| NOVAMOG The Northern Virginia Merkur Owners Group |
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| How to Buy a Merkur XR4Ti Under the Body By Richard Curtis |
| --The Guibo is also known as a roto-flex coupling. It connects the output shaft of the transmission to the driveshaft. Fails around the 60k mile mark, usually catastrophically (a big "bang" followed by thump, thump, thump under the car followed by severe driveline vibrations). Part costs around $40-$60 depending on which one and where you buy it. Pretty simple driveway repair although easier on a lift. To check if it's ABOUT to fail, crawl under the car and inspect the guibo. Look for cracks or chunks missing. If that's what you find, replace the guibo. --Engine mounts. They go bad. If you notice a lot of vibration (as in the rear-view mirror vibrating), or if the oil pan is resting on the crossmember, replace the mounts. Mounts cost about $100 each. While you're at it, you should replace the transmission mount too (about $60). When I recently replaced the motor mounts in my second XR, the originals had collapsed 0.57 inch; the motor was noticeably higher in the car after replacing the mounts. At first I replaced only the mounts and not the transmission insulator; I had a very, very noticeable driveline vibration. I then changed the insulator and the vibration went almost totally away. If you change only worn motor mounts you will change the angle between the transmission output shaft and the driveshaft, hence the vibration. Changing the mounts I found really tough and eventually gave up and had a service station do it (cost two hours labor). They have a hydraulic lift that makes getting leverage on recalcritrant bolts a lot easier. That was the difference. Same service station charged one hour labor to change the transmission insulator. Note that XR insulators are no longer available but a Scorpio insulator will fit with a bit of minor reworking of the XR's transmission mount (you need to make a square hole out of a round one). The service station charged one-half hour to do this. All in all, a real bargain. I've also been told that what you think are vibrations caused by the driveline can also be caused by bad rear suspension bushings. I haven't replaced these yet, though. --Shocks/struts. Like any car, they wear out. Replace them if ride has deteriorated or car sags. Sagging also caused by worn springs. Car should sit level. Some enthusiasts replace shocks/springs/struts with aftermarket units to lower the car and improve the handling. --Suspension bushings. Again, these are parts that wear out (but seemingly more often on XRs than any other Ford product I've owned). Lower control arm bushings are most notorious; causes brake pedal shudder on braking (which also can be a symptom of warped brake rotors). LCA bushings cost about $100/pair and is a repair you can do yourself (but is is not a Philips-head screwdriver repair, however). Sway bar bushings also need to be replaced periodically as do strut tower bushings and bearings (when you replace the struts). Less common is a need to replace the bushings in the rear of the car. --Wheels. The aluminum on XR wheels must be soft, because I read a lot about wheel rims being bent and I've had two bent ones myself. Can be repaired at a wheel shop specializing in straightening bent rims. Check your Yellow Pages or the classified ads in Autoweek magazine. Probably the most common thing that enthusiasts do, though, is replace stock wheels with aftermarket components. But check stock wheels for dents in the rims before buying car. If you're experiencing a slow air leak from a wheel, suspect that the tire needs to be dismounted and the wheel rim cleaned of any flaking paint, etc. Tire shops can do this easily. --Tires. The 85-86 models came with 14 inch tires; 87-89 came with 15 inch. You can upgrade to 16 inche if you lower the profile of your tires (see Archives or knowledgeable tire/wheel person) using the Plus One concept. --Clicking sound from the rear while driving slowly. This most likely is bad Constant Velocity (CV) joint(s). Not a complicated repair but one of the most difficult because of the difficulty in removing the Torx bolts. Get (1) a lot of guaranteed Torx bits; and (2) a list of pretty strong cuss words. Keep them handy. Some Merkheads have strongly suggested a thorough cleaning of the Torx bolt heads before proceeding. You also can buy rebuilt rear axles with c/v joints and replace everything. --Steering. Steering racks have been known to go bad in XRs and can be an expensive repair. You can buy a rebuilt rack to keep down costs. Test the steering for notchiness (some of which can be cured by flushing and refilling the power steering fluid, which you should do periodically anyhow). Also check for torn steering rack boots (they cost about $15 each and can be repaired by most shadetree mechanics; I've done it twice; when you look up Shadetree Mechanic in the dictionary, there's my photo). Replacement boots can be obtained from FLM, from BAT or Rapido. --Brakes. You'll need to change the brake pads occasionally, the rear shoes less often. If you have to replace the rotors, they aren't very expensive (compared to, say, cars with ABS brakes). I've heard of very few problems with brakes; they're pretty simple and straightforward like most other cars although XRs seem to have inherited the common Ford problem of easily warped rotors. XRs also come equipped with a low-pad thickness warning lamp. This is actuated by a wire that runs to the caliper. It is not unusual for this to break or even to be disconnected by someone doing a brake job. I don't think they're worth much especially since cars in most states have to have an annual safety inspection where brakes are checked. Tip: flush and refill the brake fluid once a year (it absorbs moisture over time); also change the engine coolant annually (while coolant should last longer, these engines put a lot of stress on the coolant; I wouldn't take any chances for the sake of $5-$10 worth of coolant). |