MODERN CONTENT: Focus 1.8. The first 6 months

[RichL]

I have one of these, same year same engine.

 

Agree about the clutch bite, I had the same problem after driving a Mk1 1.6, either stalling it or revving the nuts off it. I blame the DMF, used to it now.

 

I think they go really well for a 1.8, pulls forever in 3rd and 4th, recently got 47mpg on a run.

 

Needs a bit of money chucking at it now though, full service, tyres, rear brakes need a clean out (good old fashioned drums) the A/C compressor is VERY noisy and makes a right bang when it kicks in .Not using it in case it seizes. The auxillary belt tensioner doesn't like the cold weather either, its sometimes noisy and spoils the near silent idle until it warms up. 

[Royale80]

Mrs B has had A mk2 Focus estate for 4 years. 1.6 petrol-goes ok but nothing like my brothers Focus ST which is tuned to 290bhp.

 

Steve

[Lacquer Peel]

It's no Rover 25.

[twosmoke300]

A 2.0 one of these is on my list for a car to replace the Saab and the wife's punto .

They seem a bit better made than the mk1 but still a good drive .

It's a Luke warm hatch in 2.0 guise but most seem to be autos .

[SiC]

A guy at work has a 2.0 mk2.5 in 3dr guise. Always moaning about how boring and unfulfilling it is to drive compared to his old Alfa 156.

[saucedoctor]

Don't suppose you want a free set of roof bars for this do you?

 

Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk

 

Me, or Dan, Pillock?

[danthecapriman]

Me, or Dan, Pillock?

I think he means you mate.

[saucedoctor]

Ah, OK. Pillock I'll PM you when the disk caddy arrives and we'll work something out. Thank you, that's a very kind offer.

[conkerman]

I have an 07 plate 2.0TDCi estate. It has been a great car. Currently on 130k and just as rattly as when I got it. They go OK as well. Front wishbone rear bushes are a common failure. And the pollen filter location is fucking stupid

 

 

 

Sent from my Vodafone Smart ultra 6 using Tapatalk

[sierraman]

I know a lot say the diesel was crap but an awful lot seemed to have lasted 12 years or so... they can't have all blown up.

[twosmoke300]

Interesting * fact . The last of the 1.8 diesels had a wet cambelt driving the injector pump ala eco boost .

Then a normal belt from there to the cam .

[Snipes]

Both my dad and sister have one of these each in 1.6 pez flavour. Seem well made reliable motors. Dad reckons it doesn't handle as well as his mk1 focus, do the newer ones still have the fancy rear suspension setup or was it binned?

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

No rear chassis looks more or less the same as the mk1.

[sierraman]

Interesting * fact . The last of the 1.8 diesels had a wet cambelt driving the injector pump ala eco boost .

Then a normal belt from there to the cam .

How long do these 'wet' belts last?

[Pete-M]

The 1.8 tdÄi lump is notorious amongst cabbies for being pretty much guaranteed to do 500,000 miles provided it's got clean oil.

[twosmoke300]

I think the wet belt is on a 120k interval but it's quite an expensive job to change

[cms206]

In my younger days I actually had a brand new late-model Mk2 57-plate 1.8 Zetec with the Sport kit (17in alloys, colour coded stuff) and it was probably the best all rounder I've ever owned and I would buy it back in a heartbeat. It was a weird crossover model with the orange dash lights and white dials which looked GR12 too.

 

I stupidly replaced it with a brand new run out pre-facelift 60-plate Mondeo 1.8TDCi three years later. It was the least reliable car I owned and actually put me off Fords. It was replaced at 18 months old by the Council Estate.

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Pillock]

Ah, OK. Pillock I'll PM you when the disk caddy arrives and we'll work something out. Thank you, that's a very kind offer.

Aye, they're roof bars for a mk2.5 focus, randomly they're the same as a 307 but they screw in to the hidden captive nuts. Had em for yonks after I had a focus but can't stand to throw stuff away.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

If the electro hydraulic steering isn't to your taste you can adjust it via the menu settings.

This is why I could personally never buy one of these things. Why? Just why?

[Jazoli]

This is why I could personally never buy one of these things. Why? Just why?

 

Why not?

[SiC]

This is why I could personally never buy one of these things. Why? Just why?

Lighter weight, adjustable pressures (so adaptive steering at different speeds making for better drivability), compact install (less pipes, the pump+ reservoir contained together and usually lives near rack), better fuel economy (don't have to be pumping so hard all the time) and more reliable.

 

Pretty much why everything has it now. Early days they used to loose a lot of feel through the steering wheel, but they've refined it enough now that it's far better than a pure hydro install.

 

Just progress.

[twosmoke300]

I must admit , from a mechanics point of view, epas is awesome .

[Pillock]

This is why I could personally never buy one of these things. Why? Just why?

You know you don't have to... I had a Focus like this for about 6 months before I found that menu.

[r.welfare]

How similar or dissimilar was the V50 to drive, given it's fundamentally the same underneath?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I must admit , from a mechanics point of view, epas is awesome .

Fairy schnuff. I'm all for progress, as long as it's an actual improvement on its predecessor. I just assumed that steering which you could adjust electronically was a case of engineers taking something which already works, completely redesigning it, and making it more complex and a liability. A bit like electronic handbrakes. I guess it didn't help that I was basing my judgment on test driving an 03 Civic which we thought about as a stopgap car for Mrs TW a while back - it had electronic steering and it was bloody awful.

However, if a mechanic says the current generation is good, I guess it must be good.

[twosmoke300]

Civic epas a s good when it's ok but loads has faulty racks that made them all stiff and horrible . Changed dozens of them

[SiC]

My 2003 Civic PAS went really sticky in the middle. Also often went stiff sometimes but really assisted at others. I guess it was on its way out?

 

I chopped in all the way back in 2010 @ 100k miles after I'd put over 82k of that myself. Looking at the reg (FT03 FBN) it died a couple years back, with only a few 10k's over what I sold it...

[RichL]

I think the wet belt is on a 120k interval but it's quite an expensive job to change

 

Its a big job to change these. The lower belt cassette contains the oil pump and must be put back correctly, with new gaskets and seals and the bottom pulley bolt replaced to the correct torque. 

 

120K? No. Under harsh use they snap and it game over. 75K is more like it.

 

The EPAS is pretty faultless though, on all models. It does use a lot of power, a failing alternator or duff battery often throws up "power steering system failure" on the dash.

[twosmoke300]

I think lack of oil changes kills the belt . The build up of combustion by products eats into the material I was told by the gates rep