My dad and I are going to look at a 92 VE5 tomorrow/this weekend that has 92k on it. What should I be looking out for on this car? I know one of the big things is the VTC click right? What exactly does that sound like, and what area of the car should I be listening to? I have heard a lot about this but I have never been around a third gen that was making this ticking. Do the VTC's always go out on these cars? Is it only a matter of time? Are there common spots for rust? Do the VE engines call for 91 or higher octane fuel? How long can I expect the engine to run if it is well taken care of? Any other input on what to look for when I am going to check this car out? Thanks for any advice.

 

VTC's sound like: loud *** ticking, clacking, when you hear it you will know

yep 91 or better

with 92k they vtc may not tick, if its been taken good care of, but they might

i would look at the oil and take the oil cap off and if ita all gummed up and really dirty inside the valve cover, dont get it or get it cheeper

 

yeah I know common stuff to check that you would check with any car, but I was looking for more specific things I should check over with this particular car.

what area does the clacking come from?

 

First,make sure the tranny doesn't whine..This is a sure sign of the input shaft bearing going out..Used ones are getting rare,and fixing them is fairly expensive..

The clacking noise is usually heard on the passenger side of the engine..It kinda sounds like a bunch of wooden spoons being clacked together..

Rust usually forms around the behind the rear door on the bottom...And look in the trunk area around the seat belt mounts for rust..There is a recall for this rust issue...

Everything else is pretty much small potatoes..

 

Also ask, why the car was turned in with relative low mileage.

 

The VTCs almost sound like a diesel. Don't call first, maybe the car will not have been run. They seem to like to tick more when they are cold.

MyGreenmax was right about the input shaft bearings. Listen carefully to the tranny. With the car running, listen when you have it in neutral and push in the clutch. If it is whirring, that's not a good sound.

 

Like Cliff Clavin said...VTCs tick more when cold. I would make sure you can look at the car dead cold. If the guy warms it up before you get there, you may not see the problem. When I bought my 92, I flew down to MD from RI and drove it home. He met me at the airport with the car and it was quiet. I started it two days later and . I only paid $600 for it though, so I couldn't complain.

 

idk if whirring and whining are the best words to use to describe the sound. it's more of a grinding, clunking sound. at least it was on mine, don't want him to mistake normal whining and whirring sounds these trannies make for a bad bearing..

cheers

 

mmm... ipa

 

No you don't need to feed it 91 octane, it says premium is recommended, but i ran mine 3 or 4 months when i first got it (at 124k) and it ran perfect. I feed it 91 now because i like to baby it, but it's only recommended.

 

No 93 octane no care

 

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we finally got intouch with the guy selling it. He bought it at a police auction. It would have been nice if he would have mentioned that it has a salvage title!! Anyway we are not going to look at it, its in MD if any one is interested, the guy is asking 1500 for it.

Thanks for the good information, I have a better idea of what to check out on these motors/trannys.

 

for a $1500 car, a salvage title wouldn't scare me. It's not like you are spending a ton of money here. I would look at it and see how it is. It might just be the best looking, best running, salvage title car out there. I bought my 92 for $600 because it had frame damage. Could anyone tell? ...no! It was a beautiful car for the money. This is just my opinion, but if you really like the car you should check it out. In Rhode Island, a car of that age doesn't even get a title anymore. lol

 

I am going to have to agree. As expensive as body work is, it doesn't take very much to total a car out. You do need to check it out pretty good, but I wouldn't leave it just because of that.

My Mustang GT convertible had a salvage title. It was an older Fox body style and it had a nose hit. No damage to anything but the front nose piece and fenders. Insurance totaled it, the guy bought it back and bolted on three pieces, then used some of the money to have it painted.

 

I know what you are saying. One of my cars used to have a salvage title but before I bought it, it was rebuilt to a clean title. It just comes down to that is not something we are looking to buy. I think that car would be a good deal with a clear title. To me its not worth driving(3 hours) to look at with a salvage title. The people did not know any history on the car and did not have any of the maint. records.

And you are driving around in a car with frame damage I don't really think that should be looked upon as if some one can tell or not. That's a safety issue...that's just putting yourself in jeopardy...

 

You would be surprised how little damage it takes to total out a 12-14 yr. old car..

Something as small as a dented door and fender will total a third gen out,because factory replacement body parts are not readily available...

 

the trunk was shifted 1/4" off from an accident, but the car was structurely sound. There was no safety issue there. None the less, it was enough to total the car on paper. I flew 300 miles away and drove it home, having never seen it in person. Sure it was risky, but it was a risk that paid off as far as I'm concerned. It was/is a beautiful car and well worth the money I paid for it. I'm just surprised you would be willing to drive 3 hours to look at a 15 year old car for $1500, but then decide not too solely on it being a salvage title. IMO, the car may be better off that way. After 15 years, it may have needed body work done anyway just from age. It's your decision and I don't want to come off as you're making the wrong one. I just wanted to give you a different angle to look at it from. Hope I didn't bother you at all.

 

yeah I understand what you are saying. I guess I just don't like the way the people are selling it. They know nothing about the car, they bought it at a police impound sale. We already have one maxima we are selling because of repair costs. My dad wants to buy something that is good to go without any work right off the bat.

 

I hear ya....the police impound though woul make me a little nervous too. They probably paid a lot less for it too. Well, good luck in your search.

 

dooo it dooo it dooo it......

ve5s are great cars i had one and man could it pull on the top end...my current 99 se 5spd could only dream on that...well till i put a 2001 VI on it...

bottom line its a great car if it was taken care of. the vtcs you can fix yourself if you know how to change a clutch without help you can do vtc's. otherwise your screwed with the stealership....

 

Avatar violation...You no longer have the "4DSC"...

 

at least I have a REAL 4dsc to go along with my 4th gen luxo putt-putt

 

Alot of people get scared off with the tranny bearing issuse, but it's really not that hard or expensive to do yourself. I bought my car from Sean who bought Jeff's 92 and we rebuilt both trannys while they were still in the cars. If you run across a nice VE5 and the only thing you hear is a tranny sound, buy it and fix it your self.