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M1Tch's Fiesta Mk6 1.4 Tdci Daily Project


m1tch
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Hi all,

I have decided to start a project thread for my mk6 Fiesta 1.4 TDCi, I am picking it up next Saturday but am really looking forward to getting it. I do a lot of motorway miles and was looking for a slightly newer car to replace my Renault Clio 1.5DCi (80). I was looking at the 1.6TDCi but unless the engine is perfectly serviced it can have issues with the oil feed and turbo. Whereas the 1.4TDCi seems to be a pretty good engine but can have issues with leaking injector seals - these seals cost 22p each.

The car I am picking up is a 56 plate Zetec Climate model, its on around 100k miles and is in very good condition. It has had a new battery and alternator and the garage has already replaced all of the injector seals and done a full service. It seems that the previous owner might have had starting issues but didn't know about the injector seal issues and sold the car when it became hard to start.

This project is basically looking to do a few subtle tweaks to improve the drivability and also the MPG, this will mainly be done through better throttle response. As an example using my Clio, the car is averaging around 73mpg and has been as high as 84mpg. The only mods I have done on the Clio were a few mods on the airbox and giving the car a good service.

I have already declared both intake and exhaust modifications on my insurance for the car, I plan to get a baseline of how good the car is when its stock, then do a few mods to see what the difference is over time.

I have found that on the previous cars I have worked on there is usually a restrictive intake snorkel which goes into the airbox. The pipe usually is quite narrow and usually feeds into the front wing on next to the hot radiator (not sure 100% what the stock setup is like on the Fiesta). I know that removing this pipe usually gives a good improvement in throttle response and even with a paper air filter there is usually an increase in induction noise.

The tweaks I am planning to on the car will be simple and will hopefully give the engine a bit of a boost in throttle response and fuel economy. Here are the plans for the car initially:

Intake - check to see how the OEM box is setup and trial different configurations

Exhaust - Look to replace the rear backbox with a free-er flowing one (and less sooted up!)

EGR blanking - To ensure that the intake remains clean and efficient

1_zpsloforlaa.jpg

Please note that this is my daily drive car, I have another project car that is for all out power - Mercedes E300 Turbodiesel with the OM606 3 litre straight 6 engine - looking to run around 400bhp and 1,000ft/lbs torque in that car - the Fiesta will be fun to tweak though.

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I look forward to watching updates on the thread mate

Thanks, I am looking forward to doing a few simple changes to the car, main thing is to let the engine breathe properly so that it works as efficiently as possible. Might look to fit a small intercooler on as well and I believe there might also be a restriction in the turbo to manifold pipe so will look to remove and restrictions like that.

Hopefully this thread will allow others to improve their cars but doing a few simple things without needing to do anything major to the engine. I will be interested to see the difference in running the stock airbox with a few tweaks such as the air snorkel removal etc.

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Thanks, I am looking forward to doing a few simple changes to the car, main thing is to let the engine breathe properly so that it works as efficiently as possible. Might look to fit a small intercooler on as well and I believe there might also be a restriction in the turbo to manifold pipe so will look to remove and restrictions like that.

Hopefully this thread will allow others to improve their cars but doing a few simple things without needing to do anything major to the engine. I will be interested to see the difference in running the stock airbox with a few tweaks such as the air snorkel removal etc.

First thing;

The 1.4TDCI also has issues with blocked oil feeds.

If you remove that "restrictive" snorkel and don't replace it with anything you'll suffer severe heatsoak issues

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First thing;

The 1.4TDCI also has issues with blocked oil feeds.

The blocking of oil feeds;

Is this possibly due to the Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve contaminating the oil with carbon and clogging the feeds?

If yes then I recommend following process to be performed after blanking the egr valve.

After blanking you should use wynne's engine flush along with some cheap 5W30 oil Halfords brand or somthing.

link: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?storeId=10001&productId=157187&srch=wynnes+engine+flush+&categoryId=255221&langId=-1&catalogId=10151

I'd drain existing oil,

Fill to specific level with cheap 5W30 oil,

Run engine to operating temperature,

Pour in wynne's engine flush,

Run engine at specified rev for specified time.

