98 Ford Escort ZX2

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Kestas

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2, ATX, 183,000 miles, Michigan climate

70K - replaced both outer tie rod ends, LF tie rod end replaced three more times after that.
100K - temp gauge stopped working, stuck on high, never fixed, probably the sending unit located near the exhaust manifold.
120K - new radiator (leaked from corrosion)
120K - new timing belt and water pump (elective maintenance)
120K - new exhaust system (the flex coupling started leaking)
120K - new resistor block for blower motor (old one was burned/rusty)
135K - new alternator
150K - new a/c condenser (leaked from corrosion)
166K - new ball joints
173K - new front calipers (they started to get leaky)
175K - new thermostat (engine started running too cold)
183K - new a/c clutch (outer piece [drive, PN YB521] broke, replaced with used part that also shows cracks at the same fracture location!)
183K - hiccup with fuel pump relay (CCRM), it has since went away, I'm keeping an eye on it.

I took care of this car from day one. This is one of the most reliable cars I've owned, and it's not at all needy. Mine is kept stock.

I got inside word that production was discontinued because the car was too reliable. Ford and its dealers were losing business from lack of repair and no trade-in for new cars.

More info on this model: http://teamzx2.com/index.php/topic,35017.0.html
 
Congrats for owning such a reliable car, but the 'inside word' you got sounds like a tractor-trailor load of horse sheeyat. The car is discontinued because the platform is aging and demand for this specific car is waning. A good reliability record would never be cause for killing a model.
 
A buddy of mine bought one of these with about 20k miles on it about 8 years ago, and now it has somewhere around 130k miles on it.

He has beaten the ever-loving snot out of it from day 1 of owning it. Almost EVERY shift is done at the redline, and it has done numerous 2-4 hour highway trips at over 4,000rpm. No exageration here at all - I've been with him for a lot of it.

Has had hardly any major/unexpected repairs, (I don't know EXACTLY) what has been fixed on it...) and more importantly, engine does not smoke, knock or use a lot of oil. Gets a quick-lube oil change every 5-6k miles with whatever - GTX, Pennzoil, PC dino. Uses maybe 1/2-1 litre of oil between changes.

They are great cars, and I actually 'kick' myself occassionally that I didn't make an effort to get one when I could have......
 
Originally Posted By: RTexasF
This thread is useless without pics!

+1
grin2.gif
 
Ford used that platform from 1991 to 2003 (13yrs). It actually dates back to 1989 with the Mazda 323. So it was time for something new.
 
Tyler, besides age, what makes the platform outdated? This is somewhat of a rhetorical question, because I haven't seen any real technological advances in the regular automobile over the last 20 years, just some minor refinement.

I believe a lot of "new" models are introduced for marketing reasons. Nobody wants to lay out good money for a car that is similar to many old cars that are ready for the scrap heap. So the auto manufacturers make a styling change, resize it, and make the public happy. Now everyone can recognize that Joe bought a new car.

Me... I wouldn't mind buying a new carbon copy of the 98 ZX2.
 
Rigidity of the sedan is lacking. I'm not sure about the zx2, but my 97 sedan flexes quite a bit. It's noticeable when one corner is on a jack, because the doors don't line up.
I think safety depends on a good solid body.

It's also not a very tall car so it lacks the interior room of newer cars like the Focus.

Cost effectiveness of a platform is also something ford takes into account.

The use of high strength steel is one tech advance and increases in engine power, efficiency and durability are others.

I would buy a new zx2 also, but make it the s/r version with an option to run regular gas.

I don't really know what made the escort platform unusable.

Hope this helps.
 
It's a Mexican made Mazda, what do you expect? I doubt "our" new Focus uses any more high strength steel as it's based off the old, [censored] Focus. Cheap = cost effective, the newer Mazda3 chassis wasn't cheap enough for Ford NA.

Duratec 20 makes about the same power/torque as a Zetec. Where's the advancement?

S/R should have a knock sensor and will just be down on power w/ regular gas. Split the difference w/ 89 octane. SVT Focus engine is hotter anyways.
 
High strength steel is not the panacea to progress one might imagine. Though high strength steel is stronger than the plain carbon steel it replaces, it's formability is limited, and thus it is very limited as a useful material.

A friend of mine at Roush asked me to visit his body-in-white projects he was reverse-engineering. I could easily identify the high strength steel components by their (lack of) curvature and definition.

Like anything that's engineered, there are pros and cons to certain designs.
 
I also own an Escort of the sam evintage, but mine's the 4 door model.

I also have had CRAZY FANTASTIC reliability out of it, esp considering the car is FULLY loaded, save the auto tranny (I had to look good and long to find one.

4 years after initial purchase, and the car remains the most economical vehicle I've EVER owned (except my 86 Nova/Corolla which I neglected for 2 years, and it STILL never failed on me except when the battery died during a severe cold snap).

The only problem I'm facing at the moment is chipping paint around the rear wheel wells. I know it's going to develop into rust, then into rust holes, but considering I bought it for 5500 4 years ago, I could walk away from this car and it would owe me nothing.

But, considering the car was such a great deal, i could fix the paint chipping and have a great looking car for another 2-3 years and think nothing of it for a mere 500-600 bucks. But at my age (mid 20's) most in my field of work are all purchasing newer, fancier cars that are depreciating faster then their owners can drive them.

what to do, what to do...sure I can afford a new car cash, but why??? when there's such fantastic used cars to choose from for far less???

Oh well,
 
Originally Posted By: CBDFrontier06
Congrats for owning such a reliable car, but the 'inside word' you got sounds like a tractor-trailor load of horse sheeyat. The car is discontinued because the platform is aging and demand for this specific car is waning. A good reliability record would never be cause for killing a model.


I've gotta agree, sure the Escort's a fantastic little machine, with a low friction, non-interference engine. But there's no conspiracy theory going on here. Sales were declining and even tho the Escort was totally redisigned for 97 AND won car of the year for 97 by Motoring 97 a canadian TV program, nobody was interested in driving a car that shared the poor reliability of the early 80's models.

The post 03 Foci seem to be faiing VERY well as a replacement for the last Escorts. When testing one (an 05 ST model) i had a blast wi thte power and handling. The only problem I encountered was a lack of low end torque that my old Escort easily cold manage. Personally I'm a fan of engines that dont have to rev very high to get power. This is not the case with the Focuses. I think it's to compete with the performance of the Japanese competitors. To me, when you consider the cost savings and insurance savings of the Focus over the Japanese competitors, it' s a no brainer!
 
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Only the very limited production run of ZX2 S/R models had to have the premium gas due to a higher state of tune.

My wife had one of these for a few years and it was a very reliable car with the exception of the A/C system quitting and the Trans cooler leaking so that I got cross contamination in bothe the trans and engine coolant.

One of the big detractions of "the platform" is lower rigidity and much more road noise at highway speed than the Focus or Mazda 3 platforms.
 
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