The plastic intake manifold cracked at the heater core return line, causing coolant to fill the #3 spark plug hole and grounding the spark plug. Coolant steam fogged over the windshield and almost caused an accident. Ford had initially recalled these intake manifolds, then decided to indemnify only their fleet customers.
The driver side door is beginning to sag and will need to be re-hung.
When new, this car performed beautifully; but it was poorly engineered and will not last much longer despite meticulous care and upkeep.
Yep, same here. I can't keep mine on the road and it's 7 years old.
I bought mine with 88000 miles on her last year. I did have to replace a belt or two, got new tires this year. She is a dream to drive,. and she smokes all the " ricers with fart cans, no prob, and she even smoked my " 95 Camaro.. she is gorgeous, as new looking Grey leather interior, and is a gorgeous opal color. She has the spoiler, sunroof, power seats, nice Bose sound system, and EVERYTHING works like new!
I have never found a better car, especially not for what I paid for her, as she was in showroom condition, I paid a mere 3900! Everybody wants her, but she is mine... all mine.
I couldn't disagree more with the original poster. Although I had the same trouble with the intake manifold, the car is running as good today as it did brand new.
Other than the intake manifold, I haven't had a bit of trouble (with a little less than meticulous maintenance.) I keep test driving new cars thinking it's time to trade it in, but I haven't found a thing I like to drive better than my Cougar.
Oh my goodness, I agree with the original poster. My sisters car had the exact same problem, it was a big mess! My dad and I replaced the intake manifold and it was doing good. Along with the shocks and struts.
Now it has 150,000 miles on it, and the 4th cylinder is shot!! 3k to fix it, and she still owes 2k on it. Everyone in the family loved the car when she first got it, lots of power, (probably why the 4th cylinder is shot now) showroom condition, actually it was on the showroom floor, She bought it used. I must admit it's a beautiful car!!
Now its proving to be a bigger pain than what it's worth. To fix the 4th cylinder it's going to cost more than what the car is now worth. It was her first car and is a little beat up now. I believe she got it in 2001. What was once her pride and joy is now the pain in her neck. What a shame.
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