Donate or fix and sell

[Hookmaster]

My daughter's car is a 1996 Mercury Sable LS with 96000 miles. She is going to college in Sept. and will not need a car. We planned to sell it then. Next spring we will get a newer car since my son will have his license next year also. The rear brake line rusted through and the mechanic said it needs lower ball joints and it leaks oil from the oil pan gasket. Total about $900. She is using another car until she goes to college. The car's tires are in very good shape, new battery, air still works, engine strong. Blue Book says we should get $2,500-2,800 for a private party sale. Mechanic says there is a good demand for good used cars after the clash for clunkers programs. Is this true? Is it a no brainer to fix it, then sell it? That's what I'm leaning to do. If we can't get that much for it, then we will donate it.

[Jeremy airjer W]

For $900 dollars you know what you got. If you buy another newer used vehicle your going to spend 3-5 thousand and you have no idea what problems you are inheriting.

$900 dollars seems pretty reasonable to me. Would you buy your vehicle in the shape its in now for $900 for your next kid to drive?

[jeffreyd]

honestly i would fix it, if the engine is sound, trans is sound, why not, in the shape it is in, i do not think that you will get the asking price of 2500 if you do not fix the issues. plus i would not buy and for that sell a car that was not safe (brake line issue).

[zamboni]

I'd fix it and drive her til she dies. You'd more than get your $$$$ worth

[fishing tech]

I am with Zamboni, fix it and run it. These cars are hard to find and with another new driver coming along why buy a newer car when you know what you have. Heck I have been looking for cars for some friends of mine for there kids and there aren't many out there for under $3500.

[Shack]

I would fix it for about $100 in parts and my labor, sell it at a good price, & be in no rush to sell it. That's just me though.

Honestly the brake line issue is the kicker. Brake lines suck to make, but you can get the flaring tool & bending tool at the parts store cheap, go to Napa and buy the amount of line needed and go to town. They even used to rent the tools back in the day. Depending on your knowledge of auto mechanics, the ball joints are only a couple to 3-4 hours of jack-stand time. Ball joint removal tools are nice and those you can rent, but not needed if they come out easy. I would assume it has a 3.0l. How bad is the oil pan gasket leaking? Leaving pools & puddles, dripping, or just seepage? I figure the oil should only take a couple hours of time and about $40.00 in parts and fluids.

This write up will give you an idea:

Quote:

Gen 4 - Duratec Oil Pan Gasket Replacement

(Beginner level instructions)

Difficulty level: 3 out of 5 for a beginner

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's the tools you will need:

- Torque wrench

- Breaker bar

- Sockets in the following sizes: 10mm, 13mm (standard and long), 15mm (long)

- Swivel attachment

- 13mm open/box end wrench

- 10" extension

- 6" extension

- Small screwdriver

- I also had a 1/2" to 3/8" step down converter to use the breaker bar with 3/8" sockets.

- Eye protection

- Small jack (optional)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's the parts you will need:

- Oil pan gasket

Ford part: 2R8Z-6710-AA

- Exhaust gaskets (2 total)

Ford part: 2F1Z-5F263-AA and 2F1Z-5E241-AA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extra items:

- Oil (5w-20)

- Oil filter

- Penetrating oil

- Gasket remover/solvent

- Engine degreaser

- Brake parts cleaner (Non-chlorinated only)

- Anti-sieze lubricant

- RTV Silicone

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Procedure:

1. Spray down Y-pipe exhaust bolts with penetrating oil. Let sit overnight.

Tip: There are three areas that you will need to do this to (six bolts total). Two areas are underneath the car, the other area can be accessed through the top of the engine compartment, off of the front manifold.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Raise front of car.

You don't need a jack and jack stands, I just pulled mine onto a set of ramps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Disconnect negative battery cable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Use 13mm (standard) socket, 15mm (long) socket, 10" extension, and breaker bar to loosen exhaust/Y-pipe.

Tip: If you still can't budge them, try warming up the exhaust first to heat up the bolts. You can do this by turning on the car and letting it idle for a minute or two. Shut off car and try again.

**If you cannot get the required bolts loose, abort project and take to a local repair shop. You must be able to take the exhaust off to proceed.**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Unplug two O2 sensors on the Y-pipe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Remove Y-pipe.

Tip: I used an old jack to hold up the back end of the exhaust, this is very helpful as it is a little heavy and akward to handle when under the car.

[attachmentid=20900]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Remove oil filler cap and dipstick. Drain oil, then replace oil drain plug. Tighten drain plug to 16 to 22 ft-lbs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Remove two 10mm nuts off of the stud bolts.

