Ford focus.... juddering

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Fri 21 Jan 2005 23:41
Ford focus.... juddering - tonyb
Ello,

Am now the owner of a Ford Focus 1.8 Ghia. Its an X reg, and an ex fleet car with 88000 on the clock. I noticed, when driving to work this evening that it tends to judder when accelerating. This is particularly noticable after changing gear (both up and down) when the car is at speed (ie 50-60+)there doesnt seem to be a prob. An example would be driving along in 4th gear at 40mph, press accelerator hard to floor...judder, judder, judder, start to pick up speed. Also from stationary, First is ok, into second... judder, judder... any thoughts...? Oh, car idles a little below the 1000 mark..

Tony
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Sat 22 Jan 2005 13:48
Ford focus.... juddering - elekie&a/c doctor
check spark plugs for correct type & air gap.Other problem areas on these Zetec engines are HT spark plug leads and/or coil pack.
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Fri 28 Jan 2005 15:43
Vibration... i know whats doing it.. - tonyb
Ello,
You may remember i recently posted a piece about some vibration on my Focus (x reg, 1.8 Ghia). Well ive now discovered, thanks to a mate with a spanner, that the vibration is the engine misfiring due to water leaking into the spark plug area via the water pump blanking plugs, he's dried it out and it was fine for a day but now its doing it again! ... this makes no sense to me as im not a mechanic and i havnt really been driving that long.. before i go taking it to the Garage would anyone have a rough idead of whats involved in putting it right? will it be a huuuuuge bill dya think...? Also can driving with the engine misfiring a bit damage the engine as i still need the car for work over the weekend until i can book it in on monday...? Thanks people!
Tony

{Question moved to this thread as it's related to this one. DD}
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Fri 28 Jan 2005 18:09
Vibration... i know whats doing it.. - storme
the engine,,or more to the point,,the catylitic converter will be damaged by any misfire..unburnt fuel will screw the cat'..

the job shouldnt be expensive,,just depends how easy it is to access the blanking plugs..

if you have a journey to make,,,why not just dry out the spark plug b4 you go on the journey??
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Fri 28 Jan 2005 18:11
Vibration... i know whats doing it.. - martint123
'Blanking plugs' sound cheap. But I don't know your car.

ISTR that driving with a missfire sends unburnt fuel into the exhaust and could damage the CAT which could be expensive come MOT time.

Martin

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Fri 28 Jan 2005 18:12
Vibration... i know whats doing it.. - martint123
Snap!
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Fri 28 Jan 2005 18:12
Vibration... i know whats doing it.. - mjm
Running with a missfire will damage the catalytic converter. I don't know the layout of the engine on a Focus, but if the water is coming from the water pump area, then it sounds like a new pump is needed. If it is water from the cooling system then that will need topping up otherwise you could be into a new engine.
A new engine or catalytic converter will be much more expensive than sorting the leak out properly.
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