97 ford ka

boxermad

the sister in law has decided on a 97 ford ka so im goin bringing her to see it this evening have ye got any hints or tips on what to look out for like the common faults that they have. Also have they got a timing belt and water pump?

biko

Read the main sticky "A Guide on buying Used Cars in Ireland" for general tips.

Reviews
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/ka-1996/
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/ford/ka/

I think the Ka's have a timing chain, not a belt. You won't need to to change it (normally).

no1beemerfan

The missus went through two of these. Good fun to drive. Were reliable. The few problems we had was rust on the scuttle and around the fuel filler housing. Also the springs had a tendency to snap so check the suspension. Also check the brakes and tracking. The inside pads wear a lot quicker than the outside. I think they had a timing belt but its a few years ago now so can't remember 100%. Also the car can be noisy what with road noise and the engine at motorway speed.

Max Power1

If its the 1.3 version, thats the same (one of) engine thats in the fiesta of that era.

Ancient, sounds like a diesel its so loud, but relatively bulletproof.

Timing chain
It has a water pump :pac:

If you had a spark plug wrench it might be worth while making sure the plugs aren't rust welded to the head.

darragh o meara

no1beemerfan wrote: »

The missus went through two of these. Good fun to drive. Were reliable. The few problems we had was rust on the scuttle and around the fuel filler housing. Also the springs had a tendency to snap so check the suspension. Also check the brakes and tracking. The inside pads wear a lot quicker than the outside. I think they had a timing belt but its a few years ago now so can't remember 100%. Also the car can be noisy what with road noise and the engine at motorway speed.

There is no riming belt on a 1997 Ka so thats one less thing to look for. Engines are usually bulletproof but look anyway. Check for creamy residue under the oil filler cap. Listen for any major noises from the engine while running, these engines have tappets in the engine and generally can be a bit noisey so a bit of a ticking noise is ok.

Other than that there are a few things to check, wishbones go regularly enough.

Pull back the rubber door seal on the bottom of both doors and unfortunately you WILL find rust (design fault) you will also most likely find rust under the sill under the door. This would be the only thing that would put me off recommending a 97 one although they all suffer from this. ( Ive had 6 ka's and everyone of these had the same problem.

Another check is to open the boot and sit on the boot seal and see do the suspension tops rattle inside the boot.

Great car if you can get a rust free one.

Joe 90

The wife has one, a 2001. She has had it 8 years and the only thing replaced apart from tyres, wiper blades and servicing has been the heater water valve. Great basic car, no frills to give trouble. I often wonder what it would be like with a decent sized engine.

Max Power1

Joe 90 wrote: »

The wife has one, a 2001. She has had it 8 years and the only thing replaced apart from tyres, wiper blades and servicing has been the heater water valve. Great basic car, no frills to give trouble. I often wonder what it would be like with a decent sized engine.

Ive driven the 1.3 ka of that era and found the engine more than adequate power wise.

unkel

The 1.25l Yamaha engine that went into some Fiestas of the same age is more powerful, more frugal, much more modern than the old pushrod 1.3. That said, I agree with Max Power1 that the 60BHP 1.3 is adequate power for a small supermini. And as others said, no timing belt to worry about. A well maintained low mileage 1.3 will last for a long time and there is very little to go wrong. If the engine doesn't sound too tappety, that's usually a good sign.

Max Power1

unkel wrote: »

The 1.25l Yamaha engine that went into some Fiestas of the same age is more powerful, more frugal, much more modern than the old pushrod 1.3. That said, I agree with Max Power1 that the 60BHP 1.3 is adequate power for a small supermini. And as others said, no timing belt to worry about. A well maintained low mileage 1.3 will last for a long time and there is very little to go wrong. If the engine doesn't sound too tappety, that's usually a good sign.

I've 110k miles on mine currently. No issues to date, although I think the clutch may be on the way out.

Zubeneschamali

unkel wrote: »

If the engine doesn't sound too tappety, that's usually a good sign.

I'm not sure I'd be able to tell if it's too tappety or not, they all sound like a bag of spanners.

RobAMerc

am I right in saying they didn't ever have P/s either ? certainly the 97 1.3 didn't.

I think the Ka would be cutesier for her and more fun to drive but a 1.25 Fiesta would be a better car to learn to drive in.

Joe 90

RobAMerc wrote: »

am I right in saying they didn't ever have P/s either ? certainly the 97 1.3 didn't.

I think the Ka would be cutesier for her and more fun to drive but a 1.25 Fiesta would be a better car to learn to drive in.

Most of them did have it. I suspect that it may though have been an option on the earlier ones.

Joe 90

Max Power1 wrote: »

Ive driven the 1.3 ka of that era and found the engine more than adequate power wise.

Put your foot down at 70 (mph) and not a lot happens.

unkel

Joe 90 wrote: »

Put your foot down at 70 (mph) and not a lot happens.

In 5th gear without dropping a gear or two? The same is true for 95% of cars in Ireland. Anyway, if you're buying a tiny engined supermini car, it is for going to the shops. Not for putting your foot down at 70MPH

Joe 90

unkel wrote: »

In 5th gear without dropping a gear or two? The same is true for 95% of cars in Ireland. Anyway, if you're buying a tiny engined supermini car, it is for going to the shops. Not for putting your foot down at 70MPH

Drop a gear and still not what I would call lively but as you say not a car you would buy to go street racing. It is in fact bloody good at what it is meant to be.
Mind you, I keep wondering if for ever produce a 1600 crossflow block for their FWD cars. Bore it to 85mm and you have 1760ccs. Could be a very nice Q car:)

_Conrad_

unkel wrote: »

In 5th gear without dropping a gear or two? The same is true for 95% of cars in Ireland. Anyway, if you're buying a tiny engined supermini car, it is for going to the shops. Not for putting your foot down at 70MPH

Exactly. Why would anybody with an ounce of reason in their head worry about going faster than 70mph in a ford KA? (or fiesta, micra, starlet etc etc.)


Anyway, KAs are not fast, exciting or powerful, but they're simple and pretty durable, the ancient nature of the 1.3 engine is actually a benefit in some ways, they're tough and easy to work on. They all sound rattly, that's just how they are.

Once it's driving alright and not rusty it should be fine.

Max Power1

Joe 90 wrote: »

Put your foot down at 70 (mph) and not a lot happens.

Find me a car (any car) with 60HP that can?

Its not meant for that, ka's are supposed to be nippy around town and have good poke in the lower gears for town driving.

If you want motorway power and accelaration at 70mph buy a 530d or something.

witchgirl26

boxermad wrote: »

the sister in law has decided on a 97 ford ka so im goin bringing her to see it this evening have ye got any hints or tips on what to look out for like the common faults that they have. Also have they got a timing belt and water pump?

I've a 2002 Ford Ka - tis my first car & I love it. Have it going on 3 years now. Only things I've had to replace are the brake pads, wipers and top plates (still not too sure what they were). Also the battery but that was my fault. Was warned when buying to look for rust as apparently this can be a big prob for ka's. Check out Honest John for some tips on what to look out for. http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/ka-1996/

Joe 90

Max Power1 wrote: »

Find me a car (any car) with 60HP that can?

Its not meant for that, ka's are supposed to be nippy around town and have good poke in the lower gears for town driving.

If you want motorway power and accelaration at 70mph buy a 530d or something.

Agreed, its not what you would buy purely to try to go quickly, just remarking that it is sluggish outside town. As I said, it does what it is supposed to do bloody well.
Mind you I wouldn't be shopping for a 530d if I were out buying a performance car.

Max Power1

Joe 90 wrote: »

Agreed, its not what you would buy purely to try to go quickly, just remarking that it is sluggish outside town. As I said, it does what it is supposed to do bloody well.
Mind you I wouldn't be shopping for a 530d if I were out buying a performance car.

It was the first that came to mind when i thought of cruising on a motorway!

nkay1985

Max Power1 wrote: »

Its not meant for that, ka's are supposed to be nippy around town and have good poke in the lower gears for town driving.

Absolutely right. My wife had a 01 or 02 I think as her second car. Never gave any trouble and was nippy and good fun around town. Could also handle motorway driving without feeling like it was going to fall apart around you. She changed to a 03 Polo and regretted the decision for the past three or four years until she managed to get out of the Polo. Her sister almost certainly had a 97 one and bought another one after that so no bad experiences there either.

Joe 90

Max Power1 wrote: »

It was the first that came to mind when i thought of cruising on a motorway!

Yes, for motorway cruising i suppose you could do a lot worse. I was thinking in terms of performance 4 seat saloons, pretty limited really, Evo RS, M3 or maybe a good Scoob. By performance I mean quick in a staright line, sub 5 secs to 60 and quick through the twisty bits.

Joe 90

Joe 90 wrote: »

Yes, for motorway cruising i suppose you could do a lot worse. I was thinking in terms of performance 4 seat saloons, pretty limited really, Evo RS, M3 or maybe a good Scoob. By performance I mean quick in a staright line, sub 5 secs to 60 and quick through the twisty bits.

I don't think that's of interest to someone thinking of a 97 Ka :pac:

David09

The biggie with these cars is rust. They really do rot from every place imaginable. I had to put one through an nct recently and had a nightmare job of having to weld in a multitude of plates into it. Strangely enough, the rust problem isn't quite as prevalent on fiestas of similar age.

When inspecting, you need to check the sills, under the door rubber seals, bulkhead, up behind each side of the rear bumpers, boot floor from above and below, (usually at each extreme corner), front crossmember behind the bumper, again from above and below and finally the chassis sections where the rear axle bolts on.

It might seem like a lot, but don't buy a ka without checking these areas as it could well be hiding a horror story beneath.

Mechanically, they are as tough as nails. Contrary to what has been posted, they don't have "tappets". They employ an old design chain-driven ohv setup. The valve clearances require checking and adjusting, usually at every major service but they are a relatively easy job to do.
Failing to adjust them results in a noisy engine, but easily rectified.

Power steering was an optional extra on them which most people opted for when new.

Good luck with your car-hunt.

David09

Just to give you an idea...

boxermad

think we got lucky we collected it lastnite nd der isnt alot of rust just afew specs here and there the only thing is the lacker (excuse my spelling) is lifting in places but it isnt a big problem. took it for a test drive and it hit 90mph without fail but she wont be going that fast as she is onlyu starting to drive. there isnt 1 squeek of the suspension and it has 105m up on it and was serviced on 103m so we got a bargain in my eyes.

boxermad

ps thanks for all the replys was muchly appreciated

Max Power1

boxermad wrote: »

think we got lucky we collected it lastnite nd der isnt alot of rust just afew specs here and there the only thing is the lacker (excuse my spelling) is lifting in places but it isnt a big problem. took it for a test drive and it hit 90mph without fail but she wont be going that fast as she is onlyu starting to drive. there isnt 1 squeek of the suspension and it has 105m up on it and was serviced on 103m so we got a bargain in my eyes.

Is that the 1.3 ka?

The same engine in my fiesta hits an indicated 97 but its actually 89-90 according to satnav so that sounds bang on

boxermad

boxermad wrote: »

so we got a bargain in my eyes.

How much was it?

witchgirl26

boxermad wrote: »

think we got lucky we collected it lastnite nd der isnt alot of rust just afew specs here and there the only thing is the lacker (excuse my spelling) is lifting in places but it isnt a big problem. took it for a test drive and it hit 90mph without fail but she wont be going that fast as she is onlyu starting to drive. there isnt 1 squeek of the suspension and it has 105m up on it and was serviced on 103m so we got a bargain in my eyes.

Have to say - it's a great car to learn to drive in, speaking as someone who's doing just that & waiting on her test. My sister learnt in a Ka aswell & says the same. Just tell her to keep an eye on the rust. Hope she gets on well with it.

ottostreet

weirdly, i actually enjoy driving one, they're 'fun'. You feel like a rally driver at about 55mph, and it feels like you can just throw the car around.

My sister had one as her first car, a 98 with no power steering. it slowly disintegrated in every way but mechanically. id recommend one for a year or two as a cheap as chips kinda car.

boxermad

RoverJames wrote: »

How much was it?

we got it for 730 he wanted 850 for it so i got him down a good bit, has 4 new tires, just passed the nct and recently serviced