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Mk6 Escort Front Droplinks


willowbob
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Has anyone changed the above? They look straight forward enough to do, but any tips or best practice? Does the load have to be off the suspension or not? Thanks.

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Hi Neil, so you've just been getting yourself an old Escort or should I say Orion as they truly are. I had many of then back in the day and loved them all, my last one was also an 'N' reg but I used to have my personal reg on it.

I never had to replace the drop links on them, but I can say they are a very easy car to work on. The rear coil springs are quite a common failure. I see your MOT expired way back on 30th July 2018 so I guess it's going to need a little bit of work to get it back on the road. If you don't already have one you will need a 7mm Allen key for the front brakes.

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Cheers, yes got an old Mk6 Escort; one of those cars that the wife says "why did you buy that!!". If I am honest I wasn't setting out to buy one, but, you know how it is. It's from a deceased estate, the previous owner obviously loved it, but it was needing a bit of TLC. Before the previous owner passed away (he had the car from 9 months old, so likely a Ford employee originally) he had all the hard work (welding) done, so I took it for an MOT on Friday after a bit of preparation myself and it passed with only 1 advisory (the original rear number plate is a bit faded). Result! Taking into account it had been standing in a garage since 2017, it started first time, the emissions were bang on and all the brakes fine. I did take it for a solid 1 hour stop/start drive before the MOT to get everything nice and hot, plenty of long hills for the brakes.  As you say, very, very easy car to work on. Only 1 question, the fan doesn't work. Resistor I thought, but would one speed at least work, as none work on this car? Other than that, all works!! 

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If it's the heater fan that's not working the resistor pack is fitted with a thermal fuse which may have blown. After not been used for a long time the fan may have also become quite stiff and might have also just caused the normal fuse to blow.

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20 hours ago, unofix said:

If it's the heater fan that's not working the resistor pack is fitted with a thermal fuse which may have blown. After not been used for a long time the fan may have also become quite stiff and might have also just caused the normal fuse to blow.

Cheers, where is the thermal fan located please, as I checked the 'normal' fuse, which was OK, but that sort of makes sense, as no speeds of the fan are working so that may be the cause?

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The thermal fuse is mounted directly on the resistor pack. They are normally crimped on and are not meant to be replaced. If for any reason the fan fails to run the resistor pack gets very hot very quickly and the thermal fuse blows/melts. They look like a little silver bullet, for obvious reasons you can't solder them.

resistor.JPG

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Thanks, one last question please, to get at the resistor, is it take the wipers and top plastic scuttle panel off?

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I only have the service manual for the models up to 1992, but to replace the resistor pack on those models there is no mention of removing the wiper arms.

 

DSC_0312_1.JPG

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Thanks. On this (1995) model, I can see the blower motor down behind/underneath the scuttle panel. Unfortunately it isn't in the engine bay like the Haynes diagram above. When you remove the wipers and plastic scuttle, there is another plastic 'tray' which is well and truly wedged in place and has no intention of coming out. I think to get access you need to remove all of that to get at the connectors and resistor. I will have a play about and see if I can figure it out. Thanks.

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On 7/4/2022 at 2:52 PM, unofix said:

I only have the service manual for the models up to 1992, but to replace the resistor pack on those models there is no mention of removing the wiper arms.

 

DSC_0312_1.JPG

Would you mind taking a copy of (I assume) the previous page/s, as it says for removal of the resistor, 'refer to previous section paragraphs 2 to 5'. The resistor seems to be crimped in some way (not as I was hoping a couple of bolts), so would be interested on how to remove it. To be fair, it does look like the diagram on there, but it is in a very, very awkward place under the bonnet/scuttle panel/wiper arms. I have managed to gain access though. I think, from looking at it, the thermal fuse you were referring to is a sort of wire circuit on the top, which, as you can see by the photo appears to be broken? I guess if I tried soldering, it would effect the circuit, so a new/replacement would be the best solution.....if I can remove it! Thanks.

IMG_20220705_171329.jpg

IMG_20220705_171322.jpg

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Not sure if they will be of any help, but here you go...

page 120.JPG

Page 121.JPG

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Thank you, much appreciated. When I have re-read the original copy, section 12, number 3, it does say "bend up the securing tabs and withdraw the resistor". I can see what I think are retaining tabs, so I will give that a shot. Once again, thanks.

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I managed to get the little swine out, will do some testing to see if it actually is resisting or not, but if I need a replacement I can't seem to see any online, part number 1652108 18B647. Anyone know of a supplier? Thanks.

IMG_20220707_162131.jpg

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15 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Well that looks remarkably similar, got to be worth a go, as the principle is the same I suspect for all applications and I think that would fit in the space. Cheers, appreciate your help.

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Just a quick update for all the guys who have been helping me; went back to basics on this one, just to check everything I had thought up to now was actually correct. Checked the live coming from the switch, full 12V on all speeds, good. Resistor not resisting; bought the Transit one suggested above (good shout thanks), now resisting. Fan still not working. Removed the fan unit and tested it straight to a 12v feed. No joy, but will run (poorly) when you manually spin the fan blades to get it started. I will strip down the motor as I suspect the brushes are worn out. Interesting job. I will let you know how it all (finally) turns out.

IMG_20220709_151405.jpg

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51 minutes ago, willowbob said:

Just a quick update for all the guys who have been helping me; went back to basics on this one, just to check everything I had thought up to now was actually correct. Checked the live coming from the switch, full 12V on all speeds, good. Resistor not resisting; bought the Transit one suggested above (good shout thanks), now resisting. Fan still not working. Removed the fan unit and tested it straight to a 12v feed. No joy, but will run (poorly) when you manually spin the fan blades to get it started. I will strip down the motor as I suspect the brushes are worn out. Interesting job. I will let you know how it all (finally) turns out.

IMG_20220709_151405.jpg

Lubricate the Bearings also, especially if they are plain Bronze ones, that might be your problem and you should be able to try this before you strip it.

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Last update on this, for the good people who have helped. There was a tiny spring on the fan motor, which holds the brushes tight and connected, which had dropped off. Made/replaced the spring, runs like a train. Tested the old resistor, speed 1 not working. The new 'Transit' resistor, with a few modifications, works perfectly. All good. What have I learnt. If anyone else has a fan not working, do the following. 1) Test to see if you have a live 12v feed from the switch to the multi plug. 2) Test the resistance (in Ohms) on a multi-meter (plenty of YouTube videos to show you how). Don't pay over the odds for a 'genuine' Mk6 resistor. Like all Fords, parts bins are shared between models. The Transit one (above) works fine with a few mods. 3) Test the fan to a direct 12v feed.  Once you have done all of these, you will know for sure.  In my case it was partly the resistor and the actual fan itself. Thanks again all.

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