Old Fiesta uneven idle.

[The Hanging Baskets of Babylon]

My old (2003) Fiesta 1.4 Zetec is normally very reliable, but has
recently developed an annoying problem. Once it has warmed up, the
tickover comes down to its usual ~900rpm, but every few seconds seems to
almost stall, and then recover. I say this is annoying because while
driving, it is much less likely to recover. When coming to a stop, or
even just pressing the clutch to take it out of gear when going very
slowly, it will often stall, producing an embarrassing loss of power
steering and motion. Does anyone have ideas of the sort of things I
ought to be looking at?

[alan_m]

Post by The Hanging Baskets of Babylon
My old (2003) Fiesta 1.4 Zetec is normally very reliable, but has
recently developed an annoying problem.  Once it has warmed up, the
tickover comes down to its usual ~900rpm, but every few seconds seems to
almost stall, and then recover.  I say this is annoying because while
driving, it is much less likely to recover.  When coming to a stop, or
even just pressing the clutch to take it out of gear when going very
slowly, it will often stall, producing an embarrassing loss of power
steering and motion.  Does anyone have ideas of the sort of things I
ought to be looking a

Collapsed or split oil breather hose (PCV valve hose)?

On my previous Focus of similar age it was at the front of the engine
just beneath the exhaust manifold.

It probably looks like...
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/135047-mk6-breather-hose/

On my 2001 focus it could be removed and replaced without taking off
anything else but space is extremely limited and it was a PITA (pain in
the arse). One end of the hose is connected to the PCV (Positive
Crankcase Ventilation) valve which is a tight(ish) push fit into the
engine. On something 20 years old the inner of the rubber hose has
probably collapsed. If you can get your hand to it just squeeze the pipe
- you will find that it has no wall strength.

The PCV valve looks like
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322281854508
One end will be pushed onto the hose and the other end pushed into the
engine. If you cannot get the hose off pull the valve out.

.

[The Hanging Baskets of Babylon]

Post by alan_m

Post by The Hanging Baskets of Babylon
My old (2003) Fiesta 1.4 Zetec is normally very reliable, but has
recently developed an annoying problem.  Once it has warmed up, the
tickover comes down to its usual ~900rpm, but every few seconds seems
to almost stall, and then recover.  I say this is annoying because
while driving, it is much less likely to recover.  When coming to a
stop, or even just pressing the clutch to take it out of gear when
going very slowly, it will often stall, producing an embarrassing loss
of power steering and motion.  Does anyone have ideas of the sort of
things I ought to be looking a

Collapsed or split oil breather hose (PCV valve hose)?
On my previous Focus of similar age it was at the front of the engine
just beneath the exhaust manifold.
It probably looks like...
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/135047-mk6-breather-hose/
On my 2001 focus it could be removed and replaced without taking off
anything else but space is extremely limited and it was a PITA (pain in
the arse). One end of the hose is connected to the PCV (Positive
Crankcase Ventilation) valve which is a tight(ish) push fit into the
engine. On something 20 years old the inner of the rubber hose has
probably collapsed. If you can get your hand to it just squeeze the pipe
- you will find that it has no wall strength.
The PCV valve looks like
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322281854508
One end will be pushed onto the hose and the other end pushed into the
engine. If you cannot get the hose off pull the valve out.
.

Thanks, I'll take a look. This hose actually fell off about ten years
ago, and the tickover went very high until I pushed it back. I was
considering putting one of those oil mist 'catch cans' in while I'm in
that area. Do you suppose that is worth it?

[alan_m]

Post by The Hanging Baskets of Babylon
I was
considering putting one of those oil mist 'catch cans' in while I'm in
that area.  Do you suppose that is worth it?

on a 20 year old car? If this is the fault and the current hose has
lasted 10 or 20 years a new hose is likely to last just as long. I kept
a Ford focus running for 18 years but in the end it got to the stage
where the cost of repairs was much greater than the value of the car and
a repair in one area only resulted in a repair being required in another
area 6 months down line.

