anyone know much about 1.6 zetec escorts?

Matt82 · 3 Sep 2007 at 17:36

hi there.

i spoke to my neighbour this afternoon, he is having car problems.

he has a 1999 escort 1.6 zetec that he got 5 years ago. 5 years ago it had 30k miles on it, its now on 130k and he has not change the oil or timing belt once (that was not a typo)

it seems ok apart from a hesitation when he revs the engine (more pronounced when driving). there is a big hesitation and a stuttering as the revs pick up (like its on 3 cylinders)

under the lid, wiring wise, it all seems in great condition, no obviously dead sensors or dead wiring.

the back side of the throttle plate was very black (back firing?)

all 4 plugs (new ish) were in good con and pretty damn clean. its currently getting less mpg than my 2.0 golf so it running pretty rough.

any ideas fellas?
its getting a timing belt done asap along with an oil change etc

ajgoodfellow · 3 Sep 2007 at 17:57

HT leads maybe?

Can't believe that someone would drive a car for 100k miles and 5 years and never even change the oil! Don't forget to change the filters too

PMKeates · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:04

Sounds like ignition leads or the air flow meter to me.

Lashout_UK · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:06

Service it. Job done!

Lopéz · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:10

Pop the airbox off and give the MAF hotwire a thorough blast with some carb cleaner, they gum up quite badly on Zetecs.

Matt82 · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:11

how could you tell if it was the air flow meter?

i pulled that off and the elements were still intact. when i unplugged it, the engine ran just the same as before.

as for HT leads, they are still the originals but tbh they did seem in good condition (ie not excessively worn or perished). worth a shot too?

Matt82 · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:12

Lopéz said:
Pop the airbox off and give the MAF hotwire a thorough blast with some carb cleaner, they gum up quite badly on Zetecs.

so take the maf off and put some carb cleaner over the elements in there etc?

with the ignition on or off (id imagine the elements are heated when the ignition is on)

Lopéz · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:13

Matt82 said:
so take the maf off and put some carb cleaner over the elements in there etc?

with the ignition on or off (id imagine the elements are heated when the ignition is on)

Yeah. I've only ever done it with the engine off (my Mondeo, Kates Mondeo, Kates 200SX) Gave it a good squirt, shake the drips, pop it back together.
Big improvement on each car.

Some say you can damage the hotwire by blasting it at too close a range but I've not come accross it myself.

Matt82 · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:15

ill give that a shot next time i see him, does seem very logical.

cheers fella

PMKeates · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:32

Lopéz said:
Yeah. I've only ever done it with the engine off (my Mondeo, Kates Mondeo, Kates 200SX) Gave it a good squirt, shake the drips, pop it back together.
Big improvement on each car.

Some say you can damage the hotwire by blasting it at too close a range but I've not come accross it myself.

I scraped the MAF of a Zetec Fiesta with a screwdriver under a microscope and it was fine, so a bit of pressure should be no problem!

Liverpool-Lad · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:49

100k oil? Would love to see how that comes out - thats if theres any in there at all.

Matt82 · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:56

there is oil in there, between min and max, he just keeps it topped up.

inside the oil filler was gummy, ill help him to do a complete change soon. may even do a flush of some sort

Dogbreath · 3 Sep 2007 at 19:01

Matt82 said:
may even do a flush of some sort

Possibly not a good in this case, the engine will be well sludged up and dislodging all the crap could be terminal for it.

Matt82 · 3 Sep 2007 at 19:21

there are ways of dissolving the crud.

http://www.hotrodder.com/kwkride/tech.html

read the bit about auto gearbox fluid. its a trick that works wonders with VW tappets that get noisy later in life when they get gummed up. the solvents/detergents in the autogearbox fluid dissolve the crud as opposed to dislodging it.