Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:21:00 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/ Tempo - Topaz Car Club of North America en-us http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/images/header.jpg http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/ aw_dee_o@hotmail.com http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article198.html The modification described in "Substitute Radiator Hose for 92-94 Tempo/Topaz V6 models" is not necessary unless you are stranded with no other choice. Upper radiator hoses by Gates and ACDelco for the V6 are still available in the RockAuto.com catalog under Cooling System. The part numbers for the molded upper radiator hoses are: GATES Part # 22010 and ACDELCO Part # 22281M. Tom www.RockAuto.com Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:21:00 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article197.html Hi Everyone, since I haven't contacted or ordered anything from Carbotech Performance Brakes in quite a while, I decided to call them on your behalf. They put me in touch with Dan Puskar ,and this is what he told me is now available for our T/T cars. Tempo - Topaz /84-94 Front Pads: code #CT257 , Bobcat 1521 $107 USD , AX6 $116 USD Rear Shoes: code #CT8501, Bobcat 1521 $137 USD , AX6 $149 USD When I asked Dan about a possible group buy, he told me that he would knock 15% off on a min. order for ten cars. He said that it could be more depending on the size of the order. So something to think about. He said that the Bobcat 1521 would be the replacement for the CT1257-FT Super Street F front pads that I purchased back in /99, and is much improved over what I had. Also the AX6 pads and shoes are used for autocross and track use, and could be used for street use, but I personally wouldn't recommend it ,due to the lack of heat build up in normal everyday driving . Dan also recommended that we use AP Performance 5.1 brake fuild, and do a total bleed/ fuild change once a year for max. performance. Now since some of you are new members, I would just like to let you all know that my Carbotech front pads ( and cryo hardened rotors,of which are no longer required) lasted me for more than 4 yrs. of 'spirited' driving, with min. non damaging brake dust and zero noise. With the HP rear shoes now being available, it could very well eliminate the need for additional brake mods, for most of our members requireing additional HP braking power. You can learn more from viewing Carbotech's FAQ section @ http://www.ctbrakes.com/ Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:59:32 -0600 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article196.html Welcome to the Tempo Topaz Car Club of North America Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:10:57 -0600 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article194.html I work at a Toyota/Ford dealership at the parts counter. I have to fix my drivers seatbelt once a year. It seems to me that they're 3 common parts that go wrong. The plastic gear in the seatbelt motor, the black track belt and the white C-shape plastic runner attached to the seatbelt motor with 2 screws. Most parts for my COUPE tempo auto seatbelts are discontinued. The only thing I can still is the black track belt for about $48. So what I have done is go junk yard haunting. 4 door and 2 door model use different automatic seatbelt parts. Which stinks because 4 doors seem to last longer. Go to the junk yard and find the lowest mileage compatible tempo/topaz. 2 door or 4 door. Why the lowest? In theory, the Driver side is used the most and the passenger about less than half of that. Start disassembling the PASSENGER side seatbelt Mech under the rear quarter glass. Once you remove the interior plastic trim, you should be able to see the seatbelt motor. Remove the motor, then the 3 Philips screws holding the metal plate on. You now have the 3 inch white gear exposed. That gear will slide right of the shaft and out of the motor. Hopefully you have a plastic bag to put that gear in or else it will make a mess. Now disassemble the seatbelt track. Once fully disassembled, pull the black track belt all the way out. Make sure it's in good shape by looking at the groove section. It should not be cracked or broken. Before you get started on reassembling your car. Go to your local parts store and get a gel type lubricate like 'EASYGLIDE'. You will need to lube your track and motor gears. When you get home, disassemble you Drivers side seatbelt mech. Just like you did on the passenger side in the junk yard. This time don't break anything!!! This is your car. Both parts you got from the Junk yard car will work on your drivers Sun, 09 Dec 2007 09:00:09 -0600 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article186.html I was able to buy all new Accel Ignition parts for my 2.3 Liter Tempo. I ordered a new Coil, 8.8 mm wires, and distributor rotor from Summit racing's website. They all work great together and look even better. I was able to get everything for about $150. Check it out on my cardomain site... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2063293/3 Sun, 21 May 2006 06:06:59 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article181.html Throttlebody off of a Ford duratec v6 can be modded to fit 2.3 HSC. First remove TP sensor. Then remove butterfly and rod. After rod is out pay close attention to original position of TP sensor activator. This is the hard part, cut the rod (the new throttlebody) and weld back together so the activator is in the original position as the original throttle body (very important if not correct sensor may not work ). The duratec Tbody works in reverse be sure and reverse the butterfly. Now cut the linkage off the old one and new one be careful they are just tabbed in. Now spot weld the old linkage on the new throttlebody. Almost done, make a coverplate for the back of Tbody so you can block the passage for the duratec IAC inlet. Now get a small copper elbow (hardware store) and cut a whole in the IAC inlet so you can connect the rubber tube for the IAC inlet on the 2.3. Last step, widen the mount holes to mount the Tbody. Silicon the backing plate to the new throttlebody to make a seal. Use the old gasket off the old Tbody. Make sure the linkage works properly and no chance of hanging up. You may have to make a throttle stop and make sure the TP sensor is okay. I have had this Mod for 2 years now. Sat, 11 Feb 2006 07:33:29 -0600 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article174.html In the most recent issue of Automobile Magazine, the JULY 2005 issue, the Tempo Topaz Car Club of North America was featured on page 24: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 16:39:56 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article163.html i put a wing off a 1988 escort gt on my 93 topaz it was easy i took some cardborad and put it on the back of the escort after i took the wing off and marked 6 of the 8 holes because the 2 top end holes you dont use so before you install the wing take off the screws on top ends then put your cardborad down and drill your holes and put the wing on p.s.it looks good with my shaved decklid Tue, 21 Sep 2004 13:27:45 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article160.html It's possible to install a functioning lightbar into a pre92 Topaz. Remove old grill. Take a dremel tool and shave the front bumps in the side posts beside the headlights. Flip the lightbar upside down and shave off the extensions under the top lip. Take a 3/4" spade bit and drill 2 holes into the back of the lightbar and install two signal light sockets. Wire the sockets to the low beam (red/black wire) from the back of the headlight socket. Center the lightbar over the hole. Drill 2 holes on the top of the supports and install 2 #10 self threading screws. Voila! A functioning lightbar. I used two blue lights in the signal sockets. Looks pretty cool at night! Whole mod took about an hour. Enjoy! Fri, 20 Aug 2004 20:08:49 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article157.html While searching through the local used auto parts yard for unknown treasures I came across a 4dr V6 Tempo that had been hit very hard in the front. The car seemed to be pretty well stripped of anything useful. The V6, trans, speedometer, tires, were gone. But down under the rear of the car was a swaybar! It was complete! The rear struts where already gone, so with a socket and ratchet I removed 4 frame to sway bar mounting bolts and the swaybar was in my hands. Bolts, brackets, links and spacers, everything was there! Well in just a short time after cleaning the mounting holes in the rear frame rails of my car with a screwdriver and then a tap. I placed the bar up over my exhaust, removed the lower strut bolts, slipped the swaybar brackets in place over the bottom of the strut and re-installed the strut mouting bolts. Next I started all four of the frame mounting bolts in the pre tapped holes and then completed the tightening of all 4 bolts. I re-installed the tires and off for a test drive! What an incredible improvement in ride and handling, that mod made a huge step towards a "sports car" feeling for just a little time and money! This isn't a new idea, I had heard of others from this site doing this mod (e.g. Olympic and others), but hadn't giving it much consideration utill now and let me suggest this to any spirited driver, it is a big improvement! I am very impressed with this and that's why I'm posting it here! Note: I'm not sure if all Tempo/Topaz's were prepaired from the factory with the swaybar holes in the frame, but I know the Gen 3's