1991 Mercury Tracer oil + filter + other fluids

[HTSS_TR]

My neighbor just obtained 1991 Mercury Tracer 4-dr Wagon from a widower for their just licensed daughter. The body and paint are in excellent shape because the car was the garage queen. It had been driven less than 1-2k miles a year for the last 3-4 years, the odometer shows 8xxx miles (passed 100k miles). It looks like all OEM fluids, except oil, are in the car and they are very nasty looking. It needs the following new fluids, but the car did not come with owner manual, any input or direction to where to find some info about this car is appreciated.

Oil weight and filter
Transmission fluid
Power Steering fluid
Coolant fluid
Brake fluid

Other than those fluids, I think it may need engine air filter, it has no cabin filter. I will ask them to check the air filter to be sure.

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

Is it an Auto? Does it have the 1.9L Ford engine or the 1.8L DOHC Mazda engine?

Engine oil: you can use the usual fare 5w30, 10w30 for SoCal for sure IMO. Synthetic or not , no big deal. If it's the 1.8L you can use a 7317 or 3593 in the Fram p/n (but not an actual Fram lol)

Regardless of engine, if it's automatic, then it has the Jatco/Mazda F4A-EL transmission (F4EAT). You'll have great success using something like MaxLife MultiVehicle, or even Mercon V. Stay away from the outdated rec. of DexIII/Mercon - it was only ever suitable back then, when there was nothing better as the transmission tends to run on the hotter side and will tear the DIII apart.

PowerSteering pump is a Ford unit, and probably takes regular Power Steering fluid. (I personally use Hydraulic Fluid in all my PS systems. Esso UNIVIS HVI 13 to be exact. Reasonably shear stable and 400+ VI!)

Coolant is regular green, Brake Fluid is regular DOT3.

It should serve the girl well with all the fluids freshed up and given the once over. Good luck

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

PS - you might also want to check the TPS sensor for contamination as an erratic signal can cause the PCM to downshift unexpectedly.

 

[HTSS_TR]

It's an automatic transmission. I don't know if it's an 1.8L or 1.9L engine. I need to talk to my neighbor about engine size, he probably does not know either, may be open the hood will tell the engine size. The seller did not remember when was the last time the oil had been changed, may be 2-3 years ago. But the engine seems to run fairly smooth for 19 years old car.

Just saw the tire size, it's small 175/65-14. Tread life is about 50-60% remaining.

 

[bullwinkle]

1.9 liter is stamped on the valve cover-if a 1.9 & you ever pull the head for any reason-be SURE to have the intake valve seats STAKED IN to the aluminum-you don't want to know why!

 

[HTSS_TR]

It's a 1.9L engine.

Brake fluid is black like ink.
Coolant fluid is very dark brown.
Power steering fluid is very dark almost black.
AT fluid is medium brown but no smell of burnt.
Oil is dark brown and a little thin for xW30, a smell of gasoline on the dipstick.

The girl said everything seems okay except that the brake pedal is soft, it's needed to step on almost to the floor to stop the car.

Air conditioning may need some freon R12 type, no cool air after engaged the air conditioning, also the steering is needed to turn to the right to keep the car going straight, otherwise the car goes to the left. This means it needs alignment.

From the outside look it's a good car, but the details under the hood and operating of the car is different story. A lot of works is needed to make to car reliable.

I told my neighbor to look for the owner manual, may be it is somewhere in the car or ask the seller if they can find it. But so far the car is 1.9L with Auto Trans, with these info I think I may be able to find all the fluid types it needs by visiting Mercury forum(s) or contact Mercury dealer.

 

[bustednutz]

Fluids are relatively cheap, all things considered. If your on a budget, you can get the advance auto house brands of fluids. They have really decent stuff. Get a coolant flush kit as well. Very easy to hook up and backflushes everything. Sounds like the brake fluid needs to be flushed as well. Start at the right rear and work around to the next closest wheel to the master cyl for a fluid flush. RR, LR, RF, LF. Or have a shop do that. siphon out the trans fluid, or do a drain and refill. Or a full removal of pan and replace the trans filter. Oil and Filter.
One more thing to consider.......get a new battery. You've come this far, why skimp on that.

