1986 Ford Tempo GL Basic from North America - Comments

I got the car for $1.00 from my elderly uncle who bought the car new.

So far I have put 13,000 miles on the car with not one issue. (Total miles is 75,000 now)

As soon as I got the car I had all the filters and fluids changed. My uncle says that the car has never had anything done to it since new, other than oil changes.

I am very leery of this car as I see none on the streets and I am trying to research them on the web, but I can’t find anything on the Diesel Tempo.

If you have any info please post it as a commit.

The car is very hard to start sometimes, but I just turn the key off and back on and then it will finally start.

The exhaust is very smelly and puts out tons of black smoke if I floor it.

I am getting 43 mpg over all. Saving me tons of money.

The car has virtually no get up and go.

For a smaller car, it has lots of foot room and a huge trunk.

The engine makes tons of noise.

The car is 21-years old and the paint looks brand new, but the car has been kept inside since new.

The car will stop on a dime and turn very sharp in parking lots.

The Tempo diesel engine is the same one that was in the Escort as well during the eighties. I think it was a 2.0 Mazda Diesel engine, so that may help you in your search. Those things got phenomenal mileage:)

Diesel engines have glow plugs. On newer cars this means that you can start them like a gas car. On older diesels, this means you may have to wait 5, 10, or even 30 seconds for a small light in your dash to go off. Then your engine is ready to start. The glow plugs heat up the cylinders to start the engine, because compression in a diesel engine is high and hard for a starter to overcome. Your engine puts lots of black smoke out the tailpipe under high load because that is a normal diesel characteristic (all right, lots of smoke means you may need to check the oil for cleanliness or get the injectors fixed). I have driven one of these before, and other than injector problems, they are fine, reliable cars that should go for a long time. Except for the engine, which is a reliable Mazda unit, the parts are pure Tempo. Easy to find, and easy to replace.