First off let me introduce myself;

I'm Jamie, 18, from Oakham, Leicestershire and have recently (stupidly) traded my 59 plate Fiesta for a 56 plate . It so appears that the 'trader' has sold me a dud and that I'm going to have alot of work to do to bring it up to scratch. After paying £4800 for the car and £3800 for the insurance I don't have alot of money spare to bring it right, however every penny I earn is going on the car until it's perfect and I won't stop at nothing until it is. The clause comes that I have a limited mechanical knowledge and I need your kind help to do this!

I will list the various problems, probably add to the list as I go along, here goes nothing!

Problem 1) I have a very worrying rattle from the drivers side of the engine, the noise is most prominent when your head is near the front tyre, it seems to be coming from the various pulleys along the left hand side of the engine bay although I have no idea what it is and how it can be resolved. It doesn't change tone when you put strain on the alternator, it doesn't change tone when you move the steering wheel or put the air conditioning on. At the moment it sounds more like a diesel engine, the noise occurs when idleing and gets faster as you increase the revs.

Problem 2) Upon buying the car another problem I found is that the handbrake didn't work, this became obvious when I put it on and kept rolling down our drive. It turns out the rear right hand side caliper had seized up and with a good smack of a hammer and some WD40 it appears I've free'd it off. I believe its more to do with the cable as a pose to the brake itself and I was wondering how I go about replacing it. I.E. Where does it go when it disappears inside the car and how can I expose it

Problem 3) The engine gets up to 90mph very quickly, however it goes flat after this and takes along time to progress further, the car feels very unstable compared to what I'm used too at this speed also and it's very wobbly in the corners. Is this normal behaviour or should I be checking for something?

Problem 4) After replacing the power steering fluid by disconnecting the low pressure return and running it into a bucket whilst topping it up with fresh fluid a noise has developed but only when the steering is on full lock, it's a graunch sound. Is this something that can be resolved or should I not worry about it?

Problem 5) The front bumper clips have disintegrated (underneath) from the actual bumper itself, what it slides into is still in tact. How can I rectify this or would it require a new bumper as it's all one peice?

Problem 6) The front drivers side wingmirror is missing the bottom screw, don't suppose anyone knows what thread this is off the top of their head so I can seek a replacement?

Thanks in advance for your replies and I do very much appreciate your help, as I say, I haven't got alot of money to take it to a garage so any self diagnosing or fixes I can do myself will save me alot of trouble.

Regards,
Jamie

3) you might need the tracking and/ or balancing looking at? also your wheels could be buckled. Mine is pretty solid all the way up to 130ish - done on a private road of course
As for going flat- mine is good up to about 115-120 then begins to slope off up to 130, I think the power drop off is around 5,500 to 6000rpm on a standard car (don't quote me on that)

4) is this only when the car is cold? normal to hear a whirring sort of noise when on full lock and the car cold, should quieten down as the car warms up

not sure about the others mate sorry

also not sure if it's a possibility but If I was you i'd save your money and take it back. For less than you'll probably spend repairing it you could get a solid well looked after ST with none of these problems?

Easier said than done sometimes though, I appreciate that

It's too late to take it back now, the blokes being a right tw*t, feel like going down and driving it through his window but it gives you a sense of satisfaction to build something old and tattered up to a new standard.

I'll get there with it, and it wouldn't be worth taking it back now I've forked out for alode of stuff on it, he'd be getting more back that I'd given him!

fair enough mate! not right though, feel for you I really do
Will be a big reward when you get it going nicely though

Sorry couldn't be of more help

No worries pal thanks for trying, and cheers I feel for me also, took a big dent out of my savings, in fact it's took it all but I'm gonna throw it all out on this and make it everything I've ever wanted. I've already ordered a new Sportex exhaust (all I can afford any reviews on it would be appreciated) and I'm ordering a 'JVC KW-AVX640' at some point in the week.

couldn't you just get a standard exhaust replacement for the time being? then replace that with something tried and tested like a miltek?
Fair enough mate, I'd personally be saving my money for more urgent problems than an after market stereo but it's your car mate so go for it

I am saving it for more urgent problems, my Grandad saw me driving whilst using my phone today and as I already have 3 points for driving with someone in the boot I'd be banned with another 3 because I've been driving less than 2 years. So he's offered to help me towards it, an offer I can't refuse!

Jamie

fair play!

How can you afford the insurance! Thats mad. I hate hearing about people being ripped off as its happened to me in the past when i wad sold an mr2 packed full of radweld and the new engine I bought for it never showed and niether did the company that sold um

I hope you can get these issues sorted reasonably cheap. Once you've fixed it up the hard work, money and effort will really pay off for ya bud!

When you do get it fixed up and you want to start the mods, I can certainly help with detango, plastic spraying, k&n fitting, caliper painting and head unit fitting. Can also do oil and spark plug changes if these are any use to you at some point as I live reasonably close to you

I'm okay with the basics, it's going in for a new oil filter as the current ones leaking and there replacing the shattered CV boots at the same time. The spark plugs I'm okay with but if you can spray plastics well it'd be a great help, I'll pay you good money because it needs alot of panels respraying if your interested but that won't be for a few months yet, thanks again for the offer much appreciated!

Anyone else got any suggestions on the problems?

Cheers,
Jamie

I wouldnt charge you fella, itd be fun Ive not sprayed bodywork just the grilles, fogs and reflectors etc. But yeh we could make a day of it as it takes that long with drying. Defo get the car running like a dream before you start splashing out on mods.

You can prob find some youtube vids of the sportex exhaust if you're interested. I imagine you could use underseal on the exhaust to prevent rust, or like u said some temperature paint.

Ah cheers man I'd have to give you something for your troubles though or I'd feel bad, and we'll definately give it a go getting her looking ship shape again once I've sorted all the problems, I'll certainly have the last laugh she's driving a dream!

Gonna make a video of the rattle later and upload it,

Cheers,
Jamie