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!