Fancy A "Frog-eye" Scorpio, Anyone?

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Fancy A "Frog-eye" Scorpio, Anyone?

Post by Seans Dad » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:47 am

I thought I'd share my troublesome, short-lived love affair with the Ford Scorpio, the last of Ford's big, rear wheel drive cars.
The Frog-eye, introduced in 1994, received much criticism from the press for its ungainly looks, especially in saloon form, but I think the estates pictured here are actually quite attractive.

I owned three, and still have the Green one, although not for too long hopefully!.

Here goes, in order;

My first Scorp, bought in April 2008, was this stunning 1997 2.3 4cyl Ultima Auto, top of the range model. I paid £450 for it, as it had a short MOT, but when MOT time came along in June, it went straight through, with no work required!! I was amazed, and was looking forward to a years trouble free motoring in it, but in September 2008, the engine over-heated, and the cooling system was over-run with horrible brown sludge.
It turned out that the cylinder head had cracked, on the oilway between cyl's 3 & 4, a common problem on these engines. I flushed the engine through, and it ran better, but I cut my losses, and sold it on for spares;

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As I'd fallen in love with the model, I immediately set out for a replacement, when along came this beauty, a 1994 Ghia Auto, with the 2.9 24v Cosworth engine. An awesome car to drive, it just pulled and pulled. I paid £480 for it, and it had long tax & MOT.
It towed our caravan down to Weymouth for a long weekend break, and was brilliant, until three weeks after returning, the gearbox cried enough, and lost forward drive. Looking at another huge bill for a replacement, I again sold it on, and looked for another one;

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I then picked up this 1996 Ghia, a 2.0 16v with manual 'box, and hardly any MOT. I'd been knobbled though, as when I took it for the MOT, it failed on emissions.
I still have this at the moment, but it is listed on ebay, finishing this coming Sunday. I wasn't as impressed with this one as I was with the other two, and I think it killed my love for the Scorpio.

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You could say that 2008 was a bad year for me and cars, but hopefully, with the Sterling, I can put most of my troubles behind me, and look forward to some decent motoring again!

Thanks for looking all. :D

Dan.
1999 Mercedes C Class C240 Sport Auto Estate.

Previous Rovers: '94 827 Sterling Fastback Auto, '91 820si Fastback Auto.

http://www.mgt-dist.co.uk

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Post by hoody » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:47 pm

i like them,nearly bought one at auction a couple of weeks ago but it didn't make reserve,lots of car for not a lot of money

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Post by 47p2 » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:25 pm

hoody wrote:...nearly bought one at auction a couple of weeks ago but it didn't make reserve...........
Bet your glad now you never got it

How's the new old banger doing :shock:
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Post by JulianO'Connor » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:26 pm

Ah the Ford Kipper - half Sierra half trout on the outside but very nice on the inside. Yes, I'd have a 24 valve one too!
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Post by Richard C » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:40 pm

I had a scorpio Cosworth for a few months HGF on mine as well, lovely to drive pug ugly but the Cosworth engines are fragile IMO
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Post by Seans Dad » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:40 pm

Richard C wrote:I had a scorpio Cosworth for a few months HGF on mine as well, lovely to drive pug ugly but the Cosworth engines are fragile IMO
I had no HG trouble on my Cosworth Richard, it was the 2.3 four cylinder engine that had a cracked cylinder head. The gasket was fine, as there was no oil or water leakage from it.

I wouldn't say that the Cosworth engine was fragile as such, but they did need a bit more looking after than your average 4-pot. The good thing was, they had good old fashioned timing chains, designed to last the life of the engine, so if anybody selling you one ever said: "Oh yeah, the cam belt's been changed", they are LYING! :shock:

Dan.
1999 Mercedes C Class C240 Sport Auto Estate.

Previous Rovers: '94 827 Sterling Fastback Auto, '91 820si Fastback Auto.

http://www.mgt-dist.co.uk

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Post by JulianO'Connor » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:57 pm

Love that kind of 'advice', like the guy who once told a friend of mine not to worry as their MGF didn't have a cambelt..
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Post by Richard Moss » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:40 pm

The MGF has a cambelt, it just doesn't have a head gasket.
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Post by JulianO'Connor » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:53 pm

They do have both, there's an article on how to change them somewhere
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Post by Richard Moss » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:29 pm

Dan, any idea what's causing the trouble with the latest Scorpio and it emissions?
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Post by Richard C » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:32 pm

Seans Dad wrote:
Richard C wrote:I had a scorpio Cosworth for a few months HGF on mine as well, lovely to drive pug ugly but the Cosworth engines are fragile IMO
I had no HG trouble on my Cosworth Richard, it was the 2.3 four cylinder engine that had a cracked cylinder head. The gasket was fine, as there was no oil or water leakage from it.

I wouldn't say that the Cosworth engine was fragile as such, but they did need a bit more looking after than your average 4-pot. The good thing was, they had good old fashioned timing chains, designed to last the life of the engine, so if anybody selling you one ever said: "Oh yeah, the cam belt's been changed", they are LYING! :shock:

Dan.
yes i must have had a duff one
Richard

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Post by Seans Dad » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:51 pm

richard moss wrote:Dan, any idea what's causing the trouble with the latest Scorpio and it emissions?
Basically Richard, it needs a new catalyst :(

Here's the readings from the test:

Fast idle test
CO level=3.26% vol, max allowed is 0.30 = FAIL
HC level=75ppm = PASS
Lambda=0.911 = FAIL

2nd fast idle test
CO level=2.66% vol= FAIL
HC level=86ppm= PASS
Lambda=0.924= FAIL

Natural idle test
CO level= 4.03% vol, max allowed is 0.50= FAIL

Overall test result=FAIL.

As can be seen, the CO levels are dangerously high, and this would also affect the Lambda test IIRC.

The manifold end does blow quite badly on cold start, but it disappears after engine is up to temp.
I'm looking at around £400 to have a new catalyst fitted. Not only that, there is minor corrosion on the rear subframe both sides, which the tester said would need attention before it's next MOT in 2010, so weighing up costs etc, it's just not worth spending the money on the cat, only to shell out again for welding next year.

It also failed on poor handbrake efficiency, which I was aware of beforehand anyway. This is a five minute adjustment job.

Dan.
1999 Mercedes C Class C240 Sport Auto Estate.

Previous Rovers: '94 827 Sterling Fastback Auto, '91 820si Fastback Auto.

http://www.mgt-dist.co.uk

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Post by Kyle » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:18 pm

JulianO'Connor wrote:They do have both, there's an article on how to change them somewhere
I think Rich M may have been hinting at the K series chocolate gaskets on the k1.8 in the mgf :lol:
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Post by Richard Moss » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:31 pm

I may have been!
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Post by Richard Moss » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:36 pm

Dan, those CO levels are too high to pass a non-cat test - there has to be more to it than the cat. The old classic on the 820 (and XJ40) is the coolant temperature sensor failing and telling the ECU that the engine is cold, even when it is fully warm. It then continues to fuel as per a cold start.

The CTS on an 820 is under a tenner - I wonder what they cost on a Scorpio?
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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