I have owned two rear wheel drive Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth's for the last 6 or so years, from my dealings and reading a lot of forums there are a lot of common things to look out for when purchasing a used Sapphire.
(Refer to my other blog posts for Sapphire Cosworth Identification)
The cars are now 25+ years old.The best advice is always buy the best you can afford in the first place like everyone says. And that you get what you pay for. If you can, go for a full history car & don't hesitate to check all documents & receipts. And if possible take an experienced RS member with you to view the car.
Most are owned by enthusiasts, and looked after very well so, don't be
afraid to ask to take it to bits to inspect parts, any good owner will understand why,
and may even help you.
Body (Both 2wd & 4wd):
-Rust is always a concern on any Cosworth rear chassis rails are a common failure from rust and hard to source as the parts aren't available new anymore. Replacements need to be fabricated and fitted.
This is a common problem and contribute to the reason so many 2wd's and 4wd's getting scrapped.
-Look for date stamps on inner lip of wings , panel gaps should be uniform, any inconsistencies could point to prior damage / rust problems
-1989 is a crossover where there
are 2wd and 4x4 models.
-Check for any crash damage which is always what you should be looking for on any cosworth.
-Boot well common rust area and rear floor next to the inner quarters and back panel.
-Rear arches are also an area that can suffer
-Bootlids can rust around the spoiler mounts
-Also look for bubbling window rubbers as these are expensive to replace and hard to find.
-Look for overspray any rippling door mouldings for signs of repair.
-Both front and rear bumpers can suffer from broken corner mounts, aftermarket brackets are available, but long periods of time with broken mounts can cause permanent bumper sag
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sapphire-RS-Cosworth-Alloy-Front-Bumper-Brackets-New-/281148000716?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4175ba09cc
-Bumpers are expensive and hard to obtain. You need to be aware if it's not an original item, as fibre glass aftermarket copies are available. In New Zealand Lodge Auto Center reproduce them.
http://www.lodgeautocentre.co.nz/cosworth.html
-Make sure Sunroof is working, they always rust and have been known to blow off, and are hard to get rust free replacements
-Inside the boot
check the floor's not rippled, which would mean it's been shunted. Door
and panel gaps should be even all the way down
-Look for original badging which is now becoming hard to find .
-sills where side skirt clips are are prone to cracking sagging etc after market sets are available on ebay in metal.
-A clean, undamaged example should have Ford, date-stamped body panels, original bonnet and wings are also spot welded.
-even panel and door gaps a straight one should have perfect fitting doors,
tailgate / boot and bonnet with perfectly uniform gaps
-VINs numbers should match (see vehicle identification blog post)
-Look for rippling on
the inner wings and under the insulating foam in the boot.
-None of the
exterior rubber or plastic should have any overspray on it, run your finger
across the black bits to try check
2wd Sapphire Cosworth Body:
-Amber indicators front and back,
-head with turbo damper mounted on side
-For 2WD Sapphire Cosworth's make sure its got non vented bonnet only 4x4 ones did.
-Sierra bonnets (all
models including RS Cosworth), 1988 and earlier bonnets flicked up at the
scuttle panel, and post 1988 bonnets slope down.
Engine:
- Make sure you hear
it start from cold and listen for any knocking noises, replacement tappets are available new from the likes of Matt Lewis Motorsport etc
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RS-Cosworth-All-Genuine-INA-Cam-followers-x-16-/161072378039?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2580a970b7
.
-Check under the oil cap
for oil and water mixing , and also for floating oil in the coolant tank as these
are signs of the head gasket needing replacement.
-Check for play in the
turbo shaft by removing the boost hose to the intercooler from the turbo. A little lateral play is acceptable lots isn't. In and out movement is a sign the turbo's on its way out.
-Check the boost hoses don't contain oil, which may indicate the turbo's oil seals have gone or are in need of attention.
-Exhaust studs break, and should be checked I have heard that if they partially snap in they need to be diamond drilled out.
