Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Someone please tell me why I haven't put this car on a large barge and pushed it into the water then setting it on fire?????

Every  time I turn around.......  I could understand if I drove it into the ground or used nothing but cheap parts from China or the like, but I don't. 

So I took the car for an inspection Thursday.  Drove there and stopped at the parts store on the way home.  Needed a new radiator cap as the one I had was going a little soft in the spring.  Drive to the gym, it sits for 2 hours.  I come out, put the new cap on and drive another few miles home.  Fast forward 48 hours or so and the car hasn't moved since.  Underneath it was dry all day Thursday and Friday.  Saturday I notice a puddle underneath right when I walk out my front door.....


REALLY?  :punchballs:  Core's leaking.  Great....  I ordered another brass 3 row from Mustangs Unlimited.  It's actually thicker than the one I have.  Should hold about another 1/2 gallon of coolant.
http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=M8005A+01

Something tells me I'm at the start of one of those cycles where a whole bunch of shiznit breaks at once.  Happens about every 6-8 years with these cars I've noticed due to myself or my parents having had one permanently for the past 28 years......

Luckily I have a stockpile of stuff, but so far in the past 3 weeks everything that has went has not been in my inventory.....

I think I should get a personalized plate for the car that says "Cursed"......

My "armchair quarterback" reaction would be to blame it on the fact that you don't drive it much and it sits outside :P
The engineer in me says everything fails for a reason...but I can still sit there and say "WHY THE HELL DID YOU PICK NOW....of all times NOWWWW...to break!!!!???"

...and the realist in me says "Hey, it's a 25+ year old car that didn't have stellar reputation for reliability when new (no slight against Thundercougarfalconbirds, it was the 80's, no car was built particularly well back then). Things are gonna break, and as they get older, they're gonna break more".

The 80's were when plastic was at its worst, EFI and computer controls were still in their infancy and very crude, and vehicles were designed and built with utmost indifference. Fox Birdcats had the best styling of the 80's, but they were still built like an 80's Ford. Big things, like engines and trannies, worked adequately and lasted forever, but the little things were quite delicate. That was the first thing I noticed when I drove my t-Bird for the first time after a two year hibernation, and having gotten used to driving the 300. Everything in the T-Bird, from the door handles to turn signal switch to windshield wipers felt frail compared to modern cars.

It's that frailty that makes the "old car" experience, though

The rad was 8 years old.  I've put just over 1000 miles on it since the last inspection a year ago.    The Mustang sat for 7 months without moving ( I started it every two weeks and put the trans in drive for a few minutes each time) and went 700 miles in 3 days without a hiccup or even breaking a sweat.  This cranky fvck#r though.....

I actually can't believe how reliable the 5.0 SEFI control system is, being only a year into production in two of my vehicles. At least in my experience/opinion.
My friend's '90 Corvette will throw a  CEL if he even so much as thinks about unplugging his idle air control. I'm pretty sure I can undo that, the TPS, the EGR sensor....who knows what else, and I still go down the road basically without a hiccup. And no CEL :D which isn't necessarily a good thing, but it just keeps going.

My only complaint is that they like to idle high once warm. Pointless sentiment since you're almost never at a stoplight more than a minute or so...but if it holds about 1k RPM, after two minutes or so suddenly it just kicks down to whatever you set your base idle at. If you set it at 600 or so like I did, it catches you by surprise every time it happens.

I'm sure I'll be right behind you in fixing things, Paul....almost everything in my car is still all original either from my car, or the parts car that I used.... the radiator in my car is still factory also

I know the feeling Paul. Always seems one thing right after another with these cars... but then it sits for a bit, and you get it fixed up and when you get to drive it again it makes it all worth it ;)

Antifreeze has to be changed to keep the system from failing. I use additives to prevent internal corrosion and acids. I also use FLEET CHARGE PRE-MIXED on my old cars as it is very stable and non corrosive. Bellow is a manifold gasket eaten away by bad antifreeze. Adding chemicals to stabilize the system when cars are stored or just for protection on your DD. We have found that using the product bellow works perfectly.  Have a great evening guys.


