And all because the car is very successful for the 80s.
With this article, AutoPortal continues its series of materials on choosing and buying used cars. You can browse the catalog of used cars on our pages by going to the "Used cars" section.
Description
- Body type: 3- and 5-door hatchback, 4-door sedan and 5-door station wagon
- Doors/seats: 5/5, 4/5, 5/5
- Dimensions Length/Width/Height, mm: 4425/1694/1407, 4467/1698/1359, 4511/1720/1428
- Wheelbase, mm: 2608
- Curb/gross weight, kg: 1005/1525, sedan – 1025/1575, 1210/1775
- Trunk volume, l: 410-1200 and 390-1200, 420-880, 400-1470
- Tank volume, l: 60
- Drive type: rear/all-wheel drive (XR 4x4)
- Gearbox: 4- and 5-speed manual and 3- and 4-speed automatic.
- Brakes front/rear: disc/drum, disc/disc
- Suspension front/rear: independent/independent.
- Engines
- Petrol 4-cylinder:
- Carburetor: 1.6 l (75 hp); 1.6 l (80 hp); 1.8 l (87 hp)
1.8 l (90 hp); 2.0 l (100 hp); 2.0 l (105 hp); - Multi-point injection: 2.0 l (115 hp); 2.0 l (120 hp);
2.0 l 16V (204 hp) Turbo; 2.0 l 16V (220 hp) Turbo - 6-cylinder multi-point injection: 2.3 l (114 hp); 2.8 l (135 hp); 2.9 l (145 hp);
- Diesel 4-cylinder: 1.8 l (75 hp) Turbo; 2.3 l (75 hp)
History
- 09.1982 The Ford Sierra family debuts
- 09.1983 Start of production of the all-wheel drive XR 4x4 modification
- 03.1984 A new 1.6 l 75 hp engine and 4-speed automatic transmission appeared
- 03.1987 Model modernization. The body range was supplemented with a 4-door sedan.
- 09.1987 The sports Sierra – RS Cosworth with a 16-valve 2.0 l (204 hp) turbocharged engine saw the light of day
- 03.1988 The engine of the Ghia and XR 4x4 V6 2.8 l (135 hp) modification was replaced with a V6 2.9 l (145 hp)
- 09.1988 All engines were equipped with a catalytic converter
- 01.1990 Modernization. The most powerful RS Cosworth version appeared – 220 hp, production of the 3-door modification was completed
- 01.1993 Production of the Ford Sierra model was discontinued
The Ford Sierra came to life in 1982, replacing the outdated Taunus model. It lived a long 12 years of assembly line life. Interestingly, the Sierra was even sold in the USA under the Mercur brand (not to be confused with Mercury). There were five body modifications. Two of them are hatchbacks with five and three doors. In addition, a sports "coupe-hatchback XR4Ti" with a two-tier spoiler, a station wagon, and since 1987, after modernization, a sedan was added.
Buyers of the "Sierra" should remember that models from 1982-1987 had different front end design options. The earliest had small, almost square headlights and a horizontal radiator grille, while the later one sported a fashionable "empty" front with elongated rectangular headlights. The expensive Ghia models were designed somewhat differently. The all-wheel drive modifications and the sports Cosworth with a 200-220 hp engine stand apart.
Interior
The main advantage of the interior is that it is one of the most spacious in its class. Five people can comfortably fit inside, and if necessary, even four short passengers can fit in the "gallery". Another confirmation that it is really spacious inside is the fact that the rear seats from the Scorpio can be installed in the Sierra. This means that the width of their interiors is almost the same.
Interestingly, the heater and ventilation control levers are installed in the old American manner - under the steering wheel in the right corner of the dashboard. As for "luxury items" like air conditioning, power windows, etc., they can be found not on every Sierra. Therefore, if you want maximum comfort, look for the Ghia version.
Body
Corrosion protection was considered good at the time. However, it should be borne in mind that this was a very long time ago. Therefore, when buying even a well-maintained Sierra, you should pay attention to the sills (especially at welding points), rear wheel arches, doors and other standard places where rust appears. And about the side members and "cups" for mounting shock absorber struts, we are talking first of all. This is especially true for pre-restyling cars, produced before 1987.
The bodies of the first years of production had a serious drawback - low transverse rigidity in the area of the front pillars. This actually manifested itself on our far from smooth roads - the bodies "folded" near the windshield. Subsequently, this defect was eliminated by strengthening the side members and the front wall of the body. The presence of such a defect can be determined by the uneven gap between the front fender and the door.
Also, in the first years of production, the Sierra had a global problem with the tightness of rubber seals.
