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Friend needs a late ford escort clutch to save the car!


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Posted

Hi again,

 

I was talking to a woman I know from the next villae along from me at the bus stop the other day and she has a late ford escort (1990s but not sure whether its a mark IV or V?) and apparently the clutch has gone and the dealer charges to replace it meant that they are looking to get a new car but it sounds like their faithful escort might end up scrapped as even a clutch renders it uneconomically repairable but unfortunately they had some hard times recently and a new car might be out of the question? (the escort is their only car) and other than the clutch it has served them very well for a long time so I thought id try and sort them out with a clutch and maybe help out with getting it fitted?

I have to admit, I have never done the clutch on a car before so it would be best for someone else to I think, although with correct tools and instructions im sure id manage,

 

She lives in a village near Linton in Cambridgeshire, more details if you get in touch obviously, so if anyone can help out she would really appreciate it! They dont want to get rid of the car but will be forced to really.

any help would be greatly appreciated! just drop us a pm with what you could sell a clutch for, and then any help on fitting would be awesome aswell,

cheers guys,

Dan

Posted

I paid £100 the last time i needed a cluch replaced on my old 1997 Escort 1.6 zetec, surely it's cheaper to replace it then to scrap the car.

Posted

really? was that at a dealer? that seems cheap to me but she said that they cant really afford to fix the clutch by what they were quoted,

Posted

You get a FWD Escort serviced at a main agent?

 

That way madness and bankruptcy lie.

Posted

Why get anything from the 90s serviced/repaired at a main dealer? Is there no little garage near on?

Posted

Its not my car,

I know it seems obvious to us to do work ourselves or at least find an independant garage but not everyone thinks like that, they get a car and take it to the dealer for the whole life of the vehicle so im trying to help them out by having the work done some other way, the only independant garage which isnt a quick fit i know about has been slated by most people we know that went there, they do things which are unecessary and just take more time and cost more money to repair like I think i was told they took out someones windscreen and charged them for a replacement when the car was in for something completely unrelated so for fear of the costs being racked up dishonestly i wont suggest they take it there, im still looking for other small garages and im going to let them know if i find any, but i thought id just drop a message on here to see if anyone has the part available!

Posted

I know you are only trying to help mate, but dealership prices are going to be mad for the age for the car, what do they expect?

Posted

That was just a small garage on a industrial estate where i used to work in Colchester, Ring around the small garages, It's only an Escort so it's not a majorly labour intensive job., about a hours work from what i remember.

Posted

fredtransit,

I know, its obvious to us but as I said, some people just dont think about it! the car is an appliance to them and they take it to the place they always took it to get it fixed until they can no longer afford to/its not longer worth at which point it is replaced, its effectively treating it like any other kitchen appliance or anything else you know? so im trying to show them that you can do other things!

Posted

I know, I know. Try pointing out to them that if they get a small garage to do the clutch (one that comes recommended) will be far far cheaper than scrapping it and buying another car. Would they throw away their washing machine cos the fuse went?

It's annoying, one minute they seem to be saying the stealership will charge them a lot of money to fix the car, and it will be scrapped, but yet they are having a hard financial time of it and can't afford another one. If they can't afford the dealership prices for the clutch, how are they gonna afford another car? How much was the stealer's quoting anyway? £200? £600? A Grand? If you were nearer to London I am sure my mechanic could do it for a lot less, but sadly they are not.

Posted

yeah i know, but really its nothing like a fuse really, a fuse is simple whereas replacing a clutch is fairly intimidating to some people, its not difficult for someone who knows what theyre doing but lots of people wouldnt know where to start,

 

And as for affording a new car I have no idea, i dont want to be rude and interrogate them about their finances but they both tend to use busses a lot so my guess is theyll take scrap money, rely on the bus for a while and get another second hand car after theyve saved some up but thats just a guess, itd be out of order to ask them if they can afford to or not, but they are in a small predicament so i was just tryin to help out. So if anyone can help it would be very much appreciated, otherwise I will carry on my hunt for a recommended garage.

Posted

Seriously, did they say how much the estimate is?

Posted

I would advise against offering to do it. The Escort is a bad car to lose your clutch changing virginity on.

Posted

Might just be the automatic clutch cable adjuster on the pedal.A clutch won't suddenly go, either it slips for some time or the pedal gets progressively worse making engaging gear difficult.

If,when pressing down on the pedal,you get a loud click and no resistance it's worn teeth on the adjuster.90's Escorts have a manual clutch adjuster too.Through the middle of the pedal there is a small bolt which will move the teeth on the adjuster when turned.

If the pedal is on the floor the cable has snapped.

Posted

nope, didnt want to ask, but I told them they could probably find a replacement clutch for £40 and then just have someone fit it and they were extremely surprised by that if thats anything to go by.

Posted

I'm working in Cambridge ATM and can ask the people I'm working with if they know of any good independent garages in the Cambridge area. In fact the people I'm staying with Soham may know of a place, the three young lads all have fairly old cars and don't work on them themselves.

 

You may be better off getting the garage to supply the clutch, I know they will add a little mark up on it but then, if there is a problem, there's none of this 'you supplied the part, it's faulty, you need to pay us more to get it fixed' etc

Posted

Bloody hell, I would just ring a few garages and ask how much to do the clutch on an escort. its about as predictable a job as you can do on an old car so they ought to be able to give you a reasonably accurate estimate, none of this sucking of teeth and 'well it could be XXX or it could be YYY if the ZZZ needs replacing', if you get a load of that just delete that garage from your enquiries.

 

I think it will cost £250 or so, something like £75 for the clutch and 3-4 hours labour at a local garage (NOT a main dealer)! Let them buy the clutch, yeah they will probably put a mark up on it but you've just gotta let 'em do that, look at the whole price and base your judgement on that.

Posted

£250? That much? I guess I am out of touch with mates rates and DIY.....

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