ford starting problems help what broke?

The pitch is normally proportional to the cranking speed. Quickest check would be a compression test.

Setting fire to it would be more productive than Kwik Fit.

Sounds stupid I know, but have you tried starting it with the throttle pedal flat to the floor? My Mondeo started and choked out like you describe a few weeks ago and then turned over fairly fast without firing - cue sinking feeling of broken belt, but it wasn't and it subsequently fired up with a "hard" start.

Lee

Is it not possible to just look down the oil filler hole to see if the cam-shaft is turning on these engines?

That won't tell you if the timings out though.

hi chaps

i finally managed to tow it to a local garage, he said there is a problem with the engine possibly pistons or valves...

he said it would take a lot of work opening and finding out what it is exactly and i can just get a new engine instead!

not sure what to do, what do you guys think?

he said there is a

In other words the initial thoughts of cambelt were probably right.

Ian

cam belt is ok, but he doesnt know exactly what without opening the engine up

cam belt is ok, but he doesnt know exactly what without opening the engine up

the puma engine is another one where the cam sprockets are on tapers and the crank pulley has no key, so any one of them can move, if everything is not dead correctly fitted, the effect is the same as a broken belt, ie everything becomes mistimed, it is usually caused by improper replacement of the belt in the past.

Mrcheerful

how fixable is that?

im thinking it maybe due to low oil but could only check when it was cold so it would have been low anyway...

its been ok for the past 5 years belt wasn't replaced in that time

How old is the car and which engine? Whatever, I would recommend to check the cam timing. How frequently has the oil been changed and with what oil? The oil level would normally show as slightly higher when fully cold as all the oil would drain down.

Mrcheerful

97 1.7 zetec i assume the mechanic checked timing, ive hardly driven and oil hasnt been changed in that time, oil was 5w30 synthetic.

i asked a friend to check his oil when cold and it was also just at the tip...

It is due for a cambelt kit anyway, purely on a time basis. The oil should be changed every year. The oil should reach the right mark on the dipstick (within a fraction) whether hot or cold. If the oil only just touches the end of the dipstick then the oil is dangerously low.

Mrcheerful

ok thanks for that it looks like an engine replacement then

There seem to be a lot of Zetec engines on eBay atm (would a 2.0l litre one fit in the OP's car?). Don't know if this means that people sell them regardless of condition, or if they last a lot longer than the cars they were originally put in ;)