LOOSE Shifter & STUCK Seat Belts? (1991 Ford Probe V6 5-speed ;) 

Did anyone else notice the front fender repair? Compare 2:22 and 17:34 you didn't mention that Ivan!

WOW! No scanner required for the repair. Much respect for the effort to keep this one on the road. No modules required!! It’ll still be repairable 20 years from now.

I had 2 1990 Probes. A baby blue 5 speed and a Red automatic GT. I blew the engine on the 5 speed and the GT had a massive clog in the cat. I straight piped it because we didn't have inspections where I lived. After that I sold it to my buddy. Good times were had in both of them in the mid 90s.

I forgot about the strangling automatic seatbelts. That was an idea that was thankfully short lived in the industry.

I worked at Troy Ford as a tech when these were new, I can remember prepping them. I was fresh out of MoTech Automotive Trade school and boy was I Green!!

What a breath of fresh air after that XC90. Doing a manual swap on my 850 T5R this weekend!! Save manuals!!

The Probe was a shared platform with Mazda, hence the made in Japan parts. Not because Ford cared more about quality back then. This car was also originally planned to replace the Mustang. Glad it didn’t.

I agree with you Ivan, it's good that the owner is keeping a perfectly repairable vehicle on the road (although I'm not a Ford guy)

I hate it when my shifter goes limp..Neat old car, and quite impressive at the time. That old 3.0 will outlive most owners.

bonus point for pop up headlights 👍

the good ole days. I was 18 back then. This country has def went downhill since in most aspects.

We had a brand new mercury villager mini van back in the day that had the automatic seatbelts. Even the neighbors came over to look at the auto belt lol

Wow, what a flashback! My mother had this exact same car when I was 11 or 12. It was her first brand new car ever! I can remember being surprised it was a "Ford-Mazda" as I didn't know at 12 years old how the companies worked together.

Among the tools used: Horse hoof hasp, kitchen scissors, carpenter's clamp, hammer, and sharp picks. Love it!

Nice "time machine", Ivan! And the repairs were only for normal wear and tear, which is gratifying. You are right - it's got character and soul, and they don't make them like that anymore.

Ivan, every video you do is like a breath of fresh air. So glad you appreciate when cars were made to last not like the modern junk. Dave in Guernsey, Channel Islands.

I recall the first Probe that I worked on. Went to pull codes with a red Snap-on brick. The VIN showed it as a Ford diesel truck. Hooked it up as a Mazda and was able to pull codes. Fun days.

That shifter looks a lot like a 1st gen Impreza....I have a 96 Impreza coupe the shifter was like a stick in can of molasses... I work in a machine shop so I made my own bushings out of UHMW polyethylene and stripper bolts for pins..........Worked like a hot dam....Yep.. Save The Manuals!! Old cars have heart and soul. Nice job a usual Ivan!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - i miss the '90's... some of the best body designs and built pretty darn well.

A guy I worked with took his wife on "vacation" in a red Probe their son had just purchased brand new. They went from Carrollton, Ohio to Florida and back in 3 days. What a vacation!😂

If the next video is a DMC DeLorean I’ll pee myself. The mix of vehicles you work on is interesting and entertaining. No discrimination of make or model. Like Rick James said ‘Give it to me baby’ 😂

Ivan....the radio isnt the problem. Its the amplifier under the pasenger seat. All you have to do is order a Metra 70-5513 amp bypass harness. Just unplug both plugs going into the amplifier and this plugs in both sides and you're done

The automatic seat belt has to be near the top of the list of stupid "safety" ideas of the 20th century. Next to it would be GM's mounting of the top end of the shoulder belt to the upper corner on the seat. I drove one of these for several years. Never needed it in its official capacity but I always questioned the design choice.

No green crusties, just a little old age. That car looked incredibly rust free for its 33 years.

I love the view from your driveway. It reminds me of Western Kentucky. Farrier Hoof Rasp for the win on the dash. I waiting for you to use horseshoe nails as fasters. 🤣🤣🤣

My 1st ever new car was a 1989 2.2L Intercooled Turbocharged Probe GT. That thing was a missile! Mine spooled up at fairly low rpms and had some serious torque steer that surprised me on my test drive. It had variable suspension and speed sensitive steering, just like an RX7 of the day. It got more stable the faster you drove it and you could feel the thing squat down at high speed. Topped out about 145. It flew and I loved that car. Ended upside down in it avoiding a wreck about 4 yrs later. Totaled. Very sad day but walked away with only a small cut on a finger from broken sunroof glass when crawling out. My brother with me at the time was unhurt. At certain angles the profile was similar to a Testarosa. Mine was all black. Still miss it.

