Fixel

I know this is ScoobyNet but I figure many of you know about other cars too. My friend has a P-reg '96 Ford Fiesta 1.4 Si Zetec and has just discovered some potentially big engine problems.

The guy who looked at it is suggesting something to do with the big or little end going. There's a pronouned tappety noise from the left side of the engine (belt side) which changes with revs, and it's been losing oil recently. He mentioned something to do with valve oil seals or something? Sorry for the numpty description, but I'm just going off 3rd hand info and trying to help out if I can.

Is an engine strip down needed to properly dianose the problem? Any ideas of cost (length of string an' all I expect)? Mechanic has suggested looking into sourcing a new engine as an alternative. How much are we talking about here, and does anyone anyone know of any good Ford places in the North West (or perhaps internet sites) which might help with enquiries?

Cheers for any info peeps. :

Jamescsti

Hello mate, I used to own a Fiesta so might be able to help a bit, It could be the tappets that have gone, checked that?
In the worst case scenario it could be the bottom end as in a mate of mine's fiesta, in which case i'd buy a new engine.
I used to own a Zetec-s 1.6 and a new engine for that from PUMASPEED in wakefield was quoted at £560 plus fitting, just a guide for you

Fixel

Cheers for the help James

Most advice was to source a new engine. PumaSpeed, and many other places selling reconditioned engines, wanted £550-650, even for the 1.4. Spending a grand on a car worth less than two is a bit much, so he's managed to source a 1.4 engine (private sale) for closer to £300. Obviously, there's a risk here with no warranty, but we're hoping to get the job done for under £700. Plus there'll be most of an engine to sell off in parts.

We'll see how it goes...