My RWD Escort RS Cosworth nick named "The Widow Maker"

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While I was looking through the service history I found 4 receipts for engine rebuilds!!! Car is a 1995, first rebuild in 1997 to the price of £5500!!!!! Second in 2002...£3500 another in 2004 for around £3500 and then a different engine and rebuild in 2010, parts alone was £1500. No doubting the car has had some serious cash spent on her

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Cheers Felix, will certainly impress if someone comes to buy the old girl.

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Today I wanted to do some checks on the engine.

So while she was cold, checked the oil and water, all fine, oil was slightly higher on the dip stick due to the engine oil being correct when it is warm.

Fired the old girl up and let her tick over for a bit, took her to get some fuel and had a quick run around the town, the car has not been getting any kind of hard acceleration due to the weather etc but today it was a nice day so gave it a blat, spat a little bit of smoke from the back the first time I did this but again to be expected. Cleared straight away and went like fook as always.

Got home and let her sit for 20 minutes, checked the oil again and bang on the mark Checked water again, bit of pressure on the tank which seems normal to me, again all fine.

Now I wanted to check to see if we had any air leaks in the water system so left her ticking over with the cap off, the car has always been amazing at not heating up, fans have only came on once and never been above halfway, will sit on quater unless pushing it hard and then will sit just under half. I get lots of hot air from the heater but just wanted to check it.

So the temp gauge gets between quater and halfway and then starts boiling like a kettle... it then over flows all over my engine I was stting it at first but after a quick search found its either got a air lock or the thermostat is staying open/closed... I also found out that it has a lower boiiling point with the cap off so that explains that.

I let her cool down before I went putting my hands in, as my car did have air con but has been removed I tried the old putting the air con on to check the fans work, did this and it worked a treat, nice little thing I can try if it gets hot

Checked all the pipes, full roose silicon hose kit and all in good shape, I filled back up with antifreeze as I was unsure how much she had in her anyway, fired it backup and got it warm again. Turned off, put the lid back on, fired her backup. Sat fine again as it always has. I am going to take the stat out and test, just need a photo to confirm where the stat is, pretty sure I know but want to double check before I do.. also any tips or hints would be great...

While I was there thought I would havbe a sniff, no smell other than antifreeze, no smell from the exhaust of antifreeze, no sludge in the cap, never burns oil, never burns water, oil is the right consistancy etc etc.

So was happy with this side of things, stat is to be changed for peace of mind.

Next I wanted to check the turbo, I know its not done much but it runs a good amount of boost and wanted to check, took the cone filter off and the hose, checked the turbo, hardly any movement which was nice, only thing I did notice was on a couple blades looked like a bit of oil... but unsure.

Photo



So while this was off I noticed this...

Excuse the mess, not touched the engine bay on this car yet, I have no covers on the bonnet vents so water and dirt gets in with ease... I promise to clean it lol

Now is this supposed to connect to anything or at the very least have a pipe running it out to the bottom of the car?



And my next question, what is this tank? it is next to the turbo...?

And next was my alarm, now not going to get into too much detail with this as I am sure some thiefing little P***k is watching this but had some issues getting a new fob to work with my car, a few emails going to and from the company and running some checks, again wont go into any detail... turned out it was the boot switch, a good slam of the boot and it started doing what it should... so now I have a nice shiney new fob...



Going to get another key cut as well, any ideas how much Ford charge for this these days?

• ******************RESULT********************

Just noticed the boot release button and thought "that wont work" bingo, only went and worked!!! Happy days

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Anyone got one of these please, reflector that goes in the passanger side door near the lock?

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Funny you should mention that, check the BMW General section, just posted a thread. Cant miss it.

Cheers for the comment on the Cossie, she is a good car, really nice condition. Can you remember my old E36 M3 Evo Convertible? Well if you can, that car has been broken now Gutted... I was the second owner

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Yeah she was nice, drove well too I think the guy is going to either rebuild it back in the USA and put on a kit car plate or use the engine, box and diff in a USA E36 M3 car.

He is struggling with the emissions on the engine

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Update:

Today I tackled the new thermostat install.

My temp gauge only really goes to around quater when warm and the fans only ever kicked in once.

So I was thinking maybe the stat was staying open and causing it to sit cooler....

So ordered from Graham Goode a 4x4 stat and o ring and bought myself some new spanners, the ratchet type but on a normal spanner... if that makes sense..

Anyway, removed the bolts, was tight but not silly, my unit was not leaking etc so wanted to keep it this way.