Another car leaves the shop with a smile 👍👍

It's 5am and I have coffee in my cup and PHAD on my computer. Nice start to my Sunday.

When this happened with my Mitsubishi, I managed to get it back to it’s parked position and I unplugged the damn thing so I could attach the seat belt to it! My very favorite thing with this design was, when you are at a drive through and open the door to lean and reach out, the seat belt would move and drag your head down to the mirror! 😂😂😂😂😂. A kind of humiliation exercise brought to us by the Japanese! ❤️❤️❤️. Lmao!!

I can't count the number of times when I was working on those cars were I stuck my head in to start them and almost hung myself haha I always checked after that if they had those my mom had an escourt wagon like that.

I have a mini-lathe that I bought years ago specifically for making shifter bushings. ;) Dodge and their crappy shifter bushings, and making you buy a whole cable set just for bad bushings.

Nothing like the old days and the wonderful ideas for safety. I remember if you try to get out of the car too quick the traveling seat belt would be at just the right place to smack you in the forehead. I can't imagine having to release and reattach that shoulder belt each time you drive the car but I guess he will get used to it. Another oddball and another car brought to you empty......GRRRRR!!!! Thanks so much for the time-capsule video Ivan

Old Ford Probe actually pretty fast. In 1993, while driving Autobahn in rental BMW 316i (from Stuttgart to Frankfurt) I was passed by three cars. I was limited by governor to 200 kph (124 mph) and was first passed, much to my surprise, by Probe going about 135 mph. It wasn't the fastest on the road, but, hey, pretty good. (In a little bit I was passed by Mercedes going about 145 and then a little later by a Porsche going about 155 mph.) Remember, kids, speed kills. Whenever I am stopped by police I always ask if they have ever driven the Autobahn. The answer is always "no". So sad. Such a wonderful driving opportunity. (Oh, and I'll never forget the little Mitsubishi wagon I passed pedaling as fast as he could doing about 100 mph.) Great times!

I'm glad you clarified that the models with the automatic transmissions were junk because I remember renting one of them when it was new and the transmission was horrible. It also seemed to have shoddy fit and finish issues as I recall.

Old cars do have the character and soul that new ones lack!

Good candid for aftermarket 3-point harnesses. Good on the owner to keep this running vs new disposable complicated junk.

My wife has an '89 Probe GT. With the turbo and 5 speed it's got quite a bit of pep. Unfortunately she left it parked outside in the hot sun for many years so all that plastic in the interior is just really brittle. But mechanically at over 260,000 miles it still runs great with all the original drivetrain parts, including the original clutch!

this fix or repair daily had a amazing outcome because of a great ending because of a great mechanic and decent body man

Wow old school this morning. My at the time girlfriend was probed in the back of a probe were still together as of today over 30 years ago. She (now wife ) must of love my probing skills (no pun) intended

That Vulcan V6 has some umph for sure. Had one in a 1993 Tarus and there was plenty of power. Interesting list of repairs and no scanners, oscilloscopes, meters etc. on this one !

That baby is a rebranded Mazda MX6 - hence the Japan parts - not because Ford used to have quality 😊

Those seatbelts have an Allen in the center white portion so you can manually retract them. There are actually quarter size plugs you can remove that line up with these so you don't have to remove the panel either. Impossible to find represents for these or they're sister car the Ford escort (mazda protege). Great work as always.

One of the first times I've seen you belt in for a test drive. 🙂

That horse hoof file was funny. Reminded me of a time when I had to take a few thousandths off a shaft, but I don't have a lathe. Into a drill chuck it went with the trigger lock engaged. A few passes with some emery cloth did the trick. You just have to let it cool down because thermal expansion from friction from the emery cloth will make it seem like you didn't do anything.

Wow, a real oldie!! Used to have Ford probe years years ago lol. Nice fix!! Great video!

Thanks for the flash back Ivan I am a retired Mazda Master tech and banged my head on that stupid seat belt and wished I could disable them. Long time since I seen Mazda parts in a Ford bag. Keep up the good work man it's so much fun to watch. Ha Ha

Nice job on the repairs. I always thought the ford probe was one of the sexiest sports cars made in the US. Design reminded me of an F-16 fighter.

