Classic Ford – August 2019

Signsofa terminally-tiredengineareblue

exhaustsmokeanda rumblingbottomend.

Heavybreathingis anothersignofadvanced

wear,oftenmeaningthepistonringsaren’t

sealingproperly,butif the1498ccKentmotor

seemsotherwisehealthy,thenit’sworthchecking

thatthebreatherpipesaren’tsimplyblocked.

Coreplugscommonlyrust,whilethecrankshaft

oilsealandtiminggearcoverhavea habitof

weepingoil.Don’tbealarmedbya bitoftapping

fromthetopend,buta rattlingsoundis a sign

thatthetimingchainassemblyneedsreplacing.

ENGINE

August 2019 105

“YOU SHOULD

ALWAYS BUY A

CORSAIR ON

CONDITION,

REGARDLESS OF

WHAT’S UNDER

THE BONNET”

Track control arm (TCA) bushes

commonly fail, the symptoms

being a clunking noise over

bumps and vague steering. To

boot, the pressed steel TCAs on

the non-GT cars are prone to rot.

Unresponsive steering can also

be down to play in the steering

box and while it can be adjusted

out, any tight spots when turning

the wheel mean it’s beyond help.

The ‘box’s bottom oil seal is

prone to leaking oil down the

idler arm, which in turn rots out

the steering linkage bushes.

Unfortunately, if the idler arm

itself is unserviceable, it can’t be

swapped with the V4’s. The front

struts aren’t interchangeable with

the V4 items either.

SUSPENSION

TRANSMISSION

Rumbling that increases with

speed and jumping out of gear

are signs of advanced wear in

the three-rail ‘box. A buzzing

noise on cars equipped with a

column change is a telltale of

wear in the mechanism where

the gearlever attaches to the

gearbox, while also ensure that

there’s no hanging in gears or a

reluctance to shift. Rear end is

reliable and any whine usually

emits from the half shaft

bearings rather than the axle.

Watch for oil leaks from the diff

and halfshafts.