I didnt bother removing the hose from the stat housing and just undone the bolts, a little knock on the head and it came off, bit of fluid came out. I had a pair of plyers and pulled on the old stat and this fell out.

This is the photos of the two states together









I tested the new stat before I fitted just to be sure, and I tested the old stat when I removed... both worked fine

Anyway, put the new one in, I questioned where the o ring went and after putting it on top of the thermostat and between the housing top, did everything backup and no leaks. I later found out the o ring was not for this part...but as it is not leaking... I am going to leave it in.

So undone the bleed valve on top of the housing, took the cap off the header tank and started the engine, I squeezed the inlet and outlet for the rad and put some more coolent in the tank. I undon the bleed valve a bit more until only water was coming through. Nipped this backup and let the car get to full temp.

This took 30 minutes!!! My car is a beast when it comes to keeping itself cool. I was concerned about it to start with but I left it and left it ticking over until it eventually got to halfway and the fans kicked in. No water leaks, no smoke, no hot smell, nothing!! I am very impressed with how well this engine keeps itself cool. Not once have I had it heating up. The fans have only came on once before!

So after the fans kicked in I squeezed everything again, no air in the system, and the fans took the temps back down to quater on the temp gauge.

So overall... I am very impressed with this car. Muy old car was constantly heating up, fans kicking in, cooling down, heating up etc. This car will deal with traffic, never heats up when giving it the beans... its like she is egging you on to drive her harder and harder!!!

I know all the bits on this car have been assembled to improve this kind of thing which is great.

I also am confident she has plenty of antifreeze in her too for the winter which is nice, another tick off my list.

I spoke to a mate who works in the trade and asked to get me some Fuch Titan Pro s 10w50 which he said he had, went to collect and it was 5w40 so left it. Need to get some in at some point and change the oil.

Car is filthy again, farmers around this area are taking the piss with the dirt on the road. Car is a handful as well, third gear spins on part throttle so have to go careful. But enjoying her none the less and happy now I know sitting on quater is right for the car

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Hi Cossy400...

She does run a alloy rad with RS500 intercooler and twin fans.

My old car had standard rad and fans which could explain the difference. Come to think about it, when I was changing the stat I did think the rad looked rather large, same width as the rs500 unit and only about 75mm difference in hight.

I am over the moon the temps sits like this as my only concern with cosworths was the high temps on them

Not driven the car since I have changed the stat but will try take her out tomorrow and see how she performs etc.

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I am in the South West... Only downside to this car, she is RWD so anywhere near cold or wet and its a no go with the right foot. I took her out yesterday and under part throttle in third she was spinning. Keeps you on your toes to say the least

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Yeah they can be very snappy, I put 235 wide tyres on the back which in the dry on a good road surface sees it not spin in 2nd. In the wet it will spin in 4th

UPDATE:

Well today the Mrs got me with the usual "DIY Jobs"



So I got her to clean the car



This is the result!!



Please not, I told her not to bother with the tyre shine as it will be going down some lanes tomorrow so will be filthy again



























Not bad if you ask me, light was getting short hence the dark photos, could of overexposed a bit more but not really in the mood at the moment

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O yeah, also took her out for a bloody good drive today with a mate, car was faultless.. I am pretty sure the stat I took out was a 82 degree stat though as my temp gauge now sits a little higher, between quater and half way. Gave it the beans up through the gears and didnt rise, stuck in traffic etc spot on, no movement at all. So happy about that, checked for any leaks again today and nothing, had to top up slightly on the header tank and that was that. Checked the coolent again after a good hard drive and cool down and all still there

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Wanted to get another key cut as I only had one

Called a local mobile key cutting company who after speak with him gave me some great advise, very honest guy. He was based in Stoke Sub Hamdon, will not mention company names etc.

So off I went to get a price from Ford, as always over twice the price of another local company. Got the key cut and sorted, happy days. I tried it in the ignition and on the back of this key where it goes into the ignition it has like little teeth... you can feel them grab when moving the key in and out. I am sure this will be fine after a few months but none the less, it works and is a nice spare sat with the spare key fob I have for the car.

Starting to get all these little jobs sorted now which is nice, makes it less of a pain as less needs to be done and all the little things work or have been resolved.

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cheers mate, the mrs has helped me more than a few times so knows how I like it. We used to clay, wax polish my old M3 many times a year, she does not love it but will do it

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UPDATE: BIG ONE!



Right, this photo to most is not much to look at, but to me... it is a massive weight off my shoulders and a massive relief!!!







A really long story in short form.



