Hi Guys I have been looking for a cheap but reliable wagon. Found this 88 Country Squire. problems it has heating core issues not sure how much that is to fix $$ and its got 180,000 miles on it! Will it be a money pit or something I can use and maintain for a while? I wanted a 91 Merc for the last year and the air bags, but cant find one.. Anyone know what else to check on these cars that goes bad? Had also thought of full sized Buick, Chev/Olds..if theres a cheapie around.
Well certainly considering where you live you have to consider rust and how it has affected the frame, brake lines, exhaust etc. Safety first. Secondly if you have to pay to have the heater core replaced the low ball answer is $500. Could run as high as $800. Most Fords the dash has to be removed to do that job. However, I'm sure someone on here with a similar car can be more accurate. 180,000 isn't all that bad IF the previous owner was dillegent with servicing the transmission and engine. It's not unusual to see well over 200 thousand up to 300 thousand on a well cared for car. Ford transmissions demand proper serivicing. The do not tolerate skipping fuid and filter change intervals. It probably has an AOD or AODE transmission. Not the strongest but will serve a long time with care.
no rust holes outside a good sign around here thanks for your comments. Would it pay for me to hire a shop to put it on a lift and do a check of tranny and compression .. also look under her? All the cars this way arent rust buckets.. further west and north its much more likely.. We do however keep better original interiors not baked to death.
I'm definately envious of the un-baked interiors.Generally a smooth running engine that doesn't make noises and does not smoke is probably good. If the tranny fluid is nice and pink and doesn't smell bad and it's shifting properly, no hesitation from a stop is probably good. This means if you press the accelerator and the transmission doesn't hesitate to go. That is a common symptom of a Ford transmission that's ready for an overhaul. It certainly wouldn't hurt to pay for it to be checked out. It usually isn't very expensive and worth the peace of mind but with a 22 year old car anything can fail. Alternators, water pumps, motor mounts, u joints, brake master cylinders, power steering pumps. A whole gammut of things can go bad other than the big things like engines and transmissions. If you can't do these repairs yourself you have to be prepared to pay a lot to get these "little" things fixed occasionally. Out here labor is $75-$90 per hour. My simple rule of thumb is that if I'm maintaining four cars (which I do) for less than one years worth of payments for one car I'm money ahead. That's considering $450 per month for a car payment. Last year I spent less than $1,000 on repairs on four cars. Two years ago I spent closer to $3,000. On average I spend less than $100 per month over the last 5 years. My other rule is that if a task will cause higher blood pressure, cussing and throwing of tools then I hire a mechanic.:banana:
Hey Boomer I bought an 86' Olds Custom Cruiser yesterday to replace my 95' ford Explorer as my daily driver..The Explorer is mostly totalled due to rusty lines..The brake lines blew , A/c and fuel are on the way..Too costly to fix everything .. I did bring the wagon to a little shop with a lift...Here in Illinois we have our salt and rust issues so the body is not perfect...Low and behold the brake lines had all been replaced..Looking at the Fuel sending unit while there I am geared up for a gas leak and having to drop the tank to replace it. The part is $54 online..The mechanic said the part would cost $250.. Lots of savings if you can do it yourself! Definitly get under it and check it out!
Things to look for on 80's full sized fords and mercs are passenger side frame near the front where the A/C drains. The drain is located right over the frame and the condensation drips on the top rusting the frame through. Also check the transmission TV cable bushing and make sure that it is still connected as they like to fall off when the bushing wears out, thus cooking the transmission. The heater core is a major PITA. Plan on a full day of work if you plan to do it yourself. You have to drop the column and pull the dash to get to it. If the heater core has problems, check out the rest of the cooling system as it may have been negected. Check for rusty colored antifreeze.
At any rate, you can save a lot of money if you decide to do it yourself. In the meantime, while you're studying up on how to get that dash out, you can just bypass the heater core by re-routing the hose(s). It would be really helpful if you can hook up with someone nearby who has done this before and can give you a hand. It's easy to break the fragile old plastic parts.
I just did my heater core on my Fairmont, with AC. Without AC, it's an hour's job. With AC it's a 2 day job, on this Fairmont. I think your's is easier to get to. You don't have to take the whole dash out and the heater box, like I did. The heater core's are under $60. Antifreeze, hoses, clamps, might be another $30.
I was looking for other information about wiring, but I stumbled on this Crown Victoria Dash surgery article. Never seen anything so well detailed. It might confuse, but it sure does inform. Yes, the heater core is shown, but what's really interesting is all the info. The 2010 CrownVic dash is almost identical to the 1995. Then he goes back to early Crown Vics, which gets us into the mid to late 80s. Lots of pics and details. http://p71interceptor.com/dashboard/remove/pictures/