Tip: This is located on the passenger side of the oil pan. There are only two of these stud bolts. Mark the location of these bolts on the oil pan with a permanent marker.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Remove Transaxle Support Bracket.

Tip: Two 13mm long bolts and a 13mm nut hold this on. Located on passenger side. I had to pull back the splash guard in the wheel well and use a 6", 10", and swivel to get the top bolt.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. Remove Driveplate Access Cover.

Tip: This is a plastic cover that hides two more bolts. The cover is held on by two plastic screws.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11. Remove oil pan fasteners in this order and drop oil pan.

Note: This diagram shows the "front of the engine", not the front of the car. This is a front wheel drive car, therefore, the engine sits sideways. The "front of the engine" is where the serpentine belt is (passenger side).

Tip: Oil pan should come off very easily if not just drop off as you remove the last bolt. If oil pan does not remove easily, double check that you removed all bolts, then tap the pan gently with a rubber mallet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12. Remove the old oil pan gasket.

Tip: Note where the silicone is on this gasket. You will need to put silicone at these two locations when you reassemble with the new gasket.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13. Thoroughly clean the oil pan and cylinder block mating surfaces using lacquer thinner or acetone. The surfaces must be free of any residue that will keep the sealant from adhering properly. Clean the oil pan inside and out with solvent and dry with compressed air.

Tip: I used Permatex Gasket Remover. Spray on a paper towel and wipe on engine block, don't spray this directly on the engine block mating surface. You don't want to get this inside of the engine. Use same procedure for oil pan.

Also, the Permatex Gasket Remover works well but is very toxic. Do not get on your hands. I used latex gloves to protect my hands and it still started to eat through the gloves. Be very careful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14. Clean oil pan inside and out.

This is my oil pan gently cleaned with only a paper towel to soak up the little bit of oil at the bottom of the pan. Notice how clean the pan is. I have been using Motorcraft Synthethic Blend 5W-20 oil and a PureONE oil filter for almost 80K miles and no build up, gunk, or particles in the pan. These are quality products!

Tip: You can clean the pan with brake parts cleaner (inside of pan) and engine degreaser (outside of pan) and rinse thoroughly with water. Dry with compressed air or paper towels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are half way done and the bottom of the car should look like this. That tube sticking down is the oil pickup tube.

Now onto the installation of the new parts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

15. Place new gasket on top of oil pan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16. Squeeze a dab of RTV silicone ON TOP of the gasket at the two places noted in Step 12.

Tip: I used Permatex Hi Temp silicone rated to 700 degrees, but black silicone is fine as well. The benefit to using this Hi Temp version is that you will not need to wait an hour for it to set before you retorque the oil pan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

17. Reinstall the oil pan, being careful not to dislodge the pan gasket. Install all of the pan bolts and tighten by hand in this order. Be sure to install any stud bolts in the locations that you marked in Step 8.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18. Reinstall the oil pan to transaxle bolts. Firmly push the oil pan against the transaxle (toward the driver's side) and tighten the pan-to-transaxle bolts snugly. Use a torque wrench and tighten gradually and evenly to 25 to 33 ft-lbs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

19. Use torque wrench to finish tightening the oil pan bolts to 15 to 22 ft-lbs. Tighten in the same order as Step 17.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20. Reinstall Transaxle Support Bracket.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21. Tighten retaining nuts on onto oil pan studs. Torque to 71-106 inch-lbs. (5.8-8.7 ft-lbs.).

Tip: Use anti-seize lube on these studs...mine were quite rusty.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

22. Reinstall the Driveplate Access Cover.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23. Change oil filter.

Tip: Now is a good time to change the oil filter as the Y-pipe is out of the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24. Remove and replace old Y-pipe gaskets (two total).

These old gaskets are shown for reference.

Tip: These are two different diameters so you can't accidently install them in the wrong place. The old ones should easily pry out with a small screwdriver.

Optional: Now is also a good time to remove the O2 sensors and coat the threads with anti-seize lube. This will make it much easier to remove later on if they need replaced. There is another O2 sensor on the front manifold.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25. Reconnect Y-pipe.

Tip: It's a good idea to coat all exhaust bolts and studs with anti-seize lube. This will ensure that everything will come apart smoothly should you need to remove the Y-pipe again.

