1999 Mercury Mountaineer V8 5.0l -- Great Shape That Needs Transmission Work on 2040-cars

This is a fantastic car. I hate to sell it, but economic realities force it.

Here's the second line that will make most people stop reading: The transmission is toast. It will need rebuilding or replacing.

If you're still reading, stay with me. Yes, it would make a good parts car, or the good ol' Ford V8 could be repurposed for just about anything. But it's really better than that. It's a straight, solid, rust-free, Southern car, and the engine is still good and strong after 200K+ miles. The only high-dollar problem is the transmission -- every other problem the car has, (and they're not many) is nickel-and-dime stuff that is easily tackled bit by bit as you go. If you're looking for a good starter project for a father/son restoration, or have a 2WD ExploRangIneer transmission that needs a home, (Explorer/Ranger/Mountaineer -- they all have the same driveline,) or know just how good these cars are when they're sorted, this is the car for you -- you'll be getting a lot of hardware for a very good price.

You may be asking why don't I fix it myself, and that's a very good question. The truth is, the economy has hit my family very hard, and I just don't have the money it takes to repair the transmission. It makes more economic sense for me to sell it as-is, and re-invest in a smaller car. My loss, your gain.

It will need to be towed to haul it -- she won't move under her own power yet.

There are 45 pictures at my Photobucket link, click here to go to it, so you can get a good look at things, and they're annotated as to just what needs to be fixed.

There's nothing expensive or insurmountable for the shade-tree mechanic: gas struts for the hatch, a power-locking solenoid, a tensioning spring for an exterior handle; stuff like that. If you're slightly more advanced, mechanical items like axle bearings and ball joints are a piece of inexpensive cake. The A/C clutch is broken and the compressor has been bypassed, but the system is still airtight and in place. An A/C tech should replace the compressor and receiver-drier, but on this car it's an easy (read: inexpensive) fix. I have the compressor, receiver-drier, and o-rings for the job: if you want them, I can add my cost for them to the final price.

The reserve? I know that a transmission is a pricey item, so it's low enough that the reserve plus the price of a transmission rebuild is still comfortably below the market value of a '99 Mountaineer. Not as easy as just buying one that's all sorted to begin with, but a considerably better value if you can turn a wrench!