1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo review from North America

Rear brake slider pins were seized. I drove it for a couple of years and didn't even know until I went to change the brake pads. Brake shop told me the pins and brackets were discontinued and would cost $1000. Did some research, went to Ford and ordered the correct part for $25 each. Replaced the pins myself and the car stops WAY better than it did when I bought it. Gotta say, those 4 wheel ABS brakes stop GREAT!

Upped the boost to 18 PSI and began blowing off the turbo to intercooler hose. The stock turbo pressure is 10PSI so I can't really say this was a fault of the car. Got a new hose and it's been fine since.

19000Km the car would suddenly start to buck and stall. Turned out to be a bad TFI module. This is apparently a common fault with the Ford ignition system. Replaced the module with another Ford unit (not aftermarket) and it's been running fine since.

21000Km the ABS brakes quit working. Turned out to be a bad relay driving the pump in the ABS master cylinder. Had to diagnose it myself because the mechanics had no idea. Total cost was $30.

24000Km Relay to the primary electric fan failed causing the car to severely overheat. (pretty common)

Biggest Fault with this car --- Most mechanics don't understand a turbocharged system and don't know how to troubleshoot. Give up finding a service station to diagnose and repair this car. Even three Ford dealers were of no help. (Hint: do NOT start replacing the electronics and computers on this car. Most problems are simple)

Also, had NO luck with aftermarket parts. Use ONLY original factory Ford parts. ESPECIALLY with the ignition systems and sensors.

I really love this car. Car and Driver rated it the car of the year and I have to agree.

The stock sway bars, auto adjusting suspension, spring rates, limited slip rear differential and 4 wheel disk brakes were the best Ford had to offer that year. It makes this a great handling car! Especially when you put on some 50 series V rated tires.

The interior is fantastic! Instrumentation is well laid out and all the controls and buttons are right where I want them.

The 8 way power cloth seats have faded from black to blue, but have held up very well and I can always find that comfortable riding position which isn't always easy in most cars because of my bad back.

The gadgets on this car a great! It has every option I can think of and then some. Like they said, "It's an electronic dream machine"

This is definitely a car for the open road. I wouldn't recommend this engine for the city. The 2.3 Turbo actually had more power than the 5.0 for that year, but I find the bottom end sometimes lagging. Once you're on the open road you can wind it out and the 5.0's just can't keep up. I know, I've raced a couple.

Like I said, I love this car. I've had this car 6 years and I just finished doing a total restoration/rebuild on it. It's a keeper.