Mk5 Escort buying advice

[Can'tWeld]

Hi all,

My mate is off to buy a Mk5 Escort tonight and I'm going with him to have a look at it before he hands over his hard-earned. Now obviously I know all the usual things to check with used cars (wheel bearings OK, no play in the steering, brake pads are OK, no smoke from exhaust, etc), but what are the specific things to watch out for with Escorts?

It's a 1994 1.4 on an L-reg.

I'm assuming that being an early 90's Ford they rust (the one I had donkeys ago certainly did), any particularly bad bits to look out for?

Cheers.

 

[madkayaker]

i had a 96 van and rust was pretty bad on rear cross member also breaks were apporling and that was with new calipers and disks

 

[pedrobedro]

Battery tray and bulkhead under it, look at the brake master cylinder while your mate presses the brake hard. It's a fiddly repair if he's not too keen on the car in the first place. He shouldn't be looking at more than £250 for the car unless it's exceptionally good condition.

 

[Bigjoe]

Rust is the big killer on these,as others have said battery tray and also rear arches.

Other than that just normal used car stuff really,if you can find a good one then they are a good budget buy.

 

[john224]

mk5

Check the engine number and chassis number if can take a magnet with you to check round the chassis number if remembor correctly sh be one drivers side floor between seat and sill?,, look for filler as well and check all gaps round the doors/bonnet etc????

 

[bill_gj]

That will be a 1.4 CVH engine, I think. They were great engines unless they were owned by either a moron or a tight-fisted g!t, in which case infrequent oil changes can cause problems with the hydraulic cam followers, so have a good look in the cam cover. Nasty black accumulations might mean problems later.

 

[George641]

If your keen, all the ones we get for scrap have rusted in the chassis above the back axle, one side slightly disguised by the exhaust but its fairly obvious if its gone...
take something to lay on and a torch. Almost every escort weve had or seen has been rusty there.
Even tyre wear on the fronts as escorts always need a wishbone or trackrod end.

Good luck

 

[weldingscotty803]

as above, battery tray and arches, got to do a tray for a mate when the weather is better