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Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:03 pm
by wannabe
Image

Fix (have friends do it, not this shop), or drive till dead, or sell for scrap?

(Note: I have no money for a new car, however I do have funds for repairs.)

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:10 pm
by theholycow
Sway bar links are not a catastrophic failure. New ones will help the car handle like it should and be more stable. If you shop online you might get them for $10. They're very easy to install.

Struts, depends on what's wrong with them. They're structurally important so if they're really broken then the car won't be safe or probably driveable at all. If they're just basically worn then handling could be sloppy. I'm going to guess that they were recommended because the shock absorber function was worn out; if so then it's no worse than driving a vehicle with worn shock absorbers. They're probably quite expensive

Radio is obviously entirely your choice.

IAC motor cleaning: Do you have any symptoms? Unstable, unpredictable, or wrong RPM (especially at idle)?

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:17 pm
by tankinbeans
If you have the money for repairs you'd be served well to fix these things. They don't seem too scary to me. Work your way down the list from most pressing to least pressing.

The radio is a no-brainer. Buy an aftermarket unit and have a friend, or you (if you're so inclined), install it. It shouldn't be too difficult nor expensive.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:41 pm
by Squint
tankinbeans wrote:The radio is a no-brainer. Buy an aftermarket unit and have a friend, or you (if you're so inclined), install it. It shouldn't be too difficult nor expensive.
Especially if you can buy it used from someone - seriously cheap that way.

However, that should be lower on the list than all the rest of the car repairs.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:50 pm
by AHTOXA
Unless your swaybar links are broken and dangling, I'd leave them for last.

I'd probably replace struts as the priority item if you were going to keep the car for a while. Depending on how badly they are worn, they can be dangerous and costly in the long run. If they are worn so badly that the car continues to bounce down the road after hitting a decent bump, they need replaced. When it's that bad, the tire can be bouncing quite a bit, while the whole car itself feels very floaty. This results in far greater stopping distances, particularly over bumpy road, because the tire isn't in constant contact with the ground as it's designed to be. Also, your tire is at risk of increased wear - uneven wear - as the shocks are no longer doing their function.

So if I had to keep the car on the road, I'd do the struts first, barring any other severe issues and go from there.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 5:06 pm
by tankinbeans
Squint wrote:
tankinbeans wrote:The radio is a no-brainer. Buy an aftermarket unit and have a friend, or you (if you're so inclined), install it. It shouldn't be too difficult nor expensive.
Especially if you can buy it used from someone - seriously cheap that way.

However, that should be lower on the list than all the rest of the car repairs.
I meant to imply that, but didn't communicate the implication clearly.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 5:44 pm
by theholycow
Squint wrote:
tankinbeans wrote:The radio is a no-brainer. Buy an aftermarket unit and have a friend, or you (if you're so inclined), install it. It shouldn't be too difficult nor expensive.
Especially if you can buy it used from someone - seriously cheap that way.

However, that should be lower on the list than all the rest of the car repairs.
Honestly, I've had good results with ultra-cheap off-brand radios that promise a ton of features. They're not audiophile quality nor can they drive huge subs without an amp, but they tend to sound as good as a mid-level OEM stereo from the 2000's. I suspect that a $25 Walmart radio would be decent enough (and easy to return if not!).
AHTOXA wrote:Unless your swaybar links are broken and dangling, I'd leave them for last.
My theory is that they are not broken but are rusted enough that the shop knew they'd break while trying to take stuff apart to replace the struts.

That's another thing...the strut job is probably going to reveal a few seized parts that will break during the job.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:54 am
by watkins
Old car suspension is the devil.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:41 am
by theholycow
watkins wrote:Old car suspension is the devil.
How about 34 year old, 100,000 mile old-school domestic boat suspension? :lol:

Actually I think my front shock absorbers might have been replaced at some point, and I replaced the rears last year. Also did front wheel bearings. Might do some preventative front end work this summer but it's not looking too likely.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:25 am
by wannabe
AHTOXA wrote:Unless your swaybar links are broken and dangling, I'd leave them for last.

