loss of power , sluggishness , poor starting

[gav.]

recently swapped my 2.0l mondeo for a 1.7 puma with a short mot

put her in for an mot and all she failed on was rear brakes, rear axle bushes and a wishbone bush

2 hours work and she was re motd and ready to go for a retest

now iv got her mot and on the road iv noticed when she is nearly up to temp and first thing in the morning she is very difficult to start cleanly ...will crank for long periods of time , sometimes firing then conking straight back out ,always starts eventually but doesnt seem normal t me

other problems is the real lack of power low down in the rev range around town , sometimes when you put the foot down its just really sluggish and revs and goes like an old non turbo diesel fiesta , other times you put your foot down it takes off like a scalded cat

not sure if the vct is causing the problem as it feels like its running with the timing out when its feeling sluggish , but then open up and takes off if you rev through it.


oil level is fine
fuel filter is new
recently serviced
112k miles

my other problem is a vibration through the steering wheel, happens at most road speeds, wheel will shake left to right when driving , not a wheel balance type shake, feels like someone is actually turning the wheels slightly left and right , this is actually visable , worse when turning right , gets worse with speed and very noticable above 40 ...wheels are staright and balanced

possible driveshaft issue but i did wonder about the rack as the steering has a kinda notchy feel when turning at low speed, have checked the column universal joint in the footwell but its fine, no knocks or clonks

any help would be appreciated and sorry for the long post , didnt wanna split this up into multiple topics :grin:

 

[zinc2000]

Vibration sounds bit like bottom ball joint, hesitation/power loss sounds like a timimg issue especially if it improves further up the rev range as the VVT can probably compensate a little for timing problems at higher revs.
Power steering feeling notchy...only suggestion is bleed the PAS system see if it improves.

BTW basic bleed for above is to raise the car and turn the steering from loock to lock (engine running) and hold at full lock for a couple of seconds, then put car back on ground and repeat....always works on our Toyota

 

[gav.]

wishbones are both new genuine ford items i fitted for the mot at great cost , so kinda rules the ball joints out

the problem with my power loss is its not all the time, sometimes the car will run and drive perfectly and be very very pokey at low revs, other times its very sluggish , my intuition makes me think either maf or possibly lambda sensor but its fantastic on fuel and usually when the maf or lambda goes they become very very thirsty ...mine will easily see 200miles on 22l petrol with mixed driving atm

and as for the lambda the emmisions results at mot were that clean i had to queery they had had the tester up a modern cars bum lol

car has fresh power steering fluid and had a full bleed to try to elimate the vibration and notchyness a few days ago with no improvement

 

[zinc2000]

If ball joints are new and wheels are straight/balanced etc then it points to maybe drive shaft issues but have to say I have never come across that before, drive shaft might vibrate but cant see them actually trying to steer the car unless one or other is so badly worn that they are slipping slightly, very unusual I would think unless the car has really been constantly hammered by previous owners or driven across a desert :!: I take it the drive shaft boots are intact anyway.

Lambda is possibility as my MK4 Escort behaved in a similar way until it was changed but like you say the fuel consumption went up as well.

Better mechs than me will I am sure come to your aid soon :?