Help me prioritise my repairs

[danjama]

Ok, i dont make lots of money so can only afford to fix things one at a time or so. Luckily none of these faults are game stoppers, but i want to fix them nevertheless for a more pleasurable drive and to help with resale value. The car is a 2005 Fiesta 1.4. The problems are:

- Slight steering wheel wobble at 75mph+. This is worse on some surfaces than others.
- Steers to the left ever so slightly (probably connected to above problem, could be a balancing/alignment issue or wishbone)
- No cool air from internal vents, only warm air, that gets hotter the faster I go. Most affects my legs.
- Engine light is on which i have the fault code for, and it points to a faulty post-cat sensor. Does not affect running.

I think that's it. What would you fix first? Can we order these by cost and priority?

[btsidi]

I would do the steering first, as it's better to go in a straight line than to be a bit warm but in a ditch

[iva cosworth]

Deffo engine problem first.

Tracking out causing steering pull ?

Always worth having same tyres on front axle to keep things equal.

Have front wheels balanced.

Heater last.

Can't help with prices

[iva cosworth]

btsidi said:

I would do the steering first, as it's better to go in a straight line than to be a bit warm but in a ditch

Good point but pull is "only slight" so if he keeps concentration whilst driving

shouldn't end up binning it

Basically don't let go of the wheel whilst driving

[trickywoo]

The heating issue is almost certainly a broken heater valve - Fords of that era and before are reknown for it, Its an easy DIY fix and last time I checked the part was about £50. If you google Ford heater valve there should be loads of guides on how to replace it.

Can you see any weights missing off the front wheels? If so get it balanced. If its not obvious you may need to do both. But I'd get the tracking checked first £20 ish.

I only know about pre cat sensors so don't know what the post one would do but at a guess I'd say £30 for a new one and it may be diy if you can reach it and its not rusted into place.

[CocklePlucker]

trickywoo said:

The heating issue is almost certainly a broken heater valve - Fords of that era and before are reknown for it, Its an easy DIY fix and last time I checked the part was about £50. If you google Ford heater valve there should be loads of guides on how to replace it.

I think you can get them even cheaper off eBay, can't remember what I paid for mine but think it was second hand and below £20.

trickywoo said:

Can you see any weights missing off the front wheels? If so get it balanced. If its not obvious you may need to do both. But I'd get the tracking checked first £20 ish.

Could also be a buckled wheel? On my old car it was this that caused the issue, have you hit anything recently?

[Chrisw666]

danjama said:

- Slight steering wheel wobble at 75mph+. This is worse on some surfaces than others.
- Steers to the left ever so slightly (probably connected to above problem, could be a balancing/alignment issue or wishbone)
- No cool air from internal vents, only warm air, that gets hotter the faster I go. Most affects my legs.
- Engine light is on which i have the fault code for, and it points to a faulty post-cat sensor. Does not affect running.

I'd have the steering sorted first, matching tyres and possibly new wishbones/bushes could make a huge improvement and shouldn't break the bank, then get the tracking sorted if fitting them yourself. OEM rather than Ford wishbones will come with bushes fitted for less than £40 a side (it's best to swap both sides at once).

The air thing is probably your Heater Control Valve (HCV), source a genuine ford part which should be £35-50, this will take about an hour to do and there are plenty of photographic guides online showing you how to do it on other ford cars of the same age. Don't be tempted by the cheap ones some of them are rubbish and may not work at all.

The EML will need looking at but if you're happy then sort it after the other bits.


ETA: The heater problem could also be a fuse out, one of the fuses on the Puma blows and takes out the HCV and digital clock.

Edited by Chrisw666 on Friday 3rd August 12:54

[danjama]

Good replies, glad to see my general thinking was in line with most of you guys. The steering issue is the thing bugging me most.

I haven't had any knocks in the car in the two months i've owned it, but the alloys were ruined on the left side when I got it, and I noticed there were no weights on the right side at all. However it did have brand new budget tyres (all match). So i'm thinking the guy who wanted it sold put all new tyres on and just chucked all the weights on one side being lazy, so hopefully it is just a balancing issue. If not, as said the wishbones are cheap anyway so i'll source them myself and pay the labour.

I had a feeling it was the heater control valve but could not find anything on this in the haynes manual, or online, for a mk6. All documentation seems to be aboue the Mk5's. Need to get the windshield scuttle off and have a look really. May do it on Monday while i'm off work, and then take it to have it inspected up on a ramp.

Apparently the post-cat sensor is not even an MOT failure, so not too concerned yet. Doesn't seem to be affecting fuel consumption or engine running.

I really wish i had my own ramp, i'd just fix all this stuff myself.