1997 Ford Thunderbird LX from North America - Comments

The intake manifold failed by cracking at 40,000 miles and was replaced under a recall. Unfortunately the replacement installed by the dealer was made of the same composite material. At 78000 miles while my wife was driving it one day the car overheated as a result of a crack in the intake manifold. My wife did not stop as soon as she should have and as a result the heads got warped and the dealer suggested replacing the whole engine at over $4000. Called Ford headquarters to complain and was not allowed to talk to management about the issue. Now at 110,000 miles the car has a tapping noise in the front suspension which is being caused by a worn out control arm and ball joint assembly. It turns out that this assembly is crimped into place during assembly of the car in such a way that it cannot be lubricated during periodic oil changes. The expectation was that the original lubrication packed in prior to the crimping of the assembly would last for ever, but nor so in the case of my right upper and lower assembly which will cost $800 to replace. The only other thing this car has had go bad is an occasional squeaking noise the dash which one dealer determined it was from a crack in the dash which would rub up against the firewall when going over bumps. Several other dealers could not figure this out while the car was under warranty. Otherwise this car has been great from a reliability stand point. It is a shame that a couple of engineering mistakes is keeping me from giving this car high praise for reliability. It is more disturbing that no one in their headquarters will talk to me about it.

This has been a great car to drive considering what was available back in 1997. It definitely had the best combination of a sports car and a car that the family could use in a daily basis if you did not mind it only having two doors. The acceleration was pretty good for a car of its day and the handling was great. It is a car that is very fun to drive and ride. The cost was very reasonable considering the four wheel independent suspension and all the extras included when ordering with the sports package.

I had the same problem, however I did end up paying the $5000 to replace the engine. after a year with messing around with the ford dealership and talking to people at headquarters I just said **** it and got a new engine. still a nice car!

I replaced the upper control arms myself at a cost of about160 dollars. That was for the control arms and a ratcheting type box wrench from sears. That was the first time I ever did that type of work. It wasn't so bad just time consuming. You can get moog uppers with grease fittings for about 63 dollars each side. I will soon be doing the lowers which I got for about 115 for both sides. It is a nice car but these parts do wear out. Hope that everything is well now and enjoy your car.