I have a 1990 ford festiva 1.3l base hatchback with an automatic tranny, the transmission is bad i am purchasing a new one. How easy is the swap? I have the space,tools,and time.
Asked by thornagold Nov 05, 2014 at 07:19 AM about the 1990 Ford Festiva
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I am mechanically capable and have plenty of space and help. Is the swap going to be
easy or should i not waste the time and have it put in for me?
8 Answers
pretty easy on a quick glance. Are you thinking you will want to remove the engine as well to clean it up and do some preventive work on it or leave it in? I only have a few minutes so I may miss some things. One important thought is making sure you don't mess with the alignment via the tie rods. You can pull both of the bolts that hold the knuckle to the strut and use leverage by quickly pulling the knuckle towards you, repeatedly, to remove each axle. let me know if you plan to remove the engine and I'll try to give tips there. I haven't worked with AT's much but I know the starter is in the typical hidden spot under the intake manifold and is relatively heavy. *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*STEPS*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* I haven't picked up an AT but I know the MT's are quite light. So my first thought is, if you have a good back: drain the fluid, remove the cable gear selector and starter and everything else attached to the trans (other than mounts), pull the axles, support the drivers side of the trans from falling, remove the 4 main bolts and then the 2 underneath to the support brackets and the 10mm bolt holding the dust guard to the trans, also remove the bolts to the mounts on the cross-member. I think there are cooler lines as well, if you do it right, just remove it so you can let it drain and then push it out of the way. Look for anything I missed and then lift it out. reverse steps to install. If you need to drop the cross member (CM), have some wood under the oil pan, it should be okay between the passenger engine mount and enough support under the pan. Then remove the 4? bolts holding in the CM and then lower it out the bottom. You can also check around on wwwDOTfordfestivaDOTcom as it is an AWESOME resource!! And I would recommend checking your bearings? between the trans/engine and seal and read up on the torque converters in general. I also don't know much about filling those accurately.. something to look into. Keep me posted, ask any questions and I hope it goes well :)
thornagold answered 10 years ago
thank you very helpful and very much appreciated sir. And i do not plan on doing anything with the engine i have a replacement one im gonna run the one in it into the ground then replace.
Is anything wrong with the current engine? Bearings? Seals? Pumps? Other?
thornagold answered 10 years ago
bad gasket but hasnt been run since i plan on replacing the head and gasket when i do the tranny.
Ah, okay. With all that work, you might just pull the engine and trans at the same time instead of fighting both jobs at different times. For the HG, you'll have to disconnect the intake mani bracket, fuel lines, coolant lines to the TB, exhaust mani, main coil wire, some wiring near/above the T-stat, probably just remove the entire intake tube and air filter housing, etc. Not to mention cleaning the deck in prep for the new gasket. Make sure you have a torque wrench and a 12-point 12mm and/or 13mm socket. I don't know why some engines had bigger bolts, but some did. And don't lose the washers!! ;) And you don't have to remove the throttle body to get the valve cover off. use a 1/4" drive angle adapter with the 10mm shorty to remove the back middle bolt. Then you just turn the engine over to a certain time and it moves the valves a certain way to clear the sides of the cover. How is the oil pan gasket doing? They are sometimes notorious leakers..
not related to this guys I need some assistance I just got a 1990 Ford Festiva L plus model I need to find out what I can do to get a water pump pulley I have somebody stripped my car down and took the pulley belt and a couple other things so I need some help to find maybe a sub model vehicle that takes a steam engine or that I could get the part also no one seems to have it anywhere Ford stop making it so anybody please help
Hi James, sorry for the unfortunate news. I'm not super free to help at the moment but I would recommend the Festiva forum, www.fordfestiva.com , and ask for help - you will get very quick help. You might even get help from a local member, if available. If you need additional help, come back to cargurus and start a new question as I'm subscribed to the festiva questions. Best regards,
