Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare!

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Mon 28 Nov 2011 22:29
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - APD

I had a major breakdown a few months ago car lost power and died. The problem was traced to the fuel pump, at which the insides decided to go through the fueltank and injectors. Anyway i have had the pump replaced, and got 2nd hand injectors which the salvage yard gave me two weeks to have them fitted to see if they were ok. I ended up chasing the mechanis for nearly 3 months, by which time when he did fit them the car still would not run. At this point i lost it with the mechanic and took the car back from him.

I removed the injectors myself and took them to a speacilist to be tested and found that 2 of them were not working, (something i should have done first) And now the salvage yaard will not do a refund.

I have now located a pair that are tested. and my question is could i replace the injectors myself noting the numbers on the injectors to each cylindar1-4 looking at the block from left to right?

do you think i could then get a technician to code them in?

Another question is ther likely to be any more damaged components?

Any help would be most welcomed.

Regards APD

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Mon 28 Nov 2011 23:05
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - Peter.N.

I assume you have replaced the high pressure pump as well, the swarf from the in tank pump will damage this as well as the injectors. Changing them shouldn't be to difficult but they may require programming as may the pump.

Peter

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Wed 30 Nov 2011 11:50
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - APD

Thanks Peter.

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Tue 29 Nov 2011 17:31
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - BenG

Assume the HP fuel pump was the one which failed?

Anyway, the fuel system will need completely cleaning out to remove any swarf particles before you fit the new injectors and I believe the steel injector pipes need to be replaced as a matter of course whenever the unions are loosened to remove the injectors.

The fuel system will need priming before you try to start the engine. The HP pump must never be run dry as it relies on diesel to lubricate the internals, and fill the fuel filter with diesel as well or you will be cranking away until the starter burns out (there's a time limit on this of I think 10 seconds, then wait 30sec before more cranking, to avoid overheating the motor).

HTH

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Wed 30 Nov 2011 11:49
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - APD

Yes that was the one that failed.

All fuel lines were removed and cleaned. I had the tank removed first it was full of large pices of metal, not many small filings.

The worst thing was the tank had just been filled with fuel and i had only done about 50 miles on the way to the airport when the car died.

Thanks for the advice will post on the outcome.

APD

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Thu 1 Dec 2011 13:19
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - BenG

That's a pretty expensive failure. I realise there were issues with the TDCI fuel pumps earlier in the life of the model but it's odd that it took 8 years for yours to fail. Also odd that the shrapnel ended up in the fuel tank, given the HP pump is attached to the engine and I believe the fuel filter is between the pump and the tank. Does this mean the LP pump in the tank failed instead? If so, wouldn't the fuel filter have stopped the debris getting into the HP pump and injectors?

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Thu 1 Dec 2011 23:40
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - APD

Not the type of expense you want endure coming up to christmas.

The garage told me that when they checked the ECU it was showing a fuel system fault. So they proceeded to take the tank of and when they drained it they told me that there was large pieces of metal found, from the fuel pump in the engine bay. They said that if the pump was gradually failing then there would tend to be more filings in the tank..

They then removed the pump from inside the engine bay, at that point i wanted them to remove the injectors as well so that i could take both the pump and injectors to get tested.

But they insisted that the injectors would be fine and and they "should " be ok. I took pump to diesel service outlet, once the guy turned the pump by hand he said it was knackered. So I the shelled out £440 plus vat for a new pump.

I left the part with the garage and ended up chasing them for about 4 weeks before they started to rebuild the car. Any way turned out the car would not start. So they then removed the injectors and I took them to get tested and the 4 were f****d.

I was then told that the injectors would cost me £175 plus VAT each, at this point I had to say no way. Went back to the garage ready to flip, and they told me "just one of them things"

I searched around for injectors and eventully got 4 for £200 at a salvage yard, the guy told me he wasn't sure if they were good enough and told me try them out if there no good get them back to him in a week and he would give a refund. Took them to the garage on a Friday and the boss told me no problem, get them in at the weekend for me, i called back on the Tuesday, and surprise it wasn't done it ended up taking another 6 or 7 weeks before they put them in after constantly calling them.

