2014 Fiesta OEM+ build

In parallel to my adventures with rust management, I'm experimenting with different suspension setups. I have the 2014MY and the 2014-2016 (up to feb) model years have a stiffer spring rate (around 10% stiffer) than later-model cars (2016 March and beyond). Also, the dampers have a different part number and the later model years have beefier front sway bars and possibly thicker rear beams. Qualitative reports on this forum indicate that the ride is softer and less harsh on the later year models.

I want that better ride quality as I find my 2014 is pretty hardcore. As I'm approaching my 30s this summer, I find myself wanting a more sophisticated ride (less NVH and more compliant). When I got this car at 20, I certainly did not mind the harsh ride, but I'm doing way more daily driving in the city and the roads here in Montréal are pretty bad. As I plan to keep this car for the next five years at least, I don't mind investing in refreshing the suspension all around.

From here on out, I'll refer the early model springs & dampers as 2014 and the later model ones as 2019. It'll be easier to type and to refer to.

I purchased stock 2019 springs from @Dialcaliper and mounted them at the rear with the stock 2014 dampers. (Here)

Change in ride, almost nothing. What did change was the clunking from the worn bushings was gone, but I could not detect the difference in the rear.

Next up, I bought the OEM 2019 dampers and installed them with the stock OEM foam spring perches.


Here are some photos comparing the 2014 and 2019 dampers.

If you notice, the two different colors. Red & yellow indicate 2014 dampers. Blue & yellow indicate 2019 dampers. Anyone else can confirm/infirm this?



Serial numbers.


The left dampers have 14500 kms (9k miles). So I would consider them broken in.


View from the back.

Now I have the full 2019 rear setup (springs + dampers). Since then, I have not been able to feel a difference for the back end. It's still as ''crashy'' and harsh as the 2014 rear setup (good to know).

Up next, I would like to get both the 2014 and 2019 dampers on the shock dyno to compare the curves of both. Now I know this is of little importance as people are manly swapping these out for B6's or coilover adjustable dampers, but this is for my curiosity. I'm also interested in dynoing the front dampers eventually, as my front left one was replaced not too long ago due to a hit & run (gotta love downtown). My goal is to dyno somewhat fresh dampers, but now new new ones. I'd like to see 8-9k miles on them to get them settled and then dyno. I'd be super interested to see the results in comparison to @Fusion Works thread.

If I compress the 2014 rear shocks, they ''almost'' can't extend back out on their own. It takes a good minute to extend back. This is either high rebound damping and/or low gas force if I would guess.

Do not use extension time or compression feel to try and determine shock forces. They mean nothing when doing it by hand. Also there is very little pressure in the OEM dampers as they are a twin tube shock, not a mono tube.

Noted, thanks for the insight.

Interesting developments in my suspension experiments. I managed to get a used set of BC Racing coil overs for $350CAD (255 USD) on a Fiesta ST group on facebook.

The person selling them hit a monster pothole and the front right damper gave out. He ordered two new front replacement dampers to replace them, but failed to disassemble them fully. He did not have impact tools and some rings were stuck in place.


Big package and quite heavy.


The two boxes in the center are the new replacement dampers.


Here is a full inventory of parts.


Difference in height between OEM springs (left) and BC Racing 3k rear springs (right). Rightmost is a front 5k spring.

Does anyone have experience with unfreezing stuck rings on these coil over threaded bodies? I managed to get a couple of ones off, but the remaining are the two rear dampers and one ring for the front damper.

I could buy new rings for the front, but I need a solution for the rear rings. I tried a bunch of penetrating oil as well as heating up the rings to no avail. I'm starting to chew up the rings themselves. I've seen online videos and posts about soaking the shock bodies in ATF, that will probably be my next step.

It's an inherently difficult part to clamp or affix to a bench... Circular body with threads you don't want to damage + slim rings with limited angles.

Leather/rubber straps to clamp it down and a hammer and chisel/flathead screwdriver to knock the rings loose.

Tools of this nature does exist, but can be jerry rigged with rubber/leather strap in a vice.

I actually broke a tool just like this at the handle. I'll have to buy a sturdier one.

I've seen recommendations for an air chisel. Knocks the rings loose, but not sure if you can reuse them after.

had the same issue with the rings of the BCs on my old MR2, hope you get it sorted out!

An air chisel might wreck some of the outer threads. Especially if they're a soft metal, but might be worth a try.

Else if it's corrosion creating the issue you might try to soak it in some mild acid. This is a reference to cookware in aluminium, but there could be a trick or two to try out.
https://schaumburgspecialties.com/how-to-remove-oxidation-from-aluminum-stepbystep-instructions/

Some might have seen this in the daily thread already, but I completely replaced the sub-frame. Here is a more detailed description of it.

