2001 Ford Escort

KEVWISE1

MEMBER
2001 FORD ESCORT

Hello, and thanks for your help which is greatly appreciated. I have a 2001 Ford Escort with 106000 miles on it. I haven't had any problems with this car until recently when it died on me. The car was making a loud knocking noise under the hood since that morning but I continued to drive it. Soon it just turned off. I had the car towed to the nearest Ford service station and when they told me what was wrong it seemed like they were scamming me. First, the reason while the car stopped and was knocking was because of a timing belt. They also recommended I get a new serpentine belt. Then they told me I needed both tie rod ends in the front replaced badly. I think this might be true because when driving the front wheels made a loud noise, but I was told those were wheel bearings by a friend. Also they said I needed new spark plugs because the old ones had oil on them from me trying to start the car after it died. Finally at the end of all this the mechanic told me this would all total out to be $1100. I would like to know if these charges are true to what they told me. If possible can you tell me how long it takes to replace all these parts (labor), because I know the parts are cheap. Thankyou for your time. -Elizabeth D.

1 Reply

TAURUSWHEEL

MECHANIC
718 POSTS

Well, let me see. Timing belt, I don't really know, I've never owned a car with a timing belt, plus I don't know how involved a procedure it is to get to it. But I'm thinking you're probably way overdue, at 106k, for a belt change. Should be in your owners manual the service interval for that belt. Tierods, Ford cars have had a lot of issues with tierods, both outers and inners, once again at 106k, I wouldn't doubt that all are worn. Serpentine belts, another wear item with your mileage. Oil on sparkplugs, I don't know why there would be oil on the plugs unless your engine has worn internal parts, however if you can't remember the last time the plugs were done, it's time. As for the 1100 price tag, remember, the parts won't be cheap because you will be paying the dealer's price for them, don't know what labor rates are per hour, or the flat rate, but neither will be cheap. One other thing, if the bearings in the front are bad, sometimes they can damage related pieces and cost mucho dinero, I had an 87 Taurus with a bad bearing, put one in, it failed again creating some damage where I ended up replacing the knuckle and acouple related parts to the tune of a couple hundred dollars, this was a used one off a junker, new part alone was over 400 at that time. Any chance you've got a reputable local repair shop? I know they're getting hard to find.