Question:

Engine trouble with a 1991 Ford Fiesta 1.4CLX - Can anyone help?

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About 6 months ago it started making this high pitched whining noise, a bit like the fan belt needed replacing but the sound wasn´t coming from that area. But it was really loud, people stared as we drove past. And then some days it would be just fine. Every so often, as I accelerated, the car would lose power, and I´d have to change down a gear and then it would sort of recover, but still a shaky ride. I´ve cleaned / changed plugs often, they´re usually black with carbon, I´ve tinkered with the air fuel mix on the carb, and at one point it was great. But now we´ve just got back from holiday, the car probably hasn´t been used in nearly 2 months, and after getting the thing started everything is working in reverse. if you accelerate above 2000 revs the engine dies, same if you pull the choke out. I thought maybe it was flooded and let the thing rev at 2000 revs for maybe 10 mins but exactly the same, put your foot down and it stalls. Checked for bananas up exhaust pipe, all clear. What could I be looking at? I read somewhere that the whining noise I heard could be the result of a cracked piston, it certainly feels as if it is only running on 2 or 3 of 4 cylinders, yet disconnecting the sparks one by one doesn´t really seem to make much difference. any ideas would be gratefully received. It´s an old car, but it was our first car, and though we don´t use it so much now, its still a valued member of the family :)

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5 ANSWERS


  1. There are so many possibilities here, it may be best to find a mobile tuner to come out and have a look.

    Price wise you should be looking at £40 to £60

    Good luck.


  2. check the inlet manifold to make sure the brake servo pipe is not leaking?It lets too much air into the engine and could give some of the symptoms your describing?hope this helps

  3. The first thing you need to do is a compression test on the engine. I suspect from what you have said about the condition of the spark plugs that you don't have a cracked piston as there would be tell tail oil on the spark plug.

    If you have had a play with the carb I would recommend that you have the car's mixture checked on a dyno test machine.

    Soot on spark plugs normally indicate a rick mixture, however you would expect to have high emissions on your MOT test so I suspect there may be an issue with your crank ventilation system.

    When new the CVS works well but over time the pipe work and the CVS valve gum up with oil residue.

    You can remove the pipes and valve, clean them out with either a little petrol or carb cleaner.

    Ja.  

  4. its the CVS. as above  .i used to do about 4 a month when they came on back of a rac van lol .you engine cant breath  

  5. Head gasket check

    Inlet Manifold Check

    Carburetter Check

    take the water bottle cab off and check for excessive pressure.

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