Starting off with a lot of hardware. I actually ordered spares for almost all bolts, just in case.


You can also see that I got new braces and a control arm.


Subframe was shipped as is, no box. I carefully removed all the shipping stickers.


Unfortunately, the did bend this piece (you can see where the paint flaked...)


Another view of the extra hardware.


Starting off with undoing the sway-bar endlinks, tie-rod end and the lower control arm nut at the knuckle. I had immense trouble removing the passenger tie-rod. I have to heat-shock the tie-rod 2-3 times with a torch and PB blaster.


If you needed a reminder of why it needed to be replaced. If you have a keen eye, the exhaust hanger has rusted off.


Placed a table underneath the subframe, lowered the lift a couple of inches above it and started to impact out the bolts carefully.


Another view of the underside.


Full thing out.


Underneath, without the subframe. I was quite surprised at the condition of the underside. Apart from some surface rust, this is still solid. Mind you, I never rust treated the underside of this car (major mistake in hindsight, but very time-consuming).


Big rust holes.


Flaking off. You can imagine the loss of rigidity this caused in the car.


Set up a little station and started to undo the steering rack.


Impact drivers for rusted parts are KEY. Well worth it, just make sure to hold it with two hands.


For reference for others. The yellow dot is placed towards the front.


Everything out.


New subframe on the table, ready for reassembly.


First order of business is coating the entire thing in Fluid Film. I then brushed it over with a paintbrush to even out a coat in every crevice.


You can see the paint brush strokes.


New sway bar bushings, bolts, and brackets. I cleaned the swaybar itself, but did not de-rust it.


Faced my first setback. The bolts in the ford diagram are wrong. The right part number for the front lower control arm bolts is (W715977-S900). I re-used the old ones (they are torque to yield, so I will be replacing them when I install the swave brace).


I cleaned the old control arm and coated with fluid film. Did the same for the new control arm, minus the cleaning. Installed the rack with new bolts. Placed anti-seize on some bolts, mainly the ones that required the impact driver when I removed the old subframe.


You can see in this shot, the swaybar endlink that the alignment shop replaced 6 months ago. It's super heavy, stiff and hits the inside of the wheel well. Not recommended. Since this picture, I received the OEM part and installed it.


Second hiccup with installing the subframe. The whoosh subframe centering spacers on the upper bolt had a slightly too big of an OD and could not fully fit inside.


Lower spacer fit fine however.


OD measurement.


ID measurement of the new subframe.


ID measurement of the old subframe.

Actually exchanged a couple of emails with Ron. He recommended scrapping off the paint inside of the tube of the new subframe. I would rather not do that (because of rust concerns).


So I just chucked it on the lathe.


Did not take long, removed just a bit more than the anodization.


Measurement after machining for reference.


Success! With liberal amounts of anti-seize.


We are in. Now it's time for the insane torque to yield bolts. Let me get my 10-foot cheater bar.


I torqued to the first torque spec and used a silver sharpie to mark down the 240deg angle, so I could make my life easier. I was alone, so I had to check frequently. You can see I marked the 180 deg + the 240 deg mark.


Once I torqued everything to spec, I lathered the underside with Fluid-Film.


I since plugged the holes in the subframe with rubber blank grommets.


Even the lower control arms.

Did I feel the difference? Absolutely yes. It was a night and day difference. Tracks straighter, less torque steer. Happy I did this, but it was expensive. This is the downside of having a performance version of the car that is based on an economy platform. You might say that this is only because it has seen 10 winters, but it's true regardless.

Overall, I am very happy with the result. Pretty stoked to add the swave brace soon.

WOW, that subframe was literally crumbling!

I would have dipped everything in a huge vat of POR-15, and painted all of the other unibody rust with it as well (after stripping off all of the rust).

If you were so inclined to install the stiffer aftermarket rack bushings, the pre-loaded SuperPro control arms, and/or bigger front sway bar with stiffer poly bushings this would've been the time to do it.

It must be great to have an (indoor no less!) place to work on your ride with all of the necessary tools, lifts, torches, and even an effing LATHE!!
Not in my wildest dreams could I ever have that!

A local tuner type shop just quoted me $1100.00 USD for LABOR ONLY to; replace the front and rear brake pads, rotors, slider pins, and flush out the clutch and brake lines.
That is with me supplying E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G part/supply wise, except for the CRC Brakleen and the shop towels/rags!! Out of effing control when you cannot DIY because of asinine, draconian HOAs.

