Snout bearing

arno

Registered User
Is the bearing in the snout of the super charger a weak poin for this car? I am picking up an 89 with 63000 original miles and am told the bearing is making some noise. If the SC fluid was maintained properly would the bearing be a problem with such low miles?
 
Welcome.

an 89 with 63k?!?!
how much they want?
All the pullies are noisy on my motor.
I just replaced HG's and they are louder than the engine now!
She runs real smooth, just noisy belt train.....
I would NOT let a worn S/C (if that's what it even is) stop me from buying a car with that low mileage, if it was a Manual.
If its a dealer seller, protect your butt. They may be hiding something else with misinformation.

paul
 
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Its a friend of the family, and yep 63000 actual miles. Original owner, in great shape, no rust, auto however. He says the bearing is making some noise, is it likely to be the pully?

$2000.00 by the way.
 
Bearing? What Bearing?

arno said:
Its a friend of the family, and yep 63000 actual miles. Original owner, in great shape, no rust, auto however. He says the bearing is making some noise, is it likely to be the pully?

$2000.00 by the way.

Souds like you are pretty green in the area of auto mechanics.
Do you plan on working on this car yourself?
If not get a second opinion about the noises, and have a savings account handy.(with money in it).
$2k is kinda steep despite the mileage IMO. Esp for 'friends'. If the noise was just a pully, I'd offer like $1500 max assuming pristine order of the rest of the vehicle....
good luck!

paul
 
thirdbird said:
Souds like you are pretty green in the area of auto mechanics.
Do you plan on working on this car yourself?
If not get a second opinion about the noises, and have a savings account handy.(with money in it).
$2k is kinda steep despite the mileage IMO. Esp for 'friends'. If the noise was just a pully, I'd offer like $1500 max assuming pristine order of the rest of the vehicle....
good luck!

paul

its people like you who keep driving the prices of these cars down further and further.
:)
 
thirdbird said:
Do I say Thanks, or Your Welcome, or Bite Me?
:confused:

He's got a point......... (I believe that that is twice now I've actually agreed with xxThunderbirdxx :eek: ). Of course you'd be the type that would complain it was too much if it was given to you for free LOL!

A car with low miles, STOCK!!!!, and in prestine condition will get alot more than just $1500..... Heck I've been offered $5000 for mine and the body needs a little work and new paint, and its stock as well.

Frit
 
I hope the rest of the group here is not as critical. First off I have been working on cars and bikes for nearly 25 years. I asked about the bearing beacuse I have not picked up the car yet and this is what he is telling me might be wrong with the car. Has nothing t do with ability, but a question about the comonality of this problem. I did not have this problem with my 95 SC! As for it being the pulley making noise, well that made little sence so I was trying to clarify, as I said previously, I have not heard it in person.

As for the price, I think 2K for this car is more than fair. thanks for the feedback none the less.
 
You could try removing the supercharger belt and then run the engine to see if the noise goes away. That would at least tell you if it IS in fact the sc bearing. If it is the sc snout bearing, ther is plenty of info around here on changing them or who to talk to about getting it done.

As for the price.... $2000 for an 89 with that low of mileage is a pretty good deal IMO. I would snap it up if it just a sc snout bearing and not engine noise requiring a rebuild. Yeah, 2 grand for a low mileage, rust free, pristine condition, STOCK SC is a nice price regardless of the year.
 
Hi Arno,
Welcome! After your 2nd bird, it is all down hill ;) Then the birds start fighting over MODS...... its not pretty (but is surrrrrrre is FASTER).

If it was properly maintained, 63 K miles shouldn't be a problem for the bearing. If the friend of the family is not too mechanically inclined, it probably isn't the snout bearing. Can you ask them if there is any staining or oil marks on the cooling (i think) fins on the snout. (this is a sign that the snout seal is leaking). If you can ask them, also ask them to start it and see if any of the pulley tensioners (there are 3) are bouncing.

If the tensioner(s) are bouncing, that is probably the source of the bearing noise. First they develop high spots and then the bearings will start to go. I put new steel pulleys on my 95SC (because it was the 95) and then put its pulleys (51,000 on them) on my 90 SC. The supercharger tensioner from the 90 sounded like there were marbles rounding around in it. The tensioner on top is close enough to the snout that it is real hard to determine which one is bad.

If you still think it is the snout, like XR7inWI said, just remove the supercharger belt. It can be driven that way (you could probable still beat some people in wheelchairs but forget anything with internal combustion) to get it to your house. I've never done it, but i don't think replacing the snout seal is not that big of a deal.
 
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Replacing the snout seal is only a big deal if you can't get the pulley off. A regular 3-jaw puller may not do the job (it failed miserably for me). If you can get one with a cage (about $80), that will probably work (it did for me). But you will probably still have to remove the thermostat housing or the entire SC so you have enough clearance to actually use it. An alternative is to buy a dedicated Eaton SC pulley puller from ASP, Pulley Boys, Thrasher, or others (I haven't tried that yet, but the cheapest is about $80).
 
Its your money

arno said:
I hope the rest of the group here is not as critical. First off I have been working on cars and bikes for nearly 25 years. I asked about the bearing beacuse I have not picked up the car yet and this is what he is telling me might be wrong with the car. Has nothing t do with ability, but a question about the comonality of this problem. I did not have this problem with my 95 SC! As for it being the pulley making noise, well that made little sence so I was trying to clarify, as I said previously, I have not heard it in person.

