Technical Assistance Appreciated

[L42B]

Hey Guys,

I have a Ford Focus CL LT 2007. Nothing particularly special in the features department, but it drives and rides incredibly well for a small car. Ride wise it behaves like a much bigger car. Recently excessive pinging and lose tensioners has meant that an ECU, drivetrain, both drive belts and tensioners where replaced under warranty. There still sounds to be a slight rattle of sorts that sounds like a metal ding sound coming from the engine itself.

Ive also noticed a scraping sound has developed in the floor well of the drivers side when ever I turn the steering weal. I can also feel something knocking underneath the floor mat. Could the rattle sound I'm hearing be a lose CV Joint and faulty steering mechanism. I would be amazed if the drive-train needed work again.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Ping Crosby :p is still under warranty and only has 29 000 km on the odometer.

Yours truly L42B

[DZFord]

Hi, and welcome to the Forums.

I am sorry to hear about all the trouble you've had with your Focus. I'm glad you can laugh about it though - 'ping crosby.'

I too would be amazed if your drive train needed replacing again. Lucky everything is still under warranty though.

You might want to consider a third party inspection, eg. through RACV if you are in Vic. You can then take their written report to Ford.

[L42B]

Well another I'm guessing the injectors are problematic and the alternator might be cactus. The engine isn't fireing properly on idol and still dings. When I was driving to Quorn to volunteer at the Pichi Richi Railway an almighty mechanical sound came from the engine. My good mate sitting in the passenger seat responded with "What the h*&^ was that?" It sounded like it could have been a relay, but it might not have been as the sound was coming from the back of the engine. Could that have been the timing gear? It was followed by a dimming in cabin lights for a split second and momentary loss of power.

Certainly taking it in again :-) Ping Crosby I'm glad to say did make the round trip of abour 500km.

L42B

[L42B]

Well Ive booked the Ford in for a diagnostic check. Depending on the problem it could take a few days to repair.

Model: Ford Focus LT CL, March 2007
Km: 31 000
Problem: Clunking noise from back left of engine mount, suspected clutch slipping. Is quieter when the clutch is pressed down but still audable. Squeeking noise noticable on start-up. Also on highway driving a loud gearage noise comes from the left side of the engine at times but only around 3 000 rpm.
Feul in tank: 98octane
Culprit: Unknown at this stage, but most probably faulty gearbox, clutch and possibly lose engine mounts.
Warranty: Hopefully, but there are no guarantees.
Service provider: Great service from JarvisCars despite mechanical issues.

Cheers L42B
PS: Even the mechanics call this car Ping Crosby now :p

[DZFord]

Ok, let us know how you go. I'll be interested to know what else could possibly be wrong with the Ping Crosby.

[L42B]

Well as a further update I've realised that the Focus is leaking radiator coolant. Which explains why its running rough. This suggests a headgasget problem. The Stearing Unit light has also come on and I have no road feeling what-so-ever. Irronically this happened the day before the service. Ive called out the RAA to see whether a tow is necessary.

Ping Crosby is turning out to be quite an adventeur.

Cheers L42B

[L42B]

The gearbox is having a rebuild and they have no idea why its self-destructed. This will take a couple of days. They are also going to do a pressure test overnight to find the leak to the coolant system.

Cheers L42B

[DZFord]

Glad to hear of some progress. You've had a real run of bad luck with it but hopefully the car will hold up from here onwards.

[Brotherontherun]

Wow, you can't take anything for granted these days. Did you get the car checked before buying Ping Crosby?

[L42B]

Well the gearbox has been fixed. The reason for the rough running was because the gearbox was leaking transmission fluid. This makes sense. In reagrds to the leaking coolant, still not entirely sure why the engine runs rough. I'm guessing it could have been caused by an air-bubble which if big enough can cause a leak and the car to momentarially overheat (without the guage going redline).

Lets hope things are ok from here on out.

[L42B]

Also Ive been told that the roughness I'm hearing from the gearbox is a rather loud gear roll over noise, there is also an audible and persistant whineing noise from the clutch. Ford has said that this is normal, yet a former Ford mechanic in the RAA has stated otherwise. I'd be interested to know if other Focus owners have this common gearbox rollover noise. Not entirely sure who to trust right now. Ive also noticed that the engine pings on both '95 and '98 ron and there seems to be a loss of power.

Cheeers L42B

[rand0mn00b]

I noticed a bit of clutch 'rollover' noise and was told by my dealer it was normal too =\

[L42B]

So I see its not just me. After hearing more gearbox grinding noises on the way to and from Quorn last weekend Ive taken it back into the gearbox. A week after the last problem was deemed to be 'normal' another mechanic has acknowledged that there is something wrong with the engine as it is running rough. The RAA have also give me a report stating this is 'unusual' operation and is a warranty issue.

I'm hoping Ford will acknowledge that this is not 'normal' gearbox and engine operation and fix it. This is the third time in a number of months that Ive taken it in for the same problem...and the noise and strange engine operation has gotten worse over that time.

Cheers L42B

[L42B]

Recently, Ive had problems with the engine taking an 'unusually' long time to turn over. It sounds like its not 'fireing.' I took it into Ford and they said it was normal. Even though I have had three seperate people notice the 'rough' running, including a younger mechanic. Another customer came in and also mentioned and described exactly the same problem. I'm now left with an RAA report and three dealerships who have so far refusing to acknowledge this issue. I've also found out today that I'm not the only person.

I'm now in a sittuation where this is getting frustrating and I don't know what to do. If there is anyone else in the greater Adelaide region reporting the same problem. Perhapse multiple people going into a dealer at once and reporting the same problem might actually get us somewhere.

This mechanical issue has put a dampner on what is really otherwise a very solid car that rides well, drives well, is big enough and not to thursty at the petrol bowser.

Cheers L42B

[rand0mn00b]

have you tried contacting Ford customer care? They might be able to help things move along (or not). Worth a shot I guess.

[L42B]

I've tried that twice now and they've said to contact your service provider :/

[Samy82]

Sounds really strange. You haven't picked up a bad batch of fuel have you? Roll over noise, is it in 5th? If so, yes that is normal. But not sure about this engine stuff, hard to start is generally poor earthing. Which could well be the cause of the roughness too.

[L42B]

What do you mean by poor earthing? Re-feul, I'm very careful where I get it from and put in 98ron as it pings on 95ron.

[Samy82]

Focus has 3 different earthing points in the engine bay, from body to engine/transmission. I'd be getting these checked has this cant cause hard to start concernsif they have high resistance. Given your car is still under warranty, this should be checked.