Considering buying a 94 Thunderbird

[EvilTriumph57]

Hello everyone. I am considering purchasing a 1994 Ford Thunderbird tomorrow. I don't know the specifics of the engine/tranny combo of the one I am going to look at. What I do know is this: My father's friend's mother cannot drive anymore and wants to sell her car. She is a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sunday and the car has only 17,000 miles!!!!! Plus she only wants $800 fo it!!! Granted, I haven't seen what condition it is in yet.

Despite the low milage and inherent coolness of the car I am concerned about reliability. After reading this forums and other places I am a bit concerned. I hear a lot about transmission woes and heater coil troubles, both of which can be big fixes required either a lot of time or a lot of cash or both. How reliable are these cars? Any clue as to the frequency with which these problems occur? I can change my own oil but overall am not too great with a wrench. I'm willing to learn, but I was thinking just as you don't start learning math with differential equations maybe I shouldn't start learning to wrench on a 94 Thunderbird? This car would be my daily driver. Any advice? Also, if I do buy the car, is there any preventative maintenance I should do right away?

 

[007_SuperCoupe]

You should have no concerns about getting and driving the car.

In '94 there were basically 3 different options for engine and 2 for transmission.

Option #1: (LX) 3.8 Liter V6, n/a (naturally aspirated) with an electronically controlled automatic transmission

Option #2: (LX) 4.6 Liter V8, SOHC (Single Over Head Cam), n/a with an electronically controlled auto

Option #3: (Super Coupe) Supercharged 3.8 Liter V6 with electronically controlled auto

Option #4: (Super Coupe) Supercharged 3.8 Liter V6 with manual 5-speed transmission


Issues and concerns to be aware of.

1. For both 3.8 Liter engines, there is a very real likelyhood of head gasket failure. Although in '94 Ford started using Fel-Pro gaskets on the 3.8, the likely hood is diminished over earlier models, but is still there. This is a very expensive fix if you can't do it yourself, not too bad if you can do it with a little help from a friend or two.
2. I believe the 4.6 Liter engine had some issues with the plastic intake manifold cracking or the gaskets failing allowing coolant to seep into the intake, then combustion chamber which has similar results to a head gasket failure. I think there was a recall on this. That would be one thing to check out for sure. It's possible that the recall might still be valid for it, even though it's older.
3. The automatic transmissions are not as prone to failure as the earlier model AOD. They are pretty reliable until you start modifying you car to make more power. If you do that, then you will need to think about altering the transmission controls...but the internal parts should still be good. The over drive band is still the weak point, and is generally what fails in any of the Ford automatic transmissions. With just a little preventative maintenance, you can ensure a long life from the engine and tranny.

Now as for an PM that you can do to help hold off any issues that you might have.

1. First off, start with a complete tune-up. Even though it only has 17k on it, it is still 14 years old. Replace all belts (1 for the LXs and 3 for the Super Coupe), spark plugs, spark plug wires, air filter (I prefer K&N filters myself). Then you want to change all your fluids...the engine oil, transmission fluid and rear differential oil. I would HIGHLY recommend replacing them all with full synthetic as it will do nothing but help everything last longer. I use K&N oil filters, but Wix is also a very good brand. Stay away from Fram...they are horrible...period. You will also need to replace your transmission filter, which is no big deal. It can be replaced once you drop the pan. Don't forget to drain the torque converter when you do this, so you get as much as you can that is full synthetic. It's easy to do, no biggie there. The rear differential is pretty easy too, the rear case comes off after you remove the rear mount. It'll be messy, so be prepared for that (just like the tranny). Once it is drained, you simply seal it back up (not sure if there's actually a gasket for that or not...) and add the rear oil in through the plug on the back. I prefer Red Line oil for all my fluids, but Royal Purple and Lucas are all three quality products that I would not have a problem putting in any one of my vehicles.
   
2. Next, check the alignemnt, shocks and all bushings. Since it is a 14 year old car, I would be concerned about dry rot on the bushings. Have it looked over by a good mechanic or suspension shop. It will likely be good, but dry rot is something to just check out. The front suspension in particular is rather expensive if you have to start replacing all the bushings. Been there...done that...
   
3. On your first longer trip, get an 11 oz can of BG44K. There is no equal to this, except maybe a Lucas fuel system cleaner. I use BG44K in all my vehicles every 10k or so. This cleans all deposits out of the entire fuel system, to include cleaning carbon off the valves, combustion chamber and even the exhaust runners, manifolds and as far as cleaning the O2 sensors and catalytic converters. It's great stuff...runs about $20~ a can, but when you only put it in ever 10k or so, it's well worth it in the long run. You want to put it in on a longer trip though because you want your engine to be operating under load, preferably at or above 2000 rpm and for a duration of time. It doesn't work well for cleaning when you're just driving in town.

