Faults:
Timing belt tensioner faulty at 125,000 miles.
Timing belt tensioner pulley blew up at 125,000 miles.
Idler pulley blew up at 125000 miles.
Head gasket went at 85,000 miles.
Water pump seized at 90,000 miles killing the timing belt and bending valves $$$$ bad interference design.
Passenger rear side hatch drainage tube pinched off improperly with factory adhesive tape causing blockage and then causing major leak when wet.
Driver door will not lock or unlock from outside.
Various exhaust heat shield rattles.
Clunk sound coming from driver rear area, all suspension components seem fine however.
Plugs and wires keep breaking, maybe from excessive heat from ignition system? 7mm wires too small?
Horn won't work properly, sounds like a clown horn.
Driver door handle broke off.
General Comments:
I just spent my weekend replacing the idler pulley that blew up, and the tensioner pulley that blew up on my 95 Talon Esi.. both blew at the same time. I noticed lots of heat stress and discoloration on the parts. I replaced the tensioner and was lucky the car was still running after the failure, but barely.
I replaced my timing belt 5000 miles ago and now again with the water pump and these bearings. The design of this engine works great in a Neon, but not in this car. There is no room to work on the timing belt because the car was never really designed for this engine in the first place.
You will have to replace the head gasket, your power windows will stop working, your horn will start sounding goofy, your driver door handle will break, your heat shields on the exhaust pipes will rattle and there will be a postal strike... all things you can count on.
28th Sep 2004, 07:08
If you car can reach 160mph, I'll eat my hat!