"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
02/18/2019 at 12:00 • Filed to: car buying, car shopping, mustang
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"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
02/18/2019 at 12:00 • Filed to: car buying, car shopping, mustang | 4
| 6 |
Yup, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! she was looking at earlier. She likes it!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
As mentioned in the earlier post, she spotted this fresh trade-in before the dealer had a chance to go through fixing a bunch of stuff on it. Before making a final decision, s he had them go ahead and do their usual interior & exterior detailing, and take care of a few particular items (like an inop fuel gauge which involved sending the cluster out to be rebuilt) .
Once it was ready for her to come back and look at, I accompanied her and got behind the wheel for another test drive. The car seemed to drive just fine except for an extremely distracting belt squeal. I don’t remember hearing that on the previous test drive...
I pulled over, figuring that the detailer probably just accidentally got some shine on the belt when he went through the engine compartment. But lo and behold, the belt had slipped right off of the idler pulley and was barely making enough contact to drive the other accessories.
After shutting the engine off, I reached in and... slid the belt back onto the idler . Waitaminute, I shouldn’t be able to do that by hand! Something else is going on here. Was the belt not routed properly? Hard to say, since there was no belt diagram to be found under the hood. So we took it back before the engine had a chance to get hot enough to need the water pump .
Annoying for sure, but hardly a dealbreaker. Even if it does need a belt and tensioner, that’s an easy job and less than $100 in parts. Besides, during an earlier test drive, she had already gotten it up to temperature to help expose any operating temp-related issues. So I’m not entirely sure why we even bothered with this second test-drive. But hey, it alerted us to the belt issue, so it was well worth the (short) trip.
She locked in her price, and returned a third time with her license plate to transfer, finalize paperwork, and take delivery. In the meantime, the dealer took it upon themselves to address the belt issue at no additional cost. They ended up replacing the tensioner, idler pulley, and belt.
Curiously, when she brought it to me to show off the car with its shiny new parts, we found the old belt just sitting right on top of the engine. Someone must have been in too much of a hurry to dispose of it, I guess. The damage to the belt was minimal though, so she’s keeping it as an emergency spare.
All in all, I have to admit, I was surprised. She kept emphasizing that she wanted “a reliable car”, and while there are plenty of other good options out there, it was my long-term relationship with my ’95 that encouraged her to consider getting one too.
I hopes it turns out to be as reliable as she hopes. There’s no service history except for one recent oil change and the rest of the items that the dealer took care of. And being an unmodified V6 automatic convertible model, her ’04 is about as different from my ’95 as a SN95 can get. But it’s in good shape, and less rusty than mine underneath. It’s hard not to be envious of that!
jimz
> Urambo Tauro
02/18/2019 at 12:25 |
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I don’t know if the Essex’s head gasket woes had been taken care of by then, but if you ever need to do them use Cometic multi-layer-steel gaskets. Those will last forever.
MLS gaskets pretty much ended the problems with aluminum heads on iron blocks.
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Urambo Tauro
> jimz
02/18/2019 at 12:46 |
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Rumor has it there was some sort of update in ’96, and another in ’99... I never did get to the bottom of what the underlying issue actually was (improper torquing? gasket material?) but Ford seemed to have finally figured it out for the New Edge models.
My old ’94 Cougar (NA) had to have them replaced though. Both sides had failures between one or more cylinders and the water jackets. I seem to recall using a Fel-Pro kit, new head bolts, and resurfaced heads. Didn’t keep the car long after that.
Nick Has an Exocet
> Urambo Tauro
02/18/2019 at 12:49 |
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My brother had this identical car without the convertible. It was a crapbox because he treated it that way. If she takes care of it (or if you do), it should be fine. It’s just not that exciting.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Urambo Tauro
02/18/2019 at 15:24 |
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“Curiously, when she brought it to me to show off the car with its shiny new parts, we found the old belt just sitting right on top of the engine.”
I’ve experienced bullshit like that too. It really makes me wonder about some mechanics that they can’t do such simple things right... like disposing a worn belt.
Personally I don’t think she should bother keeping the old belt as a spare. If she wants a spare, she should just spend a few bucks and keep a new belt on hand as a spare.
“She kept emphasizing that she wanted “a reliable car”,”
Meh... people saying one thing and doing another is very common. Though she could do worse than a V6 Mustang. At least she didn’t get an Audi Allroad or an old BMW 7 series.
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Urambo Tauro
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
02/18/2019 at 17:05 |
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I should have taken a picture before touching the “spare” belt. It was pretty much all on top of the intake, but I can’t remember if one edge was starting to droop towards the accessories yet or not. It was probably just a matter of time...
My main concern reliability-wise right now is the transmission. It’s not showing any signs of failure, but who knows if the fluid was ever changed. I’d like to drop the pan at some point and see if the factory dust plug is still rolling arou nd in there. Maybe I’ll even talk her into a mild shift kit (J-mod) to help extend its life.
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Urambo Tauro
02/18/2019 at 17:12 |
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Just test the transmission with a few 5000rpm neutral drops.
If it doesn’t break, it’s okay.
If it explodes, well then I’d say there’s an issue.
/jk