RetroPug's New Daily

[Toms306]

Nope, its the same 1.6 engine lol. Though its a 110 where yours may be a 90?

Wish I had gone for the 2.0 now though, can't see mpg being any worse and would've got rear discs, 6 speed box and a straight DPF to bash through.

[RetroPug]

Oh, didn't realise that.

Yes I think it's a 90.
I'll probably get it remapped in a year.

[RetroPug]

Gave her a well-deserved clean. It's just been eating up miles and ever since I've owned it I've got an average consumption of 67.3MPG at the moment. It does the job of getting me to places for not a lot of money fantastically!

[Toms306]

It's just been eating up miles and ever since I've owned it I've got an average consumption of 67.3MPG at the moment.

Wish I'd bought a Fiesta now... Can't understand why the same engine would be 10mpg different in average, Focus can't weigh that much more, I'll be amazed if its the DPF eating 10mpg though!

[Orta]

Dude that is epic mpg. My combined in the 1.4 is 60.9mpg !

[RetroPug]

It is slowly rising as well. In fairness I have been driving it very, very frugally though. My work commute is 23ish miles each way and I am out of the house around 6:20-6:30 so before the traffic so I just roll the whole way there at about 60mph with only the odd stop and start but coasting down etc. Way home can be pretty poor though it is all roadworks so at peak times it is awful. Also go into coventry and oxford a fair bit. On balance yes it is bloody excellent!

I really want to get to a 70mpg all time average but that might be a stretch...I did think that about 60 though! At the moment it drops from cold and then goes up again as I drive a longer distance so I think I'm reaching the MPG limit.

I'm getting 550-600 miles for about 38 pounds.

The only thing that needs sorting is the head unit, it's horrendous. The volume control isn't even linear eg. 5 quieter than 4 but then 6 is 3 or 4 times louder than 4. Can only get 1 radio station if you're lucky etc. I've been spending my disposable income on the 306 though so it might be that way for a while.

[C.A.R.]

Excellent stuff.

My friend has a 1.4 Polo TDi which does similar MPG, but it's a lot older and worse for wear than your Fiesta.

My company Ford Mondeo has the 2.0 diesel and even though its not my fuel I find myself trying to get the best economy out of it. 56 on the on-board so far,  not bad for something which feels like a small moon with wheels on!

[Dum-Dum]

Good work mate, You're just making me want a modern HDi lump for my NAD

[RetroPug]

I did look at polos but couldn't find any in good condition for reasonable money, the VAG tax plus desirability of small, frugal diesels made the prices insane. People were wanting 2k plus for 130k sheds that had clearly never been cared for. I'd love to give this a better detail sometime soon now that the weather's good.

I test-drove a 1.4 diesel fiesta and the engine seemed ok. The rest of the car was a total shed though so I wasn't really focussing on the engine much so can't comment further.

Do you think the 1.6 diesel might fit in the 106? It doesn't look particularly bigger. Apparently they take remaps well for more economy and torque. It would be pretty funny if you had a mountune mapped 106.

[RetroPug]

[Dum-Dum]

Over what distance though?

[Toms306]

Pointless result...brim it and calculate properly... /notjealous

[bigcheez2k3]

I think that is since he's owned it, so I'd say over a few thousand miles.

[RetroPug]

Maybe 3k miles?

As bigcheez says, that's my all-time average since I bought it in late January. I do maybe 250-300miles a week.

[ozonehostile]

I can only dream of those figures lol, since fixing it the most I can get out of my coupe is 44mpg average driving like a granny

[RetroPug]

To be fair this is driving like a granny everywhere except for country lanes, on country lanes it's all about maintaining the 50-60mph speed range for efficiency.

[RetroPug]

Has anyone changed glow plugs on one of these before? ZSOC has some vague directions as to where they are and that they're a pain but I'm not finding a guide or any good pictures on there.

Secondly, any ideas on how to see whether or not injector seals aren't sealing properly? I have closely looked around all the bases and there doesn't appear to be any carbon build-up. Could I spray wd40 around the bases and see if it changes idle or if it bubbles?

It is smoking white on cold starts and running a bit rough for 30sec to a minute, the smoke smells of unburnt derv. I'm suspecting glow plugs, but possible suspects could also be the EGR or injector seals. I can check the EGR simply by blanking it off and seeing if that solves the issue, which I'm planning on doing soon.

Asking here because ZSOC seems great if you like sikk intercoolers m8 and not great for technical help.

[Toms306]

They're known to snap on these so if they're working I'd leave them personally - that said, once I'd passed the access issues mine came out fine.

They are on the back of the engine, just under the EGR cooler, and above the fuel rail...not sure I can be any more specific than that lol. If the injectors are leaking there will be crap around the base of them, you can spray something there and look for bubbles if you want. Blank the EGR while you're there, it's in the same area.

Are there any free diagnostics these? Like I use FORScan on the Focus, not sure if that works with Fiestas though?

[Matt-Rallye]

Does it get better if you heat it a couple of times? giving it 3 heats before initial cold start might be a good test

[Toms306]

The plugs are on at cold start without the light on anyway, they pulse in 40 seconds bursts. When I had no plugs I had no issues with cold start or smoke, really don't need them lol. It's more likely a leaky EGR imo.

[RetroPug]

Does it get better if you heat it a couple of times? giving it 3 heats before initial cold start might be a good test

Tried that, no difference!

The plugs are on at cold start without the light on anyway, they pulse in 40 seconds bursts.  When I had no plugs I had no issues with cold start or smoke, really don't need them lol.  It's more likely a leaky EGR imo.

Leaky or stuck? I'm going to blank it off to see if it makes a difference if I get time this weekend. If the EGR is sticky then no more worries but if the EGR cooler is leaking coolant then that's bad. I don't think it's steam coming out the tailpipe though, more white, stinky smoke.

I've read that the glow plugs are under the EGR cooler. Would it be easier to remove them on a ramp?

[Toms306]

I meant leaky as in leaking exhaust gasses, so the same as stuck lol. Can't get the plugs from underneath no...I had to kneel on the slam panel/engine to reach mine though they may be easier to reach in the Fiesta.

[RetroPug]

Ah okay. They can fail and leak coolant that then goes back through the cylinder but I don't think it's doing that.
We'll see what happens when it's blanked.

[RetroPug]

Forgot to update this, it was just a sticky EGR valve.

[Toms306]

Easy fix then! Good job you don't have a DPF, sticky EGRs are good at blocking those...

[RetroPug]

Yeah very easy to get to on the Fiesta. The only thing that needs to come off is the plastic engine cover.

[roland rat]

Fantastic little cars these and 70mpg is unreal,you must drive like a saint!

[RetroPug]

Haha not anymore, I'm getting just under 60 now as I'm driving more normally. 72-73 was making a special effort to get MPG, so coasting down etc. etc.



It's still a great car though. I've done loads of miles and the total repair cost has been 3.95 in this year and two services, with genuine oil being 22 pounds and a bosch oil filter being 2-3 pounds. Despite the uninspiring engine it is very enjoyable due to being very chuckable. It is also very fun to provoke into lift off oversteer.

[roland rat]

^That is the epitome of cheap motoring! I like the way they look,not too ott but different enough from boggy basic fiestas

[RetroPug]

Yeah it's nice. Haven't washed it since "summer" though, if you can call it that.

The heated screen is fantastic as well.

I'd definitely recómmend one. Only downsides are road noise which I will make better if I ever get the time to bother and lak of 6th gear/better 5th gear.