I have recently bought a 98 Fiesta Chicane 1.4 zetec for a good price, but since I have bought it I have realised it has a terrible problem which I unbeleivably missed when test driving.
When I first pull off in 1st gear the car jerks and the revs drop just like a learner driver, but if I pull off slowly and ride the clutch the car is fine most of the time. it also jerks if I change into second at low speeds but after that the car is fine when I am driving at higher speeds the car drives perfect.
I took it to my local garage who advised the gear and engine mounts may be worn and need replacing, he replaced them at a cost of £100 the mounts were worn and split but the problem is still there.
my mechanic says the only way to cure the problem 100% is to replace the clutch & gear box at an additional cost of £300 is he taking me for a ride.
The car is also lumpy when engine breaking in low gears and jerks a bit when slowing down so I have to put my foot on the clutch but when I accelerate through the car pulls excellent.
I am starting to think it is an electrical problem rather than a gearbox problem has anybody else experienced these problems????
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I can't help with the mechanical side, I am sure others can and will. £300 wouldn't even buy a gearbox I would have thought, never mind a clutch and the fitting of both items. £100 for engine and gearbox mounts and £300 for a clutch and gearbox fitted doesn't quite add up to me!
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I have actually mangaed to buy a used gearbox quite cheap myself which I am hoping will solve the problem, but I cant help but think it aint going to solve it.
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Would I be right in saying that the 1.4 zetec gearbox on 95-99 fiestas is the same as the 1.25 zetec gearbox?
I have been told the cars are mechanically identical apart from internal parts in the engine.
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Sounds to me more like the ignition timing is out, and/or weak mixture. I would check these before parting with any more hard earned cash on guesswork.
Ron
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What do you mean by ignition timing, how do I check this???
When you say the mixture is out do you mean the oil to petrol mixture?????
Sorry for being totally clueless
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What do you mean by ignition timing, how do I check this???
This is controled by the engine management system and reuires a garage with the correct kit to check the engine management in 'real time'
When you say the mixture is out do you mean the oil to petrol mixture?????
Your thinking of a 2 stroke bike engine - oil is not mixed into the fuel on a 4 sroke engine thats why you've got a sump with engine oil in it. Again this is also monitored and controlled by the engine management. I'de suggest and hopefully others will agree that you need to get the engine checked with a computer before you do anything else!
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There may be nothing wrong physically with the clutch or gearbox, what you describe sounds like the engine is not responding to the throttle and stalls? How does it perform when driving along, does it misfire or splutter when trying to climb a steep gradient at slow speeds?
I would get the ignition checked out first, the ignition leads tend to go on these and the coil.
It could be causing a misfire which shows up when you put the engine under load and try to pull away.
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There may be nothing wrong physically with the clutch or gearbox.....
When the car is driving the engine and gearbox is great and it pulls up hills perfect, its only funny when you are slowing down in gear it is jumpy and when I pull off. If I give it 3000rpm and ride the clutch it pulls off fine but I cant keep doing this as it iwll cause the clutch to wear out.
Once the car is going it is fine.
I have noticed a slight dip iin the revs, if the car is idling at 900 if I touch the accelerator it will dip to about 500 before going up, I think this is what is causing the car to jump when I pull off, it does this even when the car is in neutral.
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I think I will have a drive around on the weekend and look for a garage with an computer to see if anything shows up.
Maybe I shouldnt have bought the new gearbox. LOL
But its always nice to keep if I am going to keep the car as it will probably go eventually !
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are the ignition leads easy to replace? The most complicated thing I have ever done is replace an air filter!
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I have finally fixed the problem.
I took it to a local tuning center who charged me £30 cash to hook it up to the diagnostics, within 20 seconds he told me the Mass Air Flow wasnt working so I popped up to the scrappy and picked one up for £30, it took me 2 minutes to fit easy peasy and the car is like a dream (well it runs smooth anyway).
So £100 wasted on Engine & Gearbox Mounts
£100 wasted on a new gearbox which I dont need, but I will keep anyway as the car has done 90k and will probably need a new one soon.
£30 well spent on Diagnostics
£30 well spent on new MAF
£260 poorer but a hell of a lot happier !
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Hi Idleflower,
Well done mate! Thanks for letting us know what it was. With the MAF u/s your timing and mixture would have both been out because your ECU would have not been receiving the information for it to get them right. You did exactly the right thing to get a diagnostic check rather than keep going on guesswork.
You have learnt an expensive lesson but at least you can get some of your money back by selling the gearbox that you don't need.
Best Wishes,
Ron
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Consider the mnoey spent on engine mounts as worthwhile too if they needed changing anyway ?
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Hi IdleFlower,
Thanks very much for posting your solution... I have a similar problem with my Fiest 1.6SI 16v... it runs fine but every now and again, such as pulling off with low revs, putting accelerator down hard etc, it looses power & splutters a bit..really annoying. I took it to garage and they said they could do a diagnostic test for £40 but couldn't guarantee it would show any problem... I am therefore keen to try replacing the MAF as you suggested... do you recommend this as a course of action? You still having no problems etc? Any advice would be useful before I buy it.. I assume getting a cheap one from scrap yard is OK?!
Cheers
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I've just had my 1.25 16v Zetec plugged into a diagnostic box, and I also returned the MAF sensor fault. This is a common problem with the Zetec engine. Could be worth replacing it.
I have exactly the same problem (pulling off with low revs, feels bogged down and splutters 'till I clutch in and give it a little rev; this happened more when on choke when I'd just started the engine and was still cold) and the diagnostic also brought up a lambda sensor failure (stuck on "too lean"), which means the engine was pouring too much fuel in. You could have a similar problem.
As a side note, my Fiesta has just failed it's MOT for emissions (hence me on the diagnostics). So it's gonna cost me around £70/£80 supply and fit for a new lambda, though I may just buy one myself and fit it (it's only a bolt on job on the top of the exhaust manifold).
It would be worth getting it on diagnostics machine though, just to see if anything is not how it should be. (Only cost me £25 too!)
Cheers, Karl.
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Karl - before you buy the sensor see if you can get the old one off first. It's not likely to be an easy job after all those heat cycles on top of the exhaust.
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Thanks for the tip. I don't think it's the original as there are wire connectors where the wires have been cut (obviously a bodge job) so I want to get a proper one in with a complete wire etc. I'll have a bash after work tomorrow.
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Awsome thread, I had to join just to say thanks to all the posters which contributed to this.
I have also had a problem with my wifes fiesta 1.4 - p reg. Since we've had the car, we've had problems with the car accelerating from idle, and struggling at around 30-40 mph with acceleration. Its almost like its been misfiring- sort of spluttering until it gets going. After reading these posts I went up to the car and thought i'd check the lambda, and disconected the plug it is attatched. Upon inspection i had noticed that there was a little corrosion on 2 of the 4 plugs so i gently cleaned them up with a bit of wet and dry taped to a needle file.
Now the car seems to be running perfectly - and it hasn't cost me a penny.
Thanks again posters.
SD
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