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Old 11-17-2008, 07:34 AM   #2
RandallNeighbour
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 7,243
I am going to get soooo many tickets.

Invest in a Valentine One radar detector. Best $400 you will ever spend and it pays for itself in two months. And ignore Jeph and others on this board that say that Escorts are better... they have no experience with a V1 so they haven't a leg on which to stand.

But I bought it used and it has no service manual

Order one through Sunset Imports. It has so much good info in it that you really should have one as the owner of the car.

What is the button that has picture of a key on in it in the middle of the dash?


If it's the same as mine, it's the central locking feature. Try it.


Also how do you use the headlight sprayer?

I think you pull back on the headlight stalk when the lights are on or push it toward the front of the car... but you will find it totally messes up your clean car and is a total waste of a feature.

It has a xm but cannot figure out how change the source button on the stereo?

You're on your own with this one. I've no idea.

How do you check the oil?

There is no dip stick, but you have a dash indicator that is actually quite accurate if you use it the right way.

1. Car must be level. Turn key to ACC and then watch it count down.
2. Check it first thing in the morning or after the motor has been shut off for at least 30 minutes to an hour. There's 9 friggin' quarts of oil in the motor that has to drain into the bottom to get an accurate reading.
3. Each digital bar between the lines represents about a cup of synthetic Mobil 1 oil. Anywhere in that range is fine, but most guys like it closer to the top... but NEVER over the top. Overfilling is really damaging on our cars.

It will also check your oil level at fill ups if you turn it to the ACC, but this is rarely accurate because the motor is still full of oil and hasn't had the time to drain into the bottom.

And how much $$$ and how often do change the oil?

Oil changes can cost as little as $100 if you do it yourself (and you should learn because it's super easy and fun) or as much as $250 if you take it to the stealership. Frankly, I wouldn't pay more than $125 to have it done, which is what my indy mechanic charges. The cost is high because you have so much Mobil 1 oil to buy.

Although somewhat of a debate on this forum, most guys change their oil every 7,500 to 10k miles, even though you could go 12k between changes. Or, once a year if it's a garage queen. I change mine annually which works out to be 7500 miles.

One more question some time the rear deck isn't flush when you close the top and other times it is. Is that normal or should I take it in for warranty work.

If the spoiler does not fully retract, there maybe a motor going out on it and if you have some factory warranty, get it into the stealership and make them fix it.

As soon as you can, join PCA, find your local chapter, and get to their next meeting to meet other Pcar owners. Great bunch of people and not stuck up like one might think... and sign up for a high speed DE as soon as you can. That's where you'll really learn to drive your car fast and you don't need a radar detector on the track!

Hope this info helps. Hey, where in TX do you live anyway?

Last edited by RandallNeighbour; 11-17-2008 at 07:37 AM.
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