hi guys

 

this car has had full service done on august 2019, which is nearly 2 years. i am planning on doing the service myself on august.

also after reading about ford cars, they dont seem to be straight forward when it comes to servicing whereas my skoda, i found that easy to do.

 

i already know what coolant it uses which is red long life i believe.

but i didnt know you had to use different spark plugs for ford cars, read somewhere that you have to get teh spark plugs from motorcraft? i didnt know that, i was going to get either some boshe or ngk from ebay.

 

which spark plugs do i need please?

oil wise, mine uses 5/30, can i get the 5/30 longlife oil like this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164904827167

 

many thanks again guys 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You mean nearly three years since a full service done on august 2019?

You don't have to use Motorcraft plugs, any big brand of the correct fitment can be used.

1 hour ago, YOG said:

You mean nearly three years since a full service done on august 2019?

You don't have to use Motorcraft plugs, any big brand of the correct fitment can be used.

dont i feel silly? yeah that would make it 3 years.

thank you for putting my mind at peace.

 

im guessing the oil i linked would be sufficient enough?

6 hours ago, froggy8 said:

hi guys

 

this car has had full service done on august 2019, which is nearly 2 years. i am planning on doing the service myself on august.

also after reading about ford cars, they dont seem to be straight forward when it comes to servicing whereas my skoda, i found that easy to do.

 

i already know what coolant it uses which is red long life i believe.

but i didnt know you had to use different spark plugs for ford cars, read somewhere that you have to get teh spark plugs from motorcraft? i didnt know that, i was going to get either some boshe or ngk from ebay.

 

which spark plugs do i need please?

oil wise, mine uses 5/30, can i get the 5/30 longlife oil like this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164904827167

 

many thanks again guys 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

go for this oil https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184217253535?hash=item2ae434369f:g:1mIAAOSwh6xfkuz1

don`t forget you`ll need these items for your service too. oil filter, air filter, pollen filter.

spark plugs are quite cheap these days last lot of bosch ones i got for my mates car were £12 the set of 4.

Most garages if they service your car regularly will change the colour of your anti-freeze to what they are using that year as a quick visual reminder its been done, well mine does.

many thanks guys

it seems to be just like my skoda, straight forward.

for a 2006 model, theres no point letting ford do the service is it?

21 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

for a 2006 model, theres no point letting ford do the service is it?

No, not worth it.

Plus Ford don't like fetching the sandwiches in anything over 1 year old.

Just put your reg in Euro Car Parts and get all the stuff from there

Coolant (if you want to do a flush and re-fill)

Oil & Filter

Plugs

HT Leads

Air Filter

as my sig we may buy their cars, but i'd never let any of them near it

 

unless you've won the lottery haha

thank you guys

 

its around £150 for garage to do it but how much does ford charge? at a guess....around 300 mark?

1 minute ago, froggy8 said:

thank you guys

 

its around £150 for garage to do it but how much does ford charge? at a guess....around 300 mark?

If you approach it sensibly and have half an idea what your doing all those bits are easy to do, oil and filter, leads maybe not needed, fluids, plugs and if you get stuck were here

 

3 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

If you approach it sensibly and have half an idea what your doing all those bits are easy to do, oil and filter, leads maybe not needed, fluids, plugs and if you get stuck were here

 

many thanks for that

i have done many services on different cars before but when i got this car, i was reading up on it and the service seems complicated.

i have never done the coolant so will need to read up on that. its the air pocket that worries me.

 

thanks for putting my mind at peace.

 

wait till its cool remove expansion cap, pull bottom hose or drain plug, refill leave cap off, heaters on full watch the expansion tank, let it get up to temp you'll see the water swirl in the expansion tank.

oops remember to put hose back on haha

2 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

wait till its cool remove expansion cap, pull bottom hose or drain plug, refill leave cap off, heaters on full watch the expansion tank, oops remember to put hose back on haha

thank you 🙂 

think i have read about this and this person drained it all then filled it with new antifreeze and distilled water then put the cap back on and went for a drive. he ended blowing his head gasket due to the air pockets.

 

ok not read or heard that, like i said give it a good 10-15 mins blowers on full and a couple of revs to make sure its pushed round, tap not distilled

Just now, Jimpster said:

ok not read or heard that, like i said give it a good 10-15 mins blowers on full and a couple of revs to make sure its pushed round, tap not distilled

yeah he didnt run the car with the cap off so all the air was trapped and force its way through the headgasket i imagine.

might give it a go soon, its still clean and still good enough for minus 15.

i will need a torque wrench too as when i replaced the sparkplugs on my old car, it became loose after few months.