We had some serious floods down in the South West, on one of my travels I came across what didnt look like a massive flood, watched a couple cars go through and looked OK, so off I went. I started panicing when the water could be seen level with my bonnet Nothing I could do at that point other than keep the revs up and go. I could feel the engine being put under strain with the amount of water the front splitter was pushing! It was that much I actually swomped a car coming the otherway, water went up over her bonnet...



So after this the car was fine, thought I got lucky with that and went on my way, checked everything under the bonnet and all looked well, car ran fine as always.



Now around two weeks after, I get in the car after checking the fluids etc before setting off (all fine) and around ten miles up the road I was starting to wonder why it was not getting warm in the car, checked the temp on the heater, was set to high, checked the temp gauge for the water, was warmed up... checked the fan speed... boom, was on number 3 and no noise or life from the heater.



So I do what all Cosworth owners do, straight on the net when I got home to check what it could be. Checked the fuse and this was fine, seen a few people mention the fuse box.... I had my cousin come round and check the earths etc, power at the switch etc etc... After a chat my cousin was convinced it just had some water in and it might dry out when used... the internet however was telling me this is the first sign of the fuse box going... I seen the next thing to go was the fuel pump and didnt want to get the car stranded anywhere as I know the front splitter would have to come off to get it on the back of a lorry.



So I left it on the drive and went on the hunt for a fuse box. Didnt really fancy a second hand one as will no doubt be the same as mine, I was opting for resoldering but my cousin (electrician) didnt have the time and I didnt fancy it... So off to Ford I go to find a fuse box, I had the numbes...(BAB) and asked the ford parts guy, he came back with £323 all in but was unsure if they had any. I spoke with a mate who could get discount at Ford but was still £300. While searching for more info on this I seen someone mention Fordspartsuk.com and they came back at £281... so bit the bullet and bought it. Turned up a few days later and I managed to book half a day off work to get this fitted. Asked around the forums for tips and hints etc and set on with the task in hand.



Was a little bit worrying but it is a straight forward job when you take the worry away from it.



Before I removed the fuse box I started the car just to make sure it was still running etc and it was.



Disconnected the battery and took some photos of the three red power connectors to the back of the fuse box.











I marked these up and took photos so I could replace in the correct order, then started removing the wiring etc















On my fuse box I noticed I had two cables coming into the top and pluggin into certain places on the board... I am a complete novice when it comes to this so didnt think much of it, marked where they came from and carried on taking it out.



And this is the fuse box out











Old v New



















New fuse box























So that was easy enough, put all the little copper connectors for the heater etc into the fuse board as well but didnt photo that



Then started to put the box back in, nice and easy at this point



So now I am thinking, what is this







I know it went in one of the slots in the background but none did anything.



So put the battery back on and turned the key, everything worked when the ignition was on including the heater so happy days I thought How wrong was I!!



Turned the key and nothing, not even trying to turn the starter motor over or anything.



Gutted in a understatment.



So onwards and upwards I thought, started checking relays, fuses, connections etc, checked and double checked the battery, all fine.



Looked around on the net etc and nothing pointing to this issue.



I was becoming lost and dropped a text to Mark Barber asking a question and he asked to call.



So I did



After a good chat with Mark and telling him what I have done and what I have found we started trying things, Marks first thought was the ford immobiliser, so put the key in the lock and turn left or right etc... bad news, my car is de-locked, a great security feature but terrible when you need to turn the immobiliser off.



I took both door cards off on a very cold night in super quick time and found the immobiliser part on the lock and tryed all combinations to get it to start, nothing



Called Mark and let him know, by this time its dark and bloody cold so Mark gave me some things to try etc the next time I could get at the car.



So I tried a combination of things including putting the old fuse box back in and still would not start By now I am feeling worried and annoyed at the car, Mark reassured me it would be OK and worst case he would come down in his spare time and help me out!!!! WHAT A LEGEND! We do not know how lucky we are to have Mark involved with these cars and the RSOC. Best thing I ever did was sign up to the RSOC! Just the knoweldge alone Mark has is second to none, then you add in how much of a true enthusiast he is and a great bloke!



So Friday afternoon was booked off and I started going through the list of things I needed to try. While I had a spare 5 minutes I sent a photo to Mark and asked if it looked right (of the fuse box) a phone call shortly from Mark told me I was missing two relays which could be the problem.



Now the plot thickens as I start digging into the history and found out my car has a Fraser Fuel pump loom which changed things. Mark said he had some relays and would send them to me so they turn up Saturday morning (what a gent, never asked for postage or money!!!!)



So Saturday morning came and so did the post man, I was a bit down in the dumps with the car at this time and was not confident but off I went. I had to put the new fuse box back in etc and put the new relays in.... turned the key and the starter motor turned!!!!!!!!