are. Fri, 18 Jun 2004 15:42:08 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article153.html For those of you who either cannot afford or do not like the look of aeroform.com's ground effects kit for the tempo/topaz, here is a simple, stylish, and, perhaps, less expensive alternative: I was bored with the stock body style of my Topaz (heaven forbid!). I was also quite short on funds. Then I began thinking about what I could do and it occurred to me that the early model honda accords (late '80's/early 90's) shares a very similar shape with nearly all models of FoMoCo's most underrated car, none other than the Tempo and the Topaz! So far, I only have the front air dam installed. I was able to find aftermarket ground effects on a bashed-up 1990 accord in a junkyard. Unfortunately, the back of the accord was totally crunched and the side-skirts were non-existent. Total price for awesome ground effects so far: 50$. A small amount of cutting and bending is required and I had to cut the slotted part off of my Topaz's front bumper, but with some blue paint, some bolts, and a small amount of fiberglass filler (to make the seams cleaner), I now have an excellent looking front air dam. It looks like it was meant to be on there. I just wish I could find a way to lower my car the right way... Thu, 20 May 2004 21:38:18 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article151.html Holley, the distributors of NOS products offer a universal 4-cylinder kit for sport compacts. I, being an ambitious Topaz owner, decided to purchase this kit for about $400. I also purchased the NOS line purge-valve kit for an additional $100. The installation was suprisingly easy and the actual horsepower gain feels something like in the 40-60h.p. range. It just feels great pulling up beside a civic, purging your NOS lines, and watching the look on their face. It is priceless. If you have a couple extra hundred dollars you should seriously consider purchasing one of these. The Tempo and Topaz engine is known for it's indestructability and it handles this extra horsepower perfectly. A mod like shorter and cooler plugs is also recommended. Tue, 04 May 2004 15:54:11 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article146.html I swapped my 85 tepo cfi distributor with a later model (AA) out of a efi motor. Seems to work fine with stock computer I've driven about 100 miles no hickups Tue, 13 Apr 2004 15:25:26 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article105.html 1990 - Ford Tempo L 4 Door - 1.9L Escort HO Motor w/Wiseco Forged LC Pistons - PF3 EEC-IV (stock programmig) - 2001 Ford focus Sport Rims - Garret T3 Turbo from Merkur XR4Ti - Greddy BOV - Spearco FMIC - 3" DownPipe From Turbo to Cat - 3" in Cat 2.5" out - APC Mini Stainless Muffler with Stainless 2.5" Exhaust - Nirous Fittings and Empty Tank (too afraid to fill it, the turbo was enuf) Now, i dont know if this swap is desired by anyone here, but it was inquired upon off of another forum by someone a long time ago. Fri, 21 Nov 2003 20:12:52 -0600 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article97.html I recently came across a problem with my '89 gold Topaz 5 Spd. The shifter linkage almost fell right out of the car!?! Because of the way it works I lost 5 th and reverse gears. When I got the car up on my hoist and tried to correct the problem I found that the stock design doesn't quite work very well. After about an hour of cussing and trying to weld it in place I came up with an all new idea. I took some spare steel lying around cut it to 2 and half foot lengths, placed a 1 inche x 1 inche spacer in the middle and welded it right to the frame of the car. This no only fixed my problem with the droopy shifter, but it also (cause of the sturdiness of the design) fixed the sloopy tranny feel. Now the shifter does not move around, or vibrate the way it used to and all the gears feel like they are where they are supossed to be. Wed, 29 Oct 2003 19:03:19 -0600 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article90.html easy weel upgrade......the 195/65 15s that are on the escort gt are a direct bolt up for the 84-91 tempo/topaz....they look good on my car....pics soon Sun, 12 Oct 2003 22:03:40 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article89.html http://www.performancerotors.com/ford-escort-brake-rotors.shtml i found a decent deal on performance rotors here.. they work great!. I usually change rotors once a year, ive used these harder than any of the others, and still no problems after 13 months. I payed extra for the slotted/drilled. Sun, 12 Oct 2003 22:02:42 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article88.html I did a really good looking mesh grill i cut out the whole center of my grill the unbolted the chrome piece at the top then put mesh on its very easy then i bolted