Concerns - 3.0MTX Car I Am Looking To Buy

[Gumbeaux]

Hey guys -

I am looking at the opportunity to buy a fairly nice 90 model 5-speed car. It's a few hours away from me, so I am wanting to be armed and educated when I arrive to take a look at it.

A few things the seller mentioned -

- Said he recently put a clutch in the car. However, now it is a bit difficult to shift. He claims that the clutch needs to break-in. I am curious if there are any issues with the durability of these 5 speeds, or anything in particular I should keep an eye out that would indicate impending failure on them.

- Mentioned the mileage is Carfax/Autocheck verified, but also states the speedometer cable is loose from the clutch change. I'd like to believe the seller is being honest, I'm a bit of a trust but verify kinda guy. Any good areas I should look at on an SHO, outside of normal spots on any vehicle (like inside valve cover, tire treads, etc.) to give me a good idea of how much the car was used?

I'm going to use the forum search as well to answer as much as I can - but figured the best approach is to post up and ask.

Thanks!

 

[luigisho]

How many miles are we talking about? I wonder if the person who changed the clutch did such a great job since the speedo cable is still loose. Look for rust spots just below the gas door and around the rear fender. You have to see if the clutch is the problem or the transmission internals are worn making it hard to get in gear. You have another vehicle to drive if you buy this?

 

[Gumbeaux]

Owner claiming 52,000 miles, and claims verification from both Carfax and Autocheck.

This is the gas tank area. Definitely some bubbling popping up. I hear it is common on earlier Taurus sedans?

I do have a few vehicles to drive if I buy this and have issues. I just don't want to be stuck in a predicament, so I try to do my homework in advance LOL

 

[sperold]

There is no clutch break-in, either it works well, or it doesn't. More time does nothing on this issue.

Was it a new clutch disc, pressure plate and throw-out bearing (TOB) that has the sleeve "quill" that the TOB rides on. Putting the wrong TOB in can result in the TOB hanging up, rather than sliding freely. Sometimes the quill breaks free if locktite is not used, and it hangs up as well. Sounds minor, but it has to come apart to fix.

When you open the back doors, are there any bubbles in the back, bottom corners (near the wheel).

Feel around the inner lip on the rear fender tire openings. You may have to jack it up a bit to do that.

Lay down and look up underneat the rocker panel plastic covers, as they rust at about the same rate as your lower gas door area.

Your gas door has a plastic "pouch" behind the gas door which traps water and dirt, and never fully dries out - hence the rot.

Same thing with your rear fender lips and rocker panels. The rocker panels have the front sunroof drains dumping into that space and exiting from the drain holes in the bottom - which are usually plugged with dirt / sand (problem is there, with or without a sunroof).

I would not expect that rot under the gas door on a southern car, your call of course, depending on the price.
But it looks far from trouble free to me.

 

[luigisho]

It is common and it will eventually continue to spread. The tranny has me worried. If the price is good I would look at improper clutch install or a wearing transmission. That is very low miles so I would suspect the clutch but if it was beat on maybe the tranny is rough. You can always find another trans to swap in there whenever you need to. So I would weight that against the initial purchase price to see if it makes sense. I would also check the ac as the original is r-12 and can be expensive to repair/refill or replace with newer stuff. I would not be alarmed if it was not holding a full charge at this age but again you have to weigh it to the value vs asking price.

 

[Irish Pride]

Unless the car just looks absolutely amazing inside and out I would not hold my breath about that 52K miles. The sources that carfax and autocheck use to corroborate inaccuracies did not exist back when this car was manufactured. That along with it only having a 5 digit odometer make it very likely that it's rolled at least once. Good luck with the purchase. I hope the clutch is an easy fix.

 

[Gumbeaux]

I think I may decide to walk away from this one before I invest in driving a few hours to go look at it. I increasingly feel I would probably be disappointed.
I've still really wanted a nice 1st gen MTX car though, so I am going to keep an eye out.

 

[rubydist]

I would not believe that it has 52k miles.

If you pm me the vin and a real email address, I will run a CarFax for you, email it to you, and interpret it for you.

 

[luigisho]

Depends on what you definition of a nice GenI is. Some people can live with a little rust and the problem areas on this car are really due to trapped moisture in certain locations so total rust free is really hard to find unless it's an arid southwestern car. I got a car with 50+k miles for about $2500 earlier this year. The car is low miles but still has some imperfect areas. To me it was worth it for the price even to have it shipped from Indiana. Not a perfect car but priced accordingly and it wouldn't take much to make it almost pristine.