Yet-to-be-named 2016 Fiesta SE

[Phil_F_NM]

Rotors are squeaking in the front, so today I'm taking off the calipers and slapping some goop on the pads to help them stop their complaints while doing their job.

Phil Forrest

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Cleaned up the whole front brake system. As I suspected, the spring steel guides for the pads were caked with brake dust and had to be wire brushed. The carrier was a little rusty so it got some wire wheel in a drill. Slapped some brake grease on the back side of the spring steel guides (whatever they're called), stuck them back in the carrier and got it all back together. Torqued the bolts down to spec then went and took the car on a drive. I think the pads were dragging heavily before because the car seems nice and peppy again and the squeal is gone. I'm wondering how much fuel I wasted with those stuck pads...

Phil Forrest

 

[Handy Andy]

Nice work!

Never easy, or light, but being thorough throughout brings back the "release" and go moments.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Anything I need to pay specific attention to when changing shocks and struts? I've done this on most of the near-two-dozen vehicles I've owned, but none as new as my Fiesta.
There is no evidence of fluid leakage but I can hear at least one strut rattling on bumps. I figure I'll replace all 4 sides with something to tighten up the handling at the same time as doing this very necessary maintenance. I checked the service records and a single strut was replaced by the dealership back in 2018 (previous owner.)
I recall in one of the build threads, there seemed to be a decent kit that didn't lower the car much but tightened up the handling. With Philly roads, I don't want to lower the car at all. Oftentimes I feel like I need off-road suspension because the city always refuses to do the job correctly and just puts asphalt band-aids on pot holes. (That's another discussion for an off-topic thread.)

Phil Forrest

 

[Handy Andy]

I've had my share of potholes and when you take the struts off - look for the innards to become hockey pucks - simply due to the force of the bump banging them loose out of the housing the shock part of the strut houses in - and it's the larger spring that pretensions the puck back into the housing.

So when you jack up the car things may look normal - remove the upper strut housing - you'll see different.

You'll need a spring compressor and some simple tools and a 13mm "ratcheted" wrench to remove the strut bolts but once all of the strut is off the car - the mount itself may look like it's together - compress the spring the puck might just fall out or off the strut mount to shock stem completely.



So if the puck pops out of the mount - that rattle you hear when you hit bumps is more than likely this event - the puck will no longer seat firmly enough in the housing - that is the rattle and bonk or whack you hear - the top of the puck hitting the underside of the top strut housing - it's loose on the stem.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Speaking of potholes, does anyone make a "bash guard" for the underside of the engine/transmission?

Phil Forrest

 

[Handy Andy]

They used to have "racing braces" used by ST owners to keep the body flex down and help with slide and steering in corners - looking at how these are built - it might be worth a try - these are bolt on type of kits but to find them might need a little digging.

About as close as I could find...
2014-2019 Ford Fiesta ST 6 Point Lower Chassis Brace - Pierce Motorsports

The Brace itself use tube steel, but the holes for it are INSET for bolt threads.
You fish thru the dog and carriage bolt and the nut goes on the bottom​

 

[econoboxrocks]

Speaking of potholes, does anyone make a "bash guard" for the underside of the engine/transmission?

Phil Forrest

Not really. There were some, but it's all discontinued.

 

[Handy Andy]

One of my main worries is in looking under the car - the engine is on its transverse mount - but underneath protection does not extend to the front frame or bumper - the "wheel well" is the cutout and main attach point for the motor, axle/suspension steering knuckle while the engine and tranny sit open - in front.

The bumper and front frame or "H" or "U" are raised above and about at the crankshaft height - with all the radiator condenser and other main support "hanging" off that front Bumper and the two rails from the wheel well forward.

In one of the photos of the site, you can see road rash and the need for something under there to help protect that chassis body from rocks and debris - so the ST body kits tend to offer protection but to those like us that have SE S or SES models - you don't get the luxury of that extra protection.

So you're not the only one looking for options.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Would I be potentially causing harm if I had a good sheet of stainless steel shaped to make a bolt-on plate to cover the engine and transmission?

Phil Forrest

 

[LionsTooth]

Would I be potentially causing harm if I had a good sheet of stainless steel shaped to make a bolt-on plate to cover the engine and transmission?