This time the car did start but was off on a cylindar or at least that's what the told me. At this stage I had enough and got the car towed to my own house. Were I removed the injectors myself only to find that one of them was bent slightly. So i took the injectors to get tested and 2 off them were not working. One of which was the bent one. Now because it has taken so long the salvage yard will not refund on the two damaged ones.

So I have now located 2 more injectors that are recon's and tested for £155. But one off my initial questions on the forumn was, Is there likley to be any more damaged components? So would I now be right in thinking that there is another fuel pump at the tank, is it possible that it could be damaged.

Sorry for the rant but it has turned out to be a money pit. And if the **** had taken the injectors out at the very start I would have known that parts were going to cost over £1200, and I would have scraped the car then.

The joys of motoring

Regards APD

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Fri 2 Dec 2011 10:00
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - Peter.N.

This is the problem with modern cars and why at 72 I still do my own repairs. Fuel lift pump failure has been a common fault on this type of engine which is similar to the Peugeot/Citroen range.

The swarf created by the pump disintegrating gets into the fuel system and damages the high pressure pump and injectors but there is nothing else in the system that the fuel flows through so once you have replaced those parts and the fuel filter - or thoroughly cleaned it out there is nothing else to go wrong - in the fuel system anyway.

Its usually better to use a diesel specialist rather than a garage, they ususally know what they are doing and don't charge as much.

There is a set of injectors here for £40.00.www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=tdci+1.8+injectors&...3

Peter

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Mon 5 Dec 2011 16:32
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - BenG

Oh dear. Sounds like a fair bit of the problem is the garage you're dealing with. Bad enough to have to shell out for an expensive repair without being messed about and losing more money because of their faffing...

I was shocked by the cost of injectors for the engine while I had mine, and the fact that they need to be coded to the engine before they'll work properly. However, the injectors could be tested out of the car using a dedicated machine whcih measures flow rates and spray patterns. A diesel specialist would almost certainly have such a machine and probably be far more clued up about replacing fuel system components.

If it's any consolation, I really enjoyed driving my old Focus TDCi and regret trading it in against a Seat Leon tdi 150, which feels slower, is less practical and does not handle as well.

I'd have my old car back in a jiffy.....

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Mon 5 Dec 2011 19:55
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - thunderbird

This is the problem with modern cars and why at 72 I still do my own repairs. Fuel lift pump failure has been a common fault on this type of engine which is similar to the Peugeot/Citroen range.

The swarf created by the pump disintegrating gets into the fuel system and damages the high pressure pump and injectors but there is nothing else in the system that the fuel flows through so once you have replaced those parts and the fuel filter - or thoroughly cleaned it out there is nothing else to go wrong - in the fuel system anyway.

Its usually better to use a diesel specialist rather than a garage, they ususally know what they are doing and don't charge as much.

There is a set of injectors here for £40.00.www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=tdci+1.8+injectors&...3

Peter

The Ford 1.8 TDCi is not a Peugeot engine, it a Ford. The 1.6 TDCi and later 2.0 TDCi are Peugeot/Citroen engines.

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Mon 5 Dec 2011 22:11
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - Peter.N.

I stand corrected but the injectors were for the Focus. They have sold now but there seem to be plenty more.

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Sun 18 Dec 2011 19:41
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - jcjuk

Wondering if I'm headed the same way, ie HP pump?

Car is Focus 52 / 2003 TDCi 115 with 100k miles.

