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still ses lots
of emails from people needing help with their Ka, and you know, this is kool:
so please keep it coming. And don’t
forget to sign my Guestbook,
too! If you need to know how to contact me, follow the link.
If you’re wanting help on a Honda
Accord, sorry. You’ll have to look
elsewhere. If you want Saab 9-3 tips,
come back in 2008 or 2009 when I’ve learnt a little bit about it...
This part of the website will
encompass both individual stories, and lots of cross references to other bits
of the site where I’ve encountered something similar. Be sure to check out any relevant links
before contacting me, else I may well invite you to take a peek, heh!
Before I start, please note that I
am not a mechanic and if you do, try, experiment, or get somebody else to
do any of the following, neither I, my ISP nor my website host can accept
any responsibility for any damages that may occur. Basically, if you break your Ka or your leg,
it’s not my fault, okay?
If you have a problem with your
Ka, your best bet has got to be a mechanic, or garage, or Ford dealership, and
any information you glean from these pages may or may not be relevant to the
problem.
Each and
every time I receive an email asking for help, I’ll pop it in here, so check
back for updates!
Use the Section QuickLinks box to
find what you’re looking for.
Noise
The Endura-E
in the Ka is renowned for being a ratty old lump. It’s true that it’s not as quiet as other
engines, however there are degrees of quietness. An Endura-E maintained to Ford specifications
is significantly quieter than one with no servicing, and I’ve found that
regular oil changes at every 5,000 miles also helps keep the engine quiet.
The noisiest part of the Endura-E,
or at least the aspect that received the most complaints, is the tappets. If these are incorrectly adjusted, they
clatter. If they’re too tightly
adjusted, they’re quieter but you lose performance and use more petrol. It’s important to have these regularly
adjusted so as to maintain the blend between noise and performance. You can read more about Kermit’s maintenance
and servicing here, and more about the Endura-E here.
Inactive
Cooling Fan
Many people wonder if their Ka’s
cooling fan works, since they’ve never heard it running. This is quite normal, since the Endura-E‘s cooling system is both
efficient and benefits from a two stage cooling fan. When the fan is running at the slow speed, it
is very difficult to hear or feel - it is only obvious when running at the
higher speed. Furthermore, for those
people lucky enough to have air
conditioning, the cooling fan runs at slow speed when the system is
switched on. This does a very good job
at keeping the coolant temperature down.
To test the cooling system, or
rather that the fan cuts in, you really need to drive for at least ten miles on
a hot day, then get clogged up in busy city centre traffic. With Kermit, on a hot day I’ll typically be
running the air conditioning system and under these conditions, when moving at
30 mph or higher the coolant temperature rarely exceeds 93°C (thanks to my OBD-II Scanner for the results). If the weather is especially warm, you’re in
a busy city (where the air temperature is certainly hotter) and you are
spending time in stationary traffic or moving at slow speed under 30 mph the
cooling fan will eventually cut in at higher speed. However, it typically requires at least
fifteen minutes of city driving - slow speed work, stop / start, and time
stationary.
I have detailed my research on the
Kermit’s cooling system here.
Sluggish
Performance
If you’ve spent time in traffic,
especially with the air conditioning
running, it’s quite normal for the Ka to feel sluggish, especially when pulling
away from rest. The problem is
associated with heat - basically, the airbox and air intake system gets warmed
by air flowing in from behind the radiator (and condenser if you have air
conditioning). Warm air carries less
oxygen compared to cold air, and the engine requires oxygen in order to burn
petrol and so produce power. From my
observations with first KITS and now
the OBD-II Scanner, it takes
approximately five to ten metres to reduce the airbox by approximately 10°C,
after which there is an improvement in power.
Nevertheless, you may wish to read my notes on hot air, and KITS, and
what we are planning to do about it!
From OBD-II Observations, the Endura-E becomes especially sluggish off the mark when the
air intake temperature exceeds approximately 50°C. This is even more pronounced if the air
conditioning compressor is in use.
Erratic
Idle
This can be caused by a number of
things, but the most common is the idle control valve getting gummed up. It just needs cleaning, and not replacing (a
few Ford dealerships replace it, or say it should be replaced), a
relatively simple job. Just remove the
idle control valve, clean it up with petrol or a similar solvent, then replace
it. You can see a picture of the ICV in
the Endura-E bit here.
Alternatively, if you have an
early (1996, 1997 and perhaps even 1998) model Ka, you may require a new
wiring loom - your Ford dealership should know all about this, and if they
don’t it’s time to find another dealership!
In warm weather, especially when
the car has been sat in sun and you’ve just re-started the engine with it still
warm, the engine can occasionally “hunt” when idling. Kermit does this, and is related to the
temperature of the air entering the engine - when the temperature rises to
above 55°C or so, he is much more prone to hunting following a hot start. Clearing the intake of the sluggish hot air
has always solved the hunting problem.
Steering, Suspension & Transmission
Stiff
steering
If you have suddenly encountered
rather stiff steering, and your Ka has power steering, this is the likely
culprit. Check the power steering fluid
reservoir - if you can’t see any, you need it sorting!
If you don’t have power steering,
heavy steering can be caused by all manner of things, but it’s best to start
with the simple stuff first such as the tyre pressures. If your front tyres are low on pressure,
steering effort is usually higher. If
they’re worn, the same is also true.
Noisy
steering
If your Ka murmurs or moans at low
speed when you use the steering, and you have power steering, don’t worry -
this is perfectly normal. If, however,
you can gear it murmur when driving forward at a more reasonable speed (such
as 30 mph), then you may well have a problem. Check the power steering fluid as a first
port of call.
