The Pony Car - Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXi 2009 (Pre-Tamed Beast)

[deville_56]

January 2021 - New Wiper Blades

Went in search for Minda blades for a couple of cars and ended up buying Valeo First as most brands were out of stock. Seen them at shops for ages and they were damn costlier then, but now surprisingly affordable price. 22" and 16" individual units. Combined MRP was ₹ 649.00, got for ₹ 600.00 from Manikantan Automobiles.

Made in Indonesia.

quality was great comparing the generic/generic-repacked branded blades. Clips were sturdier and open type.

Compared to Eagle blades, which was also of good quality. I think these are the proper RHD blades with all others with wrong orientation.

Compared to Minda.

Installed.

Clean wipe. Not hitting each other like Minda.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Which is better Bosch frameless or Valeo?

 

[deville_56]

Which is better Bosch frameless or Valeo?

Both similar on initial use. Bosch was noisy over time. Will take some time to show the real character.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

I agree totally @deville_56 , mine was noisy for the first 2 months, after that time, it was perfect.

 

[deville_56]

January 2021 - NGK Plugs - First Performance Upgrade

Been a big fan of NGK G-Power. From the time we got the car, was looking for them. It was out of stock everywhere. Contacted the local dealer, they never heard of this model, then the Kerala distributor, and they affirmed never supplying a piece in Kerala. Then got hold of NGK India through their Amazon storefront, not a single piece in stock in whole India.

Plan B, Denso. Trivandrum NGK distributor was distributor of Denso plugs as well. Got hold of the brochure, three models were available apart from the stock.
ITV16TT - Iridium twin-tipped plug.
TV16TT - Platinum twin-tipped plug.
ITV16 - Iridium plug.
Made him ring all possible numbers and negative as well. Ford specific plugs won't have many takers. Contacted Denso India directly and nothing productive.

Plan C, Bosch. Checked cross-reference chart and dealt with Bosch dealer and he was 50-50 about arranging them. Never a fan of Bosch and price was on the higher side, so didn't pursue.

Plan D to Z - AC Delco, Champion, whatever we could get from the reference, but none of them had after market folio in India.

Googling revealed NGK's were once sold in India by various sites including Amazon.in and Snapdeal and a few auto-parts sites. They ran out of them since ages. Amazon India listed them, but redirected to Amazon.com and there were umpteen sellers over there, but customs duty and import charges exceeded more than the actual value of the plugs.

On deeper search, almost all GM I4, V6, V8 motors used these and were available at Home Depots . Cross-reference showed almost 3000 models-variant combos including Camaros, Hummer H3, Escalade, Ford Fusion, Transit van, Mazdas and so on shared them. Vishnu vichu was able to source a set of NGK for his Fiesta, but we missed the bus and the world came to a halt due to the pandemic.

Then @bikerharis one day was saying his friend waiting to return to India as soon as flight service resumes. Convinced him to buy a set and some Hot Wheels and sent Amazon links to make things easy for him. This was in mid-2020 and finally reached ashore by end of the year. Got it from him after his mandatory quarantine.

NGK G-Power LTR5GP - Retail price $4-5 a piece. Pack of 4 listed anywhere from $20-24. Set of 6 (pack of 4 plus 2 loose pieces) - $18. So bought six as it was more economical at $3 a piece (or $4.5 a piece if we count four).



Torquing specs.





Assembled in the USA with Japanese and local parts



Six piece in total.

There were many reviews saying about missing crush washer, but these were taper seat and not gasket type (specifically mentioned in the torquing chart).

First time seeing a plastic protector on and NGK. We get hard paper protectors in India.

Ready for installation.

Spark plug wrench from Barricade. I believe 17 mm.

Air filter box has to come out for access.

Full access of plugs.

Plug caps.

As the length of the adapter suggest, the plugs sit deep inside, not well, but hollow unlike other cars. It dropped, have to remove header cover to retrieve the plugs. Had dress rehearsal on Vichu's Fiesta.

Used extension and ratchet for ease of removal. Got to buy spark plug socket of that size since it's common for most of the cars and bike we have, and they have the rubber cap for holding the plugs when removing.

Curved forceps for pulling and installing plugs from deep.

