1988 Ford Tempo GL review from North America

Muffler & tail pipe.

Catalytic converter.

Front brake pads & rotors.

Rear brake pads & drums.

Emergency brake cable.

Left coil springs (shocks)

Bottom 1 1/2 inches of the doors are rusting off.

Left & right front tie-rod ends.

Right wheel bearing (we couldn't replace it with out special equipment so we got a used hub assembly from a junk yard)

Oil leaks.

I bought my car for 200 dollars, it came with a wheelchair carrier on top which I sold for 230.

I replaced the muffler and pipe. 60$

It turned out that the noise was not just because the attacher on the tail pipe had rusted off, but because the catalytic converter was cracked and appeared to have been welded to the extension pipe by the previous owners. 2 months after I had replaced the muffler, the extension pipe fell off the catalytic converter. The bolts that attached it jangled on the pavement. I took it to a garage around the corner and got a new catalytic converter installed. The extension pipe got bent while jangling, causing it to knock/vibrate against the frame, I took it back and they heated it up and bent it so it would clear the car. ~200$

Loud singing sound on the left front tire at 30 mph. Stopped on a Sunday night. I drove slowly 3 miles to a gas station. The noise was a chinging sound each time the tire turned. No garages were open and the sound had stopped when I left the gas station. A different sound started after 15 miles. Drove 100 miles home, the sound came and went, it made more noise in turns. Took the car to the garage, got the brakes replaced, left front & back coil springs from a junk yard and the emergency brake cable reconnected. ~650$

The sound continued, or maybe it was one of many scraping sounds that I couldn't tell apart before. I also couldn't tell what side it was on. The garage said I need to to replace my left wheel bearing. Took the car to my parents (150 miles), found out that the hub assembly is held on with pressure and requires a special machine to change the bearing. Decided to buy the whole hub unit from a junk yard. We replaced the right tie-rod end while we were there. The ball bearings where very damaged, there was about an ounce of scraped metal that had bent into a squiggle. The bearing case had grooved the inside of the hub extensively. (when we first jacked up the car the tire could be rocked from side to side) 65$

The car was pulling to the left, now it might be pulling to the right. It's hard to find a flat straight road where I live. The steering wheel kicks a bit on bumps, an article on the internet suggest that the caster might be too negative...

When I bought the car the tires on the front were too small, this may have helped cause the tie-rod/bearings problems. I should have replaced them sooner.

The seat seems to be made for people with short upper bodies, the back support is too low.

Some mechanics told me that the oil gasket/valve on tempos tend to leak. I have to get oil changes more often than seems right.

Car rolls pretty fast when put in drive, about 5-10 mph.

I wish the car had overdrive. I do a lot of high way driving, one more speed would cut down on the RPMs at highway speed. I haven't been able to get better than 25 miles to the gallon.

I use the car for long trips every few months. It runs fine and starts when it's below zero. I hope no new problems turn up for at least another 5 months..