Possible Engine issue?

[stueyuk]

Hello all,

I am new here and was hoping for a little bit of info. I bought my wife a ForFour 2 years ago from Mercedes Birmingham. Its a 55 plate car.

We have now swapped cars (due to the baby seat fitting into my car but not the Smart) and the 1st thing that I noticed is just how under powered the car seems. I had driven it a few times while it was her 'main' car and dont remember it being this sluggish and slow. Also the engine noise is almost to the point of being unbareable.

It has been in for a Major service, and had all the breaks replaced. They say that the exhaust is fine, no holes or anything and had no explination for it being not-quite-as-nippy as I remeber.

Is it a known issue, is it due to the age of the car, is it wear of the engine or components causing the noise and performance issues?

Any info would be great.

Cheers.

Stu

[10:45PM]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

Forfour

what?

petrol , diesel ?

Manual?

Also the engine noise is almost to the point of being unbareable.

Under load ? , just driving in general ?

Any info would be great.

what you said

don't remember it being this sluggish and slow.

Sometimes driving 'another' car for a long while and then getting back in a smart can be a big shock

[stueyuk]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

Sorry, for the lack of info - DOH

Its a 55 plate, petrol, Manual 5 speed geabox.

The noise is just in general, its either just me in the car going up and down the motorway to work, or me and a collegue in the car doing the same journey. Noise starts at about 60mph and at 70 its the loudest - funny thing is if you do 75+ it tends to get quieter but in general I stick to 70 to save fuel and not to 'thrash' the smart.

I had a 1.2 ford fiesta before so that was hardly mega fast, but I am sure the Smart was quicker out of the blocks than this.

Someone said that they have aluminuim engines could this just be down to wear?

[10:45PM]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

Someone said that they have aluminuim engines could this just be down to wear?

Where it matters, ie the final cylinder/piston interface ain't aluminiumso no, being an aluminium block has no bearing on the power.
Is it a 1.1 litre ?

Regardless it could however, be down on compression which would have an effect on power.
or even overful of engine oil can take the power down, as can a few other things


The only thing I can suggest is find an identical powered forfour and compare side by side
or have your dyno'd to confirm output

[stueyuk]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

yes I believe that its the 1.1 I cannot be 100% at the moment but that sounds about right. If its low on compression have can that be resolved? I can check the oil, however as its just had a service I would expect the levels to be spot on (it had a full drain, new old filter, new oil etc).

Thanks for the speed of the replies, I am impressed. And sorry for missing fairly crucial info out...

[basilbrush]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

The 1.1 although quite good is the smallest Forfour engine and is a three cylinder to boot. It will have a thrummy engine note due to the basic imbalance of three pot engines.
It's really meant to be a town car and that's why 1.3 and 1.5 four cylinder engines are available. It will feel slow when coming out of a faster car. Try a 1Litre Corsa that'll be even slower

[problemchild1976]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

doesn't seem like anything to worry about as i have not heard of a forfour engine giving up (yet) touch wood!!

think about it though....

1.2 fiesta vs 1.1 forfour..... fiesta is smaller, lighter, zetec engine??? probvably is a nippier car!!

with these things (noises etc) the more you focus on it, the more you convince yourself its an issue

JJ

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[JasonP]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

Mileage?

If you put your foot on the clutch at 65-70 (when it's loudest) and allow the revs to fall to idle does the noise diminish?

If not, look at the wheel bearings. One of mine was on the way out and the amount of noise was unbelievable - but it creeps up on you, so I had become accustomed to it. Now I'm driving around in comparative silence - bliss! And my MPG ghas increased, so a win all round.

Jason

[jace]

Re: Possible Engine issue?

yes I believe that its the 1.1 I cannot be 100% at the moment but that sounds about right. If its low on compression have can that be resolved? I can check the oil, however as its just had a service I would expect the levels to be spot on (it had a full drain, new old filter, new oil etc).

Thanks for the speed of the replies, I am impressed. And sorry for missing fairly crucial info out...

Check the oil, I know of somebody who bought a very well looked after for four, fully serviced by a main dealer, when he checked the oil level it was 1.5 liters high

JC