Done.

Old plugs.

NGK vs Stock. Surprisingly stock one was also taper fit.

Regular tip vs needle tip.

FoMoCo AYFS22CD.

aka Bosch HR8MEV. Usually Ford parts don't have vendor name or part number.

Pressure washed the engine bay.

Post-install, as expected, idling was smooth, no waviness. Car was way smoother after putting Shell Advance, so hardly anything noticeable on daily drivability. Never checked hard revving or redlining yet, or even the mileage.

 

[Vishak]

I have been looking for Platinum Plugs from NGK for my Zen as well but no luck in sourcing

 

[deville_56]

I have been looking for Platinum Plugs from NGK for my Zen as well but no luck in sourcing

Available in Boodmo >> NGK BKR6EGP

Compatible with Versa 1.3i,Gypsy King 1.3i, SX4, Swift 1.3i,Baleno 1.6 (BS ), Zen 1.0i 16V, Esteem 1.3 (MPFI), Eeco according to NGK's official catalog though not listed in Boodmo compatibility list.

or Ping them on Amazon, they will get back. Trivandrum distributor contacted me directly. NGK Amazon Storefront

 

[Vishak]

Available in Boodmo >> NGK BKR6EGP

or Ping them on Amazon, they will get back. Trivandrum distributor contacted me directly. NGK Amazon Storefront

Thank you
Still need to wait till lockdown is over since the pincode is currently has restrictions

 

[deville_56]

Thank you
Still need to wait till lockdown is over since the pincode is currently has restrictions

Same here. You can still order. Only delivery will be delayed. Placed two orders on Boodmo, one already shipped despite lockdown restriction here and surprisingly another part from another site got delivered.

 

[deville_56]

March 2021 - Misc Updates

Did alignment and front wheel balancing. There was vibration from front end at highway speeds. Done at Retrocustomz. The whole thing costed only ₹ 500.00, which was surprisingly low as most others were charging based on car size and extra for alloy wheels. Usually we pay ₹ 500.00 for alignment alone for a sedan (₹ 350 - ₹400 for hatchbacks) and wheel balancing at ₹ 100.00 per alloy wheel (₹50-60 for steel wheels).

Shocked by the number of weights, 65 g in total. That's ₹130 worth at Ford.

Just stopped by at Azhimala to take a look at the recently unveiled, Lord Shiva statue. Not a religious guy, but the attention to detail was impeccable. One of the tallest in the country and tallest one of this particular pose.

Parking there was down a steep incline with concrete with unpaved section at the end. Nankang NS-20 had a hard time starting from the unpaved incline with wheel spins. They held exceptionally well in every other situations including heavy rains. Clocked around 21k km.

Another issue popped up was the stuck fuel gauge near half tank and resultant vague DTE readings. With no clue of what's left in the tank, had to fill in the multiples of 500s depending on the distance. Filled to brim and the problem got solved.

After effects. Tank leaks every time when full. This is the second time.

Spare Batmobile after wheel scavenging Removed after annoying vibes.

American Trio.

Roaming around with the Skids.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Last snap, is it at Udayanur temple?

 

[deville_56]

March 2021 - New Troubles

Fog/drive lamps conked off. It used to work when shaking the connector and finally that too didn't work and checked to see the connector got burnt due to arcing. Need a cut-and-paste job aka jugaad.

Switch terminal also burnt, but not severe.

Last snap, is it at Udayanur temple?

Yeah.

 

[deville_56]

April 2021 - Boot Lock Issue

Boot lock suddenly acted up, making a weird noise and many times taking more than one attempt to open. Even more annoying was boot refusing to lock and needed multiple unlocks to get it through. Sometimes, the warning and doom light stayed on. Unlock sound was super loud and car vibrates like a XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXL-sized cellphone.

The culprit. Comes off with two 10-mm nuts.

Part number - EJ7VA-PBT-GF30. Shared with Ford Freestyle Crossover (2005-07) and Lincoln. Ford India part number BA39F43282AA and costs ₹3,792.00.

Made in Korea.

Another weird thing, all Fiestas came with electric boot release, but lower trim came with manual key option, which weren't there in higher trims and all the variants shared the same lock. There was option to connect the cable for manual release.

