23rd Jul 2006, 03:30
Unless these guys' cars were made on a friday night or something, I don't see what's wrong.
My 1990 Tempo has 287,000 kms, the engine burns no oil and tranny is flawless.
I have replaced two annoying motor mounts, which was a disappointment, but other than that, nothing.
I am a psycho 22 year old male drive and I have had this car four years. It has been in four accidents and I rev the heck out of the engine constantly. If any car really can take more beatings than this thing and still last, I want to see it.
17th Jan 2007, 17:04
My rare 1990 Sky blue tempo, the rare part is the driver’s air bag, has 307,000 miles on it. It uses 2-quarts of oil every 3000 miles.
The transmission fluid and fuel filter is changed every 45,000-miles.
I got it in 1996 used with 98,000-miles on it.
It had been ran into the ground. Both transmission mounts were broken and the O2 sensor was making the car cut out and jerk real bad. I fixed both.
Also the top of the head was covered in oil sludge. The previous owner never changed the oil. I changed the oil and filter every 2,000-miles and after about 30,000-miles all the sludge had been digested and caught by the filter. (Take your oil filler cap off and shine a flash light down in the hole and look at the headbolts to measurer sludge build up.
Around 140,000 miles the Alternator went, passenger side outer tie rod end got worn.
160,000 miles the A/C o-rings were leaking and the starter solenoid went out.
At 240,000 miles the timing chain cover oil gasket started to leak. I just tightened the bolts and the leak went 95% away.
The car still have the original engine, transmission, all pumps, radiators- radiator, evaporator, heater core.
I did put in two new headlamps a few years ago as the sun has faded the original ones out.
The car does not spark knock and the speed o-meter cable does not make noise like some other Tempos that I have driven in the family.
Tempos are excellent cars. I plan to drive mine till the timing chain breaks or the transmission goes out and then I will look for another one with around 100,000 miles on it.
Most cars would have never made it past 150,000 miles with out a transmission going out or dropping a valve and blowing up the engine.
The tempos with the 2.3 OHV engine are excellent and all of the automatic transmission are great, but they do sometimes have a few hiccups.
(ATX) Batavia, (ATX) Toyo Koqyo, ATX (Mazda), and the FLC (Batavia) are all great.
I’d buy another tempo in a heart beat.
15th Jun 2005, 18:18
It is not good to put down a car because a mechanic can't properly diagnose a problem. For instance, I have 207,000 kilometers on my 1990 Tempo, and it is still using the original alternator. Sounds to me like the regulator is the problem. You should figure something fishy after the second alternator 'went'!
Parts like tie rod ends, mufflers, brakes, etc will wear out over time; I don't care if you drive a Ferrari! Maintenance is the key, and keep abuse to a minimum.
If you are not mechanically inclined, you better have a brother who is a mechanic, or you will get soaked by a shop for repairs that aren't needed. I have MANY stories to tell you about fraudulent shops!