Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-53
1992 Mercury Topaz... I also am having problems with stalling plus starting problems...175,000 km, It will turn over when turning the key. It may take a few tries or twice it was over an hour of not starting.. After 6 weeks of starting problems it started to stall... I got a tune up and replaced the ignition module.. It stalled right after..
I have elderly neighbors who I try to help when they have trouble. They have a 1988 Topaz and they bought it new. It has had the best of care, but things are failing now and today they said the amp or charging light comes on from time to time. I had the charging system checked, battery checked and tests came back perfect. However, this car has a strange alternator. Most have only the wire set that plugs into the regulator. This alternator has a second set of three wires, two of which get so hot they burn the fingers after only ten minutes of running. The plug they are attached to seems to be melting a tiny bit. I can't find a replacement plug for this alternator. It costs from $140 to $180 to replace the alternator with a new one that comes with a replacement plug.Can it be this heat and the melting plug that is causing the amp light to come on from time to time? As I said, everything in the charging system tests perfectly including the diodes. It was teseted at idle speed and at 2,000 rpm. Nothing is abnormal except this one wire set that gets so hot on the two heavy guage wires. The third wire is a lighter guage wire and does not get hot.
Is it normal for these wires to get that hot? I have never seen this in any other car yet you mentioned plugs sometimes melting after 80,000 miles. This car has only 55,000 miles on it, but in Las Vegas, it gets extremely hot and most things made of plastic melt and crack or get brittle. Do you know where I can get a replacement plug other than the scrap yard? I want new if possible. Any idea what is causing these plugs to melt? I have seen replacement alternators that seem to have this wire set built into the new alternator. Perhaps this is a fix for that problem.
Thank you for all the comments and information you have provided about these cars. They are immensely helpful.
I have a comment regarding the window motors. They have failed on this car on all doors and I have had to rebuild the motors. The problem is that in our heat, the nylon gear inside the window motors just crumbles due to the heat here. The gears are available at Auto Zone and I was able to fix this problem easily. You need to drill out holes in the door frame to access the nuts holding on the motors. The doors are marked with small dents where the drill must go. Otherwise, the car is and has been very reliable and dependable.
I have a 94 tempo I bought used last year. It has 107,000 miles on it. The problem I have is that there is a lot of smoke and oil (at higher RPMs) coming out of the valve cover breather tube. It runs down on the engine and smokes a lot and smells bad. Does anyone have any idea why it's doing this? I suspect it was doing it all along, but just got a lot worse recently.
Perhaps you need a valve cover gasket replaced. My TEmpo was oozing oil from there and replacing it fixed the problem. Tempos are notorious for leaking small amounts of oil. Just check the oil level regularly until you get this problem fixed.
I have a 93 Ford Tempo. I bought it used and it wasn't taken care of as good as it should have been, but still I have had very little problems with it.
However this week the drive belt began slipping. I want to replace it, but I can't remember the order in which to place it on the pulleys. It is a 4 cylinder with a/c.
If anyone could help, it would be deeply appreciated. Thanks!
I have a 93 Ford Tempo that I bought a year ago with 135 000km's on it. I've had a ton of problems with it. There is smoke coming out of the engine block, and it smells really bad when I drive it, I have to drive with the windows open. The coolant leaks out somewhere.. it disappears. The oil always needs to be filled constantly and it revs really high..also, the wire from the starter (new of course) always comes loose. I have turned down the idle many times and once you turn it off then back on, it revs high again. It is the worst car that I have ever had to work on, the water pump was the worst, it took my dad and boyfriend and I three days to try to get it in there. What's with the number 5 hex too.. I hate cars that need special tools, but welcome to F O R D.. the acryonms for this brand ring true! No more working on the piece of junk in my driveway.. its toast.
Sounds like your head gasket has gone in this car. It would explain the loss of both oil and coolant.
Great forum!
I have a 1988 Tempo with 39,000 miles on it. It belonged to my Grandmother who kept it in the garage more than drove it. She just gave it to me for my daughter to drive. She had the stalling problem since day one. Someone told her to try STP Gas Treatment and that did the trick. She (and I now) put a bottle in with each fill up. If I don't the stalling returns. It's only about $1 a bottle, so not an expensive fix.
The problem I am having is the climate control. It was working OK, until I selected the defroster a few weeks ago. Now, I can't get it to change to anything else. It turns off OK, but no matter what you select, (AC, heat, etc.) it remains stuck on the window defroster. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Dennis.
I recently obtained a 92 Mercury Topaz. I love the car, I replaced the tranny fluid plus filter and gasket, had to replace a whose line which ran from the tranny also. Problem is, when I put it in drive, it tends to down-shift when ever I take my foot off the gas! I'm now using it as a semi automatic, which does help, first and second usually don't slip. But the only time 3 (drive) will not down shift, is when I'm cruising at 70 km/hr. I'm considering changing the tranny to a standard, problem is I have no one who has any experience in doing something like that, and I don't really feel like spending a lot on it in a shop. If someone could give me some ideas, or information about what to do in this matter, it would be really appreciated!
Help...The MAX A/C no longer works on my car. Is this an easy fix and if so, how is it done?
I have a 92 tempo with R12. The AC blows no cold. Can I buy a can of r-134 from Wal- Mart that says on the can works with r12? and just put it in, or does it need a conversion, or should I take it to shop? and where is the valve if I can do it.
Thanks.
If you plan on keeping the car a while, I would shell out the money for a proper conversion. My 94 Tempo, which came with R134 from the factory can still make ice cubes after 13 years.
What year do you think was the strongest tempo?
My 92 is the basic with 32000 miles and I am in love, but would love a cruise control, I don't know what to do about that.
Did you ever have problems with the CC on any of yours?
There is a place on the ebay that sells factory new ones, but I don't think it would be for me to install (too tough).
Thanks.
The 1992 through 1994 seem to be the most durable. I have a 1994 with 39000 miles. Cruise control may be an easy addition, as most of the Tempos of that era are prewired for many power options, even if they don't come with them from the factory. My car still has the original A/C which is ice cold. These cars can be very reliable if well maintained.
Re: April 13:
I have the same problem with the 1994 I have. It is the vacuum hoses that control the air intake doors. I am having them replaced as we speak. This should solve the problem.