I jumped out with a big smile on my face, we are getting somewhere.. the car would still not fire and I thought this could be related to the loom.. So I put the little black cable back into the fuse box like it was on the old box and tried again.. First time



I am not joking, I jumped out of the car and kissed it and started jumping around celebrating!!!



My mate was pissing himself and people looking out the windows thinking what the hell is he up to lol.



Such a relief! And all the thanks goes to Mark Barber! Without his know how and time this would of cost me a shed load of cash and time without the car.



This has also highlighted a massive problem I have, no one in my area can look after this car when I get issues like this.



Friday night me and the Mrs decided if it would not go with the new relays I was going to ask Mark to take it back to his workshop and make her breath again and get a few bits sorted over a period of time, was looking at buying a cheap run about while it was with him etc. Thought a few months away from the car would get the love back.



I am over the moon the car is now backup and running!



So, after I celebrated I got my head back onto this journal and started putting the car back together and taking photos



This is what she looked like taken a part























Then I started putting it back together















Someone is showing interest in becoming a member





















I want to say thank you to everyone who helped as well, all suggests much appreciated.



Thank you all



Mark

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Yeah it has been a stressful couple weeks bud, but happy it is all over.
Daughter is at a great age mate, loving being a dad, best thing I ever done.
Yeah it is dusty, it has been sat for a while not being used and being worked on, it shall be getting a clean at some point, I will get some pics up for you

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One of the reasons I bought this car

The sound of it

Click the imagine below to view video



No land speed records were broken while filming this, road was empty, never broke the speed limit blah blah blah. Enjoy

PS car was not being ragged, just enough to get the noise

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Well not used the car all Christmas, seen a few of you guys saying about missing them so thought I would take her out to rekindle some love.

My god does she ever go!! Nice cold weather and dry roads opening the taps through 2nd, 3rd and 4th and it pulls like a train right the way through. Surprised me really.

Car was faultless as always. Seen a R33 GT Skyline which looked "drift ready" going down the A303 but he didnt play, he thought about it though but a quick squiert and he kept away.

Over all really pleased with the car, it is filthy though so will need to clean it at some point. No photos as it was dusk when I left and fully dark when I got back. Car is perfect at the moment

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Well the Mrs has had a pretty st 3 months and one of the reasons not much has been done on this.

Her Grandad died a couple months ago and her Dad died yesterday, roll on 2014!!!



Anyway, my car was in need of a clean and I thought I would clean hers, anything to try put a smile on her face again.



My car before



































After











































While I am here, might as well put some up of the Mrs car















































This car is with no question the best car we have ever owned. It has cost us 2 tyres. Passed the last two MOT's with flying colours. For the money these cars are changing hands for these days, I would have no issue with buying another to do my dailey miles in.

This one has a decent spec, Harmon Kardon, Bluetooth handsfree, Black nappa leather, parking sensors, auto lights, auto wipers, xenon lights, steering wheel controls, cruise control, duel digital climate control, air con, electric everything, manual and rare rear folding seats which gives plenty of room to move stuff around in. Love this car, everytime I get in her and drive, I always find myself telling the Mrs how good the car is



Comments welcome

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Cheers mate, not really but she is a very strong cookie and is keeping a brave face on things. Anyone reading this who still has there parents... Enjoy them while they are with you, if you have something to say to them, say it. Never be shy or scared to tell them you love them.

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Update:



Well a few weeks ago a local chap contacted me through Facebook and asked if he could take some snaps of the Escort. Today was the day we met up and took the photos.



The guys in question are Sam Potter and Shane O'Malley



Facebook page



http://www.facebook.com/#!/SamPotterPhotography?fr...



I was unsure of what to expect as never done anything like this, we met at a local office complex which was a respectable back drop for the photos.



Shane and Sam arrived and started unloading the kit, I am not up on my cameras etc but the kind of kit these lads have is massively impressive!



Sadly the weather was not on our side much, light drizzle constant through out the day added with loads of dull and low cloud.



You will also have to excuse my battered splitter and front bumper. Really wish I got this sorted now



Sam and Shane specialise in the car show scene and if anyone is having a local meet/show in or around the Somerset/Dorset area and want some high quality images taken of your cars and turned into prints, discs with the photos on, canvas etc then give them a shout, very helpful lads, showed me what the camera could do which was very interesting and took time to get quality.



I have had to upload the photos to photobucket which has sucked the life out of the quality but you get the idea.







Excuse the dirty engine bay















Comments welcome