1995 Ford Escort LX 1.9L SEFI 5 speed

Summary:

Will run like crap forever

Faults:

Oil pan: 32,000 miles.

Alternator: 78,000 miles.

Cooling fans: 109,000 miles.

EGR valve: 115,000 miles.

Distributor: 127,000 miles.

Oil pan (again) : 135,000 miles.

Lifter/valve knock: 156,000 miles.

Burning oil (blue smoke) : 178,000 miles.

General Comments:

Car is good on gas and is still somewhat reliable, but is on its last legs.

I beat the hell out of this car too, and it always starts first try.

It rattles around wherever I go.

I am still on the original clutch.

Car will be seeing 200,000 miles hopefully soon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 25th December, 2008

13th Aug 2009, 15:42

Are you sure about replacing the distributor, because if it's the 1995 LX with the 1.9 engine, it doesn't have one. Do you have the DOHC 1.8 engine?

13th Aug 2009, 15:48

If this is the 1.9L engine, the oil pan isn't the old-style stamped steel one, it's cast aluminum, and seems pretty tough, are you off-roading much? The only thing I can see is physical impact, a stripped oil drain plug isn't the car's problem, but it can be fixed without a pan replacement.

13th Aug 2009, 18:45

I like it, the classic double-edged sword! "It runs like crap, but at least it runs forever." Nice. I'm curious... do you want to beat it to death, or make it last as long as possible?

BTW, you can fix a stripped drain plug without replacing the pan. You can cut new threads and use an oversized plug, or you can coat the stripped threads with oil-resistant epoxy to restore the threads, or install a heli-coil. There are easier ways than replacing the whole pan.

1995 Ford Escort GT 1.8 DOHC 16v I4

Summary:

A worthwhile buy, if you don't mind giving up a few things

Faults:

There is an unstoppable oil leak that should have made me think twice about buying this car.

My front end parts seem to have gone out all at once. That was probably from not getting the alignment done until later.

My CD player is glitching all the time.

The ride is as rough as it gets. "Sport" suspension is hard, but at least it pays dividends in cornering.

The seats are numbness-inducing after a few hundred kilometers, more so than usual.

The engine layout is awful, and even an oil change is an exciting and potentially scalding adventure.

The rear spoiler is just spoiling to rattle off the car all the time.

No sound insulation. Literally.

The high gearing makes this car zippy but not particularly economical, especially on the highway.

The air conditioning unit really decreases mileage and strains the engine.

Every part that wears out is impossible to find now, or if you can find it, said parts are expensive. The part that is causing the oil leak, an engine-oil cooler & the gasket that sticks it to the block, are absolutely unavailable to me.

The engine runs so cool that in wintertime it has no extra heat to go to the passenger compartment. NOT a winter car.

General Comments:

Now that I've let the air out of this car's sails, let me put some back in.

The engine is a gem, revving smoothly, running right up to the 7000 RPM redline as new. It accelerates with authority.

The rough suspension and hard seats make long trips a bit of a chore, but the cruise control helps, and it works fairly well.

The manual transmission is great, if a bit on the short side.

There is a lot more space than I expected to find in such a small car. The cargo area is capable of moving all of my stuff at once, with only minimal squeezing.

I bought the car with the oil leak, assuming I could fix it. Having found that I can't (3 silicone gaskets later), I'm resigned to the fact that I will own this cold but cool car for however long it takes until something really big breaks. It may take a very long time. At least I'll be getting good fuel economy while I own it. This car gets 400km per tank in town and 600km per tank on the open road.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th October, 2008

16th Oct 2008, 08:12

"The engine runs so cool that in wintertime it has no extra heat to go to the passenger compartment."

Perhaps you are running with no thermostat, or at least one that is too cool. In any event, it is not good to consistently drive an engine without allowing it to get up to full operating temperature. I would investigate this.