Fixing '89 ford festiva

[Missy]

Ah, thanks for replying. I'll certainly try to get this done asap!

[Missy]

I've seen that happen when the CV axles needed replacing. But that's not really as much of a safety concern as the lower control arms (which have the ball joints your mechanic is talking about). The other shaking concern would be the tie rods (also called inner tie rods) and tie rod ends, which are part of the steering system. All this should be examined immediately, because you will lose steering if any one of the six ball joints pop out.

Tie rod and tie rod end wear is easy to check. Jack up one front wheel, grab the tire at 9 and 3 o'clock and try to wiggle it back and forth. Then do the other front tire. There should be no play at all when you do this if those parts are in good shape. A very tiny bit of wiggle isn't too alarming, but a lot is. Compare one side to the other to see which wiggles more; repair that side first.

Don't let the mechanic replace 'em for $300; find a shadetree-mechanic type who knows how to work on cars and will do it a lot cheaper. This is not a difficult or long job. Always buy the best parts you can find, esp. when it comes to steering, suspension, brakes. And good-quality tires (have to upgrade to 13" for that tho).

You can order parts from www.rockauto.com. For steering parts and lower control arms get Moog whenever possible. Otherwise AC Delco, then Mevotech last. Don't let a mechanic super-overcharge you for parts that are probably the cheapest he can get his hands on.

The Moog lower control arms (LCAs) are ~$20 at Rock Auto. The Moog tie rod ends are ~$17. If you get into the inner tie rods, be aware that 88-89 are different from 90-93; different threads on the steering-rack end. The outer threads are the same for all years tho.

I would also do the steering rack boots, which always are long gone on newly-bought Festys. Not a listing on them from Rock Auto, but someone else on here will know which ones to get as replacements. Probably about $12 each.

Sorry if all this info is TMI, but it's details you gotta know. Top-quality LCAs, tie rods and tie rod ends will come to about $135 with shipping. Find a decent shadetree guy, and he should be able to do at least the LCAs and tie rod ends in a couple hours, say $40. The ball joints on the inner tie rods don't wear as much.

Absolutely get this done ASAP, as steering is the biggest safety item on a car!

I'm looking at the site and I'm absolutely confused :|

[jfd64]

I had exact simular issue after replacing everything on my ist Festy .It was an alighnment issue.Drive 55 bring back alive lol

[David88]

Okay, So another thing that I kinda wanna talk about on here are issues with picking up speed. I bought this Festiva December of last year from my aunt for $500, I needed the car so why not. I live in a rural area, and our speed limits go from 55 to 75. So recently I've been driving the festiva, it hits 55 perfectly, but once you start hitting 60-65 it starts to shake really bad, you move past 65 and start hitting 75 and it runs fine. I talked to a local mechanic around my area and he said it might be the ball joints, since rural area and dirt road. On one hand, I know I need to replace ball joints, on the other hand, I'm not sure if to believe him or not since he wants to charge me $300+ for it. The shake starts from 60-65, move past that and it's fine. I don't drive it on the highway anymore.

I had the same shake problem. It was the tires. I have found, as have others here that yokahama tires are the only good quality tires made these days. In fact your car came from the factory with them on it. I spent alot of money replacing parts to no avail. Ultimately new properly mounted and balanced yokahama tires were installed and the shake was gone. No shake at any speed. I would bet with fair certainty, that is the issue with your shake. Don't write off other issues though. Worn parts can enhance the problem and a good inspection by someone you trust is a good idea. You will likely need to order these tires online. Tirerack or tireseasy.com

Okay, I'm new at this and I'm also very new in changing car parts. Actually cars in general make me cringe, but none the less, I wanna learn. I have a 1989 Ford Festiva and I need to change the front grill, and I just need to know how to change it exactly without ruining the car further more. I know the headlights might need to come off. Just need to know if I need extra screws or anything and how to get it off. Also what is a decent price for a grill on a festiva? I saw this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-1993-Fo...hVfNJh&vxp=mtr

I'm having issues with my heater as well. The A/C works well, it's winter time and I need heat. I turn it on and it only blows cold air, no hot air whatsoever, even so, I leave it on for about 30 minutes or tried to, to see if it kicks in and then I'll smell a burning smell almost. Coolant is in, I'm thinking thermostat may be the problem?