Other than that stuff, enjoy the car. If you happen to get the rare Super Coupe with the 5-speed, hang onto it and if you can, find something else to drive. There were only around 720 of those even made. More than likely it's an LX though, but still a great find...especially for only $800 . I thought I had a good find with my '92 Super Coupe with 72K on it for $2000 .

Post back here and let me know what engine it has...then I can point you in the direction to really start having fun with it and learning more about it. I was just like you a few years ago...I knew how to change my plugs, wires, and oil...that was about it. Then I purchased an '89 Super Coupe then a '92 Super Coupe and dove right in on each. Since then I've gone as far as replacing the heads in an effort to get more power.

Good luck and great find!

 

[EvilTriumph57]

Thanks for the advice, 007_SuperCoupe. I bought the car. It turns out it is a LX with the 3.8L V-6 Engine. The paint job has seen better days but otherwise it is in mint condition. There is only some very minor surface rust, almost no rust at all. I was worried it would be rotted out, considering how old it is and how the low milage means it wasn't driven a lot but it also means it was parked a lot. It runs and drives extreamly well. The engine is as smooth as any engine I've ever heard. It has a remote starter, anti-theft alarm, sunroof and plenty of other extras.

In the event of head gasket failure, do they make head gaskets that improved the original design and are less likely to fail. I have a friend who is a mechanic who I could get to help me fix it for a case of beer, so fixing it once isn't a huge issue but if it is going to keep failing I would get upset. I was reading up on these cars though, and apparently they are in general a reliable car which is good. Plus I suppose a breakdown now and then is the price you pay for not driving a dull, grey, four banger camry and I pay it gladly.

 

[007_SuperCoupe]

Fel-Pro makes the best gaskets that require the least amount of work to get them on the car. There are a couple other gaskets that are better, but you've got to get the deck on the block and heads machined so it's smooth...not cost effective on that car. One thing that will help a lot is head studs. You can run ARP head studs instead of head bolts and that will prevent HG failure...(but you've got to replace the gaskets to do this).

There's a couple things you can do to help prevent HG failure...open up the exhaust a little bit (where do you live?) make sure you've got good coolant in the engine. Don't expect it to be a screamer ever. I drove my '92 LX for over 130,000 miles before I had any issues with it. Just take care of it. You'll enjoy it a lot.

PS clear coat peeling was a huge issue for the '94-'95 T-birds. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Too bad there's a little rust for as few of miles as it has...

 

[EvilTriumph57]

I live in Massachusetts, where we use road salt like there is no tommarrow, so a little rust is normal for cars of that age here. The car I drove before this, a 1981 Pontiac Bonneville had much more rust and it wasn't really an issue. It is very minimal, none on the body, none under the hood, just the slightest amount on the underbody, mostly on the exhaust but even there it is very minimal.

I know a guy who does car inspections so I can open up the exhaust as much as I want. He passed my younger brother's 1970s Dodge Ram conversion van that has no working gauges, the brake lights work when they feel like it and it is held together with bondo and rust. I'm gonna miss my brother when he dies in that thing.

 

[007_SuperCoupe]

I'm familiar with the area...grew up in ME and have family there in MA... I'll actually be up that way in August...my little sister is getting married out on Cape Cod. It'll be nice to get back up that way finally. I've been away now for 15+ years.

I know how the salt is...not used as much here, but I remember! One thing you will find is that with the moonroof, you'll get rust in the rocker panels (just on the bottom behind the doors) because the drains for the moonroof don't empty exterior to the car, but inside the panels. It just sits there from that. Sucks, but that's the way Ford did it. If you've got the ability, you can fix that, but it's a lot of work.

As for exhaust, if you can find a place to do it, you want to get high flow cats (because you can't get away with not having them) then a different resonator. (that's the muffler looking thing right in the middle of the car) If you've got the money, you want a Magnaflow dual inlet single outlet or dual outlet...you could easily get dual 2" inlets and single 2-1/2 outlet or dual 2" outlet depending on what you want for exhaust. If you want the single or dual out back...then you want Borla muffler(s) out back. If you go single exhaust, 2-1/2" inlet and outlet and if you go dual exhaust, 2" inlets and outlets. You also want to get the longest Borla you can. This exhaust sounds great on the 3.8 and is open a lot. You might loose just a tad low end torque (you'd probably never miss it because it's pretty lacking to begin with) but you will greatly pick up flow...easier the exhaust gets out, the cooler the engine runs...the cooler the engine runs, the less likely a HG will fail. Head gaskets go because of 2 reasons...heat and detonation. You don't have to worry too much about the detonation, but heat you do.

That exhaust will sound the best and still be legal. The only catch is getting the stock cats replaced. Those are a major restriction as well as the stock resonator. On a Super Coupe they are horrible.

 

[Tbirder97]

I live in Ontario,Canada. Like MA, we have to cope with road salt in the winter.
However, I have my cars oil sprayed every year to minimize the salt affect. My '97 T-bird never sees the road after salt has been dropped.

The T-bird looks like new underneath,although oil-covered.