| NOVAMOG The Northern Virginia Merkur Owners Group |
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| -- Cracked dashes on early models 85-'87 and some 88s are very common. A replacement dash from a later model will cost about $100-$150, maybe more as they become more rare. If you can handle a Philips-head screwdriver and have a little patience, you can replace the dash yourself in about two hours. Also available are dash covers for about $100; this just glues over the existing cracked dash pad. Note that 88 and 89 XR dashes are a darker grey than the early models, both the upper and lower dashes. Regardless, the difference in color is not nearly as noticeable as the cracks in the dash. -- Seats: XRs came in either cloth or leather interiors. Cracked leather or torn cloth seams are common in early-model XRs, especially the driver's seat (it gets most of the wear and tear). You can buy replacement leather seat covers (really big $$$ from Rapido), get them recovered in leather or vinyl at an upholstery shop, buy used seats from a salvage yard or XR enthusiast, or buy seat covers from any number of sources. Used leather seats, if you can find them, are $100-$150 each. I recently saw an excellent condition leather driver's seat advertised for $300. Getting the seams resewn is an option but one upholsterer knowledgeable about XRs said the resewn seat covers would then be too tight to slip back onto the seats. (The reason the seams split, he said, is that the leather shrinks.) -- Heated seats. Most XRs came with heated front seats. It is not uncommon for these any longer to be working. The usual culprit is broken connections, as the heating elements themselves were very brittle. I don't know for sure, but I would guess these are expensive to repair. I do know from experience that the seat upholstery is very difficult to get off and back on if you do it yourself. Diagnose a broken connection by checking for an open circuit in the seat heater plugs beneath the seat. -- Switches. If the electric windows don't work, suspect corroded connections at the switch(es), or the switch itself could be bad (there have been many reports of both). Remove switch, spray with electrical contact cleaner, and reassemble. Should work. Another good bargaining point. The problem might be worse (bad electric motor, for example) but most often, it's just corrosion. Corrosion at all electrical connections are a typical XR problem. If you have inoperative rear turn signals, for example, try cleaning the bulb contacts with a Scotchbrite pad and/or spraying with contact cleaner. -- Wet floormats or carpets. Suspect clogged sunroof drains. Unclog with clothes hanger. If wetness in the passenger footwell is accompanied by smell of coolant, suspect ruptured heater core. -- Drooping headliner. Very common especially in early-model XRs. You can repair this yourself fairly easily (can you operate a Philips screwdriver?) in 2-3 hours. Cost me $50 for fabric and glue. Simply unscrew everything holding the headliner in (it's fabric-covered hardboard and the fabric has become delaminated from the hardboard), remove headliner through the hatch, strip the fabric, clean the panel, reglue and recover. Getting the right type of glue is crucial. See Merkur Encylopedia for step-by-step instructions.) -- Blinking (Disco) warning lights. These are the lights above the radio that come on when you first start the car and should go off almost immediately unless something is wrong. However, they usually stay on. Or blink. Sometimes while you're driving down the road they come on for absolutely no reason, blink for a minute or so, then go off again. XRs are notorious for this (both mine have done this, for example). Some folks have replaced the computer that controls this (beneath the glove box) and fixed it; others have done this and not fixed it. Others just disconnect the wiring harness. Others have said simply cleaning the contacts at the wiring harness has cured this problem (this has worked for me twice). -- Dark Instrument Gauge cluster. Turn the dash lights on. You should be able to see all the gauges clearly. There are six illumination lights in the cluster and it is not uncommon for one or all of them to be out. Easy repair and can be inexpensive if you just replace the bulb (see Archives). -- Lazy or inoperative tachometer. Again, fairly common. You need to re-solder all the connections on the tach (or send it to Dave Compton and he'll do it for $40 exchange plus recalibrate it). Removing the gauge cluster again is a Philips-screwdriver operation. -- Erratic fuel gauge. Could be the gauge or could be the sender. Not an uncommon problem. -- Inoperative or low-reading engine temperature gauge. Can be any number of problems. Simplest: clean all the coolant passages; this has worked for me after doing all the following to no avail: Replace the engine coolant temperature sensor (this sends signal to the EEC). Or replace the sensor that sends signal to the gauge, also known as the "purple ring" sensor; each of these cost about $40. Your engine cooling fan might also be inoperative (many more bucks), or you might have a blown relay (rare) or fuse. The last thing you should replace would be the gauge itself; I've heard of only a few going bad. -- Inoperative speedometer. Replace with one from salvaged car (around $25). If that doesn't fix it, suspect the speedometer cable or the speedometer gear in the transmission. -- Cigarette lighter. Some of them work; most don't. You shouldn't be smoking anyhow. -- Radios. I don't think I've seen but one or two original XR radios. Most of the buttons on the originals fail. Check the small fuse on the back of the Radio. Most often, its better to go with an aftermarket CD player. -- Speakers. Originals don't last long it seems. Replace with aftermarkets. -- Fan switch. You should have three speeds on the fan switch. If the fan works only on the highest setting, you've probably got a bad resistor pack; very cheap and an easy repair ($2?) but a good bargaining point if the seller is not knowledgeable. |
| How to Buy a Merkur XR4Ti Interior/Electrical by Richard Curtis |