(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/002-104_zps0bddab54-1_zpse17eae69.jpg) (http://s740.photobucket.com/user/proguns/media/002-104_zps0bddab54-1_zpse17eae69.jpg.html)

Tom I swapped the coolant about 3 years ago.  Looks pristine at the moment.  I'll look into that product for future use though.  Thank you.

Odd as my experiences have caused me to see these cars as anomalies. Other than the transmission and AC, it seems they don't break like other cars. Or the stuff that does, except the AC, is easily repaired. At least all of mine haven't. They can sit and sit, fire right up, pass emissions, then go back to sitting. Or they can be driven every day and start every time. The stuff that does break doesn't leave me stranded or require immediate attention like AC or a moonroof (but I've never met someone that can fix AC on any car so I'm not really going to count that against these Cougars.)
These cars feel more sturdy than every newer car I've owned except our Acura.  I actually put these in the same reliability league as our Acura however the Acura was better built but is equal with the lack of attention it and the Cougars need.  Everything else I've owned from the 90s and this century is flimsy, finicky and fickle as hell with gadgets, sensors and when these newer cars break, they need attention NOW.  They also break more often than my Cougars and that includes a Cougar I drove until 199,7xx miles that never sat a day in a garage. I haven't had our 2014 FJ long enough to assess it.

Many newer cars feel "squishy" too, even the trucks. I don't know how to further expand on that but newer vehicles, especially since about 2000 or so and on (but many from the 90s too), feel squishy including our FJ. But that FJ is for my wife, not me.

My CAMARO LS7 powered 6 speed is totally reliable more so than any import car you might compare it to. It is highly modified and gets great mileage and puts down HP numbers you would not believe. I use it every day and the AC and all other aspects of the car work flawlessly. My Mustang is also a great car fast as hell built to the hilt and is daily driven by JR. We also drive the Midnighter all the time and it never let us down once. As far as my HONDA cars goes the women have those they are reliable but built like shiznit . As a body shop i can tell you right now Foreign cars are put together like garbage. Not saying other American cars are not Garbage as well. Our vintage of cars like my T BIRDS and early Mustangs are great cars the AC all work on them and they are simple to fix. I changed a radiator in a late model FREESTAR last week and what a pain in the ASS. Changing the radiator in the Midnighter is a piece of cake compared to newer cars. As far as the AC systems on the older cougars and birds goes they are built real good work great and easily serviced and converted if desired. Other than having R12 which is no issue to me as an AC guy i have seen very little issues with them. Of course they get leaks but every car sooner or later will. Many on this site have well working AC systems as i read the blogs. As far as the older cougar and birds goes they are built well they are strong and totally reliable in my eyes and like the TC had options new cars do not have in today's market.  As far as newer cars being SQUISHY drive the new Mustang or Camaro. They are beyond belief as far as handling goes. As far as the older Cougars and Birds goes  i can not say one bad thing about there reliability. Many on this forum run them well over 150K on the odometer and still going. Most all of them have over a 100K on the odometer and they are still around. I love my older mustangs and the Midnighter. Great cars no one can argue that fact. They are GREAT CARS i will argue that to the hilt. That is why we have them!! And they are getting pretty pricey lately showing they are popular and desirable. Have a great Monday Guys.

I kinda disagree about these cars not being all that reliable when new.  My 'bird had very few problems before I started modding it when it had 180k.  I think the only repairs other than wear items were PS pump and lines, Water pump, and a motor mount (broke it power braking, lol) when it was stock.  My radiator is still original to the car and the coolant has only been changed 3 or 4 times that I know of.  I'm still on the original ball joints & tie rods too at 19x,xxx miles!  I'd say this has actually been one of the more reliable cars I've owned.  sight more reliable that the '88 Grand Prix I drove for a year or two.  Now that thing was a POS thorn in my side from day one!

I wouldn't be afraid the change the oil and drive my bird the whole Hot Rod Power tour right now if the need arose!