Drain out oil from sump,

With sump open; pour in 500ml of Castrol 5W30 to flush sump.

fit sump plug with new copper washer.

Fill to specific level with Castrol 5W30

Engine should idle quieter aswell as run smoother.

IMG_20140511_101952_zpsil9btlc_edit_1399

IMG_20140511_101944_zpszauv4ri_edit_1399

IMG_20140511_102028_zpsmhzskfr_edit_1399

IMG_20140511_102031_zpsq6ociip_edit_1399

Wynne's engine flush is ideal for heavy contamination within the engine because wynne's is quite viscous like petrol in terms of ease of movement liquid,

It will strip carbon caked on parts breaking down it's structure.

However after blanking the egr valve and removing the heavy carbon in my own engine using wynne's ethengine flush, the carbon doesn't get in to oil after blanking the egr valve it goes out the exhaust as hydro carbon diluted with increased air flow from induction.

I have moved on to use Xado TotalFlush because it's less abrasive on oil changes, contains ceramic properties which helps prevent wear of parts,

It's liquid structure is slightly thicker than wynne's engine flush which is why I recommend using wynne's for initial carbon removal

Link: http://www.xadoireland.ie/miscellaneous/atomex-totalflush

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IMG_20150818_101215_zpsdxoyfbr6_edit_143

IMG_20150818_101233_zpsel0vsuum_edit_143

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With regards to heatsoak issues and the OEM snorkel setup I will need to check to see how its currently setup. Previously I have found on my Mercedes is that it has a standard 3" MAF fitted to a HUGE airbox which had a 3" inlet, this was then connected to a 3" pipe going to the front. At the front there was a small rectangular 1" wide vent which was actually being blocked by the bonnet when closed. I will have a look at the setup the car current has and see where it could be improved - there might not be any gains or changes with or without the snorkel so I will do some tests. The good news for this engine is that the hot exhaust and turbo are at the front of the engine away from the airbox, This could also mean that I can simply have a straight shot intake into the turbo and perhaps position a feed behind the passenger headlight - eg filter > MAF > connector > turbo. Its something I will try out,

I also need to find out what the MAF does on this car, on some diesel cars it does adjust fueling slightly, whereas I know on my Mercedes its just used to check the EGR is working - the ECU checks for a change in airflow when the EGR is open.

Also, due to the use of my car for commuting the hotter air would be less dense which means that less fuel would be injected (guessing the engine has a MAP and air intake temp sensor somewhere). I will need to check the setup of this engine a bit more vs other cars I have had as most of them had intercoolers meaning that even if the air was slightly warm its still going to be much hotter when compressed by the turbo!

With regards to oil and oil flushing, I believe it is indeed the build up of soot in the oil which then clogs up the oil passages and oil feed lines. I will be looking to do one of those oil flushes soon - the car will have been serviced when I pick it up next weekend but will do an oil flush in the summer after 10k miles. I will fit the EGR blanking plate soon after I get the car though, or indeed just unplug the EGR, it will probably throw a fault but the turbo is wastegate controlled so the ECU can't force a drop in boost (as the Mercedes does).

I have some basic STP oil flush stuff which I will use on the next service, I will then look to other additives or flushes in subsequent oil changes if I feel its needed. I think once I get the EGR blocked off it should clean up the engine no end and will probably remove the intake manifold at some point next year to give everything a clean and check.

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Just had a look around with regards to the intake, found this for the mk7 but you get the idea regarding a 'straight shot' intake setup.

maxresdefault.jpg

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Just had a look around with regards to the intake, found this for the mk7 but you get the idea regarding a 'straight shot' intake setup.

maxresdefault.jpg

See that setup uses a heat shield so shouldn't suffer from heatsoak

The 1.4 & 1.6tdci can be mapped very successfully.

I know the 1.4 can be taken to 110bhp easily on the factory turbo :)

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

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See that setup uses a heat shield so shouldn't suffer from heatsoak

The 1.4 & 1.6tdci can be mapped very successfully.

I know the 1.4 can be taken to 110bhp easily on the factory turbo :)

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Indeed, I will check out the setup under the bonnet with regards to space for the air filter, I know the battery is over that side as well so space might be an issue - will scope everything out when I get the car next weekend.

