1990 EAII Fairmont Ghia - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

AUII_Forte · 08-12-2002, 18:54

Hi Everyone, i'm new to this place. I have got a very nice EAII fairmont ghia in my sights at a car dealership. Its 4sp auto with all the fancy stuff, i test drove it yesterday and the salesman told me it was blowing a bit of smoke, due to a faulty valve sensor, which is was getting repaired today. Is this a major thing? Is it a car that I should steer clear of? The only other thing i noted was when floored the gearbox seemed to slip when changing and under normal conditions during one change it souded like it was changing gears but the revs stayed the same. The bloke has $4990 on it, body is pretty straight, only one dent on the driver's side guard which is only minor, has a few scratches, but no rust. Would I be getting ripped off if i bought it??

EvilEA · 08-12-2002, 19:37

g'day..

What id be watching is that gear change could be the Auto. clutch on the way out.. or a number of other things.. like the trannie.. Most of the Guys on here will tell you to look for an EB, go through the trading post and you will find some really nice EB Fairmonts, my mate got one (an EB) all the extra stuff, 155,000 on the clock for $7,500, no dents. and the only thing he has had to change was the fan belt.

What i'd be doing is taking a mechanic with me to check it out first, cause if something is going it could be stuffing up other parts with it...

Other than that, its good to have all the extra stuff, once you have had a car with all the extras its hard to go back.

Good Luck.

Troutman · 08-12-2002, 22:08

I have never heard of a "valve sensor"?

If it is a high km example, I'd be worried about the engine. As said above, it's best to get a mechanic's opinion. Similarly, the transmission may have a minor problem, or it may be on its last legs. Personally I don't regard the EB I as noticably different to the EA II, but if you keep an eye on the trading post you'll be able to get an idea of what you can expect for the money.

Good luck!

AUII_Forte · 08-13-2002, 01:03

It has 243k on it. I don't think the trans has a major problem, I think it just needs a service, it didn't make any horribly scary noises or anything, it may just be the bands or the oil. The motor seems ok, it started no worries at all and it didn't miss a beat while I was driving it, it had plenty of grunt, I was quite surprised really. As for the smoke and the 'valve sensor', I only saw it blow a slight amount of smoke when I was stopped briefly. I know a bit about cars, I'm certainly not an expert, but when he said it was a valve sensor I didn't think I'd ever heard of one before, but I took his word for it. My parents used to own an EA GL 3.9MPFI, I was to young to drive it though. We didn't have any trouble what so ever with it in the 6 years that we owned it. As for an EB, well I have a very big soft spot for EA's and they are all that are with in my budget at the moment. I would prefer an EA purely for the fact that they are one of only 2 models to have the 3.9L engine, which makes them unique. Correct me if i'm wrong, but am I right in saying the EBI's had the 3.9MPFI as well?? Another thing about that Fairmont that surprised me was the fact that it spins the wheels from a stand-still. My mate has an EF Wagon and the only way to get it to spin, is to floor it round a corner or floor it in neutral and smack it into drive.....which i'm sure is wonderful for the trans!! hehehe