97 Ford Escort LX sedan auto 98K miles

[TylerL]

Specs:
engine: 2 liter, inline 4, 8 valve single overhead cam, 110hp, 125 ft/lb torque
Transmission: 4 speed automatic
Brakes: Front: disc, Rear: drum
Suspension: 4 wheel independent.
weight: about 2500 pounds

This is my first and only car. It was a gift from my grandparents in June of 2004 with 76k miles. They bought the car new on 10/2/96 for $14,000.
My Grandpa, who lives in South Carolina, kept it garaged but the clear coat paint was in need of some TLC. He changed the oil himself about every 5k miles.

What he had done:
replaced Radiator in 03
new tires in May 04
new brakes pads in Dec 03
new battery sometime from AAP

Problems I've had:
-Connector in B pillar came lose
-Steer rack bushing squeaked
-rubber piece on top of brake peddle broke off causing high mount
brake light to melt some
-PCV hose got a hole in it
-voltage regulator on alternator failed
-car has shut off on me 3 times over the years. The first time I think it was the battery, 2nd time it miss fired, and the most recent time was from testing the brake (I think it just couldn't down sift fast enough.
-once after school I had to floor it to get it started
-I hit a curb at 30 and bent a stock wheel

Upgrades and Modifications:
Item: Description: Cost:
Lighting: Added fog lights on a relay $15
Paint: Deoxidized, cleaned and touched up $20
Body: Folded rear fenders to fit new tires and wheels $0
Body: Added mud flaps $60
Suspension: replaced struts with Ford racing struts $180
Suspension: replaced broken rear springs $50
Suspension: upgraded to poly anti-sway bar end links $40
Suspension: upgraded rear anti-sway bar to 21mm $30
Suspension: Painted calipers and drum $6
Suspension: replaced steering rack bushings $15
Trans: Added aux transmission cooler $40
Brakes: changed brake pads to Performance Friction $29
Wheels: upgraded to 16in. Moda by BBS wheels $160
Tires: Kumho Ecsta ASX 205/50/16 $330
(stock size BF Goodridges for winter)
Electrical: Added an extra wire from alternator to battery $20
Electrical: Added remote starter $30
Audio: head unit Panasonic CD player $160
Speakers: (4) MB Quart Discus speakers $130
Subwoofer: Pioneer 10 inch in a ported enclosure $70
Subwoofer amplifier: JBL 200.1 producing 337 watts $100
Amplifier:for speakers Power Acoustic 4 chan 400 watts $95

Upgrades Total $1580

 

[jamesn]

my sister has a 99 escort. surprising low end torque. 170k miles on it. runs pretty good. a fair amount of valvetrain noise. i went to the j-yard a few years ago and stripped every electronic component off of one and gave hew 2 milk crates of parts for hew birthday. she has used about a third of them in the last 20 thousand miles (throttle body, ECU, coil packs, radiator fan motor)

 

[TylerL]

Yes the ford racing struts do make for a somewhat harsh ride, but it's better than riding like a Lincoln. I don't take it on trips more than an hour long because the seats aren't padded very well.
I've only had it in the shop for an alignment, tire balance and to get a crack in the cat welded.
I can attest to its low end torque. It's good for everything but snow and ice because it's very hard to take off without just spinning the tires. To fix this I have Blizzak ws-50s winter tires sitting in the attic just waiting to be mounted.

 

[Stanley Rockafeller]

you should do a tranny swap on that bad boy! mine's also a 97 LX sport, but the stick really gets the most outta that 110hp/125tq motor. And with the great amount of tq at low rpm's keeps that clutch lasting several thousands of miles with no replacement! (mine's at 231kms, with no signs of letting up!)

 

[TylerL]

I would like to do a tranny swap but my parents didn't think that was a good idea. They didn't like the idea of me adding a turbo either.

Oh well, it's not too slow but a boost in speed would complement its handling.

At least I can answer "ya sort of" when someone ask if I got a hemi.