1984 Ford Tempo GL 2.3L 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Economical, reliable, comfortable, attractive car

Faults:

The 1984 model was carbureted. This led to difficulties during extreme cold where I lived in northern Minnesota.

The cold also killed the cruise control by causing a vac line to disconnect.

The lug nuts holding the wheels were capped with stainless covers. These rusted out after about 100,000 miles and needed to be replaced.

The magnetic clutch on the A/C compressor died at 98,000 miles. (A/C was not essential in the north country; I never had it fixed.)

General Comments:

I really liked this car and kept it for ten years. It had 164,000 miles on it when I traded it in on a 1993 Tempo.

It was solid, had good amenities and economical to operate. I got 30 MPG @ 50 MPH, 28 @ 55, 25 @ 60. I could measure these quite closely thanks to the stopwatch in the dash and the cruise control.

The final cost figure was $25,000 to own and operate for ten years. The purchase price was $10,000, or 38% of the total. This worked out to $0.16/mile or $7.48/day.

Not bad, eh?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th October, 2010

9th Oct 2010, 22:08

I couldn't personally call the Tempo "attractive", but you'll get no argument on the reliability. We've owned a lot of Fords and a few imports. A well-cared-for Ford will easily last two or three times as long as any import due to the better materials, higher build quality and stronger drive trains. Even in '84 Ford build quality was higher than any import. The new ones are MUCH higher. We now own two Fords and I find them to be totally flawless in every respect. The only thing I really miss about our imports is the fact that they DID give me something to do on weekends... namely putting them back together after they fell apart!!

In reply to 9th Oct 2010, 22:08

11th Sep 2021, 17:55

I had an 84 Ford Tempo, absolutely the worst car I ever owned. Transmission out 24k miles, front end needed rebuilding at 30k miles, head gasket at 40k, clutch, replaced engine at 60k, thank goodness my daughter totaled it at 65k. Haven't owned an American car since; 94 Honda I sold with 317k miles, and my 2000 Toyota now has 260k miles, runs great.

1984 Ford Tempo GL 2.3 gas from North America

Summary:

Sure glad I was able to save the car

Faults:

I replaced the heater core.

General Comments:

Just a sweet little car. Lots of fun to drive and very good on gas.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd May, 2010

23rd May 2010, 04:47

"save the car? It was 21 years old with less than 25K miles on it when you got it.

What were you saving it from?

24th May 2010, 10:48

Presumably he was saving it from either the junk yard or the clutches of some teenager who would destroy it.

1984 Ford Tempo GL 2.3 from North America

Summary:

Good little un-exciting car; I miss it

Faults:

Rack and pinion / pump.

Passenger side axle.

General Comments:

Feeling nostalgic about a car I haven't owned in over 10 years. We acquired a 1984 Tempo GL from my wife's grandmother in 1987 with only 3,000 miles on the odometer. It was loaded: power everything, and had the sporty metric wheels (though buying tires was a pain - Michelin, special order only).

There were a few problems during the first 40,000 miles of ownership. Every time it rained, the car would stall. Found out there was a design flaw in the distributor cap, got a new one that had a built-in air vent and never had the problem again.

The power steering system went south before odometer registered 50K.

Also, this model year had a two-piece axle shaft that was famous for coming apart - and ours was no different.

Once these items were addressed, this car was a dream. The engine itself was a work-horse, with a timing chain instead of a belt. It wasn't much for power, but it ran great and never burned a drop of oil.

We owned it for over 10 years with no further repair issues other than normal maintenance. At 150,000 the transmission blew and I decided to part with it. I miss this car terribly.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th January, 2010