Four members of the same family had all been owners of this 2002 Ford. The dad had bought it nearly fifteen years ago, as his daily drive, and then passed it onto his wife, then 2 children.

Getting a little long in the tooth now, the little 1.3 engine was still going strong, and with regular servicing, it had never let the family down. It was now singing out every time the engine was started, and it appeared to be a fault with the starter motor.

It was only when I removed the starter and saw the condition of it, that I checked the teeth on the flywheel ring gear. The starter was actually ok, but the ring gear, over time, had been mashed, and was the cause of the singing starter.

Having given such good service to the family over the years, the owner was happy to let me go ahead with the repair. On removing the gearbox, I was pleased to find that the clutch was still in very good condition and didn’t need replacing.

After fitting the new ring gear and putting everything back together, I was confident that the Fiesta would still be good for a few years.

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