focus 1.6 petrol stalls with a/c on

[Burnside]

No problem, I hope you get it sorted out ok. The reason I spotted it was because my brother been offered a 03 Focus 1.6 Auto, with Mot till Feb for a £100!

[Asimo]

I have only done a few cambelt changes but on none of them did I have to remove any pulleys. Why do pulleys have to come off on the Zetec engine?

 

I was charged only £80 labour for a belt change on my Zetec powered Connect - sounds like Money well spent!

[Guest Hooli]

There are no keys holding the pulleys in line. So these are timed by locking everything in place, tensioning the belt & then clamping the pulleys so they grip on the tapered shafts. It's actually easier than the old way.

[steveo3002]

to add to my motoring joys it seems the rack has a nasty clonk

 

anyone changed a mk1 pas rack in a petrol car ?  cant find much online about it for rhd cars 

[twosmoke300]

Need to get two nylon rings to go on the unions - only from ford but only pence

[steveo3002]

whats that mate , fresh seals as such?

[steveo3002]

mate..whats these bits?

 

any other tips...or easier to get a garage to fit one?

[MikeR]

seen a picture , back of the subframe is dropped down which gives good access to the rack , access to front of rack is good as well

 

[sierraman]

I’d get a garage to fit it. Real ball ache it’d be on the driveway on your back. I had one that clonked like you say yours did, it had no play in the rack though.

 

Have you checked the steering column UJ or the inner rack joints?

[steveo3002]

havent had the energy to look further , only does it when shunting about at low speed and no noises on the move , might get the local chap to have a look 

 

whats best to get ?  used rack off ebay or a "refurb" one thats just a used one hammerited black lol....any refurb places you can trust that dont want £££ 

[sierraman]

You should be able to tell if there is play in the rack, if there isn’t I’d be inclined to live with it so long as it’s not pissing fluid out.

 

Before I went down the road of steering racks I’d check for play on the inner axial rod joints.

[MikeR]

mine does a clonk sometimes when the rack is at the extreme turn , or if I turn the wheel with the engine off , other than that no other issues or play .

 

the drop links can make a good clonk as well , may need two people to test them , one to rock the car and the other to fondle the joints....

[steveo3002]

chasing a idle problem on the focus mentioned elsehwere on here...

 

question is- can the coils become weak and cause low power /bad idle without causing a misfire or fault code , seems theyre a weak spot on these cars yet ours is orig at 150k , dont like throwing parts at it but do wonder if its past its best

 

edit - add to the above ive just read ford changed the plug gap from 1.3 to 1mm to put less strain on the coil...just did the plugs and it does feel a touch nicer , can that be a sign its working but weak or do they just work or not ?

[The Moog]

Merged all the topics together as they are all on same topic

[MikeR]

seems to be lots of comments on the FB focus group about the coil pack causing problems , I have seen them just go faulty overnight  , for the sake of £20 you could try another ?

 

another string to the poor idling is that the throttle body needs a good clean

[steveo3002]

what group is that mate..might get more help there?

 

tb is cleaned out and new tps on its way 

[steveo3002]

Merged all the topics together as they are all on same topic

 could un merge the steering rack questions maybe ?

[sierraman]

New one with a guarantee was £14. Before everyone goes ‘I’d have spent £100 on a genuine one’, it’s performed faultlessly for 2 years.

[steveo3002]

will try a cheapie then...have been put off ebay no name tat as ive stuff thats worse than the broken ones  

[mrbenn]

How are the leads looking? At 150k, they're probably past their best.

[MikeR]

FB   ave a look at the       Ford Focus Mk1 owners page

[DodgeRover]

the pump does have a clutch ...you can watch it free wheel then engage with the a/c , not really sure how you would diag a tight compressor sinse it has the clutch

When they get really tight they smell just like a burning clutch and or belt if you have bypassed the safety circuits...

[steveo3002]

How are the leads looking? At 150k, they're probably past their best.

 

look alright and no misfires logged - although yeah no doubt theyre getting on at that age , just kinda reluctant to tank genuine bits off and replace with china parts , am kinda wondering if the ign parts cant cope with the added load of the a/c being on 

 

i guess if i do coil and leads and the tps theres not alot else i can do lol 

[MikeR]

crank sensor , Map sensor ?

[steveo3002]

doesnt have a map...and wouldnt a crank sensor show a code / or still run badly without a/c? 

[MikeR]

I thought a MAP was hidden behind the alternator ?

 

as for the crank sensor I have cleaned those up on other cars to get the engine to tick over better , but no code showing !!!

[steveo3002]

might be thinking maf ...the one in the airbox pipes this model doesnt have

 

will have a google see what its got cheers 

[mrbenn]

Have you had a look at the Focus sales/spares Facebook group? Someone has just posted a 1.6 lx for breaking, could maybe get the coil and leads from that if it's running ok.

[steveo3002]

yeah joined up to the fb groups , couple of folk said coil cured thier bad idle and some suggestions of tps

 

shame i cant find someone local and swap a few bits n bobs over from a known good runner

 

slightly good news...changing the plug gap from 1.3 to 1mm has seemingly stopped it stalling but its still a bad idle , but at least its drivable now , was a bit crap the power steering going if you dip the clutch , so i dont know if that points to the fast the coil /leads could barely cope with the 1.3mm gap or what

[mrbenn]

Interesting changing the gap has helped.

 

If you're anywhere near me in Cheshire, you're welcome to try my old leads and coil. Coil is decent third party make, only done 30k. Leads are genuine Ford but done 90k miles. Car was running fine when they were replaced, only changed them as preventative maintenance.