nelmo

Yeah, I sort of expected that - I always get hit with the worst case scenario Bugger.

Well, finally got round to getting the sump off (again!) and my big end bearings are shot (at least on cylinder 1 so far - not checked the others yet). More worrying, i have a scratch on the crankshaft but i don't know how serious it is. Can anyone tell from this picture - does it need something doing to it? https://photos.app.goo.gl/FsJ4UVafbVaBct9d7 The actual scratch that breaks the surface is only a fine line, it is not that whole mark in the pic... Opinions? Desperately hoping i don't have to take the crankshaft out....

Well, I'm no expert but only 2300 miles from new when it cost that much? Yes, 7 years old but mileage is so low... Also, thats a great (and expensive) paint/wrap job, private plate worth a bit, TBs cost £2k. Only thing missing is roof and doors... But if its not sold yet, i guess I'm wrong...

Mate, that looks and sounds awesome! I would have thought it would be worth more. Got it on eBay? You might not like eBay but only £15 for a classified ad (maybe more now but no other charges) and i got loads of response when selling my last tin top, when i got nothing from Autotrader. Just ignore all the scammers saying they are out of the country, can they pay with bank draft etc, etc...accept only cash or bank transfer to your account.

I thought about that but i don't trust myself to get it flat - I'll probably end up with a wonky shim and, eventually a wonky camshaft lobe and more problems. ..

One of my inlet valves clearance is on the tolerance limit (0.11mm). The current shim in there is 2.56mm, so ideally, i need to replace that with a 2.52mm shim, to get me to a 0.15mm gap , if my maths is right (max gap is 0.18mm). But Ford only do a shim of 2.49 or 2.55mm, annoyingly, which would leave me with a gap of either 0.19mm (outside of tolerance slightly) or 0.12mm, which is better but is it worth £20 for a 0.01mm clearance change? So, choices: 1. Leave it as is (0.11mm). 2. Make clearance 0.19mm, a bit loose. 3. Make it 0.12mm for £20. Opinions? Or does anyone know anywhere else i can get shims from of a different size?

It took Porsche 50 years to get that configuration working ie. to not kill its occupants. I would suggest it's not a good idea... ☺

Ok, well that was weird! Being a bit too young for the Prisoner, i just watched the opening sequence on YT - errr, interesting! I've often heard of the big white ball and the 'I am not a number' quote etc but they never meant much to me. Car is looking good! Edit: hmm, just spent some time on IMDB reading some of the quotes from the series - were there a lot of drugs around in the 70s? :-)

I don't mind about the needle wandering about a little, i just want to be able to tell that i have some pressure. Out of interest, where do we get a stabilised supply from in our cars? I have the standard GBS loom - is there something built into that for the fuel gauge?

My oil pressure gauge has never worked properly - it always shows a value off the scale. I've been told to send the sensor (or gauge?) off to be calibrated but i was wondering if this was a DIY job? My feeble grasp on electrics suggests a load resistor in the signal wire from the sensor should bring the current down to a level that the gauge can actually display. I've used a standalone oil pressure gauge so i know what pressure i get at idle - if i experiment with a few different resistor loads, does this sound feasible?

Get used to using your trip meter instead - reset it every time you fill up and, assuming you know how far you can go one tank, you know when you need to fill up. My gauge works but is more of a comedy item for my passengers; one moment, almost empty, go up a hill and suddenly full up!

Have you tried the 'Garage' option at the top of the page (although may only be accessible to members)? Over 500 cars listed in there - many out-of-date but might be a starting point?

OK, well I think it's confirmed... My font of much knowledge (YouTube) finally found a video of someone suggesting a simple test (which is probably common knowledge among more experienced builders but not me - apologies if someone had already suggested this and I missed it) - just remove HT leads to one cylinder at a time. If the rattle stops, then that cylinder has the problem and it's a bottom end issue. I've just done this - removed lead from cylinder 1 and, ta-da, rattle gone, no matter how much I rev. Still rattles when I repeat this on the other 3 cylinders... I still don't really get why it doesn't rattle - the crankshaft is still going round and the same bearings are still moving? Anyway... The issue of why my bearings should be worn after just 3.5k miles is concerning but maybe I had poor oil pressure from my crappy oil pickup pipe, as cb750 suggested? I've just done an oil pressure test and I'm getting 5 bar (70psi) at idle, 6 (85psi) when revving - seems a bit high but it is still a new-ish engine. Does this all seem reasonable/sensible? I don't want to take my sump off again for nothing...