“They got parts from Japan. You can’t beat that!” I dunno, considering the originals fully disintegrated. Hopefully these are an updated part in response to this issue. In 2009 I noticed that my new 2008 Kawasaki EX250J had two different part numbers for the same size (M5) expanding rubber well nut. The two exposed on the windscreen were the only ones with that part number, but the first time you take a side panel off you will find that all 14 of the others were rotten and split in less than a year. Kawasaki knew this was happening but, no doubt, they had a lot of inventory to get rid of. Eventually they updated the parts diagram to erase any sign that there was ever a different part number… instead of just listing a superseding part… but my old forum posts about it remain to this day complete with parts numbers to prove it. It’s not UV since they degrade no matter where they are, deep inside the bike. Kawasaki knew this but decided to only use the better ones where you could see them on the windscreen. They knew something was wrong with the others but instead of using the good ones everywhere they just created two part numbers to liquidate the bad inventory into customer bikes right under your nose. Heck, the dealer took the right panel off on the first service and I found those two had already been replaced with generic M5 rubber wellnuts. This delayed me noticing for almost a year since I also only took that panel off previously. When I realized that every single one with that part number was split in to except those, it suddenly clicked that they had already been replaced at my first service. They were in the under tail, tail fairings, upper fairing (headlight cowl), windscreen behind the dash cowl, etc… anywhere plastics might need to be held together.

I had 91' GL with 2.2 in 2008 through 2012. I paid 1,100 and put 100,000 miles on it. It was fun.

IIRC you did a "Halloween Special" on a second generation Probe some time back. (Man what a pile!) This car was produced at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant alongside the Mazda MX-6. I didn't realize this car had the same 3.0 liter "Vulcan" V-6 that came as an option in the Ford Taurus beginning in 1986 and later the Ford Tempo. That was a cast-iron engine and was offered alongside the 3.8 liter and for a time the 4 cylinder and was the only engine offered when the mid-sized Taurus was discontinued in 2007. Those motorized seat belts were passive restraints that we had before airbags. (Don't get out of the car until the seatbelt stops travelling forward; and don't ask me how I know that.) I am thinking Dodge/Plymouth Spirit/Acclaim had an airbag on one side and these mechanical seatbelts on the passenger side. As far as those remarks about '90's cars, Ivan, let us not forget that there is a '96 Mystique in your driveway and the 'ol Marquis is in mine. We are treated to '90's vehicles every time we turn the key. Ford was going to replace the Mustang with this car and thank GOD they didn't! GREAT VIDEO!

1991 "When Ford thought it was cool" with a 5-Speed Manual! LOL

Still cool and "retrofuturistic" looking car. The real "future" just decided to go for the SUV's and Crossovers instead of sleek and aerodynamic cars like the Probe. I recall that underneath Ford Probe had Mazda 626 platform, and the gear shifter rod with "cv joint rubber boot" looking part brings memories from 323 as well. They had quite precise feeling manual gear shifter. Very interesting to see the automatic seatbelt mechanism too, never seen them disassembled before 👍

The bushings were made in Japan because the Ford Probe shared the drivetrain with the Mazda 626.

Had a similar problem with the seatbelts on a 94 Nissan Sentra. Final solution was installing a regular set out of another model. Same thing as yours the mounting holes where already there. Another case I had was a cracked gear in the drive unit, I cannot remember the make/model but lucky for the customer I was able to find one in a local wrecking yard. BTW I am a sucker for pop out style headlights. They rock. Cheers.

This reminds me of the time way back then when Roy D. Mercer called a salesman at one of our local Ford dealerships and threatened to whoop his ass because his wife was car shopping and she said the salesman offered to show her his Probe. A really funny crank call. Anyway good job Ivan.

Pretty cool looking old Forazda. I had a couple Rangers of that era, actually great little trucks. I think they were pretty much Mazdas, which is probably what made them good . Nice work Ivan. 👍👍🇺🇸

Got to love these Probes. Glad it didn’t replace the Mustang.

I owned one of these in the '90s. IIRC, this platform was shared with the Mazda MX6, hence the Japanese parts.

Your getting all the sweet rides in this year!

I remember being asked to repair the pop-up headlights for a family member. After trying to carefully remove some bolts and having them break, we decided not to proceed any further. Some of the bolts they used were incredibly soft.

What a nice exhaust sound for a V6.

I had a 91 GT Turbo for a short time. Sometimes it would boost a bit over 10 psi for some reason instead of the normal 7. Fun car

When the Probe first came out, there was a guy at that loved those cars.

We had one of those on our car lot, when they were almost new. The double hood hump ones were pretty fast.

Super job on repairs I always like those no parts required fixes! go Ivan!! Took out my 1992 BMW 525i 5 speed this year, she needed a water pump 🙂 tossed one in and now it purrs like a kitten with 319,000 miles on it 🤔 Gosh I Love this car! S3.23 rear end hehe well you get the idea 😱.

The 4 cylinder engines that came in some of the Probes had great durability. I've heard of them going over 300k miles.

Ivan, great video. Really enjoyed it. Liked the way you fixed that shifter. Maybe you should write a book, Zen and the Art of Low Cost Maintenance?

