1998 Mercury Mountaineer Fix 'er Upper

For auction is a 98 Mercury Mountaineer. I purchased this vehicle in February of 2013, and about two weeks after I bought it, the front differential went out. As it basically still runs and drives, I parked it beside my barn waiting on the parts. A month or so later, a spring storm came through, and a small limb fell on the windshield. It has since been stored inside the barn. I have all of the parts necessary to get it back to 100%, mechanically speaking, including the front differential, front drive shaft and the passenger side window. I honestly would like to keep it and fix it up to use it as I had intended, but have so much on my plate right now I need to focus on other things.

Right before I purchased it, it had a full tune up, some brake work done, and new shocks installed. It has no mechanical issues what so ever outside of what I've already mentioned. When I first bought it, it drove fantastically. Even though it hasn't been road worthy in a year, I have been starting it regularly and move it from time to time. I treated the gas last fall, and again this spring. As far as I can tell, it leaks and burns no fluids. I didn't have any issues with the battery until today, when I had to jump start it, and it would not hold a charge. The front two tires are in excellent shape, with at least 80% of their tread life. The rear tires, however, only have a little life in them, if any, and the spare tire has a slow leak.

Overall, the body is in OK shape, outside of what I've already mentioned, as can be seen in the pictures. The only other issue was caused when I nicked the rear driver's side with a farm implement, causing a crack in the tail light and some slight damage to the panel behind the rear tire. At some point in time it was in a pretty gentle collision, and the front bumper is missing a piece of plastic, and the foglight is missing. Otherwise, it has no rust, and the paint is not scratched up or faded.

The interior is in excellent condition. As far as I know it has always been a non smoking vehicle. The leather seats have no rips or tears, the power functions all work great. All of the electronics and gauges function properly. It also has keyless entry.

For hauling or pickup, pickup is recommended, but I have a car trailer and would be willing to deliver the vehicle at the cost of $1 per mile throughout the state of Iowa or to Omaha or Kansas City. Theoretically, as the vehicle moves on its own currently, it could be driven, but I would strongly recommend trailering it.

The title is clear and in hand. It is on a small farm south of Norwalk, Iowa, and it is available for showing by appointment. I will require a $500 PayPal deposit within 24 hours of the auction's end. The vehicle must be hauled or picked up within one week of the auction's end.

Thanks!

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Ford finally issues recall for 230K minivans over rust problems

Sun, 10 Mar 2013

The rust issue in the rear wheel wells of 2004-2007 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans has finally led to a recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation into the matter in 2011, said investigation being upgraded to an engineering analysis a year later while NHTSA tried to figure out how many model years should be included in the assessment.
Ford has decided to recall all of the 230,000 minivans potentially affected, namely those sold in salt-belt states and countries like Canada. The excess rust in the rear wheel wells was also able to prevent the third-row seats from locking to the floor of the minivan. To repair the problem, owners can take their minivans to dealers, and the dealers will place new panels in the wheel wells, replace the third-row seat mounting brackets and relocate the latches to an area away from any corrosion.
Ford says it will begin notifying owners during the last week of March.

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According to NHTSA's data, it has received 508 complaints of the power steering allegedly suddenly malfunctioning and resulting in increased effort to turn the wheel. In four incidents, these failures resulted in loss of control and crashes. According to the reports, in some cases a power steering warning message came on as the fault occurred, and other times the system restored itself by turning off and then restarting the vehicle. NHTSA said it has also received further field report data from Ford, but that information hasn't been publicly released yet.
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Red/ Maroon 1998 Mercury Mountaineer 5.0l Awd 108,000 Miles on 2040-cars