Two weeks ago my fiesta 1.2 (Duratec Zetec es) lost power then missfired badly so i put it to a garage. They diagnosed a leaking core plug and put leak stopper in. the car seemed to go fine for a week then lost power and miss fired again.
This time the garage said if the leak stopper didnt work then the only other option was to remove the cylinder head and have the core plugs machined out, as aparently they are fixed in so tight that attempting to force them out could damage the head.
They said this could cost around the £600 mark. I accept that a cylinder head removal can be expensive so gave them the go ahead to do the work, also i had read up on this problem on the internet and this site so knew the core plug problem was well known.
They then phone me and say its not the core plugs but its leaky washer jet housings and so i say great! put on new ones. I go up and pick up the car very relieved im not looking at a £600 cylinder head removal. Three miles down the road the car starts miss-firing again and i limp home. I check under the bonnet and pull the plug leads out and vapour comes steaming out of the cylinder head top, evidently the garage was right the first time and it is a leaking core plug. I test the water and its pink in colour (the same as the coolent) plus i never used the washer jets and it hasnt rained so no other way water could get into the plug wells.
Im now very annoyed with the garage the leak stopper fix cost £150 + the washer jet renewal was another £100 (both times i had the car picked up by recovery vehical, hence the cost). Im going to phone the garage tomorrow and see what they can offer me to get the car finally fixed properly and if they will accept they should have got the problem sorted the first time and not incured me these extra costs. I used the garage becouse it was well recomended and its a Bosch franchise which i thought would mean quality work, but im annoyed they made a fix and obviously never did a test drive or even really properly examined the water in the plug wells which i would have thought was a basic first step.
IM also going to call around some other garages tell them whats wrong and ask for quotes to have the head sorted once and for all. Now heres my real question.
What is a reasonable price for having the core plugs machined out.
Is there a good way of fixing the problem without removing the cylinder head.
Is there any other rubbish which a garage might try to fob me off with as either a possible cause of the leak of water into the plug wells or as a way to fix it.
Is there any way i can get satisfaction out of the garage ive just used.
If driving with the missfire has damaged my catalyst is this the garages liability seeings they handed the car back to mee on two occasions supposedly fit to drive.
PLease help me out this has got me so mad im about ready to just sell the car after its fixed and never own another one. I bought the car last year after getting rid of a 94 escort that had become uneconomic due to rust (otherwise great runner). The hope was getitng a newer car with lower milage would end my increasingly expensive car costs.
Edited by Webmaster on 19/03/2009 at 20:17
|
|
leaking core plugs in cylinder head? blimey is it april 1st already?
|
|
|
|
Easiest way to cut increasingly expensive car costs is learn to get your hands dirty. You cannot trust garages if you don't know the basics! You learned to speak English at 2, you learned to read and write at 4. Car engines aren't magic.
|
|
Zookeeper-Core plugs in a cylinder head are quite common.They are used so Oilways can be drilled and sealed and then the Water Jacket sealed up afterwards ! No April Fools trick. They can be knocked into the Block/Head and renewed.
|
I have been in touch with the garage. They have said they will take it back in and waive the uplift fee and do the job of sending the cylinder head off to have the plugs machined out but knock off the labour costs to make up for my wasted money on the previous attempts at a fix. So fingers crossed that will all go well.
The plugs in question are not smooth plug type plug but threaded screwed in types so its not possible to just knock them through, I know the kind of plug you mean engines have loads of them and originally when i hadnt laid eyes on the top plugs i thought just knocking them through or drilling into them and tugging them out might work. Wish i could post a pic so ppl could see the problem. Its an interesting one. I was even having thoughts about maing a contraption to syphon the steam out of the plug well using the vacuum in the air intake and capturing it in a moisture trap, even making a condenser, hehee the kind of mad thing i would have done twenty years ago when i ran rusty old minis and escorts and did get my hands dirty, frequently!.(far away look as remembers the `vacuum cleaner fan superchargered mini incident`...what a bang that was!). Ah to be older wiser and have cleaner hands.
|
I have the same problem but my core plugs are the dish type easy job you might say...
But took it to the local garage £70 all done 1 week later same again. Took it back did the job again with a sealant. Two week later same again only a small amount of water but the steam causes juddering under load. Garage did it again for the last time two weeks I think they got it right ... wrong started again
Looking to do the job myself I need a good sealant any recommendations also added K seal to coolant still same
Ford must have known about this because of the change to threaded plugs, might have to get tapped out, can you get this done with out head removal?
Also does any one know the difference between Zetec and Duratec ?
Thanks
|
|
|
|