As for the price, I think 2K for this car is more than fair. thanks for the feedback none the less.

Your first post I pasted below here implies that you dont know much about these cars:

"""Is the bearing in the snout of the super charger a weak poin for this car? I am picking up an 89 with 63000 original miles and am told the bearing is making some noise. If the SC fluid was maintained properly would the bearing be a problem with such low miles?"""

I don't understand why you are crying about critisicm because I offered a valid opinion on price for a vehicle.
If that car is an AOD with 65k, it has never been worked on, and probably will become problematic sooner rather than later. That is why I would not pay more than $1500 for it. I have purchased many used cars, and have learned that lesson the hard way. Just trying to help!:rolleyes:

The last two SC's I bought were for $500 and $800 respectively.
Granted they have high miles, but my 89 is in decent shape body wise, and the interior is very clean.
I got 1000 miles b4 a HG blew on an $800 car that needs paint and maybe a clutch. So do the math. IOW that car will be in excellent running order for lees than $1400.
My input was meant to be a benefit of perspective to you, not critisicm.
Grow thicker skin ok?
Jeez!!!

paul:rolleyes:
 
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Sorry....i didnt mean to be a dick about it. It just that blue book values of cars are all dependant on the going rates of those cars. Ours are so low because people dont understand why they break, so they sell them for dirt cheap, when all it needed was SC fluid.

By selling and buying at higher prices, you can keep the resale value of these cars a little higher. I know i wouldnt part with my car for less than 5500...but when theres other people selling their awesome cars for 1000, who wants to even bother looking at mine?

Supply and Demand.

Low supply of SCs....high demand....so sell price should be higher. Were all ripping ourselves off, buying and selling low.
 
Thanks for the info FredSC, I am picking up the car at the end of the month from New Mexico. Driving it back to Chicago so lets hope the bearing I was speaking of is in fact not the cause of the noise. The current owner has been rebuilding cars for many years and seems to think the bearing is the culprit of the noise. He says it is not bad....we shall see.
 
It should be ok if it is the bearing being so low mileage. I had a leak in my snout and it would start to get louder as the level went down. Once I forgot about it and when I went to add fluid I couldn't even see fluid. Took the full 8 ounces then quieted down and just kept going. I would recommend taking 8 ounces of fluid with you (just in case or to top it off (to the bottom of the hole)). The metric allen wrench is the same as on your 95.

You are going to love the seats in the 89, my 90 was like "putting on a slipper" it was so comfortable. I could easily go for 6-8 hrs at a run. My 95 is about 3-4 hrs. I wish I could have saved the seats when it was murdered.

Have a safe and FUN trip!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to warn you though that during the trip you will be hearing voices
"wanna go faster"
"wanna catch them"
and the one that we all fall for

SCyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........................
 
FredSC said:
It should be ok if it is the bearing being so low mileage. I had a leak in my snout and it would start to get louder as the level went down. Once I forgot about it and when I went to add fluid I couldn't even see fluid. Took the full 8 ounces then quieted down and just kept going. I would recommend taking 8 ounces of fluid with you (just in case or to top it off (to the bottom of the hole)). The metric allen wrench is the same as on your 95.

You are going to love the seats in the 89, my 90 was like "putting on a slipper" it was so comfortable. I could easily go for 6-8 hrs at a run. My 95 is about 3-4 hrs. I wish I could have saved the seats when it was murdered.

Have a safe and FUN trip!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to warn you though that during the trip you will be hearing voices
"wanna go faster"
"wanna catch them"
and the one that we all fall for

SCyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........................


I'll take the advise and bring the fluid with.

I had been a 5.0 Mustang (3 of them) fan for years, then I got the 95. Family and kids made me get rid of that one, I need to give it one more try!!
 
arno said:
I'll take the advise and bring the fluid with.

I had been a 5.0 Mustang (3 of them) fan for years, then I got the 95. Family and kids made me get rid of that one, I need to give it one more try!!
Any pics of the '95? Know where it is now or where it went, maybe someone here on the SCCoA is now the owner?

'bird
 
The 95 was balck on black, leather, moon roof, auto. At about 40K it aquired a piston slap, Ford pullled and rebuilt the motor, problems ever since. Was traded to dealer in Wheaton, Il.
 
This whole thing with resale value makes no sense to me. If you try to keep SC resale values high by paying more for SCs ... you will not come out ahead. You may get more for your car if you sell it, but you will have already paid more for it in the first place. And chances are that you will spend more than you save because it has depreciated in the meantime due to usage. Plus, SCCOA members are a drop in the bucket compared to the number of SC owners.

And the low resale value is due to dozens of factors. First, few people see them as performance cars. Second, they are complicated and difficult to fix (10lbs of car parts in a 5lb bag). Most mechanics don't know them well, and many don't even know they are rear-wheel drive. Or have an independent rear suspension. Or have control arms at all 4 corners. Or know how to align them. Third, parts for the SC are unique, expensive, and hard to find. MN12 parts support in general is spotty and probably getting worse. Try buying body parts from Ford - only an oil baron can afford that stuff.

My point is that, despite what we would like to see happening in the world of classic MN12s, we are a small group, and are therefore at the mercy of the larger trends in America.

If a wealthy club member steps up and buys/leases/makes tooling to keep body parts in production, I think we will be in good shape. If things keep getting discontinued at the rate they are now, it will be a dog-eat-dog world before long.

But if most of the SCs get crushed, the remaining ones will be sure-fire classics, with excellent resale value. ;)
 
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