Anyone own a 93-97 Ford Thunderbird or Mercury Cougar?

[miken]

THat's exactly what I mean, they are great in SUV/Trucks, but you don't NEED them in cars, most V6's will give you the same torque and Horsepower, and be geared for actually using it for performance.

 

[1951biggoos]

I have owned 3 models 1994 - 1997, two with 3.8L V-6 and the 1997 T-Bird had 4.6L V-8. Key problem with the 1994 Cougar and 1995 T-Bird (both 3.8L) were need to replace head gaskets at nearly $600 a pop. Enjoyed the performance of the 1997 V-8. Just recently I purchased a 3.8L V-6 1996 Ford Thunderbird with 28,488 actual miles. Major problem is that it was "tied up" in an estate settlement and allegedly sat untouched for 12-14 years or so. I was impressed at the pickup and pep of the 3.8L V-6 engine (largely I guess because of it's "newness") ... but problem soon developed that required nearly a half dozen attempts and visits ... flashing CHECK ENG light with subsequent loss of power, continued diagnosis "misfire cylinders 2 & 6." Efforts to remediate included major tune-up, 3 ignition coils, plus a new MAF (that resulted in nearly 400 miles of great performance over 3 weeks then w/o warning the light started flashing again, and the car ran horribly). Final diagnosis: ECM was not grounding charge to injectors 2 and 6, resulting in recurring misfires. Replacement plus diagnostic efforts and labor (including continued test-driving the repaired vehicle) topped $590. I've had it now again over 2 weeks and 350 or so miles on it without incident ... hoping it stays that way!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thundercougarfalconbird!

 

[ultimatebob]

Good buddy of mine drives a 99 Cougar, his wife has a 93 w/ V6 in it.. blew a head gasket about a month ago, cost 1000 to get it fixed. Otherwise, it has been pretty troublefree. I like the styling of the Tbird more than the Cougar..

The 99 Cougar is a completely different animal than the older T-bird. It's on a different platform, and more resembles a Ford Contour than an old 90's T-Bird.

I had one... cool looking car. The styling seemed about 10 years ahead of it's time.

 

[herm0016]

FYI. huge necro...

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah, but it's a Necro that I liked so I'll play along 🙂