With regards to the tuning, indeed I have read that it can be tuned quite well, main issue on this engine would be the lack of intercooler but that shouldn't be too hard to fit, will leave it with the stock setup to start with and just change a few simple bits first to see what difference it makes - keeping the stock boost should also keep intake temps down. To be honest I am not really worried about top end power, just looking for the low down torque for drive ability.

The 'tdci' box between the turbo and the inlet is a sound resonator it seems but will check to see what its like for flow - should hopefully be able to change it for a straight piece of pipe or hose.

I will keep this thread updated as much as I can as I go through the process - will perhaps do 1 mod a week and then drive it for the whole week to see what the fuel efficiency is like - it has 73mpg to beat!

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I should be collecting my car tomorrow - quite excited! The spare blank key has arrived so I will get that cut and programmed asap, and the EGR blanking plate has also arrived and I will fit that at some point soonish but I know its a bit of a faff to get to!

Anyway, the plans with regards to the intake, I will be doing that in stages to see what the difference is between the different combos (I have already declared on my insurance that there will be intake mods).

Week 1 - 100% stock

Week 2 - Removed snorkel

Week 3 - Probably a mix between stock and partly removed items (not sure what size the inlet is on the air feed pipe)

Week 4 - Probably replacing the OEM setup with an induction kit

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I have just picked up the car - quite impressed with it so far, think first thing on the list is the cambelt and waterpump change - car is on 106k miles but not sure if its been done yet. Anyway, here are a few first impressions, I am also basing some of my findings on what my Clio has as well which is worth half as much and is 5 years older.

Pros:

Cabin noise is pretty good, its quite quiet

Power delivery is good, around town its nippy, on the motorway its not too bad either

Good gearshift

Heating system is good, seals retain the heat well

Good customisation in the advanced menu within the dash - eg hazards flashing under heavy braking, doors to unlock when using the fob, number of minimum flashes when indicating etc.

Cons:

No auto headlights

No auto wipers

Missing foot rest to the left of the clutch (keep bumping my foot against the side as I am expecting somewhere to put my foot when not needing the clutch)

Wing mirrors fairly small but still usable

One thing I did find is that the car can out corner the seat - eg the seats side bolsters aren't large enough to cope with the grip the chassis can give.

Another thing to note is to do with the power delivery, it does accelerate quite well but as everything fairly quiet and there isn't any turbo boost build it doesn't feel like its accelerating (but it is).

Things to sort:

Cambelt + waterpump kit

Flat wipers

Fan misting type washer nozzles

LED sidelights + number plate lights

Touch up a few marks on the front bumper

Replace fuse for the 12v socket

EGR blank at some point

The garage did a complete oil and filter change (air, oil and fuel) and I can see its running quite well, think it averaged mid 60mpg on the way home, although this is a 15mpg drop from the 80 bhp Clio.

One thing I do want to mention is that there is an intake snorkel, it feeds are in coming from the passenger side headlight - well the intake is pointed at the headlight, its facing sideways rather than forward. There also seem to be perforations in the pipe part way up near to the engine so the intake will also be sucking hot air from around the engine and turbo area, I did disconnect the hose to just see if it made as much difference as the Clio as a trial. There was a slight change in performance but not a huge amount, I have a feeling the fact that the air has to go into the airbox then double back on its selt into the turbo, then loop round into the intake is what might be causing the issues. I will investigate further after this week (plus after I have got the service items done).

All in all, the car is pretty good, few things that I will miss, main thing is the lack of a foot rest to the left of the clutch but I will get used to it I guess, have also noticed that the clutch pedal isn't 100% solid but I believe this is a common issue.

Will post up photos soon, I did take some photos of the intake to show that I mean about the placement and feed.

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Here are a few initial photos of my car, need to get the cambelt and aux belt done soon - the garage has stated that they offer a 6 month warranty on the car (parts and labour) - will be checking tomorrow to see if the belt/cambelt is covered by this.

Anyway, here is the engine, you can see the airbox feed pipe to the right of the turbo pipe, it looks like there is a front feed from behind the grill (will check):

IMG_20151121_144708_zps9poq6vbc.jpg

You can see that the pipe ends pointing towards the passenger headlight, pipe inlet size seems to be around 6 inches by 2 inches.

