I'm looking at buying a 4cyl fox for a daily driver but the mileage on the one i'm looking at is high. I just wanted to know how many miles I can expect out of them without major problems (engine rehaul/ new trans) thanks.
IMO there are other cars that are better for a daily driver. And the engines are heavily dependent on how much the owner performed regular maintenance, not abusing the car. Do a compression test, do a google search for used car inspection checklists and have at it, make sure you look at the front axles, turn the wheel etc etc. I would not pay more than 800 dollars for a 2.3 n/a though even if its in great shape because of the difficulty on getting parts, not to mention parts are usually more expensive than their 302 counterparts. I'd say most of the FWD vehicles out these days are good for daily drivers, look for hatchbacks for cargo space. If you can snag an older Volks GTI those made for great fun. But anything with Corolla or Civic makes great daily drivers, and parts are like an bargain basement ocean.
2.3s are difficult and expensive to get parts for? If you're worried about the cost of parts and repairs, then stay FAR away from German cars.
I have only one Fox with over 275 k miles, my 79 Capri 5.0. I bought the 89 four cylinder car with well over 150k for my kids first car. With some care and feeding, it ran fine for her daily driver, automatic, overdrive, cold ac.
219K on my 86 Capri. Make sure you keep good oil in it at the proper level and it will give you thousands of miles of use. Also, the auto trannies are junk because they love to overheat. You can very easily cure that problem by the installation of an aftermarket transmission cooler.
I would say a t-5 is better for the money, I have an auto 88 vert and the a4ld is crap I'm waiting for mine to blow so I can justify putting the five speed in, it's sitting in the garage waiting for a good day personally I think that some people are getting the 2.3 for the gas mileage and that's a misunderstanding as well the gas mileage is not that great in these cars, and german cars good luck with that bill, mine costs me about $1,000 a year in repairs on top of the car payments and insurance (you gotta love vw to keep buying them) mike
My '90 2.3L was a great daily...got me 30 mpg on the highway and never left me stranded. Only things I ever had to replace were the ball joints (well, they were shot when I got the car), alternator, water pump, and wiper motor, and I had it from 72K to 156K. It was a good (albeit slow) car. I'm not sure where "expensive" parts come into play...a starter is about $60, alternator is maybe $80, water pump is like $30. I always thought parts for the 2.3L were cheap. As a comparison, a starter for my $650 beater tempo was $120! My Thunderbird has been very reliable as well, and has also never left me stranded.
I get the expensive P.O.V. from the parts vary in price from part to part, but I remember pricing an AC compressor for my 2.3 mustang and it was 3 times the price compared to the 302 at my local auto parts store...I was so mad because it was summer time. I'm just really glad that a lot of performance parts are interchangeable between the 5.0 and the 2.3 especially the suspension parts. I'm thinking about adding the limited slip to my 2.3 turbo, but I need to do more research to see how exactly its going to change my car. I'll probably add it in when I get the 8.8 disc rear from a 5.0. From what I've read so far though it sounds positive.
The A/C compressor is a sort of anomaly. The 2.3T uses a low profile sealed unit that is no longer being produced. You probably had to buy a new one and not a cheaper rebuild. If you have ever driven a V8 Mustang with a Traction-Lok differential and liked it, then the T-Lok with a turbo four will be just as good. IMO, every car making decent power should have one.
I have 163,xxx, and counting. As long as you maintain the car it will go for as long as you want. I even broke my timing belt, and installed a new one (Gotta' love a non-interference motor). The car is still going. You really can't kill these 2.3 motors. I think this motor itself came on the scenes in '79, and held out or modernized until '93 in the Mustang..
I have an 87 hatchback that has been great daily driver for me and my wife since 1992. I get between 24 and 27 mpg depending on the driving I do and parts are easy to find. It is also easy to work on. A car built for a v8 with a I4 has a lot of space under the hood to work with. The a/c compressor is a problem however. I got an aftermarket kit that replaced the original compressor with a common sanden compressor that is easy to find. Just dont let the motor destroy itself before you have it rebuilt. The last time I got a rebuilt unit the rebuilder told me it is getting hard to find rebuildable cores for this engine. From what I understand these motors run well until the end and then have usually have a catastrophic failure.
2.3's are awsome I have had many 2.3's, n/a and turbo and i have never catasrophically killed one. Ive blown many head gaskets on my turbo cars but its because i was pusshin more than i should and i knew i was, so its not the motors fault. They are truely bullet proof i think. You have a few here and there blow up bad but not too many. they make great daily drivers only as 5 speed cars the autos are JUNK robbo
My 1984 Turbo GT had over 250,000 on it before it needed a rebuild, and it was a well modded 2.3 Turbo. I ended up trading it to a guy who was gonna rebuild it for a 1968 MGB-GT. My 1990 2.3 Convertible had over 198,000 miles but got hit at a stop light. the 2.3 is a great motor and just just have to take care of it like anything else. It had to be a good motor to be in service since the mid 70's and a version of it was used in the Ranger just until a few years ago. I also had a Merkur Xr4ti that was amazing until the crappy T9 Tranny blew up!
I bought an 89 for my first car(145k)....I was 16 it was a drop top....I ran the **** out of this car!!!!!brake torques all day long everything you could think of lol when i was 18 it had like 190 on it i was puttin a 5.0l in it so for a month i distoyed it (so i thought) before i pulled the old engine i sat in front of my house and did literally 15-20 nutreal drops reved it as hi as it would go and dropped it in first!!! I sold the motor for like 100 bucks come to find out my brother knew the guy and he told me one night that it was the best motor hes ever had purred like a kittin lmao!!!! I sure as hell didnt change the oil on it ever 3k either maybe every 5-10k lol but that thing ran never had a problem......so id say there pretty darned good!!! maybe the car was built with a forged stroker kit lol