the chrome piece back on over the mesh Sun, 12 Oct 2003 22:01:19 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article86.html I recently bought a engine mod for my 1990 Mercury Topaz. It is a small chip that fits into the AIT (Air Intake Sensor) and runs about $5.00. The discription said that it would boost your Hp +20 by adjusting the fuel/air ratio slightly. It also said that it would not harm you engine's computer, which it has not. But all it seems to do is raise the RPM from about 750 to 1200. My car seems to have an increase in Hp but I think that is because whenever you ease off the brake the car takes off. If you are on flat ground and don't hit the gas or the brake the car will go about 40 Mph, and that is not good on the brakes (or the transmission). Everytime you slow down or stop you can feel the car slam back into first (I obviously have an automatic). If you have a manual transmission I think this mod would be great, or if you are one who doesn't like to take peoples' words then try it out. I only used the mod for 30 minutes and I did not want to find out if it is bad for my car. I only did what I thought has good for my Topaz. This mod will also work for Tempos. Email or IM me if you would like to find out how to get one. Buyer beware! Email: eulogyadd@cs.com IM Name: eulogyadd Fri, 26 Sep 2003 18:35:03 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article69.html If you remove the fender hose running to your air box and then remove the air box you can reuse that hose. Attach the hose to the TB with hose clamps and attach the other end to a cone filter, I would suggest using a hose clamp unless you want to go with a way kool custom riveting job like mine. Also the hose will have to be modified with a utility knife to make the size right. Thu, 07 Aug 2003 00:25:33 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article67.html Side-molding on 92-94 tempos is the same color as the rest of the car. Painting the side molding will really make your tempo stick out from all the rest. All you need to do is clean side-molding with a finish stripper (wax remover), Place 2"wide masking tape tight to the inner-edges of the side molding, Spray one light coat of primer, let dry then 2 coats of your choice of spray paint and once that is dry spray with one coat of clear coat. And you now have the sharpest tempo on the block. Sun, 03 Aug 2003 13:19:35 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article61.html Here is what I have found for our cars. There was a borla muffler that came stock on certain escort zx2s webmaster edit: It was the ZX2 S/R. It is a stainless muffler with a chrome tip. The muffler fits perfectly on the tempo as the pipe that come out of the muffler has a dip in it so it comes out below the bumper. All you need to put it on is a dual female connector and the muffler slips right on. It makes the car a little bit louder but definitely not obnoxiously loud. People have actually said they like the way it sounds because it is not ricey at all. Thu, 10 Jul 2003 11:54:17 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article41.html You know the problem: those headlights are yellow, making it hard to see anything at night. The problem is that the lenses get oxidized, much like neglected paint. The rest of the headlight assembly is usually fine. You should check for large cracks in the light, and if it looks bad, odds are there is a good one in a junkyard ($10-40) if needed. So how do I remove the oxidation? Headlight refinishing! This takes 20-30 minutes per light, with very little elbow grease. Yes, it will look brand new when done with care and attention to detail. Get the list of things given here, though I bet you have some of this in your garage. Wed, 16 Apr 2003 01:55:03 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article40.html I was wondering how to give my Topaz a bit more of a mean sound without spending a whole pile of money on the huge rediculas looking chrome mufflers you see on civics. So I thought of straight piping it. I cut the stock muffler off the car and made up a 3 inch piece of driveshaft and a hanger. I put it on and to a surprize it was very loud because of the 3 speed automatic the engine rev's very high at highway speeds. The drone in the car was unbelievably annoying. So I packed the pipe with steel wool and drilled 4 holes through the pipe behind the wool and put stainless steel wire though in a cross pattern to hold the wool in place. I painted it with black heat paint and it looks and sounds very sharp. Sun, 13 Apr 2003 22:35:38 -0500 http://www.tempotopaz.com/main/Article39.html Well, it is quite easy. I just took off the air vents and the interior lights and spray painted them a crystal white. When the sun hits the paint, it sparkles. SOO NICE!!! Fri, 28 Mar 2003 15:34:02 -0600