Oh yes it was!

Don't worry about the unibody rust, I have plans coming up to address that. You will surely like them!

I thought about the superpro caster+ control arms, but it was another 300$ on top of the 900+ of the subframe + 200 for the other parts that were not planned. I might reconsider down the road, but since I'm using this car as a daily driver 95% of the time, I decided to just put OEM ones for now.

I'm lucky that I have access to my father's garage for this. Even with all the equipment and space, it still took me around 12h to do. I took my time granted, but I was working alone and had a few hiccups along the way.

Would not recommend doing this without good equipment and a full day planned.

Doing this with the level of detail I put into it is only logical as a DIY. If you're paying someone, it's not worth it indeed.

Awesome job! Very cool to see all of the work involved!

I usually change my oil two times a year, regardless of mileage. However, this spring, I completely forgot. So I finally got around to it. It is my longest oil change interval yet! (14 368 km). For this reason, I sampled some oil to send off to Blackstone Laboratories.


It was my first time trying the FL-400S filter.


Here is the mileage of the old filter. July 2023, yikes!


Had a small spill. Turns out it was completely full. Nothing beats cleaning spilled oil on the ground on all fours.


I have a magnetic plug. Had a couple of metal flakes on it.

Here comes the controversial part (the oil choice). For my use-case, I chose Quaker State 0W20 because it was highly rated on the 540 RAT blog. We usually have 3 - 4 days per winter where the temperature is below -20c. I wanted to make sure that with the 0w20 oil, I was preventing cold startup wear as much as possible.

I had a previous oil analysis from Blackstone on this very oil that was excellent from their perspective. (Attached below)


I always measure the exact quantity I put in, this is maybe OCD, but it certainly makes things easier.

Last step was fitting the oil filter back on. I put 200mL into the filter and another 4300mL in the engine, for a total of 4500mL. This is around 200mL more than with the FL-910S OEM filter. Dipstick shows middle level.

It's been a couple of years since I read the 540 RAT blog, it's even longer than I remember, with much more info than just oil. From my memory, he has really galvanized his position on Xw30 oil (0w30, 5w30, etc.). He argues that anything under 0w30 & 5w30 is too thin.
Here is the exact screenshot.



It's always interesting to read about oil because I feel there are direct comparisons to the Hi-Fi community (science-based approach VS established dogma VS urban legends VS brand allegiance VS internet folklore).


The larger filter was a bit more difficult to install, but still ok. I wonder if a thicker aftermarket radiator would make things a bit more difficult.

An aftermarket radiator, especially the thicker than most Mishimoto would make that filter nearly impossible to get on/off, and the filter I currently use, the even slightly longer yet than the FL400S, Fram 3600 ULTRA would be impossible to use with that (and maybe even the thinner other brands) radiator.

Just how hot does it ever get there in the peak of summer, on your hottest days?

I know that in northwestern Maine (not all that far from you) even in the forests at some elevation, it can reach the mid to upper 90s in late July to early August, surprisingly.

With a name like '540 Rat' he sounds like he only ever deals with aftermarket big block Chevy engines, which yes, are usually not built with bearing clearances to handle very thin oils.
That being said, IF you push the car at all, the 0W-20 might be a bit too thin for peak summer temps (why I asked above).
Drive it like a granny and most likely no problems at all, regardless of how hot it gets there.

I currently am running the LiquiMoly Molygen in a 5W-20 grade (it is fairly low viscosity 5W-20, being only a 2.6 HTHSV).

Sometime in the next few weeks I am going to drain out a liter (covertly, at night, without jacking the car up due to my 'situation' where I live), and put a liter of the Molygen in a 5W-40 weight in it's place, just to thicken the total volume of the oil a bit for those peak summer heat months.

It gets to at maximum 40c in the summer, usually two or three times max. Usually, it hovers around 20c to 32c.

Same thing for the winter, we maybe get two or three days at -30c.

I'm anxiously awaiting my oil report from Blackstone, I'll post it here when I get it!

I also installed the Whoosh coils. Reviews mention a smoother idle. It's difficult to tell whether it's placebo or not, but perhaps it is actually smoother.


New and clean


Had original coils from 2014 @ 135K kms of life.


Opted for the black variant, even though these will be covered up.


They fit 100% like OEM. We'll see if they last as long?

As a side note, any tips on cleaning the engine itself without the cover installed? I usually foam the interior with a pressure washer foam canon and then agitate with a small brush all the areas. I then rinse away with a hose on the shower setting. Would this still be advisable with the cover removed? There are many more electrical connections directly accessible than without the cover.