XR2 RACER - strange engine noises - HELP!!!!!
Discussion
At my recent race at on saturday at Brands Hatch our Ford Fiesta XR2 started to make some very strange noises from the engine bay. Its like a high pitched whinning sound and seems to follow the sound of the engine itself, ie. as the revvs drop off from the engine and engine sound, so does the whinning sound begin to drop down in line with the engine. I have noticed that the sound only appears in 3rd/4th gear, is this something to do with the gearbox maybe? There is no loss of acceleration or power associated with this problem, although we are having problems with the high revs in third gear, the car seems to run out of breath after 5000 rpm in 3rd gear. We cleaned the carb and really cleaned the air filter but it still making the sound and loosing out in third gear. I am confused as to what to do, any suggestions?
The loss of power in third gear does not coincide with the engine whinning, the whinning occurs on decelartion and acceleration in both top gears!
I have posted a small MPEG clip of me going round paddock hill bend in 4th gear, you can hear the whinning sound start about 2 secs in, and then it totally stops at the top of the hill as i change gear and brake, its not a great clip, but it may help diagnosis?
cheers guys
clip URL
www.subscribeweb.co.uk/worrieddog/dodgy_engine2.mpg
The loss of power in third gear does not coincide with the engine whinning, the whinning occurs on decelartion and acceleration in both top gears!
I have posted a small MPEG clip of me going round paddock hill bend in 4th gear, you can hear the whinning sound start about 2 secs in, and then it totally stops at the top of the hill as i change gear and brake, its not a great clip, but it may help diagnosis?
cheers guys
clip URL
www.subscribeweb.co.uk/worrieddog/dodgy_engine2.mpg
Can't say as I've noticed the cables you've got m8.
Could you send me a mail with a picture and the details/spec of your Cmax?
If the cables you've got are ford fitted and running to nowhere in the centre console, i'd suspect they are part of a factory install option package. That could be anything from auxillary power sockets or rear seat entertainment.
Have you got a plug on the end of the loom?
Could you send me a mail with a picture and the details/spec of your Cmax?
If the cables you've got are ford fitted and running to nowhere in the centre console, i'd suspect they are part of a factory install option package. That could be anything from auxillary power sockets or rear seat entertainment.
Have you got a plug on the end of the loom?
Yes the exhaust sounds good, nice and loud, but suprisingly quiet compared to some of the other cars! The red light flickering is the oil pressure light, lets me know if i suddenly loose all the oil....
Will try and get a better sound clip up on the web if that will help, its a really metal on dry metal sort of whinning sound, very strange and quite loud.
Will try and get a better sound clip up on the web if that will help, its a really metal on dry metal sort of whinning sound, very strange and quite loud.
nighthawk said:
Can't say as I've noticed the cables you've got m8.
Could you send me a mail with a picture and the details/spec of your Cmax?
If the cables you've got are ford fitted and running to nowhere in the centre console, i'd suspect they are part of a factory install option package. That could be anything from auxillary power sockets or rear seat entertainment.
Have you got a plug on the end of the loom?
Its a 54 plate 2.0 TDci Zetec (nippy enough
), they are quite thick cables roughlt 8 guage which is pretty thick and both are terminated with square connectors, they come stright off the battery and are cable tied to the dash frame on the passengers side of he tunnel , i forgot to take any pics sorry mate 
Have you noticed any fluctuations on the speedo by any chance?
And have you drained the transaxle oil as suggested.
If the speedo needle is a bit erratic it would suggest too much float in the diff bearings, that will eventually eat it's way through the casing.
early signs would be metal particles in the oil.
Re the oil light...seems an odd design feature to distract your attention with a flashing warning light.
And have you drained the transaxle oil as suggested.
If the speedo needle is a bit erratic it would suggest too much float in the diff bearings, that will eventually eat it's way through the casing.
early signs would be metal particles in the oil.
Re the oil light...seems an odd design feature to distract your attention with a flashing warning light.
zzr said:
Are you running a standard XR2 gearbox? and is the 3rd/4th selection becoming stiff or loose? It sounds like it is probably your gearbox as IIRC the 3rd/4th gears share the same selector and baulk assembly.
Check your gearbox oil for metal as well.
Paul
Thinking about this a bit more....
Does the sound occur mainly when you're going round bends? particularly when you mention losing power in 3rd, excessive end float in the crank could cause this when cornering and accelerating. You should be able to feel for this buy pulling/pushing the crank pulley in and out.
Paul
Paul
dank said:
Yes I think it does seem to make the noise mostly when going round corners, not being a mechanic (at all!) could you explain how to do that check you suggest, also is this a serious problem, ie. costly and lots of time to fix
cheers
Basically by pulling/pushing on the pulley you shouldn't be able to feel the crank move in and out, no special tools required, if you can feel it move it means that the thrust bearings that stop the crank from moving side to side have probably worn , the best option there is to have the crank completely re-ground if possible and new shells and thrust washers installed, which obviously means engine out. If your doing that you'll probably find other stuff that needs or could be done.
Sorry if this seems to be putting a downer on the situation.
Paul
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