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Author
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Topic: T-bird SC- Miracle
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kcode
Gearhead Posts: 3415
From: alvaton,ky,usa Suburb of Bowling Green, M&M #79, MCA #29208
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 01-26-2005 10:36 PM
 
This totally shocked me so I thought I would share.In 1989 I bought a new T-bird Super Coupe, probably the overall best car I have ever owned. In 1996, at 150,000 miles the crank pulley and harmonic balancer separated while driving on the interstate. This in turn took out the electric fan, radiator, belt tensioners and other items. Ford Motor Comp. decided that it should not have happened so they provided the parts and I paid the labor. Anyway the motor had a vibration, I think they put on the wrong harmonic balancer since there were two different ones for the first year supercharged V-6. I had intentions of rebuilding, so I parked it in the driveway. The car had never moved for the last 8 1/2 years. Saturday I sold the car to a kid who wants to rebuild it. He brought a "Roll back" to pick it up. All four wheels were locked up so it had to be dragged up on the bed, good thing we had some snow and ice. Monday, the kid calls me on the phone, I thought now what, anyway he procedes to tell me that he drained and changed all of the fluids and put in a new battery and the damn thing fired up and he's driving it. After so long sitting in the same spot, it still fired up, I guess I sold it too cheap....Do the computers ever lose their codes over time? Mike
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kid vishus
Gearhead Posts: 7251
From: middle of NC
Registered: Oct 2000
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posted 01-27-2005 07:36 AM
Dang Mike. I've been looking to buy a cheap SC.  I don't think they lose any codes. That stuff is programmed/flashed onto a chip, so I don't think they could lose anything.
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SteveLaRiviere
Administrator Posts: 48752
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: May 99
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posted 01-27-2005 02:51 PM
Sounds like a Ford to me.  You know that ratty '70 Mustang convertible I bought for $200? That starts and runs better than many brand new cars I've driven. ------------------
'70 Mustang Mach 1 351C 4V/FMX/3.25 Open
'70 Mustang Convertible 250 I6/3 speed/2.79 Open
'72 Mustang Sprint Hardtop 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip [This message has been edited by SteveLaRiviere (edited 01-27-2005).]
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mustangs68
Moderator Posts: 27681
From: Hampton Va MCA#39406 M&M #12 Member Mustang Club of Tidewater
Registered: May 99
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posted 01-27-2005 04:29 PM
Yep it's a Ford 
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cobravenom71
Gearhead Posts: 1349
From: Poinciana, Fl USA
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 01-29-2005 08:56 PM
Unfortunately, not everybody had such great luck with a Super-Coupe.
I traded my 85 Turbo-Coupe (great car!) in on an 87 Turbo-Coupe (another great car!), and I traded the 87 in on an 89 Super-Coupe.
Big piece of junk, unfortunately. Within the first year/10,000 miles, the crank had to be replaced due to bad vibes, the P/S pump spun its middle right out and through the radiator!
The automatic adjustable shock in the drivers rear would never stop adjusting itself no matter what was done to it. It was replaced 5 times, and still never worked correctly!
Passenger side 1/4 window leaked terribly bad, took them 2 months to replace it!
One of the rims developed a hairline crack in it, and one when I came out from work, it was broken with a flat tire.
Super-charger squealed horribly bad after about the first 3,000 miles, and they could never 'find' the cause. However, Ford would not replace it since it was 'operational'.
And worst of all...it just didn't feel that fast or nimble of a car! I liked the 87 4-banger much better.
The fuel pumo inertia switch would trip all the time while driving, so that was replaced(twice, I think).
All in all, a very dissapointing experience, made all the worse because as I was a Ford salesman at the time, I waited a LONG time for this car to come in. I was very excited about the S/C, but the reality was nothing like what I thought it would be.
Maybe I should go buy a clean used one. It would probably never give me a problem!------------------
1971 'J' code 429 Mach 1
1976 'Starsky & Hutch' Torino
1988 Lincoln Mark VII LSC
1990 Lincoln Mark VII LSC "I'm too old to grow up now!
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hwyman3
Gearhead Posts: 2592
From: Southern Maryland, USA
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 01-29-2005 09:01 PM
I had an 89 Cougar. It was not the Supercharged version, but that 3.8 ran really well. I never had to do anything to the engine until the head gaskets blew at 170,000. Not bad considering the 3.8s were supposed to go through those like mad!------------------
Greg W.
MCA #52100
2002 Laser Red GT Coupe
1991 F-150 XLT 4x2 5.0
Southern Maryland Mustang Club
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kcode
Gearhead Posts: 3415
From: alvaton,ky,usa Suburb of Bowling Green, M&M #79, MCA #29208
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 01-29-2005 09:23 PM
Cobravenom,
It amaizes me that one car can have no problems and an identical one have so much. Maybe thats why the have the term "lemon". It wasn't totally without problems. Ford replaced the front disc brakes three times due to mismatch of rotors and pads. They also painted it three times. At just over 100,000 miles it used to have a farting sound from the motor when you came to a stop. Ford wanted to replace the SC for $2500. I took it to an independant garage and they replaced the throttle positioner motor. The bellows developed a crack and air passing through the crack caused it to burp or fart when the throttle was closed. Other than that, a good riding car. Mike
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SiathLinux
Journeyman Posts: 1
From: Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 04-01-2006 12:23 AM
I just picked up an 88 TurboCoupe - well over 200k miles on it, and it has started everytime I put the key in...
One odd issue has snarled at me tho, the brake reservior has a crack in it (causing a nasty but slow leak) and this part doesn't seem to be available anywhere.Any thoughts on where to look (local salvage yards don't even keep cars this old)
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Whitson
Gearhead Posts: 290
From: Western Canada
Registered: Dec 2005
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posted 04-03-2006 09:59 AM
SiathLinux, if you can't find one of those brake reserviors you need, I've got a spare.
Try your "self-serve" auto wreckers.
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