-Take it out for a good hard drive to check for smoke on boost and smoke on over run as this can be costly White, blue, dark grey smoke on a cold start is bad. A puff of black smoke
(particularly on over run) isn't necessarily as much bad news as the
others.
-Red top engines have no catalytic convertor. Green top
engines do, which is expensive to replace or you may be able to remove it depending on what country your in and emission laws.
-Make sure its a proper Cosworth 2wd Engine Block, there are 3 visible places to tell that I am aware of:
-small lettered 205 stamped on the side.
- by the dizzy if it has more numbers/letters after 2222 its not a Cosworth block
- also on the front of the block above the waterpump it has YBT 2987 or something similar
stamped on it
-The blocks are strong but cracking in blocks has been known to happen, and this normally happens on the underside of the pistons and not visible, a check of the oil and water not mixing in the radiator cap will confirm this
-rear oil seal is a common oil leak problem, and also around the rocker cover where the camshafts come out of the head, there is 'half moon seals' that require additional sealant to prevent leaks
-205 blocks were fitted to the red top Sierra Cosworths. These can be identified by the larger 205 lettering cast in the side of the block. These
are standard 2.0 litre Pinto blocks, specially selected for their bore
size. All cylinder bores are either size 2 or 3. This can be checked
by looking at the casting near the distributor. It will be a four digit
number, containing 2s and 3s, decrypting to the size of each cylinder.
A casting reading 2232 would mean that cylinders 1, 2 and 4 are size 2,
and cylinder 3 is size 3. Any other bore size is not suitable for a
Cosworth engine.
-200 blocks were fitted to 4x4 Sierra Cosworths, and Escort Cosworths. These blocks are thicker, and stronger than 205 blocks.
If your buying a car with engine in bits or cylinder head off be aware, the cylinder heads have numerous problems:
-over skimming the head is common
The thickness (from block gasket face to top of head where rocker cover face is) should be:
-139.2 new
-137.6 is a point at
which you are run a risk of valve seats clashing as there's so little material left around them. Manufacturers minimum
recommended thickness is 138.68mm
-On the forums there is other people running 138.3mm but all accept there's
a risk involved. anything beyond that and the head
either should be used for a N/A application or discarded
http://bbs.rsownersclub.co.uk/showthread.php?t=514592&highlight=head+thickness
-cylinder heads also suffer from corrosion / pitting around water ways
-if the cylinder head has been overcooked from overheating the engine, the aluminum material can go 'soft' and there is a hardness test out of 100 where a engine workshop can test for you.
-valves are titanium filled and are expensive to replace
-heads are known to warp as well, if you put a a straight ruler along them you can check
-heads are known to also rust / corrode out, and I had a pinhole leak in one of my combustion chambers from the metal getting too thin
-Burton now create brand new bare blocks but are very expensive
http://www.burtonpower.com/motorsport-cylinder-head-290cfm-cosworth-yb-sc1207a.html
Interior:
-Leather seats were an option from 1989
-Roof lining is prone to sagging
-Make sure the heater works, if there's no heat when its hot, either the
heater matrix is not working or the engine's boiling off the coolant somewhere
before it reaches the heater matrix.
-check seat mounts for rust always seem to rust on front rear seat mount, all models
Suspension:
Look for sagging springs,worn/split factory bushes and if shocks standard look for boat style handling.
Aftermarket parts available to replace all worn components Factory parts available too. Common faults is sagging springs ,worn Tca/anti roll bar bushes causing wandering under braking and vauge steering. Rear beam bushes can go leading to a wandering rear end under cornering and braking.
Wheels and tyre:
Original Lattice style on early 2wd and 4x4 Sapphire Cosworth's
Original Sharktooth style on later 4x4 Sapphire Cosworths
7J x 15 in Ford Alloys , et 40 offset.
Brakes:
-They have Teves ABS System, Front 278mm vented discs Rear 273mm vented discs.
-2wd ones have 4 pot calipers at the front, 4wd
ones are only single pot at the front.
