Transmission mount, ignition cylinder.
Knew this car had these problems when I only paid $2500 for it!
Stupid deer hit it and now it has a '88 Topaz-sourced fender and '94 Tempo-sourced turning-light. Still drives good. Insurance was no help. Total cost of repairs: about $110. New (old?) fender is white and the rest of the car is blue.
GREAT CAR! I love this Tempo. It has gone 6800 miles and has never missed a beat. The tranny mount was replaced last night, cost $35 for the mount, $40 for the labor.
The ignition cylinder was more an annoyance than a real problem. Cost $40 for a new one, $10 for labor.
Other than that, oil changes and a minor tune-up and that's all for maintenance/repairs.
Installed a K&N filtercharger, helps out at higher speed acceleration (60-90, etc), 6-disk CD changer, driving lights, 15 inch rims from an Escort GT, performance tires, and two Kicker 8's and an amp.
Plan on new paint, nicer rims/tires, and new brakes.
So far, MUCH better than my Tercel, Sentra, Civic, Mazda truck, or even my '87 Taurus GL. Best car I have ever owned. It performs MUCH better than most people give it credit for. I've seen a few of them flying down the interstate, 90 mph+. I know mine can do that, and for the MPG it gets, it's not half bad. It's a fully loaded GL model, all power options but no V6 or tach. If you're thinking about one, GET IT! Make sure you have a mechanic check it out before you settle on any one car. I did, and it saved me from a few lemons and I ended up with this GREAT car.
I would definitely have to disagree to your claim that a Tempo can be fast. I own a '90 and it is one of the slowest cars on the road. The Tempo will do 0-60 in about 13.5 seconds and who knows its top speed, because the speedo stops at 85, I'd guess around 110 (but that's probably overestimation). Now this is from the automatic (3 speed), which I see you also have, so anyone with an MT (5 speed) will be quite a bit faster considering the 2 more gears and better transmission of power through the MT. The Taurus you owned was faster than your Tempo (I know this for a fact since my folks have one, '93 wagon with the 3.0).
One last thing the only thing that the K&N air filter does is give you better gas mileage and maybe 1 or 2 hp which is unnoticable. To really make a diffrence you must increase the air flow in as well as the air flow out of the engine. Want to make more power? Try a cold air intake, exhaust manifold (if you can find one) and exhaust system (again if it could be found) which would make about 20-25hp bringing it to a whopping 110-115hp. There are much better cars to work on that are much more comfortable and reliable.
This is John, the original poster:
The '94 4 cyl I had was plenty fast with the K&N. Around town, it was nothing, but 70+, it was great. The car would bury the speedometer SO quick, it wasn't funny. Now I own a '92 LX V6, and its top speed is 127.
Yes, my 4-cyl Tempo was fast compared to the Tercel, Civic, Sentra, and yes even the heavy Taurus I owned before. The Tempo is lighter and therefore quicker. I could easily outrun a 3.0 Taurus (non-SHO) in either car. Don't get me wrong, I like the Taurus, but I think the Tempo is better.
My parents have a 1997 Mercury Sable and I KNOW my '92 Tempo is faster. The Sable is governed at 112, the Tempo at 127. Same engine, one less gear in the Tempo. If the Tempo had overdrive, I'd bet it'd be even faster.
The 92 gls has a 5 speed, and will do 0-60 in 7.8 seconds stock. that's fact, you can go check car and driver. small car + V6 + beefy 5 speed = you figure it out.
The Tempo is very fast for a "tempo". I bought this one from a car lot and thought to my self this little granny car will save me lots of gas... Then I got it out on the highway and realize this thing will fly. A friend of mine said "this is the zippyest little 2cyl I have ever seen." Face it people the Tempo is an angry little bumblebee. I can also most shift the automatic tranny manual and get it to catch second. Awesome little car!
"...zippyest little 2cyl" eh?
Just think how fast it would be if all four cylinders were working. Might even be able to beat a 3-cylinder Geo Metro.
My girlfriend's Tempo is NOT A FAST CAR. Sorry, when she goes on the highway at 65, she feels like the car is going to come apart--it vibrates. She's afraid to go any faster in the state its in. But, it a reliable car with 180,000 miles on it.
I guess overall it's a good car wish mine was the 5 speed though I got the car from an old man.3rd gears seems to top out a lil to fast on the 2.3 engine (auto) car only has 53000 miles and only busted a breakline on it since I've owned it parts are pretty cheap too another sucky thing about it is that 5 digit tack guess ford doesn't think there car will make it over 100,000 lol. other than that a good car.
The engine as far as acceleration sucked. And it was noisy. Its only claim to fame was that it accelerated better on the highway than the GM 4 bangers, and you could actually pass on a 2 lane road. Despite all the horrendous noises it made it seemed to be durable though.
Though don't kid yourself the better Japanese 4 cylinders of the day were a gazillion times better engines.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site