Hiya All,
We needed another car as the wife got a job a lot further out of town, so I got a free 1990 1.1L fiesta as a temporary car until i get some money together. There are a few problems and I wondering if I should put them right or send the car to the scrappers.
It\'s a 1990 1.1L ford fiesta with 93K miles on the clock. The bodywork is sound, but the back box is about to drop off (£30 to replace).
I changed the oil and air oil filters at the weekend - being a bit of a novice I think I might have made an error somewhere. The oil I used was Castrol magnetec (It was the only oil they had). Before changing the oil I used the choke for 2-3 mins until evertything had warmed up and I was away (17miles each way on country lanes approx 50mph, 5 times a week and no use at weekends). I\'ve notice the power has dropped and dropped (but not immediately), until this morning when I had to have the choke 1/2 out otherwise it felt like the car was about to stall.
Is this oil incompatible with the engine (the nubers matched the haynes manual 10W40 I think or the other way)?
Someone mentioned that a fully synthetic oil (like magnetec), is a bit like a cleaner and all the old crud is now coming free.
I\'m sure I did everything else correct (I regulary do a oil and filter change on my 220SDi)
Thanks for any help.
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Your choice of oil should be ok for this engine: it's only the Zetec engines which are fussy.
I supect you may have moved one of the many air hoses connected to the air filter.. check they are not disconnected or split (try twisting and bending).
Also it is likely the hose that recycles oil fumes from the engine to the air filter is blocked with conndensed crud .. take it off from the engine end, inspect it and clean it out using oarafin or white spirit (not petrol of course).
I have used similar oils on my student son's 1993 1.1 with no problems but the hoses were full of carp..
It is also possible that the plugs have not been changed for years and running for a while on full choke has sooted them up. Have you changed them? If not, then spray the threads with WD 40 and leave overnight and take great care.. they break easily..(see other threads here). Copperease new ones..
madf
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Daughter's 1.1 was suffering poor performance/stalling/unable to restart recently. Ford expert (not dealer!) used some kind of flush and top end cleaner, saying the valves etc get bunged up over time. Problems solved, and he showed me before and after compression test results to prove the point
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My dad's 1.1 was extremely bunged up when purchased because the previous owned used it for lots of short journeys - that treatment tends to leave a kind of gloopy sludge in the sump that comes out on the tip of the dipstick. Apparently they're well known for it.
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I checked over the air filter last night (removing all the bolts etc), then took it for a quick spin and everything seemed much better. It was too dark to clean the air return pipe (will have a look at on saturday), but coming into work today everything was ok again - possibly smoother than before the oil change (Could be just my imagination).
Thanks all.
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If it has a VV carburettor, you could try checking for air leaks. My mother's 1.1L got rather slow and I found that the screws retaining a housing which holds a diaphragm (on the underside of the carb body)had loosened. Had to remove carb to get at them , but tightening returned performance.
Also, if only used for short journeys, they do respond well to a good thrashing - clears out the gunge.
Hope this helps.
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regarding the oil..the garage who service my mothers 93' 1.3litre fiesta advised me not to usefully synthetic on this engine ( pre zetec) . We have changed to the old stuff and its now running fine and using next to no oil.
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Just to clarify, 10/40 Magnatec oil isn't fully synthetic. Its a good semi-synth and as such is just about perfect for use in your car.
These fiestas and escorts have IIRC hydraulic tappets and therefore the oil needs to be kept clean otherwise the valve lifters get bunged up and the engine dies of the 'black death'
Agree with all points about checking and cleaning out all the crackcase ventilation hoses. I would disconnect them all and flush them through with carb cleaner or something similar. Obviously make sure they all go back correctly.
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"These fiestas and escorts have IIRC hydraulic tappets "
Sorry but 1.1 has mechanical tappets.. but the rest of what you say is only too true..
madf
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fair enough. I did say IIRC
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This car is slowly driving me mad (poor pun).
The power loss is still there, but it feels like it can't breathe, at lights etc the car is fine, when flat out the car feels fine but inbetween, one moment it will go, the next it will have no power and almost stall. *see below
I've had a look at all the hoses and everything seems fine (I only get the weekends and have had a stack of stuff to do on the last two. I'm not too sure that the air flow splitter is working (giving the engine hot or cold air depending on the temp of the engine) - as the temp guage has now started working - but only after running for a fair old while - Can I just check it by having a look at it whilst the car is warm?. Oh I can bring the temp gauge back down again by having the blowers on max hot air... although the fan does't sound too happy. I think the setting isn't quite right ;]
* The bit that is driving me mad is that a sudden left/right jink, quick turn or speed humps can get this problem to start. If the car is then left for (generally a shift 8 hrs) then the problems is no longer there. I've massively changed my driving style (From keen to driving miss daisy).
Cheers for the help.
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Hi
Check these things it may be one of them.
1. Check the ht leads replace if they are the originals
2. Take air box of and spray loads of wd40 at that flap that controls the hot cold air flow.
3. there is anoter pipe that connects the bottom of the air filter box, to the back of the carb they are renowned for being full of oil carp take this pipe off and soak in redex or similar, it will clear it out do this with all breather hoses especially the breather cap that you remove to put oil in i suggest that you deffinitly soak this it will be filthy.
4. Change the oil to ford reccomended oil
5. give it a thrash on the local motorway and i mean do about 30 miles in 4th rather than 5th if it has one.
6. check the tightness of the accesory belt ie the one that connects the alternator with the water pump
7. get the tappets adjusted they may be loose and out of adjustment
8 if it happenes when you turn sharply i suggest you check or top up the gearbox oil
9. if its a duel choke carb give it a good spraying with carb cleaner when the engine is running follow the instructions on the tin carefully this is sold at halfords
Hope this helps
i have had many of these fiestas and my wife has one just the same as ures.
Regards
Martin G Winters
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