Hi
I have a StreetKa on a 54 with 45,000. Since owning it for two years its been one long problem after another but I need to confirm a few things first before i get any more work done.
To date since ownership,
Aircon condenser gone (replaced under warranty) but not a stone chip or hole
Steering rack and pump replaced.
After hitting a pothole the steering went immensely heavy. It turned out to be a valve on the rack as the cause but the rack was replaced by an aftermarket one which was cheaper and apparently better made. At the same time the steering pump was replaced with a genuine ford part as this was actually cheaper than the aftermarket one.
Clutch bearing whining away
The problems I have are in the steering which since the rack pulls to the right side. The garage who did the work were independent and seemed to know what they were doing but i have a feeling they installed the rack on a skew. Is there any location lugs or points to get the rack installed 100%? its almost as if it needs to move a few mm left to get the steering wheel level.
The wishbones underneath were checked and apparently one was replaced already the other was in good nick.
I had the tracking done but the steering although much better is still to my memory too heavy ( heavier than it was when i bought the car)
It also makes a noise where the right front wheel touches some sort of plastic trim on full lock.
I do not know if i need to replace the clutch release bearing or just leave it and wait till the clutch goes.
Finally the interior fan is too noisy on all but Max number 4 can this be lubricated? and if so where is it located to access it for this?
Its a great looking car but riddled with issues which ford should be ashamed of.
Any help anyone can give me or a specialist near or in Hertfordshire id be really greatful.
Edited by Pugugly on 26/11/2009 at 20:47
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you say riddled with issues
i dont see any
the condenser you say no hole,how do you know that as why would it be changed,remember ford dont make these so having it changed under warranty is good service indeed
then you hit a pothole bent the rack to destruction which either took the pump at impact or more likely went as the car was run with no fluid
ka racks arent the best in the world but if you still have something out of alignment on the car from a twisted bulkhead to a bottom arm out of line then your car will never drive right.
My advise?
take the car to a proper alignment place or even a bodyshop with proper measuring equipment and have all the front steering geometry checked,ka"s are weak on the front chassis legs/bulkhead and something could easily be wrong
good cars the ka even in the 1.6 version (ok they are juice heavy) but i think blaming ford for your pot hole is unfair
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Dont think im being unfair on Ford at all.
I have had plently of fords and even high milleage cars never went wrong as much as this even right through their life term.
Its a Ford, purchased as a ford from a ford dealer in UK. Its a ford! The warranty was with them so id be very surprised if they didnt cover it.
The condenser was exactly as I said because thats what I was told from the Ford garage.
I hit a small pothole (not a cavern) and the car drove fine for weeks with no issues and even before the repairs was straight as a die just heavy in the steering normal fluids no leaks. After the rack replacement was where I found the problems hence the advice request. Its not the twisted bulkhead wreak you describe.
thanks for your comments anyway.
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im a bit put back that you say ford fitted a non ford rack
why would they do that apart from to save money for themselves as it would invalidate fords own warranty
if you want my advice as i said you need independent advice from an alignment centre im not trying to say you drive a twisted wreck im just saying anything is possible, heck they might not have centralised the arms before they tracked it
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just to add its the lazy mans way to fit a rack to a ka out of skewer if they didnt keep the steering lock on and then they might have over adjusted an arm at one end to put your steering wheel in the straight ahead position
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Good point.
I know a little about cars but not the nitty gritty.
I think there is a Ford specialist north of cambridge who deal in modifications to most of the range. I think they are ex ford racing so I might well take it up to them to check it over.
Thanks
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Ford have little or no control over their dealers(they own Dagenham Motors and Bristol Street Motors but the majority are not owned by them)-however,a dealer can fit non-Ford spare parts but if he does,HE must offer the same warranty as Ford themselves would.
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My mum has one of these which I look after for her, and it's been nothing but trouble (although has had a clean sheet for the past 6 months, which is something of a record). She only keeps it because she's spent so much on the thing that she can't afford to sell it now.
Most of the front suspension, cooling and heating system and ignition system has failed and been replaced at some stage, plus the catalytic converter, door handles, brake calipers, wheel bearings, 02 sensor etc etc. On a religiously serviced car that hasn't yet done 45,000 miles.
Anyhow, I just wanted to comment on the whining release bearing. If it's a whine in neutral when the clutch is released, all these gearboxes do it from new, and it's a feature. The box will not fail as a result.
I'm generally a big fan of Fords, but I'm with the OP on this car. The quality of build and components, and the resulting overall reliability on this particular model is appalling.
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The 1st fault is proably a fault on the rack, these 'spurious' racks are just reconditioned genuine Ford units normally. The noise you're hearing when on full lock is because one side is adjusted more than the other, in other words one side will have say 5 threads showing, and the other side 15 - the tracking will be straight but not adjusted equally. Ka's are renound for going through rear arm bushes, so if the problems carries on these might be weak.
2nd fault it common on all Fords, the release bearing 'squark'. It doesn't affect the clutch, and generally doesn' affect the job of the release bearing, so just turn the radio up :)
Finally the 3rd fault sounds like a leaf in the heater motor, as it gets faster as louder it drowns the noise out. If you fancied having a look yourself, the pollen filter is under the scuttle panel trim on the right hand side at the bottom of the windscreen. Remove the filter, and i think you can see down into the motor, and hopefully a stray leaf!
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