Stiff
Clutch
The Ka uses a hydraulic clutch
system, so if you have a stiff clutch, this cannot be caused by a sticky
wire. It’s usually caused by the clutch
system drying out a little bit, which can be expensive – replacing the clutch
slave cylinder is a gearbox-out job and you’re looking at about three hundred
notes for the work.
Weak
brakes first thing, especially on a wet morning
This is a phenomena of most modern
cars, and it’s caused by the iron in the brake discs rusting up. It will happen after washing the car,
especially in warm, humid conditions, or after driving in the wet and parking
up.
It’s also quite normal, and
there’s not much you can do another it, either.
Alloy wheels usually exaggerate the condition, since they expose more of
the disc to the elements.
I’ve covered Kermit’s rusting
brakes here.
Weak
brakes after gooning
This is brake fade; the
term used to describe what happens to the brakes when they get hot after
prolonged or heavy use. Brake fade can
be either the brake fluid boiling, or the brake pads getting too hot and
becoming less grippy because of it. On
modern cars, including the Ka, it’s almost always the front (disc) brakes that
suffer fade rather than the rear (drum) brakes, so we’ll ignore overheating
rear drums for now.
The solution is to either brake
less heavily (and I’ll admit that this isn’t always possible!), or upgrade
the brakes.
First, the brake discs. If you have a Ka, you will either have solid
or ventilated front disc brakes. A solid
disc is just that – one disc – whereas a ventilated disc looks like two discs
stuck together. Ventilated disc brakes
have that space between them which greatly enhances the cooling of the unit –
they’re far less susceptible to fade than solid discs. Replacing solid discs with ventilated isn’t
especially difficult – you’ll need a set up from a mark
three or four Fiesta, Puma,
or a Ka with the ventilated discs.
Otherwise, you can invest in a set of drilled, or
grooved (or both) solid discs, as shown here. These offer the advantage of improved disc
cooling, but according to some sources, at the expense of greater pad wear.
On the subject of pads, it’s also
possible to upgrade your pads. Clearly,
brake pads work in conjunction with discs, and they have a great many
compromises to work with. They need to
work well when cold, they need to work well when hot too, they also need to be
hard wearing but they need to be grippy, too.
They also need to be cheap to manufacture. Standard Ford ones are arguably the best
compromise between the above for most drivers.
Of course, for some people, absolute stopping power is more important
than longevity, or they need to reduce brake fade when hot, and they are not bothered
by any inefficiency at low speed. There
are a variety of manufacturers of aftermarket brake pads, with names such as
EBC Greenstuff, Mintex and Red Dot.
I discuss Kermit’s brake fade here, and also check out my ABS
page.
What
Tyres Should I Buy?
This will depend on what wheels
you have and to a lesser extent, how you drive your Ka.
If you’re using standard 13” steel
wheels in either 4½J or 5J and you don’t drive the Ka particularly hard,
Armstrong tyres represent a decent compromise.
Armstrong are made by Pirelli and are only sold via Ford
dealerships. They are not the last word
in performance or longevity but they are decent quality and inexpensive.
If you’re using standard 14”
alloys, your tyre choice is a little limited.
I’ve had a good experience with the Firestone Firehawk F700 “Fuel Savers,” they proved grippy
and hard wearing if a little nervous in freezing weather conditions.
If you’re using a non-standard
wheel, the question is far too open to provide you with a definitive
answer! Many people rate Falken ZE502s
and ZE512s very highly, for Kermy’s 13” 5½J XR2i wheels I’m using ZE502s to great effect.
ABS
Clicking
If your Ka has ABS,
you should go out and activate it so as you get used to what it does. It’s far better to deliberately brake hard on
a quiet road in the wet than waiting for the first frost! When activated, the ABS unit makes an awful
racket and your brake pedal kicks back.
You may also feel that the Ka is juddering to a standstill - these are
perfectly normal circumstances!
Sometimes an individual brake will start clicking during a period of
braking. This is caused by the system
reacting to a drop in grip - for example, braking quite firmly on a rough road
surface can trigger the device, or going over a grate. After easing off the brake pedal completely,
and then reapplying the brakes, the noise should go away.
ABS Light
If the amber ABS
light is illuminated, then the system has detected a fault and has deactivated
the unit. You’ll still have the brakes,
and don’t worry because ABS-equipped Kas also have rear pressure reducing
valves so you won’t lock up the rear wheels under moderately firm braking, but
you will be able to skid it. The usual
reason for this is a failed sensor, and these are relatively inexpensive to
replace (if sometimes rather fiddly).
When Kermit had two new tyres put on at this
30,000 mile service, the dealership cracked one of his rear
drum ABS sensors, so we had to take the lad on the John
O’Groats to Lands End Charity Road Trip with the ABS lamp lit.
Failed
Headlight Bulb
If you’ve got a headlight bulb, my
headline advice is to seriously consider having your Ford dealership replace
the bulbs. Actually replacing the bulbs
is not difficult, but access to the back of the lamps is - however if you can
remove the wheelarch lining, then do so, because it will be much easier! Otherwise, unless you have both small hands (or
a young kiddie to help!) and the patience of Job, best avoid this job!
However, when it comes to
replacement lightbulbs, my advice is to opt for Ford’s “BlueVision”
replacements. They’re only a couple of
quid dearer than their standard lightbulbs, but they make a significant
difference - as you can read all about here.