IMG_20151121_144720_zpsrkoe1vy3.jpg

You can also see further up intake pipe there are additional vents which suck in hot air from next to the engine:

IMG_20151121_144714_zpstqcqgfkw.jpg

I can see that there is a sensor in the inlet pipe, will need to use this when fitting a 'straight shot' intake, will drive the car 100% stock this week and see what the MPG is like.

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As how cute is the turbo

good quality battery there too BOSCH S4

I know lol its so so small, I have checked the turbo play and it seems pretty solid so should last a while. I had a Bosch S4 in the last few cars I have had, cannot fault them, really good cold cranking amps. It seems odd to me that the car doesn't have glow plugs (unless it does but you don't need to wait), but the engine seems pretty good, only use Shell fuel which should also clear out anything.

The main issue I have is the cambelt and aux belt, I believe they are original @ 106k miles, the aux belt looks slightly cracked and the tensioner pulley was making a bit of noise on idle. Will be checking with the garage to see if those are covered as I want to get those done (along with the water pump etc) asap.

I have LED Bulbs coming for the number plate, one thing I will be looking to do is to sort out the headlight bulbs, the high beam seems fine but the dipped beam really isn't throwing much light and it cuts off quite close in front of the car. I have checked the headlight adjustment and its currently at '0' which was the correct setting for my previous car for an unloaded car.

I have also noticed that the front grill comes out easily, I will be painting the plastic chrome strip black - there isn't any chrome anywhere else on the car as its all colour coded or black plastic.

Not too bad so far though, quite happy with the car at the moment :)

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Timing belt kit ordered and will be fitted this Friday, 106k on original belts isn't ideal! What were Ford thinking to have such a long service interval on rubber based belts!

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The Ford service schedule for your car says 150k/10 years for both belts! Crazy

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The Ford service schedule for your car says 150k/10 years for both belts! Crazy

I know! I have now stopped driving the car and will be getting the cambelt, tensionors, water pump and aux belt sorted on Friday. Will be going for a 75k miles timing belt change on it moving forward, once I realised it had the original belts on it I got very worried!

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Looks like I might have a bad tyre valve/slow leak or indeed a damaged alloy as one of the wheels/tyres has dropped 15psi in 4 days - will be going back to the original garage on Saturday with a few other bits to be done under warrantee, tomorrow I am getting the cambelt/waterpump/tensionors and aux belt swapped out - 106k miles is enough I think!

I have also replaced the 15amp fuse for the 12v socket so that's back up and running, there are a few other things to sort.

I have also noticed that the front facing air intake behind the front grill doesn't actually go into the snorkel - will be looking to perhaps mod that to use it as a better intake.

My LED Bulbs have arrived for the numberplate light replacements - will be fitting those when I get some more light.

The flat Wiper Blades have arrived and they are much better than the ones on there - clear the screen really well and quite happy with them.

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I'd the aero Wiper Blades are cheap eBay ones, bin them. They'll ruin your windscreen. I did that on the old car

I now use Bosch aero and nothing less

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I'd the aero wiper blades are cheap eBay ones, bin them. They'll ruin your windscreen. I did that on the old car

I now use Bosch aero and nothing less

I will keep an eye on them, didn't have an issue with them on my last car but thanks for the heads up, they are better than the ones they replaced put it that way!

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RIght, I have got the car back from having the cambelt and aux belt done, they have also added some beadseal to one of the alloys, I have a feeling I might need to get that replaced, they seem to only be around £130 new so not too bad.

Anyway, I have given the car a small clean and fitted the rear LED numberplate lights, although not 100% dark yet I can see that they are much better and seem to lift the whole back end of the car and make it seem more modern. I will take some photos soon, I have taken a few phone photos initially, my good camera is elsewhere.

I have also done a few checks on various combos with regards to the intake setup, here is what I have found:

  • The intake snorkel has a 90 degree bend towards the back of the passenger headlight
  • The front air intake behind the grill is 80% blocked by the intake snorkel piece
  • The end of the intake is 2" diameter - the whole engine has to breathe through this 2" pipe even though the airbox is quite large!
  • Removing this snorkel seems to give a bit of an improvement with regards to throttle response and a bit of mid range

I then thought I would look at the airbox itself, the paper filter is 100% brand new, for this very short test up and down the road I removed the air filter.

