Good evening,

I have purchased a VERY cheap '95 fiesta off a lady neighbour who said her engine just seized. I pounced at the opportunity to acquire a cheap motor as I was itching to learn and I do not regret the decision because for a few quid I gained hands on experience and a lot of time has been spent reading guides then implementing what I have learnt. Anyway, I won't bother you any further with the backstory.

The point is, I have a '95 Fiesta with a 1.25l Zetec 16v. After topping up with oil and letting the engine run for a while (it wasn't seized - the started motor was a little reluctant to turn) a quite knocking noise developed. The noise sounded like a conrod bearing had gone when compared to a few videos on youtube.

I dived in and after making a few timing marks I took the head off to investigate! Upon close inspection I have found the culprit. Cylinder 4 appears to be coming up a little too far and just touching the valves and let me be clear, JUST touching. The marks were too faint and the very little damage made me thing that the piston is coming up too high and it wasn't due to the valves being loose or anything. So, the piston coming up too high must be due to the conrod bearings being destroyed and thus allowing the piston to come that extra mm or so.

Took the sump off earlier today... took off the bottom bit of the conrod (the name escapes me) and slipped out the bearings. These bad boys were rather damaged and the guide lip on the end was completely gone on the bottom half. (can upload pics if you desire)

Now, I am at a point where I can put the car together again and sell it to the scrap man and get my money back. I am exploring the option of purchasing a conrod set and replacing the bearings. Then replacing the head gasket and other seals to auction off on ebay with no MOT or tax.

I would like to hear people's opinions, get any advice on what is the best way to proceed? Do I sell to the scrappy? Do I invest approx. £70 and hope that fixes the knocking?

Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks!

 

you cant just replace the bearings! if its been knocking i would be 100% certain the crankshaft will need a grind have you measured the crankshaft?

the 1.25 engine dosent have timing marks. if you have painted your own then removed the pullies/ crankshaft pullie the marks will be made redundant. as they do not use woodruff keys they have a flat plate that locks into the back of the cams and a pin thats inserted into the crankshaft

 

Clarke, I can NOT believe I marked the cam pulleys and then took them off! I thought I was fairly smart but proved wrong. Feel rather stupid now...

Now with that fail aside, why would the crank need grinding?
Can I get some tips for getting the timing right?

Thanks guys

 

just bin the engine and get anther one you can pick them up cheap as chips.

dont pay anything more than £100 (i sold one for £40 and thats all there worth)

 

As above new engine will cost next to nothing.

Not a hard job to change either.

 

Change the engine, Mot the car and keep it. A good learning experience though and thats what it's all about!

 

Just so you know the bottom end of these engines cannot be rebuilt, something to do with the "Ladder" style of the crankshaft or something.

So your best bet will be to get another engine, as said.

Martin