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I just bought this little car as a "Maui Cruiser" for $1,600, but I'm really starting to like it, and thinking a few well placed rehab dollars could make it a really fun ride.
I have taken the car into CarX who couldn't figure out what the problem was, though they did note a slightly out-of-round rim. We swapped rims out and it didn't solve the problem. They also thought it could be the wheel bearings.....I took the car to Ford for a more definitive answer. They could find nothing wrong, other than bad wheel bearings on the driver front-side wheel (which is NOT where all the noise is coming from, and definitely would not cause the massive slow-down in driving at faster speeds). I hope I'm not looking at a transmission issue....?
has spent basically 3 1/2 years of it's life in the shop.
THe transmission was completely re-done,know for the last 1 1/2 years 5th will fail to stay in gear at anytime.
My question is: Has this model allways been defective ?
Symptoms: 1) Temperature gauge constantly goes back and forth from cold to extremely over heating.
2) The heater produces no heat.
Procedures:
Flushed heater core (3 times)
Flushed radiator hoses
Flushed radiator
New thermostat
New radiator cap
New Radiator
New radiator hoses
New thermostat
Tested for hole in head gasket – test negative
Heater core flushed again, this time at the dealer who explained to my mechanic that the heater core in the 2000 Ford Escort is positioned above the radiator and requires a special device to flush it properly.
After each procedure, the heat and temperature worked for a period of 20 to 100 miles, the latter distance with the most recent procedure (heater core flushed by Ford dealer); however, while the heat worked and the temperature gauge did not fluctuate so dramatically, it did continually fluctuate between cold and warm, and the temperature level fluctuated as well, but never quit working until yesterday afternoon. This morning, the car produced no heat and the gauge fluctuated from hot to cold.
Someone else said they did a manual override it with a screwdriver and was wondering what that might be and if it might work in this case. Thanks.
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
and the car sat for about 5 mos.
Any ideas on how to test it?
So clean your drainholes, boys. Keep all holes clean.
Thanks
I own a 2000 ZX2 with an automatic transmission that has about 35k miles on it. I purchased it used from a Mercury dealership back in 2003 and have had virtually no problems over the last five years.
I don't put on a lot of mileage, as most of my driving is usually limited to running errands around town. I take pretty good care of it, perform regular maintenance, use synthetic oil and try to drive as smoothly as possible to maximize fuel economy/minimize wear and tear.
Recently, I took a trip out of state that required me to get on the highway for a couple of hours. There was very little traffic, so I was trying to coast between 55 and 60 mph. The car drove fine while on level stretches with the engine speed hovering at about 2400 RPM most of the way. It wasn't until I got to some hills that I noticed something odd.
I would depress the gas pedal slightly to maintain my speed while going uphill. Then, after reaching the top, I would try to very smoothly ease off the throttle a little so that I wouldn't speed up too much while descending the other side of the hill (I figured I could do this to improve my fuel economy while maintaining about the same speed).
Whenever I tried to slowly back off of the gas pedal, the engine would abruptly slow down by about 400 to 500 rpm and the vehicle's speed would be reduced by more than I had intended. It almost felt like a downshift, but the transmission was still in overdrive. The opposite would occur as I tried to gently get back onto the gas pedal, making the car lurch forward a little. This made the ride rather annoying (at least through sections with a lot of hills).
At first, I thought that maybe my inputs were not smooth enough, but the same thing took place even when I was using cruise control. In fact, it was probably more pronounced whenever I used cruise control. In the end, I settled on trying to compensate for some of the effect by applying a little extra pressure to the gas pedal while descending hills (as long as there weren't any cars in front of me).
I'm not a mechanic, so I'm not really sure what could be causing this. I've never had a problem like this in any of the other cars I've owned, so it feels very abnormal. I don't think I'm doing any damage driving it like this, but it's very difficult to operate smoothly.
As I mentioned, it only happens at highway speeds. I've already had the throttle position sensor and transmission fluid changed, but the problem persists. I went to two different transmission shops to see if they could diagnose the problem, but both times I was told everything was running properly and that they were unable to reproduce the glitch. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps this is some kind of "fuel delivery problem" with the engine.
This is my first time contributing to this forum. I reviewed the other messages before posting to see if anyone had encountered similar issues, but I didn't see anything that appeared relevant. I was hoping that someone might have an idea as to what might be causing this. At this point, most of the mechanics I've talked to seem to think that the car's fine and that it's all just in my head. :confuse:
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
:shades: Also I had a module replace because my air cond wasn't working the total job cost me 249. Please I need advice.
They replace the serpentine belt at the same time. If you are going to the dealer its more expensive of course.
Here in st. louis I know where it can be done for about a half to three fourths of your estimate.
Just let me know.
I have had so much trouble with this car since buying it new. It has required major repairs since the beginning. What a :lemon:
Car seems to be running ok.
Is there something I should check?
I have a 2002 ZX2.
This morning on my way to work, I filled up my gas tank and then took off on the freeway. As soon as I turned on my AC unit, a weird smell started coming from the vents--almost like burning rubber or a "sweet" smell--I tried all the settings (i.e. vent, air conditioning, heat, defrost), and the smell didn't dissipate. I am about 2,000 miles over my oil change mileage. Could this be related to the smell? Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Last Friday I was in the local shop again for an unrelated issue. A different tech, who was unaware of the history, worked on the car. He heard the squealing noise and investigated on his own. With the engine idling he pulled out the oil dipstick which was accompanied by a whoooshing sound like vacuum escaping and the squealing ceased. The problem? The crankcase breather filter! I picked up Motorcraft Part #FA-1661 from the Ford dealer for $15.93 plus tax. As my local tech explained it to me when the crankcase breather filter is obstructed the engine vacuum is not allowed to escape and it sucks oil down from the top of the engine effectively starving the camshafts for oil and hence the squealing noise. I also gathered from talking to him that not all zetec engines came equipped with the breather filter, some apparently just had a straight hose from the valve cover to the air intake case.
My experience led me to google the topic which brought up this thread. Nice job in spreading the word about this issue Robert.
I am really disappointed in Ford Motor Company for failing to awaken to what is obviously a known problem and issue a technical service bulletin or some statement on the issue. The dealer service departments don't seem to be aware of this.
Jon