escort 95 fuel filter

Assuming petrol, Mr Haynes says it's either below, and to the rear of the engine, above the driveshafts, or alternatively under the car at the rear just forward of the rear suspension assembly.

Autodata variously says under vehicle near tank; that's where mine was on a '96 1.6.

Chris

Cheers Chris. Yup it's petrol. The car is very sluggish when driving under a load like going up a hill or when I accelerate hard. I've had this problem before on an old Honda and it was the standard in-line yellow paper filter that needed replaced. Although it's not the same kind of filter on the Escort it's still the same effects.

McK.

on an escort that is often the sign of a blocked cat.

Was the Honda fuel-injected?

Chris

Even more so.

These engines require genuine Ford plugs and leads at 40K miles. Cost is around 70UKP BUT failure to do so may kill the coil at an additional cost of 110UKP.

FWIW, your fault doesn't sound anything like a typical Zetec misfire, which is usually more noticeable when cold, and under lighter loads.

Chris

Convince me what the difference is between genuine Ford plugs and leads and reputable other types.

Cheers Chris. I went to kwik fit to get the plugs changed because I dont have the correct size plug socket. It's an odd problem because in all my years of driving and ficxing cars, whenever a missfire occurs then it doesnt go away by switching the engine off like whats happening on this Escort. Odd.

McK.

McKevvy gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Wouldn't it just be cheaper and easier to buy the socket?

the ecu may have a 'limp home' mode that would be reset upon restarting. Limp home is triggered when certain faults are detected, hopefully to reduce the chance of further damage.

It is easy to mess up plug and lead fitting on these, I have found the best overall results from using the ford platinum tipped plugs. The genuine leads are much better quality and break down much later in life compared to cheap ones. You can now get oem coils at most car shops. The consequence of not fixing spark faults on these is eventual ecu failure (not common, but it does happen)

I doubt that I can.

However, I've owned Zetec engined cars for 16 years, and I've also maintained others. Ford plugs and leads will always last for the recommended change interval of 40K, and maybe longer. Other might work fine if you change them at half that mileage, but firstly that is not cost effective, and secondly, if a misfire develops you may cause coil damage, costing you another 100UKP +.

My Son bought an Escort that soon developed a misfire. It was weekend, so I grabbed plugs and leads from Halfords. They were Bosch ones. 30K miles later, it was misfiring again...

The Focus I bought 18 months ago had a very slight misfire when I test drove it. I factored in to the price I paid the cost of plugs, leads and a coil, whilst hoping to not need the coil. Sadly I ended up replacing them all.

There is a host of anecdotal evidence of the wisdom of using genuine items, and as I have pointed out, unless you are intending to get rid of the car soon, it's actually cheaper overall to use the right bits.

Chris

The type you refer from Ford have a wire wound centre cord and better insulation - but this type is also available with Magnecore cable.

I make my own cables from this in either 7mm or 8mm depending on the ignition type, never had a problem except when I botch a crimp.

Not sure too many folk would want to do that; I can't imagine that it's particularly cost effective either.

In what vehicle?

If it's Zetec-engined, that's a poor choice.

Chris

No because I'm not 100% sure that it's a misfire due to plugs/leads. I went to a garage [that I trust] today and the mechanic will plug in the diagnostic gear sometime this week coming. He did explain about the cold start valve sometimes becoming jammed (as happened on my 4x4 a few years back) or becoming sticky. I also told him that the engine temp gauge wasn't working correctly and then he told me that that might be the cause. The temp unit will be telling the Engine Management that the engine is cold while the actual temperature is a lot warmer. This makes sense because the misfire is only happening before the engine has reached its full working temp. This was proved again today after a long journey where there was no problem when it was fully warmed up. Here's hoping.

McK,

You can buy lead sets as well BTW

That says absolutely nothing as to why the Magnecor leads are inferior to the ford leads.

I can't give you a technical reason; your statement:

"Convince me what the difference is between genuine Ford plugs and leads and reputable other types."

leads me to think that you would not be convinced in any case.

OTOH, I have an open mind, and from my years of experience with vehicles using the Zetec engine, information I've gained from trade contacts, and the accumulated knowledge gleaned from the experience of folk here, make me believe that it only makes sense to use genuine plugs and leads on the engines.

Chris

Unfortunately, the Ford supplied plugs for my Focus 1.6 Zetec-SE were made by Bosch. They also had the Ford part number on them too.

What makes them a poor choice ?

David

"Ford supplied"?

Do you mean they were in the car when you bought it, or were they supplied from a dealer's service department?

Possibly nothing; it's just that the Ford ones are pretty much guaranteed to last the distance with minimal risk of coil damage.

Others *may* do so, (but don't IME) so why take the risk when the correct ones don't work out significantly more expensive?

Chris

They were bought from the Ford main dealer parts dept. They have Ford part numbers on then in 'ink', and the Bosch logo stamped into the metal body.