stembo21

iTrader: (1)

hi all am going to look at a sierra 2000e on tuesday what are the engines like? and what are they like on fuel

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

They are DOHC, should be fairly average i should think, they do have a fuel computer so you could look at that

Martin

stembo21

iTrader: (1)

thanks

Moonstone Steve.

iTrader: (2)

Arn't they 8 valve though.

Steve

Csm

yep 8 valve dohc

timing chain so check for rattle etc

stembo21

iTrader: (1)

i dint know that they are 8 valve lol al check, how har are zetec engines are to go in

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

Yes they are 8 valve as are all Sierras excluding the Cosworth, not bad engines really bearing in mind 2L Zetec is 130HP these are 125HP.

Plenty of twin cam non multi valve engines, the Lotus Cortina being one example.

Martin

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

i had a sierra with a dohc 2ltr in and it was good on fuel. It was a cracking engine. It wasnt the fastest car but wud do 130 mph ok. I fitted a decat pipe to mine n a cone air filter. It went better with these fitted.

iansoutham

Engines are okay is looked after. They can do as low as 22mpg round town, as high as 40mpg on a run. It all depends on the diff ratio. Most were a 3.6 ratio (to go with the autobox), although some were 3.92. 3000rpm @ 70mph means 3.92 and 2600-2700rpm means 3.6 ratio. Drum rear brakes gave you a push-in driveshaft fitment for the diff, discs and ABS gave you a bolt-on fitment the same as the 4x4 Cosworth models, although with the lower 3.92 ratio and normally without an LSD.

Timing chains can and do break, but they will be rattling a long time before that. I can give you a complete guide to changing the chain should you need it, and part numbers as applicable. IT costs around Ł150(ish) or less from ebay to do the job "properly", but can be done for less. When changing the chain, remove the oil pump as well (3 bolts) and make sure the pressure relief valve cap is tight as they have a habit of working loose and touching the side of the casing, causing a slight loss in oil pressure, and make sure that the side timing chain guide bolts have thread-lock on them when refitting as they can work loose and destroy an engine. If fitting a late side guide, you need the bolt to go with it as the guide is slightly thinner than the original.

Use a good 10w40 semi-synthetic oil, some will tell you to use 5w30, but it is too thin on most of these engines and will leak from most places. Cam covers are made of bakerlite and go porous and crack. There are only 4 available from Ford worldwide now, and are around Ł135 each. Even a new one can crack and go porous within the year.

The 2000e came with an autobox as standard, although manual was an option, along with ABS. The grey leather is unique to that car, along with the 3-spoke grey leather steering wheel. Replacements are about, but are not cheap by any means. The lower was painted @ the dealerships, so not every one had it, most did though. The bumpers were matched to the side and the whole lower side was a matt-finish compared to the top colours which were Flint Grey, Stratos Silver (pre 1990), Moondust Silver (post 1990) and Tasmin Blue.

They were also the only Sierra @ the time to come with air-conditioning I believe. Headlamp washers were also fitted, something else which was unique to this and possibly the Cosworth models. The a/c used R12 and early models had a separate fan on the front specifically for the a/c. Some late models may have had this deleted for the twin-fan setup only as used on late a/c equipped cars. If the a/c no longer works, then chances are that the gashas simply escaped over time. Changing the a/c seals (and if pre Jan 1990 the top a/c pipe with no filler cap for the revised one with the valve in the middle), removing the remaining oil in the a/c pump and fitting adaptors for R134a will be fine. The system may need to be topped-up every couple of years due to natural seepage though as the R134a is a slightly lighter gas.

Other than that and the fuel computer, they are pretty much the same as the Ghia model.

The early ones (pre 1990) had a locking fuel cap, non-adjustable steering column, black surround round the dash clocks and orange rear lights. The boot lock was a push-button as well. Post Jan 1990 models had grey dash surround, a fuel flap with non-locking cap inside, key-only boot lock, smoked rear lights, adjustable steering solumn and some real late ones had "anti-submarine seats" which basically meant an extra bar in the seat frame to stop you sliding forward if you hit the brakes hard.

The engine looms are different between pre and post Jan 1990 versions, but you will need to look to see the differences, mainly the a/c loom being in the car loom and the headlamp wipers being on the engine loom on pre 1990 models, but the other way round on later looms.

There is a lot more about them, but that should see you for now.

They are also eligible for classic insurance, all being 20 years old or more now. Someone like Peter D. James would be ideal. My other half pays Ł140 for her one fully comp, valued by the insurance company on agreed value @ Ł2,500.

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

Interesting as I thought the Ghia had head light washers as well? Yes the Cosworths do have this.

Also the instrumentation was changed on the fact lift models with subtle differences.

Martin

iansoutham

Early Ghia models did not have them if I remember correctly. The instrumentation and dash changed a lot in Jan 1990, different lower sections to accomodate the adjustable column, bigger glovebox, different radio panels, fuel gauge lost the litres marking in favour of simple 1/4 tank dashes, upper dash switch locations moved slightly. A whole lot of subtle differences, as you say.

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

Also the heater vents changed in that they were part of the dash and of different design, on pre fact lift they were detachable also I think the facelifts had a glove box in the drivers lower facia as well IIRC?

Martin

stembo21

iTrader: (1)

thanks for all the information

iansoutham

As I say, a lot of changes....

