As I fix up this 97 Mercury Sable to flip, I have to wonder what all the
hype is about Toyota's wanting to keep accelerating.
This POS had 3 brake pipes rusted not with pin holes but 4 inches of
pipe was gone on 3 separate brake pipes.
I mentioned this to a relative who used to work for Ford, he said the
96, 97, and 98 Taurus and Sables would pop brake pipes routinely but
there was never a recall on them.
He told me right where they rusted out, same place as this car did.
Design flaw? Made in china pipes?
I have taken apart 50 year old Sprites and never saw brake pipes
corroded as bad as they were on this 13 year old Merc.
And the brakes failed 3 years ago, so 10 years out of brake pipes?
If anyone out there owns one of these CHECK THE BRAKE PIPES right under
the drivers side rear door.
The rest of the car's problems were minor, a sensor, a belt, some WD40,
and a good cleaning. Now it goes well and it even stops on a dime with
out the pedal going to the floor.
It's for sale to finance more Sprite work ;)
I am plugging away on my own Sprite, it's painted, the de-seaming looks
great, My ceramic coated headers came back,
I may just get to popping in the engine one night this week. My local
trim shop says he will cut and install my carpets this time, he owes me
a favor.
He said my rug job looks like a carpenter did it. I said his carpentry
work (on boat seats) looks like an upholsterer did it.
So now that we both know what we are good at, we do what we have to for
each other. Besides he always has to sew the piping on the tunnel carpet
no matter who installs the carpet. And he is teaching me the "right" way
to do the vinyl interior panels. Again he says it looks like a carpenter
did them.
I thought they looked OK, and he said "they would pass but not in my shop."
It's the glue, he has the good stuff, I get the stuff from home defect.
The windshield is new and installed in the frame but Mike, the glass man
refused to help pull the "bootleg" rubber body seal thru the channel.
He still remembers Tiff's Bugeye windshield from last year where we
needed to recruit the 3 guys from the stereo shop next door to help pull
a rubber gasket thru a channel.
--
Frank Clarici
Toms River, NJ
My own Fleet of Sprites
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