap in the midwest, as my relatives suggest.
Beyond those 2 problems it’s hard to say anything without stuff like codes, vacuum readings, compression readings, etc. Also don’t take my shots in the dark as written law either. Have the car checked out by a GOOD mechanic that knows how to diagnose these kinds of issues. It sounds to me like the car has some sizeable issues and you’ll end up putting it in the shop at some point or another regardless.
I agree, it’s hard to diagnose without looking at some information is it a fuel/ignition/intake/exhaust/mechanical problem? I have a 97 Cougar with the 3.8L (N/A) so I know a little about the engine. I don’t think a tune-up can hurt…it may give you piece of mind even if they don’t cause the main problems. I’d replace the plugs/wires, fuel filter, distributer cap (if it has one) and clean out the MAF sensor (this made a huge difference in my car), replace any bad vacuum lines..etc. Also, I would check the supercharger’s fluid to see if (a) it has lubricant and (b) if it’s in good condition. Make sure their is premium gas in that tank, as stupid as that sounds.
Good Luck!
Beyond those 2 problems it’s hard to say anything without stuff like codes, vacuum readings, compression readings, etc. Also don’t take my shots in the dark as written law either. Have the car checked out by a GOOD mechanic that knows how to diagnose these kinds of issues. It sounds to me like the car has some sizeable issues and you’ll end up putting it in the shop at some point or another regardless.
I agree, it’s hard to diagnose without looking at some information is it a fuel/ignition/intake/exhaust/mechanical problem? I have a 97 Cougar with the 3.8L (N/A) so I know a little about the engine. I don’t think a tune-up can hurt…it may give you piece of mind even if they don’t cause the main problems. I’d replace the plugs/wires, fuel filter, distributer cap (if it has one) and clean out the MAF sensor (this made a huge difference in my car), replace any bad vacuum lines..etc. Also, I would check the supercharger’s fluid to see if (a) it has lubricant and (b) if it’s in good condition. Make sure their is premium gas in that tank, as stupid as that sounds.
Good Luck!
It’s been a long time since I worked on a ’95, but I remember a lot of speedometer needles jumping on the Ford’s during those years. I remember now,the speedometer shops said there was a brass brushing that was not lubricated and wore out in the speedometer head
+1
I have a 97 Cougar with the same problem, though it’s a OBDII car with electronic speed sensors. In my case, it’s so intermittent it doesn’t bother me..it works >99% of the time. I have learned it’s the speedometer itself (it can be resolved by tapping the dash, lol). Apparently, the lubricant in the speedometer does goes bad over the years.
Good luck!
It’s been a long time since I worked on a ’95, but I remember a lot of speedometer needles jumping on the Ford’s during those years. I remember now,the speedometer shops said there was a brass brushing that was not lubricated and wore out in the speedometer head
+1
I have a 97 Cougar with the same problem, though it’s a OBDII car with electronic speed sensors. In my case, it’s so intermittent it doesn’t bother me..it works >99% of the time. I have learned it’s the speedometer itself (it can be resolved by tapping the dash, lol). Apparently, the lubricant in the speedometer does goes bad over the years.
Good luck!
Thoughts on this kind of insidious failure? Similar stories?
I’m interested to hear what you think.Pretty scary failure. Those stainless hose clamps are usually pretty durable parts. Glad you were able to catch the low coolant condition before it matured into something more serious.
On my 1997 Mercury Cougar beater, I have the opposite problem. The low coolant sensor also doesn’t work, or works intermittently in the false positive mode; the dash always reads “low coolant”. I think it is a purely electrical sensor, it appears to work by measuring the resistance between two terminals. However, it seems that Ford didn’t count on Ethylene Glycol vapors to eat away at their weatherproof sensor seal, exposing the circuit components (resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits..etc). Also, it seems that the old green ethylene glycol antifreeze polymerizes into oily goo over the years and coated the overflow reservoir, probably also causing incorrect resistance readings. At least Ford managed to design it to fail in a active manner. I’d replace it if it was easily available.
Anyways, it turned out recently that my thermostat housing decided to randomly wanted leak because the thermostat bolts began rusting out (steel bolts on an aluminum block + 17 years = fail!). So same outcome…inoperable sensor and low coolant.
Thoughts on this kind of insidious failure? Similar stories?
I’m interested to hear what you think.Pretty scary failure. Those stainless hose clamps are usually pretty durable parts. Glad you were able to catch the low coolant condition before it matured into something more serious.
On my 1997 Mercury Cougar beater, I have the opposite problem. The low coolant sensor also doesn’t work, or works intermittently in the false positive mode; the dash always reads “low coolant”. I think it is a purely electrical sensor, it appears to work by measuring the resistance between two terminals. However, it seems that Ford didn’t count on Ethylene Glycol vapors to eat away at their weatherproof sensor seal, exposing the circuit components (resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits..etc). Also, it seems that the old green ethylene glycol antifreeze polymerizes into oily goo over the years and coated the overflow reservoir, probably also causing incorrect resistance readings. At least Ford managed to design it to fail in a active manner. I’d replace it if it was easily available.
Anyways, it turned out recently that my thermostat housing decided to randomly wanted leak because the thermostat bolts began rusting out (steel bolts on an aluminum block + 17 years = fail!). So same outcome…inoperable sensor and low coolant.
Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate your time. It definitely helps to hear from car enthusiasts, I have been pushing her towards the Avalon and the Crown Vic, but I admit I’m biased…
I love my beater ’97 Mercury Cougar that I wrench on occasionally.Thank you barneyb for the Versa’s suggestion but it’s a little bit fishy: first of all $6.5k is already out of our budget and “reserve not yet met” so I have no clue what the actual price they want for it is.
Also the ad is somewhat disingenuous its Autocheck comes back as:
“REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL (Leased Vehicle)
TITLED OR REGISTERED AS A RENTAL VEHICLE, OR PART OF A RENTAL FLEET.”The ad says “I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR MY SON AS HIS FIRST CAR.UNFORTUNATELY THINGS HAVE CHANGED…THIS WAS A LEASED VEHICLE ONE OWNER HISTORY.”
Red flags are popping up everywhere. Also, she is a bit skeptical of “great deal” cars from NY after the major flooding.
Thanks again!
Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate your time. It definitely helps to hear from car enthusiasts, I have been pushing her towards the Avalon and the Crown Vic, but I admit I’m biased…
I love my beater ’97 Mercury Cougar that I wrench on occasionally.Thank you barneyb for the Versa’s suggestion but it’s a little bit fishy: first of all $6.5k is already out of our budget and “reserve not yet met” so I have no clue what the actual price they want for it is.
Also the ad is somewhat disingenuous its Autocheck comes back as:
“REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL (Leased Vehicle)
TITLED OR REGISTERED AS A RENTAL VEHICLE, OR PART OF A RENTAL FLEET.”The ad says “I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR MY SON AS HIS FIRST CAR.UNFORTUNATELY THINGS HAVE CHANGED…THIS WAS A LEASED VEHICLE ONE OWNER HISTORY.”
Red flags are popping up everywhere. Also, she is a bit skeptical of “great deal” cars from NY after the major flooding.
Thanks again!
I have a 1997 model of the 3.8 L with 105,000 miles on her. Overall, my engine runs pretty smoothly but it does have some gimmicky shudders now and then. It’s an old beater, I don’t mind it too much.
Here is my anecdote:
One thing that threw me off for a quite while though has been a mysterious vacuum leak. It’s only just audible under the right conditions and only enough to throw the fuel trims off a bit. Then, just recently I think I have discovered the source…the lower intake manifold gasket because in the cold weather this year it decided to noticeably leak coolant.
I suspect the lean condition caused by the vacuum leak is causing a slight knock in one/some of the cylinders. My engine runs smoother on high octane than regular gas which gives some support to this theory (though this could be for other reasons as well).
A faulty fuel injector certainly could cause a mis-fire as well as your data suggest. Switching the injectors seems like a reasonable test. Though you may want to also check for a vacuum leak, it should be a quick and easy test.
I have a 1997 model of the 3.8 L with 105,000 miles on her. Overall, my engine runs pretty smoothly but it does have some gimmicky shudders now and then. It’s an old beater, I don’t mind it too much.
Here is my anecdote:
One thing that threw me off for a quite while though has been a mysterious vacuum leak. It’s only just audible under the right conditions and only enough to throw the fuel trims off a bit. Then, just recently I think I have discovered the source…the lower intake manifold gasket because in the cold weather this year it decided to noticeably leak coolant.
I suspect the lean condition caused by the vacuum leak is causing a slight knock in one/some of the cylinders. My engine runs smoother on high octane than regular gas which gives some support to this theory (though this could be for other reasons as well).
A faulty fuel injector certainly could cause a mis-fire as well as your data suggest. Switching the injectors seems like a reasonable test. Though you may want to also check for a vacuum leak, it should be a quick and easy test.
Sorry for not positing sooner.
The mechanics found that the fuel pump had indeed failed. It’s one of those in-tank suckers so it was a $700 repair including the tow. It was definitely worth it, considering I don’t have the tools or location to do the job right.
I was really thrown off by the dead battery, I’m not sure what caused it. There were relays clicking like crazy in the suspected anti-theft module just before it was towed away. Yet the battery could only barely illuminate the instrument clusters? I guess this is normal? I’ll look into battery drains as Eric suggests, and I’m really thinking about just going ahead and replacing the battery before it flat out dies and leaves me stranded. It’s closing in on the 6 year mark anyways.
Thanks for your help guys, I truly appreciate it.
Thanks for your comments guys. I really appreciate your help.
The plot has thickened: I ran a +12 V from the battery to the fuel pump via the inertia switch harness and nothing happened. I don’t have a spark tester or a fuel pressure gauge, but I will acquire them for the future. I recently purchased a OBD II scan tool and wanted to see what the computer knows, unfortunately the car battery had completely died by this point, with no apparent load. It appears that a.) the battery is faulty and/or b.) there is a electrical short/sink that is draining the battery. The latter may be related to the circuit that is causing the lack of start. This may indicate that even though I did apply voltage from the battery to the fuel pump, it may not have been at a proper current to run the pump. While sitting in the car, I also heard some erratic clicking noises, perhaps a failing relay?
Unfortunately, this is my only car and I need it so I am going to get some professional help. I hate to admit defeat but I don’t really have the means to fix this car. I’ll keep you posted on what they say.