Mk6 Fiesta - 1.4 16v LX

[Toms306]

So, I currently own this Fiesta as some of you will know...

I assumed LX meant 'poverty', but while it only has cloth seats and hub caps, it has electric windows and mirrors, leather wheel and knob, front heated screen and ice cold air con - not bad for a pov spec car!

Bought with no MOT, having been off the road since February. Faults were listed as 'slumped on corner', 'coolant leak from cap', 'no radio signal, may need plugging in'. Didn't view it before buying, I like to live dangerously lol.

So, wanted MOT done first. Pre MOT checks revealed -

Snapped spring





Lack of brake pads (may have passed MOT just)



Rear tyre down to wear bars




So pulled the strut off and had spring swapped.





Changed front pads and discs...previous owner got his moneys worth from them!



And also had a part worn tyre fitted to the balding one, but no pic.


MOT fails fixed, set about the leaky rad cap... First did a sniff test on coolant - no exhaust in there phew! But while the sniffer was in there, saw the issue - you may have to look hard lol, tiny crack in the coolant reservoir.



So bought a new reservoir from Ford...expecting about £35...£16!! Fitted, bled and no more coolant issues.

Then onto non urgent issues - boot popper doesn't work. Bit of investigating found the actuator wasn't moving far enough to pull the lock open. There's a worm drive gear inside with a small motor, so took it apart and cleaned it up...but now it works, however only about 1 in 4 tries, so I'll replace it if I can find a good used one.



Also stripped the dash out trying to find the source of the lack of radio signal, can't find any faults so guessing it's the headunit. Will try a used one.

Took it for MOT on Friday - to find out the ramp was broken and that they wouldn't be able to MOT it afterall...sigh...got a refund and decided to book elsewhere.


So, went for MOT yesterday, failed on handbrake imbalance and emissions not tested due overheating - fan wouldn't cut in.

Brake imbalance was easy to sort, just adjusted the drums, turns out it was only 6% over the max allowance to fail anyway.

Fan was more difficult to diagnose but finally worked out it's the fan resistor that's failed. So out came my level 3 C&G electrical skills to do this...



Not tidy I know, but does the job! I will have to purchase another resistor obviously.

Passed MOT today with no advisories, not bad for a 13 year old fix or repair daily!

Heres how it currently sits -













So my review of the 1.4 Mk6 Fiesta? It's actually a nice drive...I know, surprised me as well! Everythings smooth, light and easy to use, while feeling tight and nimble as well. Seating position isn't great, and the clutch is a bit close to the centre console for my liking but ride isn't too bad. Plus I forgot how fun it is driving petrols where you can actually pull away from a standstill with some power, rather than laggy diesel shite...got a little carried away feeling 17 and doing wheel spin starts from junctions though! It's really nippy as well considering it's only 75bhp, not sure what the 0-60 is but it doesn't feel much slower than the turbo'd Focus! Main difference is hills where the lack of torque becomes apparent. Also, I've driven around 30 miles, mix of town and dually, with no MOT and no tax because of that, and not been stopped once!

So, whats next?

Well, replace stereo and fan resistor. Maybe replace boot popper. Give it a good clean. And get it up for sale for someone to enjoy many years of service from. Glad I saved it tbh, seems a decent motor.

Tom