I'd probably replace struts as the priority item if you were going to keep the car for a while. Depending on how badly they are worn, they can be dangerous and costly in the long run. If they are worn so badly that the car continues to bounce down the road after hitting a decent bump, they need replaced. When it's that bad, the tire can be bouncing quite a bit, while the whole car itself feels very floaty. This results in far greater stopping distances, particularly over bumpy road, because the tire isn't in constant contact with the ground as it's designed to be. Also, your tire is at risk of increased wear - uneven wear - as the shocks are no longer doing their function.

So if I had to keep the car on the road, I'd do the struts first, barring any other severe issues and go from there.
shop said the front sway bar links are broken, back are loose.

Struts you can hear when the car is turning, they're shot and need to be fully replaced.

I think my uncle did my rear ones, he'd probably do my fronts as well.

only thing on the rradio is that it don't light up. i know what stations my presets are, this is really no big deal. and i know the local stations well enough that i can find them again if the battery were to be replaced.

(all of GR, MI is bumpy road. in some places theres no smooth spot to drive on (in either lane!) to get across a spot....)

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:32 am
by wannabe
theholycow wrote:
Squint wrote:
tankinbeans wrote:The radio is a no-brainer. Buy an aftermarket unit and have a friend, or you (if you're so inclined), install it. It shouldn't be too difficult nor expensive.
Especially if you can buy it used from someone - seriously cheap that way.

However, that should be lower on the list than all the rest of the car repairs.
Honestly, I've had good results with ultra-cheap off-brand radios that promise a ton of features. They're not audiophile quality nor can they drive huge subs without an amp, but they tend to sound as good as a mid-level OEM stereo from the 2000's. I suspect that a $25 Walmart radio would be decent enough (and easy to return if not!).
AHTOXA wrote:Unless your swaybar links are broken and dangling, I'd leave them for last.
My theory is that they are not broken but are rusted enough that the shop knew they'd break while trying to take stuff apart to replace the struts.

That's another thing...the strut job is probably going to reveal a few seized parts that will break during the job.
re: the radio. idk if you've seen an escort (or tracer) radio, but its a radio/climate control all-in-one dealie. weird. idk. i don' tmind it, i'd just like my clock to work. but thats what celll phones are for!

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:52 am
by tankinbeans
There are probably plenty of 96-02 Escorts/Tracers in the junkyard and you should be able to find a cheap stock unit.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:16 am
by theholycow
wannabe wrote:re: the radio. idk if you've seen an escort (or tracer) radio, but its a radio/climate control all-in-one dealie. weird. idk. i don' tmind it, i'd just like my clock to work. but thats what celll phones are for!
Like this?
Image

It's still a separate unit, but it does have that integrated faceplate...a non-stock radio would require ugly hacking but is probably still possible, assuming there's sufficient space for it. Otherwise you could end up mounting an aftermarket radio on a bracket somewhere else.

Anyway, I agree with tankinbeans, at that point if you must replace it then get a stock one at a junkyard.

You could get an aftermarket clock and stick it to the dash. They're like $5 in the car bling aisle at Walmart, next to the ricey pedal covers, shift knobs, and window tint.

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:29 am
by tankinbeans
You elitest. Showing an Escort of that vintage with a CASSETTE deck. How dare you!?

My dad's 99 didn't have one of those! :wink:

Re: Escort problems, pic

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:05 pm
by ClutchFork
tankinbeans wrote:You elitest. Showing an Escort of that vintage with a CASSETTE deck. How dare you!?

My dad's 99 didn't have one of those! :wink:

Hey, but for the color that Escort looks just like the one I have at my house (notice I didn't say own, not with that funky lever in the middle) even down to the cassette deck. :lol: