Too many failures on 93 Mk3 fiesta?

Thats sickening!!! I've done similar miles in a modifed citroen axgt (128bhp instead of the usual 85bhp). I haven't had to change any suspension componant ... even though i do play with the car (wheel spinning through 1st/2nd/3rd). I know the ax is a lot lighter than the modern fiesta .... and some of the ax componants are used on the much larger citroen xantia, but having those suspension componants fail so soon is a joke!!! What a good reason to change your car for something non-ford!! I dare say the ladas of 20 years ago were built to last better than the modern ford!!! (Didn't they design them to cope with the decrepid russian roads??)

It's a Ford. What did you expect?

HTH.

This is why I no longer recommend Fords. I am getting 3 year old fiestas in for first MoT, one lady driver with less than 30,000 on the clock that need

600 pounds worth of repairs to get through the first MoT, that is ridiculous, and it is not isolated incidents either, escort are only a touch better. I won't work on Mondeos any longer because they are such crap. None of my customers have kept focuses for more than a few months as they are so awful. Fusions are too new to have got to me yet. Scorpios are dreadful, older granada mk111 are not too sad, mk11 grannys were fine cars, sierras were fine, cortinas ok except for rot, early fiesta and escort were little trouble. I steer cheaper end customers onto bread and butter cars like astras, if they want bigger , better then toyota or lexus, honda, or nissan are ok too. Rovers are rubbish, everything french is a pile of poo when a little old, italian rattle and rot boxes with all their electric problems, then of course there are all the real rubbish things like hyundai, daewoo etc. Audi, vw are generally ok, I don't get to see any mercs or bmws nowadays, but they were ok.

mrcheerful

THe UJ seizing is through lack of use. All of those listed are about the right mileage for failure. THe UJs have actually taken ALOT OF BEATING because you're doing in town stuff so it encounters speedbumps etc more.

The fact you're doing short car miles means you're actually going to be wearing it out FASTER than one that does long runs. Faced with two cars, one thats done nothing but town trips and has 40,000 on the clock and one thats done motorway miles with 80,000 on the clock, I'd go for the high miler.

sounds like you have been unlucky to find a bad testing station.

Bill

The steering uj he is referring to is not the drive shaft uj (which are pretty good, life wise), but the steering column UJ, something like that ought to be a 100,000 mile item, not 20 or 30 k

mrcheerful

Actually Bill, I use the same testing station and tester and stay with him throughout the test for 20 or more tests. We have built up a useful trust in that I agree to replace things and he does not insist on a retest which saves everyones time. All items I've mentioned are genuine failures I that I would agree with.

Bob

Yes it is a 100,000 mile item on a car which hasn't spent most of its life in town. Its like my missuses BMW. Its on 184,000 but runs as sweet as a nut on 0W/30 because its been a motorway hauler. Now compare that to someone I know who needed a full bottom end rebuild on a Clio at just over 40,000 because all it does is pootle around town.

No, they don't last however you drive on a fiesta, this uj fails regularly after 15k or so, they may last as long as 30k, but not commonly.

mrcheerful

It seems as if my sister has been extremely lucky. She has had exactly the same model, which has now done just over 50,000. Apart from tyres / exhaust and the odd set of plugs... it gets serviced just once a year by me.. It's had one split CV boot replaced and a replacement rear brake cylinder, when the garage cleaned up the shoes and they've been OK since. Oh, and she won it in a raffle ! Cheap motoring or what !

E-mail address, hopefully self-explanatory Andy Pandy

Well, there is always an exception :) Next time you service it , undo the steering uj (it is very easy) and check it for stiffness/notchiness, if there is any, replace it. It is like driving a different car after replacing a bad one!! Also have a close look at front suspension arm bushes for splitting, also brake disks for actual thickness (measure them) and distortion (does it shudder under hard braking) If it has got to that mileage without needing these bits then it is the first I have heard of !!!

mrcheerful

I have to confess I lied ! :-( I DID change the discs and pads at the last service.. I got a bit carried away ! I will definitely check the steering uj as you suggest. It does of course get MOT just after I do it.

Andy

E-mail address, hopefully self-explanatory Andy Pandy

Unfortunately, the mot does not usually find the steering fault. The MoT concentrates on looking for play, as the uj seizes is becomes stiff and loses all play, so none shows when the wheel is wiggled, it is usually only noticed when it is so solid that the car doesn't self striaghten up or you notice the steering is lumpy when turning quickly. By the time it is this bad it can be quite dangerous.

mrcheerful