Hello,
My girlfriend's '95 Fiesta 1.1 has developed a problem. It's using approximately 1 third more fuel than usual, it is down on power and when pressing the throttle you can hear a high pitched noise that I can best describe as air being sucked or blown through a small gap. The noise increases in intensity the further the throttle is pressed. It ceases if you back off the throttle. The noise only seems to happen under load as when revving the engine while stationary I was unable to hear it. Can anyone suggest what this might be?
Her mechanic was unable to diagnose the issue and suggested that she take it to a Ford Gargage so I suspect that this is not his area of specialism. Can someone suggest a garage, tuner in the Bracknell (home) or Farnham (work) areas?
Hopefully, Wolfey
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I'm not an expert on this but it could be a leaking inlet manifold and/or gasket, or one of the vacuum hoses disconnected or damaged.
The hoses are easy enough to check but the manifold may require more effort to test - unless you can see an obvious gap in the gasket
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lack of power & a wheezing engine usually indicates a blocked catalytic convertor.Need to get exhaust back pressure checked.
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Suspect part of exhaust is blocked, possibly cat. Put your hand by exhaust at the back and feel how much is coming out, does it increase when the engine is revved ?
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Can someone suggest a garage, tuner in the Bracknell (home) or Farnham (work) areas? >>
Have you looked up HJ's Directories (link button on the left)?
In the entries for good garages in the "south of thames" region, remember to scroll down right to the bottom to find information about the tune-up boys who contribute their wisdom freely to this site.
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Hi Wolfey,
Certainly sounds like an exhaust blockage to me, but could equally be a fuel supply problem (weak pump, blocked filter, ?).
If exhaust is restricted you will see a dropping inlet manifold vacuum as revs increase. Can be confirmed by disconnecting and removing Oxygen Sensor from downpipe - car can be driven like this but will be noisey - if performance improved you then need to refit the Oxygen Sensor and progressively separate exhaust joints to establish where in the system the blockage is, but the Cat is always favourite.
Power to the People - sorry, couldn't resist !!
Regards, Adam
Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.
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I would definately check the exhaust is not blocked somewhere.
I had a 1990 1.0 Fiesta similar to yours which although only 50bhp was very slow, struggled to reach 60mph on Motorways.
I checked everything, having noticed a strange 'wheezing' sound that increased in volume as the accelerator was pressed.
I had a new rear section fitted to the exhaust and it transformed the car - much quicker.
I suspect the back box had collapsed internally and was strangling the engine.
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Apparently, there is a product you can get to spray on seals to test them for air tightness.
Other than that, as been suggested here before, check your exhaust for blockages etc. As a last resort, to prove acanthus' point, you could try driving it with the back box removed!
Third, if the car has an ECU driven system, disconnect the MAP sensor from the inlet manifold and see if this makes a difference. If not, the MAP sensor may be a duffer.
Hugo
"Forever indebted to experience of others"
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Hello,
Thank you all for your advice. I hadn't even thought that it could be the exhaust. A quick check last night confirmed that there wasn't a great deal being emitted from the tail pipe. I suspect now that exhaust blockage is the problem and we're getting it checked out today.
Thx,
Wolfey
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Hello,
Thank you all again for your advice. My Girlfriend took the car to a local tyre and exhaust outfit where she suggested that they should look for a blockage. They seemed quite surprised that she knew what the problem might be but sure enough found that the baffles had collapsed in one of the sections. New exhaust back sections fitted (they said the CAT was fine) and the car's performance is now restored and wheezing gone.
Cheers!
Wolfey.
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