Got this newer to me 1999 Escort ZX2 recently. The previous one, which I still own has been a good car for me and very reliable. I was looking at buying something newer but most of the stuff like the newer Focus just didn't seem to have the build quality. So I found this one on Craigslist in Denver and drove up there and got it. Everything seemed to be in order and I got it for $1500. I was considering getting one shipped across the country to me but this way I saved on shipping.
One of things that I noticed was that the sensor on the top left of the motor was sealed off with some kind of hard substance in an effort to prevent oil leaking from there. My other ZX2 that I have put 200,000+ miles on used to leak from that location so I guess that is why they sealed it off there. The plugs were dry (I checked) so the valve cover gasket appears to be fine. But I am definitely getting an oil leak somewhere as evidenced by oil drips under the car when sitting. I guess I will just have to take it in and have some one qualified tear into it to find out what the deal is. I'm hoping I didn't get a lemon with more issues than I bargained for. BTW, what is that sensor on the top left of the motor? Does it deal with the variable valve timing? That being sealed off is going to be an issue if the valve cover needs to be pulled since that sensor needs to slip through the cover in order for the cover to be removed. The car drives fine but does seem to have a bit of a rough idle at times. Also the tach is not functioning quite right so I have a new cluster on the way. It appears that someone has already been into the cluster area on this car since there is a small crack in that part of the dash. I had to change the cluster on my other car and there is a crack in exactly the same place on that one.
The odometer says 135,000 miles now. I have put just under 3,000 miles on it since I bought it. I will need to do an oil change soon and want to go with full synthetic. So I do want to get things straightened out before I do that. Also I want to make sure that this is indeed a good car before dumping more money into it.
The crazy thing about my older car (in terms of mileage since both are 1999 units) is that it runs great. I actually drove it back and forth to Iowa last year (1600 miles round trip) and it did great. Odometer said just under 308,000 miles at the time but I have no way to know actual miles because of the cluster swap. I also don't know if that car ever had an engine swap. So all I know about the previous car is that I have put more than 200,000 miles on it and it is still going. The valve cover is leaking bad on it right now and it is also due for a plug change but I have been putting that off since I got another ZX2. But it still runs great and honestly I am thinking that I could take that car to 400,000 miles if I could control the leaks out of the top of the motor, which is surely a sign of engine wear.
But I guess I need to find out what is going on with this car and I hope I didn't buy me some lemonade. LOL. Will report back if I get a good answer on where that oil leak is coming from. Appears to be over on the timing belt side of the motor. Timing belt was supposedly done at 90,000 miles so that should be good for now. And this newer to me car runs great on the highway and even has cruise control...
One of things that I noticed was that the sensor on the top left of the motor was sealed off with some kind of hard substance in an effort to prevent oil leaking from there. My other ZX2 that I have put 200,000+ miles on used to leak from that location so I guess that is why they sealed it off there. The plugs were dry (I checked) so the valve cover gasket appears to be fine. But I am definitely getting an oil leak somewhere as evidenced by oil drips under the car when sitting. I guess I will just have to take it in and have some one qualified tear into it to find out what the deal is. I'm hoping I didn't get a lemon with more issues than I bargained for. BTW, what is that sensor on the top left of the motor? Does it deal with the variable valve timing? That being sealed off is going to be an issue if the valve cover needs to be pulled since that sensor needs to slip through the cover in order for the cover to be removed. The car drives fine but does seem to have a bit of a rough idle at times. Also the tach is not functioning quite right so I have a new cluster on the way. It appears that someone has already been into the cluster area on this car since there is a small crack in that part of the dash. I had to change the cluster on my other car and there is a crack in exactly the same place on that one.
The odometer says 135,000 miles now. I have put just under 3,000 miles on it since I bought it. I will need to do an oil change soon and want to go with full synthetic. So I do want to get things straightened out before I do that. Also I want to make sure that this is indeed a good car before dumping more money into it.
The crazy thing about my older car (in terms of mileage since both are 1999 units) is that it runs great. I actually drove it back and forth to Iowa last year (1600 miles round trip) and it did great. Odometer said just under 308,000 miles at the time but I have no way to know actual miles because of the cluster swap. I also don't know if that car ever had an engine swap. So all I know about the previous car is that I have put more than 200,000 miles on it and it is still going. The valve cover is leaking bad on it right now and it is also due for a plug change but I have been putting that off since I got another ZX2. But it still runs great and honestly I am thinking that I could take that car to 400,000 miles if I could control the leaks out of the top of the motor, which is surely a sign of engine wear.
But I guess I need to find out what is going on with this car and I hope I didn't buy me some lemonade. LOL. Will report back if I get a good answer on where that oil leak is coming from. Appears to be over on the timing belt side of the motor. Timing belt was supposedly done at 90,000 miles so that should be good for now. And this newer to me car runs great on the highway and even has cruise control...