sepulchrave

The cords are synthetic Kevlar and Nylon fibres, like most polymers they are completely unaffected by most solvents let alone almost homeopathic amounts of water/ethylene glycol solution. Even assuming the 'rubber' was deteriorated sufficiently to expose significant amounts of these fibres It isn't really a variable and he's still a dick. You should fix the leak though.

Your mate is being a dick, how long do you think the coolant hoses would last if there were any truth in his ludicrous assertion?

It would certainly do more good if he rubbed it on or even drank it since at least then it wouldn't be going anywhere near his Gals engine! :o

Yup. :ph34r:

This happened to me when my battery was getting marginal, the colder mornings will lower your battery output slightly. Give it a top-up charge (especially if it does a lot of stop-start shorter journeys) and see if it improves.

Dunno, I'm guessing. But the ECU must have some way of knowing when you floor the accelerator pedal using a switch or TPS of some description, check whateveritiswhichdoesthis or you could just give up and hand a large blank cheque to your local dealer...

It sounds like the kickdown switch is permanently stuck on, check this with a multimeter or just try disconnecting it to see if there is any difference.

Could well be a bad connection to the starter motor from the battery, check for any fraying or corrosion around the lugs at either end. It does sound like you have a very poor battery fitted, I strongly suggest you change the battery for a higher capacity deep cold crank model now because you will definitely have problems this winter otherwise. Whatever happens you need a good battery fitted so it makes sense to get one now.

These things will affect your fuel consumption the most (in approximate order of importance): 1. Engine temperature sensor 2. Lambda sensor (O2 sensor) 3. Coil pack 4. Plug leads 5. Spark Plugs 6. MAF 7. Air filter (a very distant last) The rattling may be the heat shield on the Cat so don't take that as an indicator of whether the Lambda probe is working or not. Try disconnecting your battery to reset the ECU and see if it improves at all. Binding brakes will really badly affect fuel consumption, but wouldn't make the exhaust sooty.

It's not a common problem, most likely culprit is the ignition system on the HT side somewhere. Since you don't mention if your car is a 12 or 24 valve variant I am unable to be more specific.

Yes, head off is fine in-situ, however you may want to consider replacing the entire engine with a decent secondhand unit. The engine is very big and heavy but will come out through the front of the car complete with the gearbox once you have removed the entire front end. You simply cannot get the car high enough to remove it from underneath without access to a four-poster.

XU10J4RS? Now that's a proper engine!

my 2.3 mk 1 has lots of torque tows a caravan around north wales with now problems and on the hills it just keeps going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, so you love your Gal... ;) It's still a crappy old engine and totally unsuitable for tuning, which is what the O.P. asked about. Try and avoid gushing in tech. sec. if poss. Ta. :D

O.P. No. The I4 is a crappy old engine, nothing like the Zetec or the Duratec.

Sounds like air ingress into the fuel line causing it to drain back.

Yes, get a press. Its a swine of a job to get 'em to go in and you have to accurately align them with a mark on the bottom arm. I got my local blacksmith to do it for me with his flypress for a drink. It was money well spent!

If its a manual it should fit, the bottom ends are basically identical on 12v and 24v.

Yes.

This.

See the white plug and socket right in front of them? Follow that wire down to where frogeye said. :)

Try VW or Seat, they're all the same part and bastard hard to fit! Got mine from VW and it was under

No, you're right, VAG-COM won't work on a 2.3 Ford lump. Disconnect the battery and ground the +ve terminal, then reconnect, that should reset the ECU.

No, it doesn't have one, stop guessing please. It's the CPS, right where I said.

There is no relevant cam sensor, only a CPS (speed sensor), this is located at the front of the engine next to the gearbox and is held in place by a single 5mm allen headed screw, it counts the teeth on the back of the flywheel so the ECU knows what position the crank is in. OBDI cars with dizzys had a cam sensor I believe. Yours is OBDII.

1. The fuel shutoff switch is designed to operate in the event of a collision, you can't use it to isolate the fuel pump. 2. What for? If the battery is disconnected then the fuel pump cannot run. 3. Is this a petrol or a diesel car? If petrol the simply remove the filter and pop a bolt in to plug the pipe while you fit the new one. Some slight spillage is inevitable. I think you're over-egging this a bit, just swap the filter!