I found that the pickup was better, I then removed the intake snorkel again and could see that the throttle response and overally 'revviness' of the engine was better. Don't worry I have put it all back together but I just wanted to pin down where some of the flow could be improved.

Looking at the structure below the filter I can see there are a few struts to ensure that the airbox doesn't collapse but there doesn't seem to be that much space in the top of the airbox for the air to actually go.

One thing I did notice is that when removing more and more of the intake, the improvements came from allowing the turbo to get the air it needs to then compress it into the engine.

With the injectors at stock fueling, the additional air and boost level would push the ECU fueling map slightly higher - eg the engine can sense the boost and the mass of the air and basically move the fueling slightly higher to mix with the additional air. As with diesel tuning, more fuel means more power.

I therefore believe that there could be improvements in the following areas:

  • Better flowing bigger airbox - the turbo actually has air to compress
  • Less restrictive backbox - the turbo spools up much quicker
  • Adjust the actuator - ensure that the actuator is correctly adjusted to remove any slack over the years of use
  • EGR blockoff - no hotter air being added and no possible boost leak through the valve if not 100% perfect

I was quite impressed with the performance difference with running with no air filter - I will perhaps look into how you could mod this to allow for better flow post filter, perhaps adding in a spacer to allow for air to flow through the filter and then into the turbo inlet pipe.

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I have been driving the car for a week or so now, running stock and basically 95% motorway driving at 60-70 the MPG is around 55 ish by looking at the MPG calculator on board - but will work it out correctly when I fill up next. This is slightly dissapointing as I have been used to mid 70 mpg with a more powerful older engine in the Clio (1.5 DCi 80).

I might look to tweek the air filter this weekend by removing the intake snorkel, however I have a feeling that the airbox itself is partly restrictive due to the fact that the air comes in from the bottom of the box (plenty of space) but the top of the airbox is quite small.

I will work through some options to try out, driving the car on the motorway is fine as in 5th the powerband between 50 to 70 is ok.

I have found that the stock powerband/gearing seems to work like this:

  • Powerband seems to be around 1,750 to 3,250ish
  • 0-30 acceleration is good when going through gears low down
  • 50-70 seems to be ok on the motorway when in 5th
  • The issue seems to be when in 3rd or 4th between 30 and 50 - the gearing seems slightly too long/not in the powerband

I have a feeling that the flat spot midrange might be due to the lack of airflow from the turbo or indeed the turbo spooling up lower down - although I have a feeling that the turbo spools up fine due to the small size.

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I have now removed the air pipe to the airbox, on the way back home it did feel that there was a slightly better pickup on the throttle - will see what happens over this week.

I figured out why the MPG was showing so low, the garage I took it to for the checks left it idling for a couple of hours!

I have also taken delivery of some LED Bulbs for the sidelights as well as the boot light, makes a nice difference in the boot considering it didn't have a bulb in there to begin with!

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Really initial results from the mod and MPG so far, removing the snorkel does improve the throttle response slightly, I wouldn't say there was any extra power but I would say that the power delivery is slightly smoother. MPG on the trip computer (will be doing the correct calculation when I fill up next) at the moment is at 66mpg which is around 95% motorway at between 50 and 70 with a few overtakes. This isn't too bad but is still a way off the Clio in terms of fuel economy and throttle response.

I will run the car as it currently is this week and will probably burn through most of the tank this week (the fuel tank seems fairly small!) - will work out the MPG once I refill the tank over the weekend.

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I have just plugged in my bluetooth OBD reader and have found 4 fault codes on the ECU, I have cleared these off and will keep an eye on them, they are:

P0101 - powertrain - Mass of volume air flow circuit range/performance problem - perhaps a dirty MAF

P0113 - powertrain - Intake air temperature circuit high input - faulty sensor or high intake temp due to lack of intercooler

B1600 - body - not sure on this one

P1602 - powertrain - unsure on this one as well

I have reset them and so will see if any come back, I know that my exterior temp sensor is incorrect as its apparently around 32c outside at the moment!

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