[The Hanging Baskets of Babylon]

 I was considering putting one of those oil mist 'catch cans' in while
I'm in that area.  Do you suppose that is worth it?

on a 20 year old car?  If this is the fault and the current hose has
lasted 10 or 20 years a new hose is likely to last just as long. I kept
a Ford focus running for 18 years but in the end it got to the stage
where the cost of repairs was much greater than the value of the car and
a repair in one area only resulted in a repair being required in another
area 6 months down line.

Well, I was just thinking if it would be worth putting a vapour trap in
the hose (the 'catch can' [not the best name, I guess] looks to me just
like a sort of bronze mesh in a jar) to keep oil mist out of the
combustion chamber, but I would need to cut the hose to insert it. I
put a camera down the plug holes a few years ago, and there's a lot (20
years' worth) of carbon in there. I don't want to take the head off and
scrape it off, but I'd be content to stop it getting any worse. Anyway,
I have the air filter box off for now - I'll need tomorrow's daylight to
do a proper inspection of the hose.

[RJH]

Post by alan_m

Post by The Hanging Baskets of Babylon
I was
considering putting one of those oil mist 'catch cans' in while I'm in
that area. Do you suppose that is worth it?

on a 20 year old car? If this is the fault and the current hose has
lasted 10 or 20 years a new hose is likely to last just as long. I kept
a Ford focus running for 18 years but in the end it got to the stage
where the cost of repairs was much greater than the value of the car and
a repair in one area only resulted in a repair being required in another
area 6 months down line.

I've heard similar of Fords - they seem to fall apart around the 10 year mark.

My last car - an Audi A3 - was 17 years old when I sold it, after 4 years
trouble free. Blowing exhaust aside it had no faults when I sold it.
Everything worked perfectly. Saw the new owner the other day. He had a new
clutch fitted as a precaution, nothing else to report except some cosmetic
rust after 2 years.

[alan_m]

Post by RJH
I've heard similar of Fords - they seem to fall apart around the 10 year mark.

I had trouble free motoring from my Ford Focus until the car was 16
years old. However there comes a time when you have to consider to start
putting money into repairs or buy something newer. In the subsequent 2
years I had the car I had some wear and tear repairs but the crunch
came when I had a fuel pump fail on the motorway and had to be rescued.
I had the pump replaced but decided that perhaps I was pushing my luck
with regular 200+ mile journeys. I traded it in for little money -
cheaper car to buy (at 1 year old) and worth very little at 18 years old.

I once had a Citroen ZX and that was a money pit with lots of things
breaking or falling apart at around 4 years old. First major expense was
the clutch release arm snapping. That car was scrapped at 11 years when
the gearbox exploded leaving lots of oil on the road :(

Post by RJH
My last car - an Audi A3 - was 17 years old when I sold it, after 4 years
trouble free. Blowing exhaust aside it had no faults when I sold it.
Everything worked perfectly. Saw the new owner the other day. He had a new
clutch fitted as a precaution, nothing else to report except some cosmetic
rust after 2 years.

That clutch and exhaust probably cost a lot more than my car was worth!

[The Hanging Baskets of Babylon]

 I was considering putting one of those oil mist 'catch cans' in while
I'm in that area.  Do you suppose that is worth it?

on a 20 year old car?  If this is the fault and the current hose has
lasted 10 or 20 years a new hose is likely to last just as long. I kept
a Ford focus running for 18 years but in the end it got to the stage
where the cost of repairs was much greater than the value of the car and
a repair in one area only resulted in a repair being required in another
area 6 months down line.

Well, I think that hose is okay (it still feels tough), although I'm not
sure how well retained the PCV is (it's very hard to reach - I'd need to
remove the throttle body to get a really good look). One thing I
noticed, though, is that the pipe going to the brake servo seems a bit
loose. I can't pull it all the way out - I guess it's the type of
connector that resists that, like a push-fit plumbing joint; but it can
certainly be waggled in and out a bit. I don't know if that is normal -
I've never looked at it before.

As to why I still keep the car going, it's what you'd call a 'runabout'.
We have another car, but just keep the Fiesta going for the occasional
time when we need to be in different places. It's only used about once a
wekk, so the mileage is very low for its age. Also, I've made the
mistake of getting attached to it. Plus, it just keeps going...