 

[The_Eric]

We've had a few cars of this style and approximate vintage in the shop for brake work and even after new pads/shoes and calipers/wheel cylinders, the brakes still leave something to be desired.

The 1.9 has a timing belt and as much as it sat, I'd be checking up on it. Also check and clean all the grounds, including the chassis ground on the firewall. I'm not sure if the problem was model specific or not, but we had a 91 Escort (same platform as the Tracer) Wagon (1.9l) that suffered from a massive wiring harness meltdown. It had some bad connections (engine bay grounds/corroded pin in a connector) and burnt the fuel pump harness clear up to the kick panel and also a ground wire up to behind the gauge cluster. The guy is lucky (maybe not, considering the condition of the car) it didn't burn to the ground.... I believe you can pull the back seat up and inspect the harness. If your model was one of the affected ones, there was an updated harness that included a fuse to protect the circuit. Maybe someone with some Ford TSB or IATN resources can chip in...

Otherwise, the 1.9 is a great little engine that is content with almost anything. It sounds like you've got most of the bases covered already. Just check up on the other stuff and you should be good to go.

 

[HTSS_TR]

This is my neighbor car, he got it for their daughter. He and his wife don't know much about maintenance, they have 2004-2005 Honda Pilot and always take them to dealer for all maintenance, include buying Goodyear Integrity(235/70-16) at dealer for almost $800 a set. They don't even have tire gauge to check pressure of their tires, that why their tires are under inflated most of the times, until they took the SUV to dealer for oil change.

They found the owner manual in the trunk on top of the spare tire. I'll take a look at the manual and write down what they need, where to buy(Walmart ?) and which mechanic they should take the car to have all necessary things replaced. If they want, I can help them do the coolant(with Preston T-Flush) and brake fluid(with MityVac), but other items they need to have it done at a shop by a good mechanic.

Regarding to battery, it seems the car has a fairly new AAA battery with less than 2 years old.

I will tel them to clean the engine first to be able to look for any leak. The engine is covered with thick dirt and dust and grease, hard to see anything around. I have a gallon Castrol Super Clean, I'll show them how to use it to clean the engine, then show them everything they need to do, to check and to replace if needed by themself or pay someone to do it.

 

[addyguy]

1.9's are tough engines. In So Cal, I'd run any 10w30 in it, and a couple of short chages will clean it out.

I'd worry about all the other fluids before the oil, though.

 

[Kestas]

I used to own a 91 Tracer 1.9L. It took well to transmission fluid exchanges through the cooler line. The fluid went from black to pink rather quickly at the end of the exchange. PS fluid changes are rather difficult. I would go with the turkey baster method for the ps fluid.

I owned it to 60K, so I didn't get to see all the systematic problems it may have had. The only problems I can think of is that the EGR valve developed a dirty seat, and the a/c went out because of a leaky compressor shaft seal.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I used to own a 91 Tracer 1.9L. It took well to transmission fluid exchanges through the cooler line. The fluid went from black to pink rather quickly at the end of the exchange. PS fluid changes are rather difficult. I would go with the turkey baster method for the ps fluid.

I owned it to 60K, so I didn't get to see all the systematic problems it may have had. The only problems I can think of is that the EGR valve developed a dirty seat, and the a/c went out because of a leaky compressor shaft seal.

The air conditioning does not work, probably a leak somewhere and out of R12 freon.

The manual specs Mercon/Dexron II fluid for Transmission(6.1 QT) and Power Steering(1.6 QT). I think Dexron 6 or some Multi Vehicles formula is suitable for replacement.

Oil filter: FL-400A
Air filter: FA-1048
PCV valve: EV-151

Just told me neighbor to grab 8-10 qt Dexron 6, oil filter FL-400S, 4 qt Pennzoil Conventional 10w30, 1 gallon Preston Long Life and a big bottle of DOT 3 brake fluid at Walmart, then take the car to my trusted Mechanic to change all fluids.

If air filter and PCV valve are needed to change, they can order those from local dealer.

It looks like it may cost $200-300, parts and labor, to change all fluids. This does not include the cost of repair A/C leak and recharge R12.