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

[C2K]

Easy fix then. Wash and detail it and it'll sell well.

[procta]

for those bits and pieces tom, get your arse to a scrappy and your sorted!

[Toms306]

Easy fix then. Wash and detail it and it'll sell well.

Yep, similar ones seem to fetch good money on ebay/AT as well!

for those bits and pieces tom, get your arse to a scrappy and your sorted!

Exactly where I'm going tomorrow lol.

[procta]

tom remember the discount too, on some bits

[Toms306]

Discount? You expect me to fit a double DIN headunit in my pocket?

[procta]

Discount?  You expect me to fit a double DIN headunit in my pocket?

tom you buy what you need and you pocket the rest

[Toms306]

Also, does anyone know how easy it is to do the aux belt on these? Seems it's a 'stretch' belt?

Had cambelt kit done at about 80k but looks like they reused aux belt. It also squeaks on startup for a few mins.

[Chris1357]

Bought & sold a fair few of these, Great sellers.
My last one being a 1.2 3 door in burgundy on a 54 reg @ £70 with the head in the boot.
Sold it within 12hours @ £450..

[Seb_Ryan]

Yeah they are stretch belts.. Bit of a pain without the tool but do able by levering it on

[Herby7]

The car looks good for its age .

[lolsteve]

Used to drive my mum's 1.4 lx in the same colour with the boot popper issue as well. These are gutless engines , it was detuned from the previous veneration and couldnt keep up with anything. Very particular on air as well as I fitted a badly placed cone filter and really felt the loss. Only car I've noticed it on

[Toms306]

Can't say it seems gutless tbh, managed many overtakes in it, won a couple of traffic light grand prixs and it'll happily sit at 80 where the Focus feels strained, I've driven much slower cars! But don't forget I'm used to a heavy, slow 1.6 diesel now...your ZR has twice the power...well, it should do anyway.

[lolsteve]

Burn'd by tom...it's too early

Well I used to compare it to my friends 1.4 furio saxo back in the day. 16v 1.4 vs 1.4 8v seemed a easy battle until he left me for dead

[Toms306]

Should've been a pretty close race, both 75bhp give or take and I would think similar weight. Maybe he's just a better driver lol. Its MUCH faster than a 1.4 306 imo, weight obviously plays a big part there, but I've never been in or against a 1.4 Saxo/106 though so can't compare to them. I did used to race a college mate in my 1.4 306 against a VTR out of college back in the day, you can probably guess the outcome there.

[Eeyore]

Looks good! Hope you make some monies on it!

[procta]

Used to drive my mum's 1.4 lx in the same colour with the boot popper issue as well. These are gutless engines , it was detuned from the previous veneration and couldnt keep up with anything. Very particular on air as well as I fitted a badly placed cone filter and really felt the loss. Only car I've noticed it on

your not wrong there, they are not quick at all.

[Toms306]

It's a 1.4 mid-range hatchback, they're not designed to be 'quick' lol, but they're not stupidly slow either, reasonable power for a daily I'd say.

Anyway, been to scrappy this morning, Autobreak in Colchester, brilliant yard! Managed to find 6 Mk6 Fiestas lol, one of which very 'fresh' so had the headunit out of it. Being a later model the boot popper is housed in a large plastic casing so 'may' still work. The yard guy said I could have that free with the stereo anyway, so no loss if it doesn't work! He also decoded the stereo for free as I couldn't find the code in the car anywhere.

Of the 6 Fiestas, 5 still had rad fans...and all 5 had damaged resistors! Guess it's a common issue lol. Seems to be a Ford only part though...so may have to scour ebay for one.

[procta]

does the resistor come on any other fords? as back in the day some ford parts were interchangeable between the cars.

[Toms306]

A lot of parts are still interchangeable on various cars. But not this as far as I can see, checked the Ka's, Mondeo's and Focus' that were there and none used this odd resistor system. Fusions probably use it but there weren't any there.

[procta]

another shot for you tom, have you not looked at mazdas? as some of them can share the same parts, Wasn't there a mazda that was a ford fiesta?

[Toms306]

Hmm, not sure tbh!

[procta]

tom can the resistor be repaired? ie soldering it?

[Toms306]

tom can the resistor be repaired? ie soldering it?

Maybe if I was cully...

Tbh I'm not 100% sure which part of the resistor has failed, it seems to be made of a small resistor and large insulated coil. The insulation has come off the big coil which was possibly shorting out which in turn has fried the smaller resistor. There's not a definite visible 'break' in the unit. But what confuses me is why the fan won't run at full speed with a damaged resistor, like a blower fan would do. Unless there is a beak in the larger coil somewhere, but I can't see it if there is. I could test it with the multimeter I guess, but I assumed I'd be able to find one cheap at the scrappy to just stick in.

[Connor]

Stretch belts are easy enough, but that's on a ramp from underneath lol also pm me about any bits you need/want

[Toms306]

Replaced boot pooper today...works everytime! So if you've got a broken one, try to find one from a late model as they're protected in a casing.

Also got the stereo in and now have fully working radio, yay!

Tried testing the resistor...it seems to resist too well, about 9,000 ohms...may explain why the fan won't work at all with it plugged in.

[Eeyore]

SO whats the next plans for this? Boost?

[Toms306]

Yep, bought a supercharger from ebay for £9.99, you just stick it in the air intake and away you go, instant 100bhp added!*













*Just in case anyone is 'that' gullible, I haven't really.

[Toms306]

So, gave this a proper clean this afternoon. Had missed playing with the pressure washer.

Jetted, clayed, polished, waxed, trim gel, windows, tyres...and my camera makes it look no different.



























Just waiting for a Mondeo now...

[Poodle]

Tidy little bargain there mate! I don't know what they did so wrong on those expansion tanks, see one every few weeks at work. Fan resistor can't be that expensive from Ford, can it?

Also flol Rowell, boost ftw!