would anybody with a brain fix this car?

[Kali]

95 escort, timing belt went and ruined something - valve job or a new engine?

car has been VERY well maintained other than that damn belt and just had new front axles/tires put on it. It does need a radiator repair or replacement and possible some AC work although possibly just needs charging. But I consider those fairly minor and can do the radiator myself.

[Warpy]

1. Run the numbers

between what it would take to get this car into reasonable shape and what a good used car from this millennium would cost. Be sure to factor in things like the rubber that's wearing out, the brakes that are now iffy, the suspension that has outlived its normal lifespan, and the electrical system that is undoubtedly having its insulation wear a bit thin from friction.

I know you're probably thinking you've already sunk that much money into it, it would be a waste not to throw more at it to salvage what you've already spent, but this is a case of throwing good money after bad.

Junk it, already.

[MineralMan]

2. Get an estimate for the repair, then compare it with the

real market value of the car. My guess is that the repair cost will be almost identical with the value. I'd invest the money in a replacement vehicle that uses the same wheels and tires, but that needs them. Pay your greatest attention to the mechanical issues on the replacement. It's often possible to find such a vehicle that has had recent work done on it, but that still needs things like tires.

My practice is to never pay as much for repairs as the vehicle is worth after the repair. It just doesn't make any sense. There are plenty of serviceable 10-15 year old cars out there for what it will cost to repair this one.

I've been driving 10-20 year old cars for 45 years. I absolutely draw a firm line on repair costs.

[Warpy]

6. Same here, and a snapped timing belt can result in expensive repairs

My last vehicle was old enough to vote when I finally got rid of it, but Ford Rangers last forever and the junkyards are full of replacement parts. It was just starting to minor repair me to death.

Up until 4 years ago, I drove third world vehicles and my rule was always that when multiple things died at once, it was time to get rid of it and try to find something from within whatever decade it was.

[MineralMan]

7. I'm driving a 1991 Volvo 740 wagon right now, with 167K on it.

It's been dead-on reliable for four years. No major repairs...just front brakes, and I did them myself. We don't drive a lot...maybe 4000 mi. a year, so it's likely to be in the family for some time to come. I even tow my little 12' aluminum boat to the lake for fishing with it.

Bought it for $1800, so that comes to about $450/ year cost, so far, for the car itself. That's not bad. If I can get four more years out of it, it'll be one of my better cars.

[Lindsey]

3. If it's a 1995, that would make it 15 y.o. I don't consider problems

after 15 years with a car unreasonable. I'd look at how it's been (from a reliability standpoint) over all of the years you've owned it. However, at this point, it may be time to get another one since 15 years is quite a long time.....at least IMO....

[MilesColtrane]

4. How many miles does it have on it?

[Kali]

9. about 106K

[MilesColtrane]

13. Kelley's Blue Book puts its value at $1700 - $2200.

That's their appraised value if it was in good condition and you were selling it.

It could be worth it if you just need a valve job that didn't require crack repairs or head straightening, no new valves, springs or other hardware.

Anything beyond that would be a waste of money, and I certainly wouldn't put a new engine in it.

[NJmaverick]

5. I would say it's best to let the car go

the AC could prove to be a major problem as I believe it uses a banned freon. You're in the desert so rust shouldn't be a problem, but rubber and plastic dry rot will be.

[Kali]

11. oh is that right?

because it seems the radiator fan is somehow connected to having the AC charged or it won't run right??? that was what I was working on when this happened. You are probably right about other rubber too. But it sure looks good otherwise and has been very well taken care of, kept out of the sun when not in use, etc, (until I got a hold of it)

[stevedeshazer]

8. I work in auto wrecking.

This is a close call. A 95 Escort is worth less than a thousand bucks, and the cost of buying a used engine is about $500, and for about $1000 total a mechanic could replace it.

It's probably not worth it, unless the car is in otherwise really good condition.

Spend $2000 and buy a good used Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla of similar vintage. Nothing against the Escort, which is a decent reliable car, but I think it's time to cut your losses.

[Kali]

10. it IS in pretty good shape

(mostly because I have only had it for about 9 months:rofl: )

t was my Dad's car and he is pretty anal about maintenance. you wouldn't believe the interior and undercarriage - really clean and very little wear. I wish it was more trashed, it would make dumping it so much easier.

[notadmblnd]

12. Depends. Are you going to buy new parts and have dealership do repairs

or are you going to buy used parts from a junk yard and do it yourself or have someone that know how do it cheaply for you? You can save big dollars with the later. I have a 94 GMC pickup. After my husband died, I left it sitting for 6 years. Little did I know leaving a car sit is just as bad for it as keeping it on the road constantly. My teenage son who is attending the districts technical school,put it back in good running order for next to nothing. He replaced the entire fuel system for right around 150.00. Now if I had had to take it in to the dealer and it cost 2500.00, It would not have been feasible.

[doc03]

14. If a timing belt breaks on a 1995 Escort it shouldn't do anything

other than stop running. They had trouble with valve damage on them in the very early 80's I think 81-83 but nothing should happen to a 95 other than it just stops running. I have a 1999 Mercury Tracer (same car as the Escort) with 148,000 miles and it has been an extremely reliable car I have had no problems with the engine. I did have the timing belt replaced at around 100,000 miles. The only fairly major repair I ever had to make was on the AC. The problem that is going to do my Tracer in is rust from road salt.

