Need help with a few questions

I have a couple of questions that I would appreciate some information from the experts here:

  1. When shifting to D or R, the entire car vibrates. It gets slightly worse when you turn on the air-conditioner. Research on th web points to worn out engine mounts. Mechanic says the same thing. But he added that my car, 1997 Ford Liata, can’t be fully cured of this problem. Is this true?

  2. While starting on cold days, RPM starts of at ~1500 and slowly comes down to ~1000/900 in about a minute. Is this behavior normal? Car always starts on first attempt.

  3. The front dashboard panel and the housing has creaking noises, especially when going over the uneven roads of Taipei. Perhaps a consequence of to the prolonged vibration mentioned above. Can this be fixed or would I have to live with it?

Thanks,
Hari

It sounds like you have just bought the car. If not, you should have noticed these problems slowly materialising.
I don’t know anything about Ford Liata - is it an injection or carburater engine?
The car is now 14 years old - the dashboard has probably been exposed to direct sunlight for most a good portion of its life. They tend to warp over time, which will lead to squeaks. Alternatively, it could just be lose somewhere - or both. Mine used to squeak in hot weather, but I’ve just sorted it out.
When shifting to other gears directly from Drive, does the car still vibrate?

I’m sure someone more in the know than me will be along shortly, but providing some more details might help.

I’ve been having the car for about 2 years. But the vibration has become more evident over the last 6 months or so.

It’s an injection model. And you’re right, the dashboard is probably warped due to exposure to direct sunlight. How did you fix the squeak in yours? Simple solution of tightening some nuts?:slight_smile:

Vibration is there as long as you engage the transmission – R, D, S or L. And there’s a minor jerk when you engage the gear as well. That is when you go from P/N to R/D. May be this is normal as well for such an old car.

Thanks!

My car (96 Exsior) has the same problem, and my mechanic also said it was the engine mounts. I can’t imagine why replacing them with genuine parts would not completely solve the problem, unless it was a minor problem even in new Liatas. Then again, problems with new Fords are not unknown (see my response below to your second question.)

My 91 Ford Telstar (EFI) used to behave similarly right from day one, even on warm days. Took it back to the local Ford service centre ( this was in Australia) several times but they were never able to do much about it. Seems to have been a problem with the automatic choke. I just lived with it and eventually stopped noticing it.

Bro!according to the description of your vehicle.The rpm is in a normal condiction,1500 rpm is a process to reduce the time to reach the ideal working temperature(approx 95c coolant).after reaching the ideal working temperature, the rpm will drop to 700-750.

About your virbation when you engage the transmission d or r . There are two possibility 1:damage on the engin holder(a connection of engine and frame ).Usually the crack on the rubber seat that will cause drastic virbation when engin is running especial engage the transmission.2:ignition system leak especial on the silicon cable,but my speculaction exclude this possibility because your ignition system belone to the semi old school system.If there is the problem on ingition system ,the virbation will emerge all the time even when the vehicle is moving.

No3. problem your assumption might be correct .I suggest you having an inspection or ignore thethe noise if you can stand with it .Or you can drive to my repairshop i would love to give you a free check(my repairshop is close to the Houshanpy mrt station)

Hope my reply will give you the actual assist

Pat

[quote]It’s an injection model. And you’re right, the dashboard is probably warped due to exposure to direct sunlight. How did you fix the squeak in yours? Simple solution of tightening some nuts?:slight_smile:
[/quote]

I took it out, cleaned it, put it back in again and found out where it was tight. Put a very thin cloth in between the frame and the plastic (it was vibrating against the frame of the car) where it was tight. Screwed it back in nice and tight and no problems since then - but as the above poster said, may be it is due to the frame vibration you are getting.

What’s your address? Is it on ZhongXiao East Road? I live in Nangang.

Hari

[quote=“Super Hans”][quote]It’s an injection model. And you’re right, the dashboard is probably warped due to exposure to direct sunlight. How did you fix the squeak in yours? Simple solution of tightening some nuts?:slight_smile:
[/quote]

I took it out, cleaned it, put it back in again and found out where it was tight. Put a very thin cloth in between the frame and the plastic (it was vibrating against the frame of the car) where it was tight. Screwed it back in nice and tight and no problems since then - but as the above poster said, may be it is due to the frame vibration you are getting.[/quote]

That sounds like what others have done as well. I searched on the web and found that someone else had solved it similarly. But they used the soft pads used to stick on to furniture legs so that they dont scratch the floor!

My repairshop is close to the juction of the Sec. 5, Zhongxiao E. Rd and Yongji Rd. my cellphone number is 0935926806
and the exact address is (No.23, Ln. 50, Zhongpo N. Rd),or you can wait me at that juction.I can lead you to my repair shop.

pat

[quote=“harikvpy”][quote=“Super Hans”][quote]It’s an injection model. And you’re right, the dashboard is probably warped due to exposure to direct sunlight. How did you fix the squeak in yours? Simple solution of tightening some nuts?:slight_smile:
[/quote]

I took it out, cleaned it, put it back in again and found out where it was tight. Put a very thin cloth in between the frame and the plastic (it was vibrating against the frame of the car) where it was tight. Screwed it back in nice and tight and no problems since then - but as the above poster said, may be it is due to the frame vibration you are getting.[/quote]

That sounds like what others have done as well. I searched on the web and found that someone else had solved it similarly. But they used the soft pads used to stick on to furniture legs so that they dont scratch the floor![/quote]

Bits of inner-tube rubber. Standard Taiwan technology.