1. Oil cap blowing off at startup: suggests crancase compression forcing it out. Cause: worn piston rings or blocked oil breather pipe or both.
2. Rattling noise at 40-50. probably all of 1-3 due to lack of oil changes.
Actions: change oil and filter, clean out crankcase breather hoses. Change plugs air and fuel filters.
Then try it again.
As you have been given it and it has not been serviced for 5 years, it may also need brake work. It is essentially worth about £300 so don't spend too much money on it.
Does it puff out blue fumes when warm..?
madf
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Hi
Echo above particularly take off all crankcase vent hoses (egr etc) not familiar with your model and ensure they are correctly patent.
Good engine flush (wynns et al) and keep doing together with filter changes until you get clear oil after 1K miles running.
It may be beneficial too to add some fuel system cleaner to tank.
All the best
NormanB
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Thanks for the help.
No blue smoke at startup or when warm also none during gear changes.
Brakes do need doing.
Going back to the rattling noise's you only get them in the fouth or fifth gears at cruise not during speeding up, also the oil cap blowing off happerns when it's cold but once every four or five starts.
So if it needs to have the crankshaft doing it would need to be skimmed and the bearings replaced with the difference lost through the skimming so different size bearings is this correct or can the crankshaft be replaced with a new one and the bearings replaced with new one's which is best.
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I have also found mayo in the oil filler cap and a little in the filler neck, there is none to be seen on the dip stick, so I am putting this down to due to lack of use over the last year condensation build up.
But I will change the head gasket (I have one in the shed) and at the same time check any carbon build up on the valves and piston heads.
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About point (5) on your list - I used to have a 1981 Escort with a CVH engine which could not be adjusted to use unleaded petrol. Something about the material used in the construction of the valve seats. Hope your 1989 model has got round this, or you've got real problems.
My car caused a lot of grief with carburettor / fuel supply / ignition type faults (pinking, timing, points, plugs etc). It eventually went to the scrappers after rotting along the weld running under the car from B-pillar to B-pillar - the sort of place it would rot if it were a cut-and-shut car (which it wasn't) - invisible under the underseal until it failed its MOT. Glad to be rid of it!
Ian
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Frankly I would not touch the crankshaft. I would just run the engine till it died. I have seen in the past a complete 1.4CVH engine + gearbox in good working order on EBay .. plus car attached.. for £20.
Lead free? The CVH head has hardened inserts and by 1989 could run lead free petrol. Try using Shell Optimax 98 RON - it MAY stop the rattle. If it does then you've solved the problem.
The rattle may be the conrod/piston joint ( a press needed for replacement?) or pinking or worn camshaft bearings. Worn crankshafts usually result in low oil pressure at idle (warning light?) or a low rumble rather than a rattle. Or you may have broken piston rings.. or worn camshaft bearings (a possibility due to few oil changes) or even worn cam tappets..
Watch out : the cam belt will need to be changed if it has been maintained as badly as it seems.
I reiterate my warning (sorry boring): if it has been badly neglected you could end up spending £500- &750 putting it right whilst you can buy a faully functioning one with MOT and tax for ... £500-£750. As per Autotrader
FORD ESCORT 1.4 LX 5DR
G Red, MoT July 03 £325.
ROTHERHAM CAR TRADES
FORD Escort 1.4L,
G reg . low mileage, MOT till end of March, no rust clean engine, good runner, first to see will buy . £325.
madf
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Thanks to everyone who has replied so far..........
I thought about the problem with this car, I will try all the above ideas and with post a message with results.
One thing about this engine it has a lot of power when the rattle clears, when you change gear and you hear the rattle you try to clear past it by speeding up, then rattle clears with a slight loss of power then she goes better than my J reg Escort until you come back to holding at cruise and rattle, rattle, rattle.
I have only driven the car once from the owners house to mine and I have not started it since, if any of the above ideas fail to solve these problems, I will remove the engine and strip it down and if its bad I will keep the best bits and find a better engine for it
Thanks again
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Agree with all the advice given, not worth doing any major work on the engine. Engine noise usually means metal to metal contact and this means damage. It might be worth taking the sump off and checking the oil strainer though. These used to block up on the CVH engine, and when only partially blocked would cause low oil pressure to the hydraulic valve lifters. Sometimes they'd rattle and other times not. Flushing oil and fresh oil doesn't usually work, the strainer has to be wire brushed clean.
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