Hi all,
I've been the lucky receiver of a tidy Ka, 75k miles, and I'm just after some guidance from the helpful people here who may be able to prevent me from splashing out unnecessarily on garage checks :)
So, just a couple of things to explore:
-I've had it for just under a fortnight and 800 miles. Is roughly a litre of oil consumption during this period acceptable/average for the age and mileage? I do mainly short runs to and from work (steep hill and in this weather I aint walking!) and go for a long fast run about once a week to get out and give it a good run.
-It's a bit tappety; this quietens down to a quiet knocking once the engine's warm and it only really makes a racket under hard acceleration. I've heard old Fiestas/early Kas/Escorts that make more noise so it doesn't bother me too much but is it something to keep an eye on in the long term or is it more just an annoyance to put up with for some of the time when driving it?
-There's a knocking noise coming from the front right hand side of the car which is almost certainly the bushes which I know from having had a quick chat with the garage where it was serviced for the last three years. Their advice was that they were going at the last service and to just keep driving it but to expect to replace them at the next MOT which is due in July. Again, something to worry about or shall I just keep driving it?
Thanks!
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Drinking oil and making a knocking noise under hard acceleration.....
Oh dear.....
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I must stress the tappety noise is probably best described as "average" - I'm no expert but I know these old Ford engines are known for making a racket anyway! When I say it makes a 'racket' on hard acceleration, I'm talking on-limit, for example if hitting 50 in 2nd to overtake swiftly (I should probably ask, do these things have a rev limiter by the way? ;) ) Seriously though is it something to worry about in the long run or is it something to just live with?
And is a litre over 800 miles 'drinking' oil?
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The tappets on these are indeed famous for chattering away at idle, but they merge into a smooth zizz at higher revs and acceleration should drown them out.
Coupled with the oil consumption [they shouldn't drink any] I'm thinking of their other common fault - piston failure. That does get sharply louder when loaded.
No software rev limiter - valve bounce or fractured con-rods are the only limiters fitted.
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800 miles a litre is a lot.
Son's 1.1 Fiesta did 300 miles /litre!.. cut to 800 thorugh use of Castrol High Mileage Oil which I recommend for this engine. The piston rings are made of old tin cans and wear quickly.
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So in (I hope it will be) the long run, at what point do I stop just topping up and start worrying? I don't want to throw money at non critical issues as I don't have much and would rather have some set aside for MOT time... For the record, I'm using semi-synth 5/30, as recommended at Halfords.
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Sounds OK to me.
I'd keep checking the oil weekly, topping up as necessary. And I'd change the oil and filter about every 6000 miles. I'd change the oil and filter now if not been done recently. I'd make sure the spark plugs aren't corroded into the head from time to time.
As for the bushes, I'd get them changed at the next MOT if it fails on them.
Meanwhile, I'd be enjoying my bargain KA!
Best of luck, Ron
Edited by ChicksFan on 16/01/2008 at 01:06
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Ford used to specify thicker oil for earlier generations of this engine but later specified 5w30 as used in zetecs. Personally I cant believe that the engine build tolerances improved so much over time as to justify the thinner oil.
If it was my car I'd be running it on thicker oil which might help with the oil consumption as less will get past the piston rings. I ran one these engines in a 1990 Escort from 71,000 to over 140,000 miles (for my sins) Engine was still fine when I scrapped the car. I used a 15w50 oil most of the time.
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Thanks all
I'm using Halfords 5-30 part synth as thats what their guide specified but would a 10-40 part synth perhaps be better for protection from cold ad for consumption? i just thought it would be best to stick to what Ford say... although my daily return from work does involve a 1:4 climb from cold.
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Don't castrol make one for the older engine think its 15-40 or 20-50? that thinner stuff is been burnt up.
Or rebuild the engine new rings/pistons, head new valve guides/stem seals, you might get away withe the minimum
Have you done a compression test?
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I'd just experiment with thicker oil to start with. It wont cost you anything more than you pay now as you are replacing the oil on a continuous basis as it is getting burned up all the time.
If that doesn't help matters then you will either have to look at gettting some work done(£££) or learn to live with it.
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