What have you done to your Festiva today!?

[200KGPGTP]

Replaced rear wheel bearings. Left rear this time. When I bought it a few months ago, I had my mechanic pack both rears. The right side went out a couple of weeks later. Now the lefts. Is this common? I keep hearing that things that work on other cars don't work these cars, is this one of them? BTW, my Festy has 235K on it.

Seems hit and miss. Had to replace both of mine a few times until I had a set that lasted.

[bravekozak]

Packing the wheel bearings properly with high quality grease is vital to longevity.
I recommend a milled EP2 grease like Esso Unirex EP-2. (use EP-1 grease in Alaska and Ladex sub zero in Nunavut)
Make sure the bearings are packed from the large end, if you are doing it by hand.
In other words, push the grease into the clean roller bearings from the back of the wider end, until it oozes through the narrow end of the race, without any air pockets. I once lab tested almost every grease available on the market. One of the most brutal tests was the ASTM D3527 wheel bearing test. You could tell from the slump and how much oil separated out into the cap, just how good the formulation of the grease really was. Esso mills all of their soap bases smooth before they add the oil to soften it, and then the Extreme Pressure (EP) additives.

Personally, I would never trust anyone but myself to pack my own bearings properly.
I don't just use the palm of ny hand, but a small spatula to force the grease into the race. I slowly rotate the bearing in my fingers while pushing in the grease with the spatula.
Did your mechanic use a mechanical bearing packer? Or did he do it by hand?
If you repack your wheel bearings, make sure you soak your bearings in solvent to get out every last bit of the old grease. Did you see the ugly gray grease in the Youtube video? It is a non-milled Molybdenum disulphide grease. Moly for short.
Don't use it.

[TheresGabe]

First time I've bought my festy something new in a month or two... Just ordered this!

[Oren09]

Aqua passed inspection and I got it registered. It's legal now!

[ckiesman]

Replaced front crank seal. One oil leak down!!! Took 3 hours including cleanup, not too painful.

not to bad of a job is it? lol. I though it would take way longer than necessary. About all I did on mine today was took off the sun visors and cleaned them really well in the house. Im impressed with how good they look.

[DriverOne]

Re: What have you done to your Festiva today!?

God, it's cold this morning! Last night it rained and then froze. I was greeted this morning by a popfesty. I ended up using cold hose water to get the door to open. Eesh! Class...

[Huli]

Re: What have you done to your Festiva today!?

Yesterday:
The voltage regulator went out.... hooray! Of course it was over voltage so new battery too!

Today:
Picking up alternator that was special order, and probably new battery.

Festiva fact:
NOS alternator from Ford costs $689 and there are only two left in the country. Ford guy didn't hang up on me, even after a full two minutes of laughing!

[DriverOne]

Re: What have you done to your Festiva today!?

Huli, there's a guy close by me who could repair your alternator at a great rate. He's been in the business for years.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39561

[Huli]

Re: What have you done to your Festiva today!?

Thanks Driver1... I could not wait. My festy is currently my daily driver so had to go the $$ route. Did find out it was the wrong alternator and the battery was too small.

So now, at least I have the correct parts :thumbup:

[TorqueEffect]

First time I've bought my festy something new in a month or two... Just ordered this!

I have been thinking of getting one like that, depending on my tax refund, I may get one. Except I think I will go for this one.

[TheresGabe]

After taking the picture I posted in the other post with the Spark on my lunch, I looked at the picture and realized how dirty my little car was. So, even though it was only 13 degrees, at least my car is clean.

[gergorian]

Nice! I really like your car. What did you use for the stripe? vinyl or is it painted on?

[greywolf200]

Packing the wheel bearings properly with high quality grease is vital to longevity.

Thanks for all the great information brave. I always preferred packing my bearings myself, but a spinal cord injury has curtailed some of the things I can do. Your explanations gave me more things to wonder about. I always cleaned bearings prior to repacking, but don't know if my mechanic did and of course if you're getting paid by the job, a mechanical packer is the quick way to go. I was surprised about your comment about Moly grease, I was under the impression Moly was an excellent lubricant. I guess it all depends on the application.

Thanks again,

[bravekozak]

TheresGabe, you might consider getting a rally II shift knob to match your body stripe.

Greywolf, milling the soap base of a grease varies from one to three hours. It is checked on a grind gauge, just like paint. I haven't seen a Moly grease that was milled. Another great test is to feel a dab of grease in between your thumb and forefinger, to check for any gritty particles of stearate from the soap base. Maybe you can ask your mechanic if you can see how he packs your bearings next time. Tell him you are curious to see how its done and buy him a cup of coffee.
All the best.

[ericsmith32]

What have you done to your Festiva today!?

Had a small miss I've noticed lately. Pulled the disty cap and rotor and cleaned both with sand paper. Much smoother now. Checked the trans and nothing! Didn't realize it was leaking or maybe I was just checking it with the engine off.

Also adjusted the spark plug gap on the Focus and bypassed the dpfe sensor. That seems to cured its cutting out also. Must of been my day for working on cars!