The cooling system should really be vacuum-filled as @JW1982 will tell you. You might be lucky but modern engines have areas in the coolant passages where air can accumulate and the water pump may not deliver enough pressure or flow to dislodge it.

21 hours ago, froggy8 said:

yeah he didnt run the car with the cap off so all the air was trapped and force its way through the headgasket i imagine.

might give it a go soon, its still clean and still good enough for minus 15.

Close, but not quite.  Air pockets create hot spots in the engine - no fluid flow means it can't remove the heat.  The excess heat is focussed in small areas which then warps parts, either breaking seals (gaskets) or in some cases can even crack the head or the block.

Honestly, I'd say coolant change isn't worth the hassle for a DIY mechanic nowadays.  It's also difficult to dispose of responsibly.  Might as well wait until the waterpump is replaced (either with or without the cambelt) and then have a full drain and flush done at the same time.  Ultimately, it's your decision though.

 

21 hours ago, froggy8 said:

i will need a torque wrench too as when i replaced the sparkplugs on my old car, it became loose after few months.

A good tip for plugs is hand tight (you'll feel it 'stop') then another quarter turn to crush the washer.  May not be worth buying a torque wrench unless you intend to use it for other things as well.

many thanks again guys

i think i will just leave the coolant and do the rest.

i was thinking about using the torque wrench on the wheel nuts too if i decide to buy one.

5 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

many thanks again guys

i think i will just leave the coolant and do the rest.

i was thinking about using the torque wrench on the wheel nuts too if i decide to buy one.

No problem.  Would need a wide ranging torque wrench to do spark plugs (approx 25Nm) and wheel bolts (approx 130Nm).  Also make sure you've got the correct fitment sockets (half inch or quarter inch etc), or an adapter, if you do buy one.  I have a small one and a large one myself to cover all eventualities.  

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

No problem.  Would need a wide ranging torque wrench to do spark plugs (approx 25Nm) and wheel bolts (approx 130Nm).  Also make sure you've got the correct fitment sockets (half inch or quarter inch etc), or an adapter, if you do buy one.  I have a small one and a large one myself to cover all eventualities.  

oh yeah, i forgot about that.

when i was looking for one, it mainly started between 28nm to 80 or 100 nm.

might have to buy 2 just like you did.

wheel nuts tend to be windy gun then nip LOL

Be aware that these cars had a common problem of rain or screen wash water leaking around or from the screen washer jets. This dripped onto the top of the engine and could fill the spark plug wells with water. If this has ever happened, the plugs may be seized into the head by corrosion. 

If you do remove the plugs, be careful starting the spark plug threads into the aluminium head when refitting. As they are recessed they are difficult to do by feel and easily cross threaded.

A length of rubber tubing pushed over the connector end of the plug is a useful tool for starting the threads by hand.

Which size engine do you have? the 1.4 and 1.6 have timing belts, while the 1.8 and 2.0 have chains. I don't think the 1.4 was ever fitted to the Ghia. If its a belt type it is worth checking the condition of the belt as many have never been changed. 

 

3 minutes ago, AntonovAN12 said:

Be aware that these cars had a common problem of rain or screen wash water leaking around or from the screen washer jets. This dripped onto the top of the engine and could fill the spark plug wells with water. If this has ever happened, the plugs may be seized into the head by corrosion. 

If you do remove the plugs, be careful starting the spark plug threads into the aluminium head when refitting. As they are recessed they are difficult to do by feel and easily cross threaded.

A length of rubber tubing pushed over the connector end of the plug is a useful tool for starting the threads by hand.

Which size engine do you have? the 1.4 and 1.6 have timing belt, while the 1.8 and 2.0 have chains. I don't think the 1.4 was ever fitted to the Ghia. If its a belt type it is worth checking the condition of the belt as many have never been changed. 

 

thank you

the belt got changed 4k miles ago but im unsure about the wter pump, there is alot of receipts/invoice that i have not yet looked at.

mine is the 1.6 version.

i thought only toyota does cam chain, didnt know focus does them too. i much prefer chain to belt. wonder if theres a way to convert it?