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Welcome to the forum - LX wagons are nifty; I have a 92 & a 94. If its a bad engine knock - I would suspect a 'dropped' valve seat, which seems to happen on cyl #4 (nearest the drivers side) more than the other cylinders.
I would not try to drive it, but would do a compression check where it sits. A dropped valve seat will result in very low compression on the affected cylinder - like close to zero PSI. If that is what has happened, driving it can/will result in the broken pieces of the valve seat getting blown back into the intake manifold and sucked into other cylinders - to damage other pistons.
I bought a 94 LX wagon with such an engine knock, and the owner knew what it was (his dad is a mechanic at a Ford dealership), so the price was accordingly low ($550) for a car with a really nice paint job and NO rust underneath. In a location next to a noisy highway, the knock was audible from 100 feet away. As it turned out, the car was also due for a new clutch. I rebuilt the engine myself, put in a new clutch, and spent under $700 for all parts. Two weeks later we left the nations capitol, drove the car to Los Angeles, then back to the Rio Grande valley of Texas via Mexico - with no problems. A fun ride, & we got 40 mpg on the open road too.
I would not try to drive it, but would do a compression check where it sits. A dropped valve seat will result in very low compression on the affected cylinder - like close to zero PSI. If that is what has happened, driving it can/will result in the broken pieces of the valve seat getting blown back into the intake manifold and sucked into other cylinders - to damage other pistons.
I bought a 94 LX wagon with such an engine knock, and the owner knew what it was (his dad is a mechanic at a Ford dealership), so the price was accordingly low ($550) for a car with a really nice paint job and NO rust underneath. In a location next to a noisy highway, the knock was audible from 100 feet away. As it turned out, the car was also due for a new clutch. I rebuilt the engine myself, put in a new clutch, and spent under $700 for all parts. Two weeks later we left the nations capitol, drove the car to Los Angeles, then back to the Rio Grande valley of Texas via Mexico - with no problems. A fun ride, & we got 40 mpg on the open road too.
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man that car got some good milage on it. i got a 94 gt and i love this car its got 98K miles on it and im 2nd owner i just want to do some beefing up the engine and doing to suspension work to it as well. but i dont wanna race mine because this car is like my baby to be honest. i love this car. its blue with white racing stripes i did myslef and i 50 inch l,ong 7 inch high wing on the back. only thing i need to get done to it is new clutch because i have like not even 2 inchs before it engages. could it be something else or just needs a new clutch? just wondering and i need new valve guide seals because it burns some oil from it dripping onto the piston heads. but i wanna rebuild the top portion of the engine head and above just so it runs good. what do you suggest of where to go to get good parts for cheap and not having to cut my arm and leg off to get them? well looking foward to hear back from you denisond3
hyp3r_m1k3;
I only know about the LX Escorts, with the 1.9L. In those the clutch is hydraulic, and is self adjusting. With them its -possible- to tell how much wear the clutch has by looking at the position of the clutch release fork coming out of the bell-housing. But you need to have either a car with a new clutch or a totally worn out clutch to compare it to.
I get a lot of my parts from an online place; www.rockauto.com. They seem to equal or be lower than the local parts places, even with the shipping cost included; though you do have to wait for parts to be shipped. They work with wholesalers all around the U.S. I have had parts arrive on a saturday p.m. that I ordered on my computer on thursday after lunch. The longest delivery was a pair of rotors that came from California to Virginia - that took 6 days. They ship mostly with UPS or FEDEX. They also typically have a range of prices for parts, from the cheapest 'Chinese' brands, to the more expensive OEM or U.S. made original type parts.
Its nice to be working on the car, in the shade beside the driveway, and have the UPS driver walk up and hand me parts for the car.
When I am looking for parts locally, I tell them who their competition is, but they dont seem to be able to meet the lower prices. Arent very interested either. Sometimes I dont want to wait for the less pricey part, and will buy locally to save my time.
Sometimes rockauto will have discounted prices, for a limited quantity that is being dumped from inventory. The last water pump I got from them was a rebuilt for $30 including shipping.
I only know about the LX Escorts, with the 1.9L. In those the clutch is hydraulic, and is self adjusting. With them its -possible- to tell how much wear the clutch has by looking at the position of the clutch release fork coming out of the bell-housing. But you need to have either a car with a new clutch or a totally worn out clutch to compare it to.
I get a lot of my parts from an online place; www.rockauto.com. They seem to equal or be lower than the local parts places, even with the shipping cost included; though you do have to wait for parts to be shipped. They work with wholesalers all around the U.S. I have had parts arrive on a saturday p.m. that I ordered on my computer on thursday after lunch. The longest delivery was a pair of rotors that came from California to Virginia - that took 6 days. They ship mostly with UPS or FEDEX. They also typically have a range of prices for parts, from the cheapest 'Chinese' brands, to the more expensive OEM or U.S. made original type parts.
Its nice to be working on the car, in the shade beside the driveway, and have the UPS driver walk up and hand me parts for the car.
When I am looking for parts locally, I tell them who their competition is, but they dont seem to be able to meet the lower prices. Arent very interested either. Sometimes I dont want to wait for the less pricey part, and will buy locally to save my time.
Sometimes rockauto will have discounted prices, for a limited quantity that is being dumped from inventory. The last water pump I got from them was a rebuilt for $30 including shipping.
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