My wife has an M (94?) Fiesta 1.1 Azura, 23k miles. It is suffering badly from emulsion on the oil which fills the wire filter on the breather pipe from the rocker cover to the ?air filter?. The filter gets so bunged up the engine eventually dies. A quick clean with a paintbrush and paraffin sorts it out for another week or so.
I changed the head gasket a few weeks back, there was no sign of damage or of a cracked cyliner head, that I could see. And the coolant level seems to be stable. And a mechianic friend tasted the residue and said it isn't coolng fluid as it wasn't sweet (which anti-freeze apparently is). I'm now aware that the emulsion also builds up on the inside top of the rocker cover, so my quick paintbrush clean has to be supplemented occassionally by cleaning that out too.
She does about 4 miles a day in the car to go to work, 2 miles there and two miles back. I know there is significant risk in this, and longer journeys would cause any water in the oil to be evaporated. But can this really be the sole cause of the problem, or is there something else I should be looking at/changing?
Would the problem be any different on a different car? Or, to put it another way, is this engine particularly susceptible to this problem? Or...yet another way...should we be getting rid of it??
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Smokie,
Some cars are prone to this. The 1.1 Fiesta is. I look after one of the same model/age that covers the same journey type as you mention. The system is full of emulsion most times I see it.
Beyond advising the customer that these short journeys are killing the car, and ensuring a 6 month oil change interval (works out less than 3000 miles) with decent oil there is no more to be done.
Never using the heater does help, seriously!
David
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This is a common problem with the 1.1 ohv engine. You will find that in the summer the problem disappears. It is exasperated by the short runs and its basically condensation in the engine. Have you checked the other breather pipes to the air cleaner housing and the carb these will be blocked solid as well. one of the pipes fixes onto a valve in the air cleaner housing.
Andrew.
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*Exacerbated*, Andrew!
Ha ha ha ha ! It's Richard P who's exasperated! ( = p#s?d off)
Good on ya!
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This problem is common to most transverse engines due to cold air blowing on the side of the block,sump and rocker cover.If the engine never gets really hot then you will have problems.Do not only clean the gauze but also check the connection to the inlet manifold is clean;somewhere in the system will be a restrictor with a small hole(1 to 2 mm);make sure this is clear;it controls the flow of air thro' the system.Then give your car an Essex tune-up.
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Buy her a bicycle.
Basically the engine is never getting hot enough to boil off the water from the combustion process.
A longer run once a week should help, but you are running the engine on an oil/water lubricant, not pure oil. Not good news!
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This is just the kind of motoring that KILLS a car. 1994 MY - must have a catalyst. I'd say 50/50 on which will die first - engine or cat.
After 2 miles in the winter the water temp will be barely hand-hot. If you really MUST use a car for such a short journey, try fitting an engine pre-heater. Kenlowe make them - you plug the car into the mains for half an hour and then drive off in a nice warm motor even in the depths of winter. They cost around £160 for DIY fit, but you would probably save most of that back by virtue of the car not having to spend all its life running on choke.
Also put the best possible oil in the sump, such as Mobil 1. this will protect your engine quite well even though it always runs cold.
Have you worked out the cost of getting a taxi each day for this journey versus the £ooo's it's costing you to run a car??? You could probably cut a deal with a local private hire firm.
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Years ago on the Mini it was a common problem and we used to fabricate a simple metal shield to protect the rocker cover from the cold blast of air.
alvin
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I would have said exactly the opposite-cheapest oil you can buy-with that much water in it,it won't make much difference!
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