93 escort - what else should I fix?

[sixleggedinsect]

ive had my car a little over a year. with the killer mpg, cheap parts, and perfect for my lifestyle i want her to last a lot longer.

ive been doing all the maintenance myself. didnt have any records from the previous owners. recently my r.wiper started up and woudlnt turn off. i pulled the fuse and poked around the internet- seems others had this problem, said it was wires worn through in the little boot that protects the wires between the liftgate and the body. i checked, and hey presto- two wires compltely severed. three more worn halfway through and shredded. no wonder my defrost didnt work and the fuse blew twice and the wiper woudlnt turn off..

so this makes me think- are there other common problems with my model? something i should look out for? something i could fix before im far away from my tools and out of luck?

anthony

[f150gt]

tie rod ends!, had 2 escorts and 1 tracer and all have needed them replaced fairly often.

[Escort_Service]

If your looking for even more mpg. Take out your air box and remove the u shaped baffle. The engine may be a little louder but its nothing the stereo can't cover. I did this to mine and instead of the 36 mpg I get around 42

[sixleggedinsect]

Originally Posted by Escort_Service

If your looking for even more mpg. Take out your air box and remove the u shaped baffle. The engine may be a little louder but its nothing the stereo can't cover. I did this to mine and instead of the 36 mpg I get around 42

sounds great! id heard mention of it before. id love to make this mod, but is there any downside except for the noise? is there a link with details on the modification?

sounds good,
anthony

[Escort_Service]

As far as I know the sound is the only problem. About 2 weeks after I did the mod I had to go for my Drive clean test and it actually did a lot better then the first time I went. To make the mod simple try picking up a Haynes manual and in section 4-10 it out lines the intake setup in detail and you can see the u baffle. The extra power and mph is gained because you change the intake breather size from a bottle cap to a 2 1/2 inch opening.

[dougand3]

EscortService, do you mean the U shaped pipe before (upstream) of the air cleaner housing? The Haynes 4-10 shows this pipe on the 1.8L.

[Escort_Service]

Yes the u shaped pipe before the air box. the 1.9 and 1.8 are very close to the same design. the only difference is the 1.8 has a cone shapped filter and the 1.9 has an actual box. And I believe that the 1.9 eary modles don't have the resonance duct. The only reason the the air intake duct is there it to keep the engine quiet, but while its there it restricts air flow.

[barretire]

change the timing belt

[dougand3]

Escort Service, thanks for your advice.

Removed my U shaped resonance pipe today...I'm looking at it thinking..."This thing looks like a cancerous growth"...what a contraption just to slow air down...anyway, I can't tell that my engine sounds louder. I added a screen (cut from a window screen) to the air inlet hole in the bottom of the air filter box to keep leaves out (this may or may not really be needed but I felt better with it there).

I'll check mileage and see if I can get 6 mpg (amazing).

[townsaver]

Ill have to try this when i get to my ex-wife. Shes been driving my escort, and if i can give her another 4-5 MPG, hey.. that works!