I wont do that again !

[Banus]

Justy thought I'd pass this on and hopefully save any Ford Ka drivers £320Basically whilst servicing my son's 02 reg Ka, I noticed that there appeared to be a bit of rust around the seats of the spark plugs. So I scraped it all away and got the hoover tools on the holes so when I took the plugs out the crap didn't drop into the cylinders. First plug came out but it was very tight ! Second plug sheered off flush with cylinder head - AAAAggghhhhhhhhhhh !So....dashed to my Ford dealership and explained my predicament to a mechanic I personally know who came out with the classic "they all do that sir" - and appantly they do. It happen all the time as the thermostat weeps and the water collects in the plug hole - great design !They normally manage to get them out by hollowing out the plug and turning from the inside - but after an hour, no luck so it was - head off and off to a specialist to get it sorted (£50 cash). After paying Ford another £270 to have the head refitted picked up a bill for £320 - expensive spark plug.So the morale to the story is if you drive a Ka and the plugs look rusted in - get a dealer to get them out as if they sheer off - they pay !

[kwak zzr]

i had a Y reg ford fiesta flight 1.3 in 2001 and i was told the same at service time, the car was only 12 months old at the time! bad eh :(

[Ed]

That's appalling. I'd be demanding that Ford reimburse because of their crap design.

[the_lone_wolf]

i'm glad i have a diesel focus, no chance of this happening


that said, anyone with a focus that's leaking water into the front passenger footwell after heavy rain should check the seal on the bottom, outside of the windscreen... it's held on with two small plastic clips and during servicing they tend to break, unsealing the windscreen and allowing water to creep into the air con unit, outt he passenger foot vents and into the footwell...

there is a replacement available, although you have to fight to get them to replace it FOC (car just out of warrenty)

[Warthog]

I drive a Ford Ka, thanks for the heads up!

[Banus]

Sorry - I forgot to mention that the only models that this problem affects is the Ka and Ford Fiesta Zetec range - so if you've got either one of those, inspect very carfully before attempting to remove a plug. They are fairly lightweight and break very easily - trust me !

[SV Ste]

Hi guys

I own a Ka too. This only affects the vehicles upto a certain age. Ford changed the head design to accomodate this failure. The new head houses the spark plugs at the rear of the head not at the front. Old engine = 60hp endura, New engine = 70hp Duratec something or other.

Ka's top cars but as always built to a price (ususally around 50p). The only better supermini is the toyota yaris.

Every vehicle built has some design flaws inherent within them, just some are worse than others.

If you are lucky enough to get the plugs out (try soaking them every night for a week in WD40 or similar) then use copperslip when you put tye new ones in a you will not have an issue ever again. (unless its five years between changes! - do it every twelve months - they are cheap as.)

As far as fords go they are usually good and reliable.

Ste

[sinbad]

I love KA's. My mother had one around the time I'd just passed my driving test, so much fun, I actually really regret not buying it from her.

[Treacle]

If I had a quid every time I had this problem I would be rather well off. My advise to anyone out there who comes across this problem is to get some maintenance fluid(wd40) and spay at the base of the plug. Leave it for a while so that it soaks in nicely and then start the engine to get it nice and hot. Once it reaches its normal running temp turn it off and give it another quick spray. Then whilst its still nice and hot carefully try and undo the the spark plug. This as worked for me many times but not always.

HTH
Matt

[Jdubya]

I used to have an X-reg Ka collection. What a brilliant little car. Had the aircon as well which was a bonus in the summer. As for the Yaris...I fart in its general direction!

[Banus]

What can I say but - yes I completely agree - for the price a fantastic little car and not just for the supermarket trips either. Ours has been all over the UK and after 43,000 this is the 1st hiccup.
The bonus is that its a chain driven engine (like the old A series mini engine) with no nasty cam belts to snap - requiring an expensive re-build. Yep -cheap to run and insure - which means more disposable income to spend on the SV - so everyones a winner !

[the_lone_wolf]

they always give me a ka as a courtesy vehicle when i take the focus in to be serviced, it's great fun, nowhere near as quick in a straight line but having a wheel in each corner makes it handle like a go-kart:D

[xlewdx]

That's appalling. I'd be demanding that Ford reimburse because of their crap design.

Yeah and while you're at it see if you can get Suzuki to reimburse the rest of us for a bike that fouls, splutters and stalls every time it bloody rains!!!!!!!!:smt099