[Gold Metal Flake]

15. Doc03's post made me curious. So I whipped out my Google.

Several sources say that the 1.9l CVH SOHC engine is NOT an interference engine.

This is from the almighty Wiki:

The CVH was bumped up to 1.9 L for the North American 1986 model year Escort. Bore was now 82 mm (3.2 in) and stroke was up as well to 88 mm (3.5 in). This stroke length would be used in the 2.0 L CVH engines, and continued into the Zeta engine which replaced it. This long stroke necessitated a raised engine block deck, a design also shared with later units. The engine is of a non-interference design in which the camshaft is timed to the crankshaft using a belt. The water pump is also driven by the timing belt. Output was 86 hp (64 kW) and 100 ft·lbf (140 N·m) with a carburetor; when electronic throttle-body fuel injection was added, the basic 1.9 L added 4 hp (3.0 kW), although torque was little changed.

Electronic fuel injection and hemispherical "hemi" combustion chambers were added for 1987's Escort GT, bumping output to 108 hp (81 kW) and 114 ft·lbf (155 N·m). This engine developed a good reputation for performance and surviving GTs of this generation are quite fun to drive.

The 90 hp (67 kW) 1.9 L of the late 1980s, particularly when equipped with either the four- or five-speed manual transaxle, was notable for delivering outstanding fuel economy. Somewhat surprisingly, four-speed Escort Pony models achieved better mileage than five-speed cars, with upwards of 30 mpg in city driving and 40–45 mpg on the highway not uncommon.

The second generation of American Escort got sequential EFI for 1991–1996, but power and torque was little changed at 88 hp (66 kW) and 108 ft·lbf (146 N·m) respectively.

So what the hell is wrong wit yo engine? Why do you think it needs a timing belt? Lets start over and leave out the fan stuff this time. Just the engine stuff. Gimme gimme gimme.

[Kali]

16. son took it to work, on his way home he made two stops -

he said at the second stop it started funny - like it wouldn't "go" he had to rev it a bit or something, get it moving. Ok so he is on his way out of town, up the on ramp onto the interstate - said it wouldn't go over 40, he got about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile and it just died - he had the sense to get off to the side while it was still rolling but no restart. It semed to be quite hot although the dashboard temp gauge was normal - said he saw some "white smoke" when he opened the hood - obviously not much and I figured maybe a bit of oil on the valve cover or something? Oil level was good when we got there 20 minutes later but it was still pretty warm (hot day too) the overflow bottle had coolant in it fine but the radiator was quite low - figured water pump went with timing belt? Put water in it and it held - did it blow out all the water and over heat? Did not seem to be in the oil - that looked good.

Turning the key made some pretty normal "starting" noises but motor wasn't even trying to turn over.

Mech said he thought it was an interference. Due to a long story I won't go into we thought the belt had gone out and been replaced in 2004. This is most likely not correct and I can't find any documentation to verify it either. At any rate he said that it was broken and I had him go ahead and try a new one. He said that he tried it didn't work and he was going to take it back off and not charge me for it. I am now "thinking over" what to do. He doesn't do internal engine work or replacement so he isn't after more work.

[Gold Metal Flake]

17. White smoke

That is odd. Head gasket bad? Crack? Dropped a valve? No way to know except to pull the head and look around. That starts to get expensive. I do my own repairs so I would dive in but for you maybe just leave it behind.

[Kali]

18. We do a lot of our own repairs but not that level.

I don't have much into it, did the front brakes a while back but we did it and the parts were pretty cheap. Was getting ready to do the radiator and as you know trying to figure out the fan/AC.

I have never done the smart thing when it comes to vehicles so who knows? I feel like Rumsfeld with the known unknowns and unknown unknowns - I sort of know what the history id on this car and know it is old, but...bleh. If this were REALLY a socialist country the govt would provide and fix my vehicles, wouldn't it?:rofl: who cares about health care, I need car welfare.

[Gold Metal Flake]

19. Get in line. No one gets a Zaporozhets unless they are on the list.

Look for a wreck or a salvage engine. Try the used engine dealers in your area. It's not too hard to do the swap if you label the various sensor connections to keep them straight. Could be done over a weekend. Or look for a nice used Focus. That, of course, is a greater expense. Or look for a stop-gap car like a nice Crown Vic/Marquis or the station wagon versions of the same. Something owned by mature adults that has a fair amount of mileage but is a very dependable car. it will use more gas but the market for them is slow so you should be able to get into it cheaply. A good CV can be found for less than a similar mileage focus or Taurus and much cheaper than an import. I have had two of them and they are rock solid. A CV-type with 100K on the clock from an senior is just about the perfect car for someone looking for reliable affordable transport. Go easy on that gas pedal and you will get 18-20 mpg.

[Kali]

20. a weekend? probably take me that long to bring it home

:rofl: nothing ever takes a short amount of time around here.

Thanks for all your help and advice (you wouldn't want to come spend a WEEKEND on a real "working" ranch would you?:rofl: )

[Gold Metal Flake]

21. Well, I will try to heal it with my mind.

Good luck with it!