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

Haha, we should form our own Sierra quiz questions

Martin

iansoutham

We'd probably get lynched

Mike Kerbey

iTrader: (1)

The engines in them are great, My 2000e turned over 160,000 the other day, Im averaging 30mpg thats around town and motorway combined.

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

I would like one for an everyday car, there just so hard to find, I also like Zodiacs but the same applies to them

Martin

stembo21

iTrader: (1)

lets get some pics then

Rs Gary

it is strange how the 8 valve i4 engine with 125 bhp is said to be great when in a sierra but the 150 ps 16 valve i4 engine in a small escort is shit hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm am i missing something here lol,and the 2000e is a good car as i had one a few years ago and had no probs with it
cheeRS gary
AKA shrek

iansoutham

Here is some of my other halfs...

Before:








Now:










I have not got any of the custom-made seat trims in Mercedes grey leather, but I will try and dig them out for you. Engine was fully rebuilt, only original items were the block, pistons, rod and crank. Even the cylinder head was new.

iansoutham

One of the big problems with the RS2K is the management. Change that to aftermarket and you can instantly add 20bhp+. Also, the RS2K never really lived upto the hype associated with the RS tag.

Access to anything in the RS engine bay is a nightmare, heat gets to everything (ask any RS2k owner about start motors, alternators and charging looms). The top end is also lousy IMO. I know of someone who got a 2.3 bottom end from a Scorpio, fitted an 8V head on it with some cams and exhaust, on standard management (with a Powerchip) and made 170bhp. Afterwards, with Megasquirt (built and mapped by himself with no previous experience) made a smoother engine with quite likely even more power (it pulled better and quicker but never got a chance to put it back on the rollers to prove anything).

The original DOHC I4 engine in the Sierra and Granda was over-engineered as you would see if you saw the blueprints for it, yet the RS, Galaxy and Scorpio versions with the 16V head were never as good. They all used the Sierra bottom end (Sierra and Granada 8V pistons have cutouts for the 16V setup) but the cylinder head / inlet / exhaust was a bit rushed IMO.

tomoyb

iTrader: (3)

very economical engine for a 2.0l petrol,but they give no sign of wear before major let down,ive blown 2 up driving normal

Rs Gary

i am a mk5 rs2k owner lol so know what they are like and mine is standard with 160 bhp and 154 lb/ft.

iansoutham

The warning to listen for is the "death rattle" of the chain on startup or on overrun is listening for it. It can be easily missed, the same as the BOA and BOB 24V ones.

Generally, although Ford say the chains are "for life", I always recommend changing them @ 100k if used for motorways, 50k if used round town. Poor maintenance can technically halve these times though, especially if used round town as the oil never really gets up to temperature.

The 2000e in the pics above had done 80k when we got it and when I took the top cover off on a hunch, the top guide bolt was almost out and when we changed the chain, it had a lot of deflection in it. However, when my 4be timing chain snapped @52k because of a stone coming up off the road and going through the original bakerlite lower timing chain cover, we found that my one was not far from going either.

On the other hand, I know of a couple that have gone round the clock a couple of times and are still on the original chains as they do motorway miles all day and get a decent service every 5k or so.

iansoutham

You should know exactly what I mean then

The MK5 version always was the better of the later RS2000 models IMO, both on looks and accessibility (only just).

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Bloody hell Ian you know your stuff.Nice on bud.This is what passion ford is all about,helpful people.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

My old sierra had a 130,000 mile on it and it was still sweet as a nut.

Rs Gary

on the rs2000 web site we recomend you change the chain at 80k miles but 100k would be good,it is an easy thing to do,i did mine in a few hours in my garage and the timing is fool proof with the gold links(rs2k i4 engine dont know if its the same on the 8 valve engine)make sure the oil is changed and you should have no probs
cheeRS gary
AKA shrek

Icurus

Only ever seen flat top pistons in the admittedly few 16v I4 engines that I have re-built.

What hype did it have to live up to? It did more then Ford had planned for it by winning the F2 British rally championship, something that even took Ford by surprise!

Ford had a dilemma with the car in motorsport as it was looking to become quite competitive and steal some of the limelight from its more illustrious brother the Escort Cosworth, hell, on some tarmac stages the Maxi was faster then the Ecos, so they never pushed it.

Most I have seen from a 2.3, rs head, cams, exhaust, throttle bodies and Emerald is 220 bhp.

My own RS2000 has 180 plus another 50 shot from a WON progressive nitrous system

Mark_

chains can snap without warning as the tensioner takes up the slack.

the ones ive known to snap havent had a rattle

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Like i said mine had 130.000 miles on it and im sure it was still on the same timing chain.

Mike1

Not forgetting the XR4 x 4s though

Even some XR4is had it as an option ( very rare )

xr2 xr2 xr2

I know where there is a zephyr 4 sitting!! Looks ok too!

iansoutham

It is the rattle on startup you need to look for. Once oil pressure is there, the rattle will go.

iansoutham

Timing chain, etc.. is identical to the 8V.

iansoutham

This is from my 8V. As you can see, there are 4 small cutouts for the valves. Yet the 8V only has 2 valves per cylinder which are huge compared to those pockets.

Icurus

Sorry, did'nt mean that the pockets never existed, as you clearly show, just meant that I belive Ford phased them out as they where not required

iansoutham

No idea on that one TBH.

Icurus

Don't know why we are comparing sizes, we all clearly have a soft spot for the I4