Fiesta needs splatter guards

**vivafoxpro** · January 2nd, 2011 12:03 AM

Dear Ka-Fiesters,

We were fortunate to have a Catholic priest available last Dec 25 to bless our new baby Fiesta we got last Dec 17 from Ford Pampanga. (1.4 Trend sedan)

Upon opening the bonnet I noticed unusually more dust in the engine cavity. Medyo nahiya pa ako sa pari na marumi yung ibi-bless nya. At the back of my mind, I thought being December, mahangin lang siguro or my wife went through some dusty road.

Today being Jan 1, walang pasok sa opisina. It gave me the opportunity to get a better look sa "ilalim ng saya".

As always, I share my findings with you for the following reasons:
1. For you to be informed ahead of time, and to take preventive measures
2. For us to present our own unique solutions, so that other co-Fiesta owners may weigh each solution for their own similar or unique situation
3. NOT to put down the Ford Fiesta, these things had their own reason. "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." has always done me well.

Case 1 - Hole in front mud guard

Pictures A and B show a hole I discovered in the mud guard or I previously knew it as a fender liner. In my previous research I learned mud guard is the device preventing mud going into the cavity of our car, while a splatter guard (which i knew as a mud guard) is the one preventing mud from reaching the underside of our vehicle.

Opening the bonnet again, I realized the alikabok was more coarse than what I usually get in my Honda City. My prime suspect is that hole. Please examine it yourself and you will also see that the hole penetrates into the engine cavity. I tried to remove the headlight assembly and got more trouble than I had time for. I was able to move it aside a bit to confirm the hole.

Solution:

Option 1 - some rubberized foam (if I find any ), tape under then foam on top
Option 2 - heat mold some sheet plastic then screw it onto the mud guard, screws will allow access to the bolt when removing front bumper.

Today I just put aluminum tape plus duct tape on top ala-McGyver, just to seal the hole while I search for a more elegant solution. This will also confirm/debunk my hole theory.

Case 2 - Rear mud guard too narrow

In Picture C (please examine yours in hatch models also), you can see the rear tire na nakaka-boso sa ilalim ng body. Combine with this the plain paint on the exposed body, when rainy season comes, unremedied, this will be a prime vector for rust to take hold.

I confidently say plain paint since the undercarriage where the front wheels do their splattering is coated with a rubberized undercoating. The front wheels were also partially exposed to splatter on non coated metal surfaces.

Solution:

Get properly sized splatter guards to contain only some in front but much in the rear. I have not seen the ones in the dealership but they tell us P3,000.00 per pair.

While I wait for local car accessory stores to carry them at a much lower cost, I found some plain thick gauge rubber splatter guards at Concorde in SM Pampanga. Parang yung sa Sarao o Isuzu Elf na basta plain sheet of rubber. I whispered "sorry" to my Fiesta and promised her custom parts when the situation allowed as I slowly drilled into her soft cavities. "Screwing her" would be too much of a dirty word for this respected forum, eh guys?

Additionally I observed the mud guard in front is of a hard shiny plastic material (heat resistant I would guess). The rear one is more of fibers bonded together, similar to the side lining of the trunk.

I did not include a picture but the forward side of the rear wheel well (try to say that 3 time fast) exposed a small part of the metal body. The rear mud guard did not cover it similar to the rear bumper but the bumper is plastic and this is metal. I noticed it because some sand managed to accumulate on it. I see it as minor issue and I was focused on the splatter cum mud guards. I hope to share my solution to it granting enough time and interest.

Sana I don't find any more things to fix. Happy New Year!

**OTEP** · January 2nd, 2011 12:22 AM

The hole in photo A is an access hole. While regular consumers may balk at it, your mechanic just loves these large sized portals as it makes their job easier. The bumper of the Fiesta is mounted differently than your usual Japanese car (whose screw just hangs upside down from the uppermost corner of the bumper and connecting with the fender). On the Fiesta, the bolt faces forward and contacts a dedicated bracket for it.

This hole could also function to relieve excess pressure from forming between the bumper and fender liner during high speed vehicle operation. On other Japanese cars, there are built in slots on the lower leading edge of the fender liners to relieve such pressure. I don't know in the case of the Fiesta.

The rear floor pan is indeed exposed due to a lack of a fender liner. But IMHO, a good aftermarket undercoat job with periodic maintenance (underwashing, periodic reapplication of undercoat agent, etc.) is already a viable solution considering that the vehicle is new and should have undergone chemical dip corrosion protection already from the factory. Some camps would prefer that this area be exposed as it could be easily inspected and cleaned whereas a covered cavity could still potentially be accumulated with dirt and road debris and could trap moisture without the vehicle owner being aware until he opens the liner and gets a bad surprise.