Ah, ok - and that does sound more like my noise. Is it possible to replace those bearings without taking the engine out, from underneath? (Engine running now, i had done something stupid in the ECU setup)

Watch this short YT vid: When I did that with mine, they didn't move a mm. Also, my rattle isn't there consistently - between idle (when it did idle ) and about 2.5k RPM, the rattle stopped. If it was a bearing, surely it would rattle all the time? I've also just remembered that, on Sunday, I ticked a setting in the Emerald ECU app while the engine was running - something about injector grouping (according to a blog, Emerald had recommended doing that). It seemed to make no difference at the time but maybe it is preventing the engine starting? Will untick it tonight and pray that gets me back to only a semi-crap car

Well, sort of - the higher the revs, the faster the rattle but at some revs, it disappears altogether. Just to make things worse, i can't get the engine to start at all now!! It was fine on Sunday and then, this evening, i removed the oil pressure sensor to connect up the oil pressure gauge and it wouldn't start! Cranked ok but that was it. I put the oil presdure sensor back in and just about got it to start but it would only run for a few seconds and it would die immediately if i touched the throttle. Too *bleep* off to look into it more now :-(

According to internet, bent valve symptoms: 1. lack of power 2. sputtering/popping/coughing exhaust note 3. engine will will visibly shake/stutter at idle 4. it will want to stall with timing set right 5. increased oil consumption (valve seal may break on that valve) 6. uneven compression at idle/ low compression in one or more cyl I may have slightly lower power but using a lambda sensor now which should be leaning off the previously rich tune? Exhaust does pop a bit when lifting off and it does want to stall when pulling away (have to use more throttle than before - lambda again?) but idle is fine and symptoms don't mention a rattle which is the most obvious symptom I have. Dunno about 5 and 6...compression tester ordered.

Wiggled them by hand - no movement. Looking on YT, any bad bearings are very obvious. Not sure about rod...? I was thinking about doing just that - glad someone else suggested it . Only problem is it sounds horrible...

Well, the saga continues... My starter motor is a Lucas one - there were no visible nuts to tighten and the only bolt heads were rock solid (I've also since spoken to a Ford mechanic who doesn't think the rattle is the starter motor). So, yes, after putting it all back together, my rattle is still there - the guy at Ford said it sounded mechanical/internal to the engine but also suggested it might be knock. However, I called a RR tuner and he said that if the rattle is there with no load ie. just revving at standstill (yes, it is), the issue can't be timing/tuning, it must be mechanical. After a YouTube session, I've got 2 things to test: 1. Oil pressure - pretty sure it's ok but I've ordered a gauge to check it. 2. Remove spark plugs one at a time - if sound goes away on one cylinder, then it's a problem with that piston/big end. I'm expecting these 2 tests to be fine (had the sump off, nothing was loose) - after that, rocker cover off and check valve clearances and...er...other stuff in there?

Are you sure it doesn't have one? I didn't think GBS sold them without a cat these days. The cat is built into the main body, its not separate so you can't see it obviously.

It wasn't refurbished, it was new and it's been fine for a year. I tried turning those top 4 bolts but I couldn't - if they were the problem, wouldn't one or more be loose?

Really nothing to see - I've just realised it's a Lucas one like this: https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Ford_Focus_2.0_2005/p/car-parts/electrical/car-electrics-and-car-lighting/starter-motor/?402590671&1&d626f53767ef6ae9ebdfe84c3207b732b0321210&000308 It's got 3 (or was it 4 - I did take it off completely) huge screw heads round the side which are rock solid and 4 smaller bolt heads on the top end which are also unmoveable. Basically, that main body is slightly loose and does make a slight clink noise when I move it by hand (but the thing still works).

I think my starter motor is the cause of my engine rattle (see other, long-winded thread in this sub-forum) as the main body is definitely loose and on the version I have (from GBS), there are no obvious bolts I can tighten it with. This one from RetroFord looks better: http://www.retro-ford.co.uk/shop/content/zetec-rwd-starter-motor-z020 But this one off eBay is £30 cheaper and looks the same: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131186336380 Any opinions on which is better? Or another source?

OK, I'll have a look for those...many thanks...

While putting my starter motor back on, I've noticed that the main body seems to be loose? So the base that bolts to the bellhousing is solid but about an inch up from that is a join and the main body after that join wobbles, quite noticeably. Now I'm pretty sure it didn't do that before I took it off and so is not the cause of my rattle but I could be wrong. I'm assuming that is not normal so either that is the cause of my rattle and I just didn't notice (but the rattle noise always seemed to be coming from the front of the engine) OR I've broken it during the removal/replacement process. Does it sound like it is broken (it will be a couple of days before I'm ready to try start the engine)?