Also, start at the front of the car and work your way back. Keep everything a little loose at first and then (starting at the front of the car) torque the Y-pipe to exhaust manifold nuts to 26-34 ft-lbs. Tighten the converter to transaxle nut and bolt to 30 ft-lbs. Tighten the converter outlet bolts to 26-34 ft-lbs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26. Reconnect both O2 sensors.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

27. Fill with fresh oil. Replace oil filler cap and dipstick.

Tip: RTV silicone will require at least 1 hour to harden and 24 hrs to cure. Most people just wait about an hour before adding the oil, but I'd recommend letting it sit overnight before you take it for a drive. I played it safe and waited 24 hrs. before I added the oil back into the crankcase.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

28. Reconnect battery.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

29. Start engine and check for leaks.

If everything looks good and is not leaking, pull car down off of ramps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations, you're done!!!

Give yourself a pat on the back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional tips for beginners:

- Don't be intimidated by this project.

If you can confidently do an oil/filter change, spark plugs, and belts change, you will have no problem with this repair. Just take your time and keep all of your parts labeled and in order.

My Ford dealer wanted $350-450 (including parts) to replace my oil pan gasket. I figured that if I couldn't get the exhaust bolts off I would take it to the dealer. I lucked out my exhaust came apart (hardest part of the job).

- Leave plenty of time for this job as you may run into unexpected situations.

I actually broke two sockets trying to get one of the exhaust bolts off. I had to run back to Sears for replacements.

- Use the right tools.

This is a big time and frustration saver.

- Buy quality parts.

Don't skimp here. Go to your Ford dealer and get Motorcraft parts for this project. Oil pan gasket cost about $40 and each exhaust gasket was under $5.

- Get a buddy to help you reinstall the Y-pipe.

Not totally necessary, but a huge help.

- Use eye protection when under the car.

A lot of small [PoorWordUsage] will fall from the underbody. Protect your eyes.

Still IMO the brake line is the "Ugly" in all this. Not hard to do, just hate rusted brake lines and bleeder valves.

As for your mechanic and his cash for clunkers comment, if I am not correct, correct away, but the 1996 was not eligible for this program. There was never a mass exodus of 1996 Ford Taurus's heading to the scrape yard. That is just filler used to fill in the "awkward" silence period after dropping the repair estimate on you. Dealers would wholesale this unit anyways. The dealer lots where empty because no one was buying cars before or right after that program. The lots would still have been slim with trades if cash for clunkers happened or not. Chances are if you saw a dealer low on used inventory, it was because the Used Car Manger was having a bad run at the Auto Auction.

I have helped 3 people in the last month get into bargain priced, goo midsized sedans. Deals are out their & IMO more so now, than before in this category of vehicle. I would say if the sun was aligned correctly, you fix all major issues, sit on it for the right buyer, wax it up nice and buy a set of $10 hub caps & $8.00 floor mats from Walmart, you cooouuullld get maybe $2000.00... Even under 100,000 miles. Realistically around the $1500.00 mark. Better than a $2500 deduction or $200 to me in the condition it is in.

Good luck!

[Jeremy airjer W]

None of those 3 items are impossible for a do it yourselfer but...

you will need to master a flaring tool for the brake line repair. They don't have to look pretty they just have to work. Compression fittings are not a fix!!!

The ball joints will require more than just a standard ball joint press. A master kit is needed and you would be better off winning the power ball than finding one to rent. New they run about $350. Not only that you'll have to figure out the right combination of adapters to get the ball joint in and out. That is if you can get the ball joint to separate from the lower control arm. A task that can take the pro's, myself including, 5 to 45 minutes of pounding and prying. Then you'll have to get the strut to knuckle mounting bolt out. These are not uncommon to break in the knuckle!!

The oil pan gasket is a piece of cake once the exhaust is out of the way. A torch is almost always needed to get one or more of the nuts loose. The ones on the backside are the most challenging you'll find on any vehicle.

[Shack]

I guess I have not rented any tools since about 99'/2000. Amazingly back then, on 96's Ford Taurus I owned briefly, I ran into an issue where the drivers lower BJ would not come loose no matter how hard I hit it and heated with map gas for two days. Lucky (sign O the times) Big Wheel had a cheap adapter set just for the Taurus for rent. Had it back in under two hours. Passenger side just dropped out.

I am not up to date on the renting tools scene at all.

Although if you wanted to buy a one time use knock off OTC 8032A set:

They run around $80.00. Strongly stress "One Time Use"... & you should always, but wear eye protection when even opening the package.

[Shack]

Yep, Jer is correct. On second thought, I am sure you do not have the press. You will need a master.

Again, "One Time Use" and when it comes to the press, maybe not even "a use" at all, but they have some master knock off kits for around $120-$150:

They have to still rent ball joint C-frame presses at the auto parts stores? Don't they? I have no clue! Throwing in the adapter set after you install to ball joint could be a selling feature.