New v6 owner.... To be!

Jake1989

Jake1989

Active user
Sep 29, 2014
60
10
Bracknell
Hi guys just bought the membership on here and seems a great place and a wealth of knowledge on the cougar!
I am looking to buy a v6 manual in blue asap (going to look at what seems a nice one tomorrow evening)
i have owned one before ( a 98 black v6 x pack auto) but sold as the box went on it :-(
So this is just a hello really and looking forward to a new ownership soon,
just a call any major common bits to look for bar the normal of buying old used cars?
read the lim valves are common and the brakes stick?
many thanks jake.
 
Rear brakes and underbody rust i think mate, but thats no worse than any other old ford. Rear subframe rot and front wishbone rattles as these are apparently hugely expensive.
 
Make sure ABS and traction control is working, should light up on dash on start up and that alternator lights not on apart from that as above with rust and wishbones, rear drop links can go, be a rattle from the back but cheap to fix. Best colour by far the blue, hope you get sorted.
 
Many thanks guys :)
the one I'm going to look at has been pretty much stood for two years,but aparantly been fired up and used and just went through the mot with just an advisory for pitted brake discs (I will change these straight away anyway)
and if alls okay plan to do a full oil flush/change and coolant,brake fluid and few other service bits too so hopefully should all be sweet
 
Hi Jake, and welcome. I think you're one of the first to ever get a paid subscription before actually buying the car.

The LIM valves (butterflies) don't stick as such - it's the box that controls them that loses its marbles. We can fix that.

I haven't heard of brakes sticking being a specific Cougar problem but...

the normal of buying old used cars?
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...got it in one. Alternators, suspension components such as drop-links, body rot in the sills and the bottom part of the wings. Lazy handbrake. In other words, everything you would expect. But it's the usual thing of going into the purchase with your eyes wide open.

And once you have it, take off the bumpers and sort out the mayhem that will inevitably be behind them.

Since you have membership already, you're in the unique position of being able to research the sort of thing that we see all the time, what it costs to fix, and whether it's worth it. If I were you I'd do that before I spent a single penny on the car itself.
 
Hi Jake and a warm welcome to ukcougar.org You seem to have done your homework on the Cougar and now know what to look out for when buying one. This place is full of information and tips you will not find anywhere else regarding your car.
 
Thanks,I did look at one the other day and it definatly had the "lazy handbrake" you describe,felt awful and barely worked!
also the revs kept up once throttle was off,I guess this is the idle control valve? Any how I walked away so nothing lost.
i bought the membership first as it's a small premium to pay for all the info and potentially save £100's from buying a dog.
You say behind the bumpers,I guess this is rust and rot behind them?
will let you know how te viewing goes later today!
 
Yeah, the inevitable tin-worm I'm afraid but they hold up pretty well compared to similar vintage Ford products.

The penalty from the little niggles is made up by generally robust mechanicals, there are few nasty suprises with either power-unit; indeed they are, to use a cliché, "bulletproof".

My advice offered here is to definitely buy on history and provenance over mileage. Many owners' vehicles have covered some rather stellar mileages (comparatively) but remain solid and dependable.

Resisting temptation to fiddle with the sunroof is another adage generally passed about.
 
Behind my rear bumper the mounts were a bit rusty but fortunately caught in time.
Good opportunity to clean out the accumulated grime though.
 
Thanks,the one I am going to see now has 93k on it and the one on Saturday has 150k on it and is also priced £150 more. But sounds well looked after. It's from the cougar club on Facebook so the seller may well be on here too.
will have a look at both and go from there I think

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backseateducation said:
Behind my rear bumper the mounts were a bit rusty but fortunately caught in time.
Good opportunity to clean out the accumulated grime though.
Click to expand...


im definatly a clean freak so will all be stripped and cleaned! Lol
 
So the one I just looked at was a waste of time. Here's the list-
• slight misfire/hesitation on low revs (upto about 2k)
• the yellow spanner light was on ( at the top near interior light)
• tapping from engine
• suspension knocking from what sounded like every corner!!
• all brake discs were knackered
• only one key ( and wasn't the remote central locking one!)
• heavy white smoke coming from exhaust
• poorly fitted (actually hanging out) rip speed headunit and ashtray section was all loose.
Shame as the bodywork and interior was pretty much mint

oh well the search continues!

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Oh and the fan was constantly on even from stone cold and didn't go off?
 
Keep up the search mate.
Some of those things are no great hassle on their own - the spanner for example is only the service indicator it can be easily reset.
Sounds like a long jobs list though there are better out there!

(y)
 
I know none of them were major issues and it was on sale for £625 and he quickly went down to £500 but IMO it easily needed that spending on it again.
My next viewing is Saturday so let's see how that one goes
 
You can still find some good ones out there and usually pick them up reasonably cheap as not a car a lot of people want, best not to rush and keep searching one will come along.
 
V6's will 'smoke' almost all the time, but more noticeably as the weather gets colder, because they produce a large amount of condensation.
 
so after a long day ive got myself a lovely v6 (y)
picked up a 99 T plate, black, v6 manual not the x pack but to be honest ive never been the biggest fan of leather!
its got 78k on clock, fsh,almost a years mot and nice condition all round,with a little spoiler on the rear too which i like (think its a roush one from a bit of reading ive done?)
only paid £600 which i was more than happy to part with,but of course there is a couple small issues which i would much appreciate your help on!

1.low coolant light comes on occasionally (coolant level is fine,temp gauge sits spot on and never moved on the 100mile journey home) so is it a sensor/relay? etc
2.fuel pump makes a whirring noise constanly,new pump needed?
3.slight laquer peel on NSF wing which i will get done soon.

and also is there a good place to buy service parts or is a local motor parts as good as it gets?
many thanks!
 
Sounds good to me mate.
As several kindly told me when I bought mine, low coolant light is common, top it up to slightly above the max and it shouldn't come on again (unless you've got a leak like I found earlier:eek:)
 
Will give that a go tomorrow, thanks. unfortunately was dark when I got home so couldn't do much,so getting the full once over tomorrow!
ah no sorry about your leak,hope it's not to bad then!
 
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