Also looking for seat belt buckles.

Get in touch with either fastivaca or jfd64 here on the forum, both have great prices on parts and shipping.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

dalebwilson,

That's the grill clip! Who woulda known there could be so many different $0.02 plastic parts?

[TominMO]

BTW Missy, the steering rack boot (or bellows) is the same as for a Ford Aspire. Go to Rock Auto and look under
Ford/1995/Aspire/Steering/Rack and Pinion Bellows. Any of the ones listed under "Daily Driver" are fine. Never get parts listed under "Economy", unless you are desperate/very poor.

[Missy]

BTW Missy, the steering rack boot (or bellows) is the same as for a Ford Aspire. Go to Rock Auto and look under
Ford/1995/Aspire/Steering/Rack and Pinion Bellows. Any of the ones listed under "Daily Driver" are fine. Never get parts listed under "Economy", unless you are desperate/very poor.

Thank you so much!

[Advancedynamix]

The 60mph festiva death wobble is most commonly caused by tires. I say this because of my recent experience with half a dozen of these cars with the same shake and many different setups. My current festiva has all brand new high quality parts and shakes with some tires and won't shake with others. Sometimes a balance job is all it takes to make the wobble go away, but often the shake is a result of the tires not being perfectly round.
See, most modern cars weigh twice what a festiva weighs, and the tires can be pretty drastically out of round before a shake is noticed. The light weight festiva is very sensitive to the shape of it's tires. Finding round 12" tires can be a chore, as most of these tires are low dollar second and third choice tires that are barely suitable for a garden cart.
Upgrading to a 14" wheel will give you a couple of low dollar tire choices that will ride smoothly.

[dalebwilson]

Installing Yokohama 12" tires was the only thing that cured my shake.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Missy]

Not sure if you guys can see it, but fixed up my broken grille this past weekend. Front part was totalled due to a tow truck driver backing up, received grill from a member on here and fixed it up! More repairs to get done eventually. P_20160117_155944_1.jpg

P_20150908_090928_1.jpg

[SiliconSoul]

Check your thermostat is the proper 2 stage and also try giving it a reverse flow flush in case it is clogged.

[Missy]

Okay, so I'm looking for a thermostat since that's what the issue is pertaining the heater not really working.
I was looking at: https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...id=503&jpid=17
Now, would this be the right one and what's the difference between all of them; (if there is a difference)

TIRES: I have 12" tires, was looking to upgrade to 14" if possible, I would only need to replace rims correct?

[old yellow]

Okay, so I'm looking for a thermostat since that's what the issue is pertaining the heater not really working.
I was looking at: https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...id=503&jpid=17
Now, would this be the right one and what's the difference between all of them; (if there is a difference)

TIRES: I have 12" tires, was looking to upgrade to 14" if possible, I would only need to replace rims correct?

if you have 12" tires right now than you may still have the 4x114.3 mm bolt pattern and there are virtually no 14" tires with that bolt pattern that I have found.... it's not worth it to get 4x114.3 mm rims... you need to do an entire front and rear break replacement from a Ford Aspire to find any really good 14" rims for your car...... that would change the bolt pattern of the car from it's current 4x114.3 mm to the more common 4x100 mm plus give you way better breaks also!

If you are really in a pinch and can't find an Aspire or don't have the tools/time to do a break swap i would recommend going with a 13" rim and tire combo with 4x114.3 mm bolt pattern but that's last resort for me.... later Geo Metro's with 13" tires are common rim swap for people who still have stock Festiva breaks

[Basement_Modder]

Factory 90s accord 14s are 4x114.3. Some of them had alloys.

Sent from my LG-D950 using Tapatalk