gazz28

hi is there anyone who can help me with a few probs on my escort here are the probs
1.rev meter says that the engine is revving at 3000 rpm but the engine isnt its at normal idle???
2.speedo needle is bouncing ? i dont know exactly if thats all it does as my dad was the one who picked the car up and said it was doing that
3.car is only managing to do a top speed of 50mph but bearing in mind it before i bought it had been sat for 6 month by the previous owner with out a turn of the engine

any ideas people

s1cab

iTrader: (1)

i think the coil can interfere with speedo not 100% tho ?

gazz28

would you think putting a new complete speedo and rev meter unit would be worth doing ?

SOO

gotta be worth a try mate,dont know bout the motor only doing 50 mph though,any missfires etc??

gazz28

no not missfireing im out of ideas really m8 i might try changin the speedo because it has done the usuall escort thing where numbers start to peel away but i would like to get to the bottom of why it is only managing 50

SOO

is it really flat??what engine is it?? has it had any belts done letely?? could be the timing out,as for the rev counter they do take a feed from the coil so if you have a coil there try it if not change the speedo cluster

gazz28

the engine isnt flat and i have no idea about it having any new belt and it is a 1297 hcs

gazz28

right guys i think there is something serioulsy wrong as i put a new speedo in from the scrappers and it worked well sought off and it works well speedo no idea but temp and fuel gauge nothing aparantely i have half a tank and i know only put enough for a quater in and the rev works is you wack it one and then some times goes off so any ideas faulty unit mabye well iam going to give it one more chance iam going to buy a speedo from a bonus you know the one with the clock on iam not botherd about the clock working but will it just swap over (top of range speedo to basic)

rsvmad1

temp gauge might be thermo, as for engine if its been left without a few fire ups, u defo need an oil change/filter, new sparkies an leads prob worthit looking at the dizzy, but probably worth buying a top end gasket set of ebay for 20notes aswell.
Change the head gasket, easy job an then u can have a look at the head see if its ok ie stem seals, valves etc.
Doing the head is easy im asuming urs is cvh like mine, well id never looked in an engine untill a few months back when i decided to do mine, all i did was ask people on here how to do it an trust me its easy, no more than a 3hour job for a bigginer. the only thing u do need is acces to a tourque wrentch(cvh`s need to be right an there very tight).

im sure that would sort the running side out but as for electrics i dont have a scooby doo there

if ya need any help with head gasket info jus giz a shout fella

gazz28

thanks mate i can do most of it at work as iam a mechanic but only an aprentice so your help wouldnt go a miss tbh and mine is the 1.3 hcs (1297) well any work is gonna be done after christmas now but first is to get it welded at work then i will do engine and have another crack at the speedo as it is just too cold outside lol

tabetha

1297 HCS is a push rod engine, nothing in common with CVH.
The speedo will be either the dial face has bent and is pressing against the needle, or the cable is dry, and it sticks then when gets wound up enough inside outer cable jarrs free spins really fast as it has to unwind, does this over and over again, hence neddle going up down, often if you just grease the inner cable, then run it through a rag in your hand to get excess grease off it will be fine afterwards.
Rev counter could also be the needle is jammed against the dial face, these lift around the centre and jam the needles very common, they are just a voltmetre really with a different face, and feed from negative side of coil, if the engine is nice and smooth the coil is ok.
Don't go taking the head off, do the basics first good service, check co, your lambda could be up the swanny.
The valve clearances will need doing they are atrocious for this sounding like a bag of nails!!
Just be aware that you cannot use the rule of 9 on these engines as the firting order is 1243, and not the more normal 1342, but still easy to do.
The lack of speed is only going to be something basic so don't worry too much, could be something really silly like a really stretched accelerator cable!!
tabetha

addiction

the speedo could also be the plastic drive in the box as these are prone to wear and quite an easy fix. also the cable is prone to wear into a round shape when it should be square shaped when it enters the back of the clock and also on the gearbox end.
there is a resistor near the coil which controls the rev clock and these are also prone to dying.
Tappets are prone to wear and should be checked.

gazz28

well if i was to get say a bonus or l speedo unit would it be a straight fit as iam not botherd about the clock working just as long as the speedo and temp - fuel gauge work and think i will give it a service at work

tabetha

There's no such thing as a resistor that controls the rev counter, it is for radio interference and in no way affects the rev counter.
tabetha

gazz28

well either way would the more basic speedo unit be a straight fit or is there any problems with wiring ??

tabetha

I can't see the loom being any different, although if anything it might need a pin position or two moving.
Never done it on these mk escorts, have on 3 and 2.
Best way is to look at the pin/wire colours on the different ones in scrappies, that's what I do.
tabetha

gazz28

do you know where there are any mk4 speedos then because ebay is fruitless and the scrappers near me had a mk4 but i had the speedo outta that

tabetha

Probably adtrader would be best, I will have a look in my scrappies next time I go there see if they have any.
You could always graft one in off another car though.
There was a brand new one on ebay, at silly money for a xr3i but would work ok.
tabetha