Sierra Club

I'm John and I begin with two confessions: (1) I'm not from the island of Ireland (so why is it that everybody else seems to be?) (2) My first love is motorcycles.
BUT - I own a 1992 Sierra Estate 1.8 CVH which I purchased new and which now represents my second best friend (after Capt. Morgan), which has covered 85000 almost trouble-free miles (apart from consumables etc), and which constitutes a fulfilling hobby in respect of my ambition to keep it on the road until the MOT commandants drag it to the scrap-heap.

Now two questions: (1) Why is there so much indifference (as evidenced on the forum) towards the CVH engine which has served me so well over all this time?
(2) How do you set about about replacing 6mm fuel pipe when nobody seems to stock it any more? Anybody help, bearing in mind that in the UK at least the vehicle testing people wont allow rubber piping underneath?

Regards to all.

Welcome on board. The site is aimed at Sierra's in Ireland and the UK mainly, but all the members at the moment seem to be Irish, including myself! I'm not sure about why people hate CVH's, I think it's just because they are slow so most people don't mind them, also they have given some people alot of trouble, but you seem to have a good one. Can't help much with the fuel pipe, unless perhaps you could use a slightly smaller or larger one? There's probably stockists out there, only to find them. Get some pics up of your Sierra for us

Hi,

Im the site admin, and im based in the northwest of england, firstly Welcome in. We are currently a small but growing community and so I hope you do come back often and share some pics of your car with us.

It's not that we hate CVH's, I personally find they can be a very reliable engine when treated correctly. Unfortunately they have got a bad reputation as there is so many abused examples out there, and they have a few weaknesses.

As for the 6mm pipe, MOT testers will allow you passed an MOT with a rubber pipe as long as its fuel grade hose, however I found one of my local motor factors sold the metal line but had to order it in, it was there next day and made from a copper/nickel alloy.

Thank you for early responses paddy and natehall - I will be sure to follow up valuable information you offer in relation to my petrol pipe problem.

I inadvertantly misled when I wrote of my 85000 (virtual) trouble-free miles in my 17 years as a Sierra owner; I'd forgotten that at about 75,000 the cylinder head gasket failed, and I was wondering if this was one of the faults that leaves the CVH in such ill repute. I agree that that they lack power, but, there again, that's probably the way the designer intended them to be. I tend to go on reliability and despite the item mentioned above I cannot complain. When I took the top off to do the gasket I found hardly any carbon deposit, no doubt of course due to some degree to improved quality of fuel in recent times. And I love the accessibility of these machines - not only the motor but the vehicle in general.

I do not at present have the technical equipment to send a picture but popular demand suggests I should now make some more effort to achieve computer competence. In fact when it comes to image the old girl can turn a head much in the way of Joan Collins, but without the make-up.

But I am wondering if my car is on her last lap because at the last MOT test a few weeks ago the bloke pointed out in funereal fashion a corroding sill might not be able to be replaced because the bit to which it is attached (I know all the technical terms!) is itself in process of corrosion. It does not look so bad to me, and I am not happy at the prospect of having to scrap a car that in most respects is very sound and a long way from being unroadworthy in any serious sense.
I would be grateful for any suggestions about how I could deal with this little problem.

Thanks again for comments.

there never beyond repair if you want to put the effort in, and if you are a MOT tester do you want that pig of a job you can only get x amount for or 10 easy jobs you can earn twice as much on?

It sounds like you have quite a good one, when my 3 were cvh's (they all started out as cvh's) they were reliableish motors and good cars in general - however they are seriously underpowered for the size of the car in my opinion, the twincam that i replaced one of my cvh's with returned better MPG and performance due to teh fact it has the all important torque!

I think the cvh has a great reputation in the escort / fiesta scene - but ford just shouldnt have upped it to a 1800 for the sierra as it wasnt really a strong enough engine for the range.

Yes, I have to admit what you say about attitude of MOT testers did cross my mind at the time. Thanks for words of encouragement - I certainly won't let Mr Car-crusher get hold of mine without a fight.

Keep it on the road for as long as you can Sierra's are a dieing breed, so look after it. Parts are widely available and reasonably priced in general so there's no reason not to. Get some pics up of it

johns wrote:Yes, I have to admit what you say about attitude of MOT testers did cross my mind at the time. Thanks for words of encouragement - I certainly won't let Mr Car-crusher get hold of mine without a fight.

Good!

to give you an idea of how much pride i have in my (ex cvh) saph, at its last mot it needed a new seat mount welding in, 18 months on im stripping the bottom of the car back to bare metal to inspect it and then clean up any areas that need fixing!

I also have 4 new brake calipers for it, and am going to be powder coating all of the underside parts to try and get them to last a bit longer and put a new engine in it, this was at the first signs of rust in my ownership