Well, Cherry is dead. I can't figure out what is causing her engine knock and I don't have the money to take her to the shop. I thought about selling her for parts but I absolutely hate to see her go like that. I've decided to start looking for another one with a good engine hopefully so I can make one out of two. If anyone knows of any 164's in the Oklahoma area that are for sale please let me know. Or if anyone is in the Oklahoma area that thinks they may be able to help bring Cherry back to life, please let me know. Thanks in advance, Sara.

What year is your car? My 164 has wiped out a couple of timing gears over
the 35 years I have owned it. They make a pretty considerable knock before
they quit. An easy way to check is to crank the engine with the distributor
cap off. If the rotor doesn't turn, your timing gear is shot.
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George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

It's a 1974. I thought maybe it was the timing gear but I've got no one to help me crank the engine to check.

Well, you could try and look at the Bargain Post and see if there are any 164s for sale. You could find almost anything in there.
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...and the bricks keep on rolling

I'm in Bartlesville, 17 miles south of the Kansas line and on the 96th
meridian, 40 miles north of Tulsa. Where are you??
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George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

I'm in Del City at I-40 and I-35 so I little far from you and I don't think she'd ever make it up there. Thanks for the offer though.

He's in Oklahoma and has a 164...

I don't know of any 164's for sale close by, and none in the pick-n-pull as of a few weeks ago. But if your car still runs and you want an educated opinion, I'm just across town and it would be no problem to stop by and listen to the beast.

Gary L
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1971 142E ITB racer, 1973 1800ES, 2002 S60 T5

Well, I'm at I-40 and Sunny lane. If you are going to be in the area you can let me know and I'll get her battery charged and get the beasts out of the back yard so it'll be safe. I really appreciate the offer. Thanks a bunch!

Sara,

Send me an email with your phone number and we can work out a plan. I should be able to get over there this coming week some time, no problem.

glearned AT mcloudteleco DOT com

Gary L
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1971 142E ITB racer, 1973 1800ES, 2002 S60 T5

Gary,

If you have not been there already, you might want to try Pull-A-Part in OKC if you are in town and need spares. They usually have a 164 or two in their yard. I used to get a lot of spares for my 144 from them. Too bad I am no longer in town or else I could go check.
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...and the bricks keep on rolling

Pull-a-Part was what I meant to say when I said pick-n-pull. Whatever you call it, I'm only about 10 miles east of the yard, so I check out the Volvo stuff at least once a month. Cheap entertainment for us farm kids at only a dollar to see that many broke cars!

Gary L
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1971 142E ITB racer, 1973 1800ES, 2002 S60 T5

I might have bumped into you there and didn't even know it. I used to "shop" at PAP at least once a week when I had an old Honda Accord that was missing most of its interior but ran great. I got most of the interior from a few Accords at PAP. Been going there eversince, but not so often after I got the Honda fixed and sold it at a small profit.

Yeah, a buck sure goes a long way in there. I could spend an entire weekend in there just looking at those broke cars and trying to dismantle stuff. More fun than the movies and cheaper by far!
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...and the bricks keep on rolling

Yeah I know pull a parts. I live there during the summer. lol. I need to go up there and get a Maf sensor for my Taurus. I was going to just get an engine from them once for a hundred but there was no way of knowing if it was good or not and I don't think it would fit in my trunk so that was out of the question.

Should not be a problem. Plenty of Tauruses there. I had two of them, an 88 and a 93, both with the 3.0 motors and use to shop for parts as well. Most Taurus are junked because of tranny problems. They were known for premature failure. The 3.0 motors are OK, but the 3.8 version are prone to premature headgasket failure.
I never had a tranny fail on either one of my cars. I used Mobil 1 synthetic tranny oil and added an extra tranny cooler. Worked well thru the years.

What year is your Taurus? Is it a 3.0 or 3.8?
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...and the bricks keep on rolling

It's a 1996 3.0.

1996. The first year of the oval Taurus. Nice cars, and parts should no be a problem, at very reasonable prices. The 3.0 is a durable engine and I did not do any engine work to either one of my Tauruses except for regular servicing. The transmissions were beefed up in 1995, and they are not so prone to premature failure as the earlier ones.

All the best. You've got two good cars, once they start running right.

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...and the bricks keep on rolling

Do you know anything about changing the struts in the Taurus? I've never done it before and I don't believe in going to the shop. lol.

Front-yes. Rear-no..

I changed the front struts out myself on the 88. Should be the same for your 96 as well. Quite straight forward, but it involves compressing the springs which could be a bit dangerous. The Haynes manual worked well for me. Too bad I no longer live in Edmond, or else I'd come by and take a look.

You might want to try this place in Mid West City that replaces driveaxles (CV joints) for 99 dollar per piece, labor + parts. Not too bad, really. If I remember right, they do suspension work as well. I don't remember the name of the place, but you'll see their add in the papers all the time.

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...and the bricks keep on rolling

It's probably CVJoints R US. I took my Camry there to get the cv joint fixed and they did a great job. Haha. This list keeps going to all my different cars. I also have a 1997 Jimmy that needs a tranny. Just thought I'd go ahead and get that out of the way!

CV Joints R Us sounds right...
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...and the bricks keep on rolling