Like I said, for me these cars have shown that they'll go through their own little tantrum where they'll break stuff and then be perfectly fine for a few years other than regular maintenance.  My first year owning this car I put almost 25,000 miles on it.  Lots of trips on the interstate.  Zero issues.  When I purchased the car the chassis read 148K miles (brand new trans and very young motor though).  The previous owner told me to keep an eye on the alternator as it was the original to the car.  It went somewhere close to 190K.


Most unreliable car?  My wife's old 1992 Chevrolet Corsica LTZ with the 3.1 V6.  At the end, which was a scant 102K miles, it would overheat in traffic, slipped in second, had issues charging, and some other nonsense. 

The past 3 years just have been 90% down time with this car between the paint issues and my getting disgusted at those issues.  Now I'm driving it and stuff is going.  Frustrating.

Hang in there man!  At least when the Cat breaks down you have the chance to work on something cool.  It would be even more demoralizing if it were a mini van or something, lol.

Shush up!

You'll spread the disease to the other foxthundercougarfalconbirds on the forum ;).

New radiator came in.... I opened the box...A very sturdy box....and then there was ANOTHER BOX!  LOL!  That one was even MORE sturdy.  I opened that and found the radiator that a friend runs which is exactly what I was hoping this was.  It makes my old 3 row look tiny.  Gigantic core.  Even the tank on the passenger side is wider (driver side tank is about the same).

 http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=M8005A+01

I forgot how weird the tranny coolers are in the radiators on these cars.  I can't see them doing much now that I actually took the time to look at it closely.  Glad I run a big one mounted right in front of the radiator.....  My plan is to move it a bit more forward though as to have more space between it and the rad.  I'd like at least 3/4".  It's pretty much mounted to it right now with those tabs and feed through style zip ties.  I'm sure spacing it out will help some.

My S197 comes with a pretty decent front mount trans cooler straight from the factory.....  Guess the manufacturers are learning from the racers still.



Swap that rad, Jerry.

Hopefully that radiator will make your car run nice and cool. It looks like it should. I had the Thunderbird out for a half hour drive Tuesday morning (air temp was about 59*-60*). About 25 miles round trip. I got the car back in the garage and popped the hood. The coolant overflow was about 1/2"-3/4" above the full cold line. The upper radiator hose was warm/hot. I touched the bottom hose and it was maybe a couple degrees warmer than my hand. I could comfortably wrap my had around it. Summit two row aluminum radiator with an 180* thermostat, police interceptor fan clutch, and a 9 blade fan. I hope your new radiator cools that well :).

You know what's funny?  If you look at the Summit Radiator photos, There's a logo on it with script writing along the side.  The aluminum radiators the local speed shop have the very same logo on them.  Of course when I check my local place's website they don't list them, but then again they don't list about a quarter of the stuff they have. 

I actually contemplated a nice Griffin piece, but I really do not think it will fit my setup and would need to convert to electric fans for space.  The one I got was in place on a car with the same heads as me, a b-cam, GT-40 intake, and an older style V-1 vortech with about 7 lbs of boost.  Car had full A/C too.  Cooled it fine.

The worst thing you can do to a car is let it sit.

I've only daily driven these cars for the last 10 years and i can count on one hand how many times they let me down, and it was generally something i did/screwed up.

I've put well over 50k miles in a year with few if any problems. in my opinion most people just don't drive them enough.

When the paint issues arose right after the repaint a couple of years ago, I considered parting the car out or selling  it.  I was supremely disgusted.  Last thing I wanted to do was drive it then.  I would start it,let it run, and take it for a 5 minute ride about once every 2 or 3 weeks just to make sure everything stayed somewhat functional/lubricated.  Pissed me off every time I walked over to it and looked at it though.....  Tomorrow everything goes in.  Weather is supposed to be perfect, wife & kids will be out (no interruptions. ;) ), and I am off from work.  Gonna be a good day.

Now you should be able to drive the car and it should stay nice and cool :)

Done.  Drove her around a bit.  All seems well.  Had a slight leak from one of those quick disconnect fittings on the trans line.  Got another half turn on it as it was a wee bit loose.  Should be good now.... Gonna test it in a minute.  I hate those fittings.