Make way for the ford probe for some reason made me sing "Move aside, And let the probe go through. Let the probe go through." 🎶🎵 in my head. (Super Bon Bon reference for those younger viewers)

Ivan, you can really see the engineer come out in these types of videos... You WILL NOT give up until you figure out how it works (and how to find a creative way to fix it)! 😁

A horse hoof file used on a car. You won't see that one on the internet very often.

OOOooof. Those things were water leaks on wheels. It was sooo amazing how the water would wick through the wiring harness from the hatch to the front....talk about green crusties. They were fun enough but very leaky.

Hard to believe Ford actually intended the Probe to be the next-gen Mustang but focus group backlash forced them to dump that idea. They had so much invested in the project that they had to release it, hence the new Probe.

Wow! Surprisingly decent shape too, giving it's age. I've always hated those auto seatbelt systems. What a waste. But replacement tracks for them are fairly inexpensive.

Wow! I had completely forgotten about the Ford Probe. XD

Another trick for shimming out a bolt if you have problems getting tubing to hold is heat shrink tubing. It makes a nice uniform spacer to thicken the side of the bolt and will last for years (it also works for cabinet latches that have gotten a little loose and don't hold the door closed like they should).

Cut coil springs ... so this car wasn't a virgin either! 🤣

Thanks Ivan!

Another Great video ivan.

Ford Probe!! I have not went to bed yet will watch this first!!

Nice summer video.

Nice video Ivan.

You've been probed! Lol. Great to see these old cars loved and kept on the road. U r the best

I was thinking the government mandated manufacturers to continue to supply parts for the automatic shoulder belts because its a safety item.

In 1979 Ford bought 34.5 % of Madza. In 1995 Ford increased their share to just over 33%. Then by 2015 sold all Madza stock

Ford had the Ranger (I had an 87 2.9V6 5 speed) with the 2.0L, 2.5L 4cylinder engines, then the 2.9L, 3.0L and 4.0L V6 engines. As I read about the older Rangers being built on the assembly line, the Ranger went one way the Mazda "B" models went the other way. (Mazda B2000, B2500, B3000, B4000). Then there was the Chevy LUV. Got off track there. Anyway, nice fix Ivan.

If a proctologist drives a brown Probe, don't think too hard about who's in the red one!

Rented a Probe for the weekend neck in the day. I liked it. Kinda sporty, nice car. It was nice.

I see you liked it, Ivan! Neat

The 90s were okay, but the 70s and 80s was were it was at! Just saying! FeelsHappyMan!

Shifter love. The innovator.

I wish they'd bring back pop of headlights They're so cool

I hated those attack belts. We had a '90 Tempo that my mom bought new, and we bought it from her later. Ours did that as well after a while, and replacing the belt was really expensive. They weren't government regulation, the selling point was you got a discount on your insurance if you had them, because they knew you would be wearing your seat belt at all times. I think I'd have to find a way to just bolt in simple seat belts. It looks like that car shared a lot of parts with my '90 Ranger and '98 Ranger. Both of them made a groaning sound at a certain point of the travel of the steering wheel from new, and I always figured it was plastic rubbing. Okay, you are making me miss those old trucks and car. I miss my stick shift vehicles. They were much more fun to drive, and they were much more controllable.

HA! That shifter reminds me of something Mike Brewer said some time ago, that has stuck with me for years. Test driving a car with similar shifter Mike said " felt like a wooden spoon in a bowl of porridge" .

Parts made in Japan because it wasn’t a ford it was made by Mazda! I loved my probe! Such a fun car to drive!

Great video Ivan. I'll need to order the bushes for my Mazda MX-6 (2.5 V6) and do the fix as you made it look so easy. Got a 07 Dodge Nitro with a hand brake issue - parts hard to come by in Scotland but lije keeping them on the road. Keep up the good work 👍

WoW... 3 bandaid fixes in the same video

I bet the radio has overcurrent monitoring like my old Sansa Clip+ does. There may be a fried speaker (melted voice coils tend to go semi-shorted) or a short in the wiring somewhere.

Just a quick tip most cars are equipped with collapsible steering column and over time they tend to move on their nylon guides due to pushing during braking etc best fix is pull back the steering wheel and extend column to its original location.

Actually.... WHAT A COOL LITTLE CAR!

I didn't notice where you addressed the suspension . The shifter repair reminds me of when I was a young man, I made similar shim/bushing repairs with hose and it wasn't 2 weeks later and I was repairing it again. My experience tells me the hose will give out very soon. I use to rent these Probes when I was traveling the country for my job. They were fun to drive but not my favorite ride.