Phil Forrest

Back in the day, it was popular to mount up a skid plate that was attached to the bottom of the motor. Usually using unused tapped holes in the block and the starter mount. The drawback was when you hit something all that backward load was transferred to your motor. High sheer angles meant you could rotate the motor...rear backward...top forward....damaging the engine mounts, or worse the block and or the radiator.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

My old 1986 Subaru wagon had a skid plate that I could jack the car up with, so it can be done. I just want to do it right.

Phil Forrest

 

[LionsTooth]

I agree, jacking it up is one thing, clanging it hard on a boulder at speed is another.

 

[manbearpig]

Anything added would probably affect the effectiveness of the crash protection. Just something to keep in mind if you care about such things.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Is there a plate out there that can be added to prevent theft of the cats? We've had a few cars on my block have them go missing and I really don't want that headache. I also don't feel like hunting anyone down, especially in this heat.

 

[LionsTooth]

Is there a plate out there that can be added to prevent theft of the cats? We've had a few cars on my block have them go missing and I really don't want that headache. I also don't feel like hunting anyone down, especially in this heat.

My understanding based on where the cat is on a Fiesta...tucked up pretty close to the motor and hard to get to with cutters....is they are really hard to steal and are not being targeted.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

QUESTION: I just got a little wrench service notice pop up in my dash display. When i start the car, it says the oil needs to be changed. Is this a simple clock-timed schedule notification, or is there a particulate/oil pressure sensor that tells me I need to change my oil? I JUST changed it a few months ago (I think I mentioned it in this thread) and have driven it less than 2,000 miles.
I just looked it up, it turns out it's been 8 months. For most of the summer, we didn't drive it at all for weeks. Perhaps Thanksgiving weekend is the time to change the oil. Anyway, I'm still wondering what causes that service alarm: sensor or clock?
Thanks all!

 

[Handy Andy]

The light is a reminder, not a "Doomsday" type of device where it will prevent your car from ever operating again unless you fulfill the "obligations" shown in the display.

​

But what could happen is if you don't service the oil - the engine can fail.

It will start out gradually like smoke billowing out the tailpipe and even a loud knocking noise...

You get the idea...

What you should look at is the "type of service" the car provided during this time...

Meaning

Short trips
Long idling times...
Pulled the Ski-doo's to and from shore-docks...
Hauled the kids to school...soccer...hospital...home...and rinsed and repeat...
Sat in a covered garage covered with a tarp...and squirrels are now using it for a nest...
Left out in the Rain and Hail parked on a side street in Newark New Jersey, where even when it's been ticketed so many times so you can't even see thru the windshield....

IF nothing excessive, then you can defer it for 6 months (3mo x 2 service intervals) - as long as you used a good quality fuel and have done the same for the oil

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'm still wondering what causes this service alert to appear? Is it simply a timer?

 

[Handy Andy]

I'm still wondering what causes this service alert to appear? Is it simply a timer?

Nowdays, it's pretty much a "decision tree" that looks at Odometer, the Number of Hours the IGN switch has been on (Run hours total) and the amount of time in days, week or months - have elapsed since last reset (a watchdog function)

When they get pretty high - the system thinks you have run the system enough - time to change the oil.

Doesn't mean the oil might be bad, just that the Ignition running (idle and running above idle) means the engine is rotating - so that means lubrication for bearings - and so if you have run the engine a lot of hours, without any sort of service - then you also should be reminded to check and change the oil on a regular basis.

Thats where the "Press this thing and hold while you do this" - moment in the owners manual is for - to reset that Check Engine or Service Engine Soon light

In the olden days, the usual trick was to use an Odometer "lobe" to make a switch that rolled along this lobe from the Odometer force a "Check Engine" or "Service Engine Soon" - you then had another switch in the console that you flipped in a direction to turn off that light - then when the lobe rotated to make that switch work a different direction - you then moved that switch in the console in the other direction to make that switch turn that light back off.

Whether if it was a Sidekick, Samurai or Tracker
You have this little slide switch that you flipped one direction
when that service light came on - you flipped in the opposite direction when
that light came back on again after a given number of miles the Odometer traveled.​