-Front discs will warp easily as only single pot calipers / pads wear on the inside face quicker and have a lot of work in bringing the 4x4 Sapphire to a halt.
-Rear calipers can seize causing rear excessive rear pad wear and handbrake sticking .
-Relays can fail causing abs light on dash to glow as can abs sensors . The abs sensors are £135 each so expensive to replace . Look for abs light on start up should go off after 30/45 seconds after system is primed depending if u wait for the light to go out .
-Handbrake cables can snap with age .
-Ensure fluid has been flushed as most have not seen it replaced in years . Also look for rear hard lines as these will corrode and cause a wof/ green slip / mot fail
-Master cylinders are known to go with old age, if they go, in NZ I paid over $1000 for the unit and accumulator to be re-sleeved and fully reconditioned.
-Abs pumps are known to go, if the master cylinder leaks the fluid can enter the pump and burn it out.
The pumps are not expensive for a second hand unit and can be used from other models.
Tyres 2WD:
205/50/VR15
Color choices:
-4X4`s had Flint grey ,Diamond white, Moondust silver, Nouveau red, Ebony black, Magenta, (Schwartz black?) One off colors not forgetting smoke stone in the late 4x4's
-Early colors were:
Flint Grey, Diamond White, Moonstone Blue, Magenta
-Special order: Schwartz Black, Radiant Red
-2WD Crystal Blue, Mercury Grey
Electrical:
Misfires are common problems and main causes seem to be:
-phase sensor (under dizzy)
-plug gaps and leads
-fuel pump wiring loom
-air / water sensors
-crank angle sensor and gap
-radiator fan wiring and sensor
-the wiring looms get brittle, and also the fuse box connections cause problems
-Make sure all the electrics work. If the ABS doesn't work, it can be a
nightmare to sort out
-heated front windscreens have problems with the wiring
-front headlight wipers also are tempermental
Gearbox / Clutch:
-syncho's are known to crunch, especially between 3rd and 4th gear, and can be hard to get into reverse in rwd boxes
-4x4s have the MT75 gearbox, which has synchro on reverse, where as the 2wd
T5's gearbox doesn't
-The rear wheel drive boxes (Borg Warner T5) have aftermarket reconditioning kits available, and other than the input shaft / bell housing are very similar to the mustang boxes, they are generally pretty strong
-clutch cables and pedal fittings (half circle ratchet system) are known to snap and also aftermarket parts are available from the likes of Burton / Graham Goode / Matt Lewis ..etc via ebay
-The MT75's synchro on
3rd is weaker than the 2wd, and will normally be the first to show signs that a rebuild may be required.
Non standard cars:
-When looking at buying a non standard Sapphire Cosworth, the common modifications as mentioned in my earlier blogs are stage 1,2,3 and beyond upgrade kits.
Body wise generally:
-lowering, (brands such as gaz / avo / koni / H&R) etc shocks / platforms / coilovers
-aftermarket wheels
-morrette headlights are a common upgrade.
-Altering the indicators for clear lights, and the amber taillights for the darkened tail lights.
In my experiences its hard to work out what stage the kits are, and you are best to either get it assessed by a tuner, or bring it back to a standard settings and work up from there.
-If it's been tuned make sure there's a receipt for the work done by a
reputable tuner, or at least a dyno graph to backup the seller's
claims.
-If there's a boost gauge, have a look at what it is running at Standard
boost is 9-10psi, stage 1 is around 14.5psi (1 bar),
stage 2 and 3 is around 20 psi and more.
-The 2wd had 'yellow' injectors as standard. The 4x4's standard
injectors were 'blue', but still only flowed the same as the 'yellow'
ones.
Over in New Zealand and Australia the immaculate
Sapphire Cosworths are generally held onto and do not come up for sale
much. If you were considering getting one, I would recommend getting in
touch with the local RS club.
(N.B. If I have touched on anything that you think may be incorrect please post some comments so I can alter it.)
