94 SC need buying advice

tbirdmarc

Registered User
There is a 94 SC for sale near me. Guy says he was going down the road and heard a rattling, then it died. engine won't turn, he replaced the starter and had the tranny checked to see if it was locked up but wasn't. He is asking 2500 or b/o. It is a nice car fully loaded moonroof leather etc... 105k miles. What usually goes wrong with the engines? broken crank maybe.
Should I take it or RUN!!! Thanks.,
 
It could be anything!! You need to take someone with you that knows what to look for on an SC. A remanufactured engine from Ford will cost you just under $3,000 and a tranny re-build will be about $1,100. If you buy it just be prepared to spend some cash on it to get it running.

If the body and interior is in excellent condition it might be worth that. I think that it depends on how bad you want an SC. You can find a running 94 SC for between $4,000 to $7,000 depending on the condition. Even then, someone might be selling it because things are starting to go wrong. With these cars you always seem to be taking your chances.

I'd pay $2,000 for a 94 that wasn't running and it was in excellent shape otherwise.

Just my .02 Bob
 
Thanks for the reply. I already have a 91 Sc and love it. I had a 97 LX sport V8 and thought it drove too soft and had no low end torque so I got rid of it. This '94 is in excellent shape really all around and fully loaded, so I think it is worth it. I was just wondering if there was something common that would make the motor not crank, like are they prone to busted cranks etc...
 
As far as common problems on 94-95 models. The #1 problem is headgaskets. Factory recall on headgaskets in 94. The crank is forged so they don't fail often. But it can happen and when they do they are really expensive. I'm not really sure what a crank costs. Just don't try to use a crank from a stock T-bird as they are cast and won't fit. The SC has a forged crank because early on they were snapping them in two because of the tremendous torque of the SC.

The harmonic balancer can cause the crank to shear off if it breaks.

Check the oil and if there is a white milky substance in the pan the headgasket fairy has paid the car a visit. I doubt that it is the headgaskets because usually the car will show signs of trouble before they blow. This is of course under normal driving conditions. Some people push the car too hard and they fail producing a white cloud of smoke out the tail pipes.

Hope this helps.

Bob
 
Just talked with the owner and he said there had been a rattling sound for a long time, finally the rattle got very loud, she died and won't crank, so maybe the balancer did break loose. Hopefully it might just be wedged and not allow the engine to turn. I will have to inspect it closer on Friday and I will let you know what I find.
 
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