It runs just fine once it's going. Good mileage, plenty of "go", etc. However, getting it going is a bit of a game. It's fine in the Summer, but as it gets colder, more difficult. Takes a lot of cranking, fires on one or two cylinders, runs like a bag of spanners and either stalls, or runs (if my foot is on the accelerator) but pours out a lot of white smoke. (and I mean, a lot)

The strange thing is, after a few stall / restart cycles, it runs just fine until next time it's left for a few hours.

It sounds to me like it's losing its fuel pressure, and takes a bit to get it back again. Perhaps the ECU is getting confused and overfuelling to make the white smoke (which must be unburned fuel, right?).

Doesn't burn any oil - usually no top-up needed between annual services (10k miles or so).

Anybody know a diesel specialist in / near Cambridge? From reports here that sounds like a better bet than the main dealer.

many thanks

John

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Sat 17 Mar 2012 20:35
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - LRM

Hi John,

Have you had you car fixed yet? If so can you tell me what it was Mine is doing exactly the same.

I know that all 4 injectors are gone and I've been told the pump will be gone as well?

But talking to an ex Ford engineer he thinks it will just be a glow plug down and that the injectors are just old (covered 138k) and should need replacing anyway. Something the do with the fuel rail was to early for that engine or something like that. I am ordering some 2nd hand injectors as I know they are gone but would be interesting to know what was wrong with yours.

Thanks

LRM

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Mon 11 Feb 2013 13:15
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - nickorossa

Hi LRM,

Did you get your car sorted? My wife's is showing the same symptons so I'm curious to know what the end state of yours turned out like.

Thanks.

Nick.

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Wed 3 Apr 2013 12:44
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - LRM
Hi Nick,

No still not sorted the car, got some 2nd hand injectors that turned out to be faulty!
I do how ever have another Focus with starting problems which I have fixed, that was just the battery and fuel filter (had only done 2.5k) tesco cheap fuel I have been told.
When the filter was going it would also cut out when you put your foot down and the glow plug light started flashing so a good one to remember!

If anyone stops the white smoke on start up before me please let me know what you did.

Thanks

LRM
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Mon 16 Apr 2012 22:27
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - focusphil

Hi, My 04 focus tdci 115 does exactly the same! How did you sort yours? Mines been in garage for 5 months! Injectors checked, new starter, fuel system fully cleaned, new sensors etc etc .

thanks phil

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Tue 17 Apr 2012 15:11
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - BenG

My '03 Focus TDCi used to struggle to start in the cold. Local dealer wrote a later version of the ECU software which improved the starting so if your car has never been updated it might be worth trying. As you say, glow plugs might be past it but maybe a good idea to check they are receiving current properly before replacing them all?

Other idea: Starter motor not spinning engine fast enough? I seem to recall this issues was implicated in some DMF failures for this engine, the slow cranking speed damaging the DMF.

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Sat 24 Nov 2012 12:30
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - benty77

I had issues with a 02 Focus tdci starting (1 year ago), I replaced the battery and it was then good.

The problem with it now is the high pressure diesel pump and probably the new injectors which the garage fitted without first doing a thorough check of the pumps condition.

The car is a non runner at the local garage and I am trying to figure out my next move, luckily I haven't paid a penny yet!

Any comments welcomed.

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Wed 27 Nov 2013 13:28
Ford Focus Saloon 1.8 TDCI 2003. - diesel pump and injector nightmare! - LMJ

I'm having the same problem too with my '02 TDCi 1.8 Focus. Gradually getting harder to start over the last 2 years, after left for some hours, most especially over cold nights. Plus clouds of white/light grey exhaust upon ignition. Runs absolutely fine after that even though as done @138k miles.

Spoke to my trusted mechanic yesterday (he's neither a Ford or Diesel specialist, but a decent all-rounder) and he said almost certainly one or more injectors are worn and I should bring it in for a leak-off test to confirm.

At an initial estimate of £170 per new injector, +labour + VAT, and given that if one is worn, then they probably all are on their way out, this may be an expense too far for a nearly 12yr old Focus.

I can repost my progress if any one is interested.

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