2003 Ford Galaxy 2.3 running lean

[nssurge]

Hello all,


I recently bought a 2003 2.3 litre petrol auto Ford Galaxy. The vehicle had 117,000 miles on it and a full service history from 2003. The car was in great condition externally so I figured it seemed a good bet for the money. Interestingly the man who I bought it from offered me a 6 month warranty on the engine and gearbox which I have signed in writing. At the time he claimed he would come and collect the car if there were any issues.
I have put around 3000 miles on it with no issues.
Recently however an issue has occurred which has left if undrivable,
Once the engine is warm the idle began to get extremely rough to the point where I thought it would stall. Under load the car drives fine and power does not appear to be down. Oil use has gone up hugely, half the dipstick dropped off in a few miles and fuel economy is dreadful as well. I received a number of fault codes which are P0171 system too lean P1131 which refers to an issue with O2 sensor.
I have done a compression test and the results were;
1- 215PSI
2- 200PSI rising to 225 with a drop of oil
3-215PSI
4-215PSI

I appreciate these results cannot be correct and there seems to be an issue with my pressure gauge reading too high and I am in the process of calibrating it. However they still do show a consistent value and even cylinder 2 does not seem too low.
In my mind this has ruled out low compression but I would like to hear a more experienced opinion.

My questions are, does anyone know what I should be looking for. My thoughts are vacuum leaks or a bad PCV valve. I suppose a hole in the exhaust could also lead to this.
My other question is, is it worth contacting the seller who offered the 'warranty' I have only owned the car for 4 months so it is still in the time limit he offered. I only paid £800 for the vehicle so I am skeptical whether this was just a scam of some kind.
i need this car for business so it is imperative I get it fixed as soon as possible.
I have reasonable mechanical experience so I do not mind fixing it myself if possible.
Many thanks!

Edited by nssurge on Thursday 23 January 18:17

Edited by nssurge on Friday 24th January 09:34

[GreenV8S]

The oil must be either burning or leaking - either would leave evidence.

Burning might relate to the engine running problems.

[nssurge]

I think it's burning as its not going down unless it's running.

[stevieturbo]

The engine and gearbox are still working. No warranty issue.

And a warranty on an £800 vehicle several months later ? Good luck with that. I'd be embarrassed to even ask for a warranty

[GreenV8S]

nssurge said:

I think it's burning as its not going down unless it's running.

Best case scenario would be a blocked breather or something along those lines. I suggest getting the people who service it to take a look. If nothing else, they should be able to see very easily whether it's been burning a lot of oil, and if so clean plugs might make a big improvement to the engine running problems - although the underlying issue is obviously more important in the long run.

For 800 quid you need to keep an eye on the option to sell for spares/repair if it does not seem a cheap fix.

[nssurge]

stevieturbo said:

The engine and gearbox are still working. No warranty issue.

And a warranty on an £800 vehicle several months later ? Good luck with that. I'd be embarrassed to even ask for a warranty

The car is undriveable due to an issue with the engine, I fail to see how you would consider it is 'still working', please explain.
The guy offered it without me asking for it and put it in writing.

[stevieturbo]

nssurge said:

The car is undriveable due to an issue with the engine, I fail to see how you would consider it is 'still working', please explain.
The guy offered it without me asking for it and put it in writing.

Because you are assuming the mechanical parts of the engine itself...are the same as all the ancillary parts around the engine also required to make it run. Even proper aftermarket warranties can be funny old things, with very specific wording and limitations.

But if you feel you do have a genuine warranty...then first port of call would be to seek it out.

It could be a wiring issue, sensor, hose, or any number of items which will not be covered under warranty, and perhaps diagnosing any issue may not be covered under warranty.

Whereas a major mechanical failure within the engine....could be covered. But this doesn't sound like what you've described.

[nssurge]

stevieturbo said:

Because you are assuming the mechanical parts of the engine itself...are the same as all the ancillary parts around the engine also required to make it run. Even proper aftermarket warranties can be funny old things, with very specific wording and limitations.

But if you feel you do have a genuine warranty...then first port of call would be to seek it out.

It could be a wiring issue, sensor, hose, or any number of items which will not be covered under warranty, and perhaps diagnosing any issue may not be covered under warranty.

Whereas a major mechanical failure within the engine....could be covered. But this doesn't sound like what you've described.

Thanks for the more detailed reply. I hopefully will further diagnose what's up today, I reckon it's a dodgy PCV valve or EGR valve.
Cheers