OK, so I do have a DE engine - bloody thing.
It's due its cambelts soon - I've had the current ones checked and they are showing no signs of damage or wear that's obvious to the naked eye, so I'll change them in 5000 miles.
Is there anything available to change this to camchains? I don't mind paying a little more or if its an unofficial mod...
Why would you trust an eye wearing no clothes to determine whether the condition of your cambelts is satisfactory? If they're cracked, it's much more likely to be on the inside, where you can't see as they're under tension, as the outside is constantly smoother by the roller bearings. If they've passed the 30,000 mile mark since last being changed, then change them now!
Why on earth would you want to do this? It's a crap engine to start with. The only decent 1.8D engine Ford made was up to around 92-93 before they started loading them with emissions restricting garbage, and making them absolutely gutless, and nowhere as near as economical as they used to be. Since then they've gone downhill. The Endura-DI is a *much* better design - I had a 00/W Fiesta 1.8TD van with that engine, and with 135k on the clock it felt infinitely tighter (in terms of suspension knackerage) and more refined than some 1.8D (Endura-DE) Mk4 Fiesta vans I was also driving at the time.
No, not at *exactly* the same time, silly, I've only got one pair of arms and legs.
But anyway, the Endura-DI is a reasonable little engine, and has the advantage of the water pump being not driven by the cambelt, so one less weak link that can potentially cause the belt to get chewed up. And it's reasonably economical - I was averaging around 53mpg in mine, though on a long-ish run at around 60-65mph, with a bit of gentle country road driving, it saw abour 63mpg once.
But I'd say that if you want a decent diesel lump in a small car, go either PSA (Pug/Cit) or VAG. The VAG TDIs are *much* better on fuel at higher speeds (a long journey at 95mph in my Fiesta saw the economy dropping just below 40mpg, whereas a Seat Ibiza TDI 90bhp I had would do around 50-53mpg on a similar journey). The French old-skool TDs are good, but not as good on fuel as the VAG ones, though the HDIs are pretty decent. Go VAG though, you won't look back. Try an Ibiza TDI and you'll be *very* impressed with the driveability of it.
I think not.
I have an Escort 99/v with a DE engine. It's a nice little engine, and I hapen to like the car. I'd just like to avoid the potential of cambelt failure by replacing the belts with something better.
Doe the DI engine drop into the DE mounts? If so I might get a recon DI and drop it in sometime in the future.
In fairness, from what I've heard, the Mk7 Escort (or whatever it's called, some say Mk6, some say Mk7) isn't a bad car to drive, but the engine really is nowhere near as good as others on the market. A late Mk3 Golf TDI could be got for what your Escort's worth, and is a much better car. But at the end of the day, if you're happy with it then that's the main thing.
I don't know, but it might be worth looking into. If you do get a recon DI, just make sure the oil cooler's been replaced - a known weak point on those - and if it ever exhibits blown head gasket symptoms, there's a strong chance it isn't, and it's just a crack across the oil cooler ports - get the oil cooler replaced (£120 for the part, not sure how much labour's involved) and just get the coolant thoroughly flushed several times.
If you are thinking of upgrading the engine to chains, remember that the tensioners are the crucial bit - a lot of chain tensioners are oil pressure driven, and it is probably way too complex to even consider. Just budget for doing the belts every 30k and it should be reliable enough. Then keep the Escort for years and years and spend your money on the finer things in life.
Oh I know that - I checked the tensioners too, they are dated 2003 and are metal, so they are the newer ones...
Car is at 131k now, and the belts were done at 85k according to the paperwork. I'm looking at changing the belts at 135k, with a full service due 5k later, and then new belts at 180, 220, 280, 320 with every other service as a full.
That should keep the engine healthy enough to run forever, and since I like the car and can fix it with a dog-bone spanner and a blunt screwdriver...
Are you doing the belts every 50k, 45k, 40k or 60k, because from that last sentence it seems you can't make up your mind!!
I don't know enough about the earlier/later tensioners to offer proper advice (most of my "advice" is just opinions, bullshit and guesswork, as you may have worked out...) but if they're an improved + modified design then they'd probably be safer for a bit more than 30k, but personally I wouldn't trust them to last any more than 40k.
Aye, a car that's cheap to run and will run forever is worth hanging on to. What sort of mpg do you average, out of interest?
I was planning on running my Fiesta TDi (1.8TD DI it's technically called, but I think TDi sounds better) up to at least 200-250k, and it was running very healthily at 135k, and had that bloody oil cooler not packed up I reckon it would easily have made it.
I came down from Fife to Hampshire on a single tank in a 10 hour run with stops.
A 55 litre tank gives me about 500 miles to the warning light on average, so about 45 mpg in normal service.
I wouldn't call it 'cheap' at the pump, but I see the pump only 20 times between services, and a short service is £80, a full is £120.
I'll be doing them about every 40-45k: Ford says 45k for severe conditions, and 70k for normal service. Most of it's miles are motorway or cruising.
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