Found a spring missing .

and the spring itself.

Installed it and everything was normal till re-install. Seems some wheel and lock got broken. There is a microswitch that lets the car know the boot is closed and that's not engaging. That one controls the boot lamp, dome lamp and the warning light in the console. Ford had integrated everything into one unit instead of a simple and cheap standalone door switch. Americans love complicating things.

Some random clicks felt worth posting.

 

[deville_56]

June 2021 - Emergency Boot Release Cable Addition

With boot lock acting weird, was thinking of replacing with a cable and actuator setup, which would cost only 1/10th of the cost of a brand-new boot lock. All because of the DIY itch. Plan was for new OE lock if that doesn't work out. Idea flopped before taking off, first reason being the wiring was a bit complicated as in previous post and necessitated adding a separate door switch and relay to signalling the central locking/console warning lights/interior dome light and functioning of boot light. Second reason being non-availability of proper short cable. I had FZ/R15/Duke seat lock cables in mind, but all of them were out of stock.

Found a Pulsar seat lock at a shop, but it had a pull type loop on one end instead of regular heads. Bought it anyway out of curiosity to dismantle the mechanism.

Spark Minda Pulsar Seat Cable Assembly - ₹ 75.00

The assembly.

Seat lock. Pulsar and RE GT came with similar setup for seat release without key. These sat within the side panel, which is secured with lock. You gotta remove the side panel with key and search and kind the cable loop somewhere and pull and release the seat, everything depending on luck.

Removed the lock. Spring was retained as it would add extra tension for the door actuator (in case I find a way to install) to return normal position after releasing the boot.

Removed the spring later as there was no scope of adding an actuator.

Faulty lock.

Attached the cable. Had to grind the cable end to fit in as the slot was small and Ford cable came with a smaller head. Lower trims came with key option with the same electric release, which was dropped in full option, but why Ford why?

Now boot can be pulled to release in case the boot lock fails in any case.

Have to flip the seat to get access. Adding a longer cable could solve the issue and at the same time, can add a permanent manual release like regular cars. Fiesta lock sits on boot lid instead of sill necessitating an extra long cable that needs to be routed from driver seat bottom, all the way through the boot lid till it's bottom. Close enough cable was from Ford Ikon, which was next to impossible find. As planned, will go for new OE lock. Cable will remain as emergency release till then or even add that to new lock. (Internal emergency boot release was mandatory in US market).

 

[deville_56]

June 2021 - Rear Logo

We had talk with a few body shops about repainting and have to buy logos and some titbits before that. Rear logo was faded and front one was peeling. Went to Kairali Ford, got rear logo from there, but front logo was out of stock and needed ordering, costing a whopping ₹ 1285/1405.00 (part number difference). Placed order for one, but in a cheaper way thanks to @vishnu vichu.

Self Adhesive Name Plate (Rear Logo) - 8A3Z 5842528 A - ₹ 883.00

Made in Spain, so the cost.

Umpteen part numbers. 8A39-A425A52-AA is for Ford Ka+, but used in front bumper instead of rear.

The Blue Oval. Rear logo shared with EcoSport as well.

Dug up more part numbers.
CN15-402A16-AA. Also for Ford Ka+ Hatchback/Sedan (Figo and Aspire here), again on front bumper.
8A39-A425A52-BA. Ford Aspire, front. If bought with this part number, only ₹748.00. These guys are clueless, same part, different part numbers and different prices.

Self adhesive, no screws.

On the way to Ford, got stuck at the railway crossing and spotted this Fiesta at the used parts shop. There was also a Ford Fusion and two Chevrolet Beats. Asked them for the boot lock and they were busy with their tea and owner was not around. Went back the next day, owner was there, but they were clueless as to how to open the boot as there was no battery in the car. Attempted with different batteries from the scrap for over an hour and mission failed, car showed no signs of life. It was an accident vehicle (front collision), which was standing at some garage for repair and scrapped, according to them. Left empty-handed. Plan B is going back in car/or with a charged battery and jumper cable and trying again (with plan C of splicing the wiring loom and connecting directly to the lock after finding the right ones in our car).