For the designed lifespan of this vehicle (averaging 5 years), these things shouldn't really be an issue. But you may want to address them if you intend to keep your vehicle longer than its designed service life.

I am not connected to Ford or any vehicle manufacturer, btw.

**vivafoxpro** · January 2nd, 2011 04:00 AM

Originally Posted by OTEP

your mechanic just loves these large sized portals as it makes their job easier.

This hole could also function to relieve excess pressure

For the designed lifespan of this vehicle (averaging 5 years), these things shouldn't really be an issue. But you may want to address them if you intend to keep your vehicle longer than its designed service life.

A good mechanic will love even more an accessible bolt that does not sacrifice the well being of the engine. My hunch is due to cost cutting not the mechanic's happiness.

My Honda City has no such hole yet removing the bumper is no big chore. I already did it myself without a second person's assistance. No debris or water or sand moves between the wheel well and the engine cavity.

Pressure is not it for sure. Fender liner is not air-tight. Liner and fender has small foam spacers in between.

5 years is not a realistic life span dito sa atin. Ikaw sir, how old is your ride? and if ever you were to sell it, would you not want it to have the highest resale value?

**OTEP** · January 2nd, 2011 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by vivafoxpro

A good mechanic will love even more an accessible bolt that does not sacrifice the well being of the engine. My hunch is due to cost cutting not the mechanic's happiness.

My Honda City has no such hole yet removing the bumper is no big chore. I already did it myself without a second person's assistance. No debris or water or sand moves between the wheel well and the engine cavity.

Pressure is not it for sure. Fender liner is not air-tight. Liner and fender has small foam spacers in between.

5 years is not a realistic life span dito sa atin. Ikaw sir, how old is your ride? and if ever you were to sell it, would you not want it to have the highest resale value?

It wouldn't cost much to make the hole smaller but before a vehicle is put into production, they do indeed have to pass being serviceable with reasonable ease. I don't think it would have cost much to cover the access hole. On other Ford products, Ford just uses recycled materials for their fender liners (e.g. Expedition).

That's why I said the Fiesta bumper is mounted differently. I've removed a bumper from a Jazz/City also and it wasn't that difficult (the Jazz was easier, btw). If you were using an open box wrench or even a socket wrench, you'd need room to move your tool and the larger access hole makes it easier. On the Hyundai Genesis, there is an access port in the fender liner (originally intended to aid foglamp bulb replacement). But then again, Hyundai's fender liners have ports to relieve pressure. A fender liner will not budge or crumple during high speed operation. The reason, you need to relieve pressure from it is so that air will not accumulate inside the fender causing drag and lift. You will not notice this most of the time, but in other markets where these vehicles are driven flat out regularly, at least the engineers were thoughtful enough.

Realistic or not, that is indeed the designed lifespan of almost all new vehicles nowadays. Otherwise, if they made vehicles that lasted forever, no one would by them. And manufacturers design cars with the majority of the market in mind, not specifically to ours or other developing markets. My car is a 1995 model and I'm well aware that it has gone beyond it's intended lifespan. If it's any consolation, manufacturers are required in other markets to continue parts and service for the next 15 years after the model has been replaced (my model was replaced in 1998).

**rogie** · January 2nd, 2011 01:43 PM

i also noticed this sobrang bilis dumumi ng engine bay ng fiesta and i dont know kung safe ba punasan ito or used cali duster baka kasi may tamaang sensor.

**vivafoxpro** · January 2nd, 2011 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by OTEP

Realistic or not, that is indeed the designed lifespan of almost all new vehicles nowadays.

Natumbok mo Doc. That maxim specially holds true in the IT industry. If Microsoft or Intel did not put out the next model, their company would just close shop.

Our cars have become computers on wheels.

Thanks for your objective view on the topic.

**vivafoxpro** · January 2nd, 2011 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by rogie

i also noticed this sobrang bilis dumumi ng engine bay ng fiesta and i dont know kung safe ba punasan ito or used cali duster baka kasi may tamaang sensor.

I have yet to test the "tapal". I will do a follow-up post by next weekend. My Tuesday route takes me over a short dirt road.

I myself plan to get a small compressor to clean the engine cavity. That way pati singit (which are more important) eh malinisan.

I also want to zero in on the source not remedy the effects.

**gatmaitan20** · January 2nd, 2011 03:33 PM

Keep us updated sir, malamang developer ka sir...

**desert fox** · January 2nd, 2011 03:39 PM

masinsin lang talaga si insan sa kotse nya.....

**GulongGong** · January 2nd, 2011 03:42 PM

seems you really like modding sir, a DIY'er eh? thats good..

..I also noticed this, parang ang bilis nga mag accumulate ng dust sa engine bay.. I used a leaf blower for it.. ang hirap gamitin ng car duster kasi daming singit singit.. hindi kasi putik yung dumi, it's a mix of dust and some fine sand or something?...