Engines
The carburetor engines of the Sierra were inherited from the old Taunus and Granada. Carburetors were very different: from Weber and Solex to Pierburg. Injection engines with an injection system - from central to electronic multi-point like Bosch L-Jetronic.
Six-cylinder engines are usually equipped with mechanical continuous injection Bosch K-Jetronic. And, of course, for taxi drivers and just those who want to save fuel, a pre-chamber diesel 2.3 liters 67 hp and a turbodiesel 1.8 liters 75 hp were produced.
All four-cylinder engines had a timing belt drive. Only the V6s were designed according to the canons of the old school - the camshaft was located in the camber of the block and had a gear drive.
The weak point of the "Sierra" engines, especially V-shaped ones, is the water pump. The fan drive with a fluid coupling also requires attention. It can have a spring breakage and oil leakage. On four-cylinder engines, it is impossible to remove the valve cover without removing the carburetor (injector). But since the valves are not adjusted often, on average every 50-70 thousand km, this can be tolerated. And on diesels, the starter often fails. The ignition system is contactless, with an inductive sensor (on some engines with a Hall sensor) sometimes presents unpleasant surprises. On injection engines, you should pay attention to the air flow meter, which is not reliable. And finally, if you decide to take an engine with a volume of
Be especially careful with a 2-liter engine (no matter what power). The factory cylinder head gasket was poorly designed and often caused chronic overheating of the head and destruction of the partitions between the valves.
Of the two diesel engines, it is better to choose the atmospheric 2.3-liter, which was developed by Peugeot. Its power is not great, but it is almost indestructible. History knows cases when the engine drove without much consequence on a mixture of 76-octane gasoline and engine oil. The 1.8-liter turbodiesel is an early version of the engine that was later installed on the Escort and Mondeo models. The main ailments are the unsuccessful design of the timing belt protective cover, unreliable turbine mounting, and so on.
Transmission
The Sierra inherited from the veteran Taunus rear-wheel drive with an excellent, almost eternal rear axle reducer. Moreover, the engagement of the gears of its reducer can be adjusted without removing this unit from the car. There is only one drawback here - the short-lived elastic coupling of the driveshaft. All-wheel drive versions are rare in our country, and, as a rule, are excellent candidates for scrapping.
But if you are interested in exactly this modification, you should know that the "Sierra" uses a scheme like a real SUV. The car is equipped with a transfer case with a chain drive and a planetary differential with a viscous coupling lock. The rear axle has its own lock using the same viscous coupling. As a rule, the chain and both viscous couplings require replacement.
Gearboxes can be five-speed manual, as well as 3-speed (until 1984) or 4-speed automatic. No special defects were noted, except for minor oil leaks through the tail of the manual gearbox. Of course, synchronizers and seals wear out.
The clutch does not create problems. The linings of the pressure plate last about 100 thousand km.
Chassis
The suspension of all wheels is independent, "swallows" bumps well and holds the road well. The reliability of the suspension is average, but the repair is easy.
At the front, the weak point is the bushings that attach the stabilizer to the arm. Ball joints and silent blocks last about the same: 80-100 thousand km, and the ball joints are changed only assembled with the arm.
Only the silent blocks of the rear triangular arms wear out relatively quickly. In addition, after overcoming a strip of obstacles in the form of potholes and bumps, they can be bent. This malfunction is easily diagnosed by the angle of inclination of the rear wheels. If they stand like a "house", then the arms, most likely, are time to change.
Rack and pinion steering, as befits an 80s car, is not always equipped with power steering. The brakes are usually disc at the front and drum at the rear. Rear discs are found mainly on powerful modifications, such as the Cosworth.
Prices for spare parts and maintenance
Maintaining a "Sierra" car is not difficult. Especially if you have skillful hands. New spare parts are relatively inexpensive, but some items are no longer produced. Especially for the first, pre-restyling versions.
It is becoming more and more difficult with disassembly, due to the age of the car. But finding "live" parts is still quite real:
- hood - 500 UAH
- trunk lid - 400 UAH
- air conditioning radiator - 250 UAH
- door - 400 UAH
Summary
The king of used cars - that's what they said about the Ford Sierra in the distant 90s, an extremely popular car in our country. But since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, the king died long ago, and the crown went to others. But if you suddenly come across a more or less "alive" Sierra - why not.
It is difficult to say anything specific about prices, because the condition of most cars is very different. There are many offers for sale, so we advise you not to rush and focus on the following range: from $1500 to $5000.
You can browse the catalog of used cars on our pages by going to the "Used cars" section.
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