Help diagnose a problem with my Focus TDDi

andyseadog

Hi guys, i'l try keep this simple. (mods, i wasn't sure if i should put this in the DIY section, feel free to move it if you want)

The car is a 1999 Focus TDDi with 164,500 miles on the clock.
The car is burning minimal amounts of oil (100 ml to 1k miles) and isn't very smokey, its not using any coolant and generally appears to be going quite well. i'd often do 200+ miles a day in it and it doesn't miss a beat.

I bought it last month with 160,200 miles on the clock from a small dealership, it had a fresh N.C.T. (had only done around 50 miles since the cert was printed). The gave the car a short warranty and it was only 1500 euro so if the problem is going to be simple or cheap i'd rather not bother the garage with it.

When i start the car from cold (first thing in the morning) for the first 1-2 minutes maximum of driving the car feels very hesitant to rev and chugs when revved hard. if it were a petrol car i'd say it feels just like a bad misfire or possibly starved of fuel. after the first 60 to 90 seconds the car runs perfect.

Can anybody suggest where to start to get to the bottom of the problem or what steps i should take to try resolve this on my own?

Thanks in advance, Andy.

Could be a fairly fouled diesel filter that takes a while for the crud to get soaked in diesel. Would be the first thing I'd change, no harm done in changing it anyway really, and they are small enough money.

andyseadog

it'l probably be wednesday or thursday before i could pick up a new filter but its got to be worth a shot i suppose. it looks handy enough to get to and i dont know when it was last done.

Just do a bit of research on priming it after replacing the filter, some diesels that don't have the prime bulb can be an awful drain on a battery to get going after installing a new filter I dunno what the story with the 1.8 Focus is tbh.

andyseadog

RoverJames wrote: »

Just do a bit of research on priming it after replacing the filter, some diesels that don't have the prime bulb can be an awful drain on a battery to get going after installing a new filter I dunno what the story with the 1.8 Focus is tbh.

good point that, i remember being in trouble like that before. got a focus manual from a scrappy last week so i'l read up on it. that 1.8 unit has been around since the 1980's apparently and the focus was one of its last applications and when you open the bonnet your facing a bare engine with no coverings, and very few electronics to be seen. which i like can't see it having any of the complaints of a more modern diesel.

i'l post back how i get on anyway and try take a few snaps, might be useful for someone in the future.

andyseadog

Well guys i changed the fuel filter on Saturday morning, it was a 5 minute job. there were 2 clip on hoses and one held on with a pin so i didn't need any tools to remove them. then the filter is held onto the left shock tower by two snap on clips and a push tab so no need for tools to remove that either, just push in the tab and pull it up.

i refitted the new one (be sure to fill it with diesel before re-fitting), re-connected the hoses, let the fuel pump prime around 3 times and after around 10 or 12 tense seconds of cranking it started i kept the revs up for around 20 seconds and then it ran perfect. the car is a lot quicker to do a cold start now and the hesitation it was suffering from is gone.

there was a lot of blue (strange?) smoke when it started initially though, but this quickly cleared.

my question is this, the old fiter had a solid bottom, but the new filter despite having the same fittings on top and being the same dimensions has a plastic screw at the bottom, and this new filter appears to be making a chirping/ whistling noise at idle which gets lesser with revs. have i done something wrong or is this normal? what could it be?

Nissan doctor

The plastic thing in the bottom of the filter is for draining water from the filter between changes.

andyseadog

thanks for that i thought it may have something to do with bleeding air possibly and might have been able to cure the chirping

andyseadog

andyseadog wrote: »

......... the car is a lot quicker to do a cold start now and the hesitation it was suffering from is gone.............

That's good to hear, fingers crossed the filter was the problem so

dr.fuzzenstein

If it's still smoky and hesitant from startup, go for glow-plugs.
And change airfilter as well.

andyseadog

its going really well now guys, it used to take a good few cranks to start but its going really sweet now! the exposed tops of the heater plugs and the wire between them look brand new or at least a very recent fit so i asume they are grand.

whats worrying me though is the filter is making a serious noise now! the car is driving 100% but the noise is getting worse and its definitely coming from the filter. it sounds just like a slipping belt and increases with engine speed.

all the hoses are connected perfectly, what on earth could it be? i made a video i'm trying to upload now...

andyseadog

video isn't going to happen for me

The Nutty M

Can you smell diesel when you open the bonnet?

George Dalton

Are you sure it isn't the alternator belt making noise? You could have spilled some diesel on it when doing the work as it is directly underneath the filter.

The Nutty M

George Dalton wrote: »

Are you sure it isn't the alternator belt making noise? You could have spilled some diesel on it when doing the work as it is directly underneath the filter.

was thinking the same myself or that the spring clips are not on right and are still dripping,hence why its getting worse.

George Dalton

Has to be something along those lines alright.

andyseadog

what are the spring clips you refer to?

i was thinking i may have dripped diesel onto the alternator belt too but its not the case, its definitely coming from the fuel filter, i'm 100% certain of that.

no smell of diesel and the filter is dry (externally of course :P)

The Nutty M

The Nutty M wrote: »

was thinking the same myself or that the spring clips are not on right and are still dripping,hence why its getting worse.

If 'twas dripping diesel 'twould be drawing air and would take a few seconds cranking to start.

andyseadog

time to come back with my tail between my legs :P

its not the filter, after studying things in depth today, i must just have got some drops of diesel on the alternator pulley (as the poster above says) which is literally about 2 inches below the diesel filter and the belt is slipping a bit and chirping away. neither the belt or pulleys look 'wet' or have any stains on them from the diesel drips but i can only asume that there is some contamination.

i wonder to myself now would a spray of WD40 shut it up, or will i have to get a new belt and degrease the pulleys or what?

Nissan doctor

andyseadog wrote: »

time to come back with my tail between my legs :P

its not the filter, after studying things in depth today, i must just have got some drops of diesel on the alternator pulley (as the poster above says) which is literally about 2 inches below the diesel filter and the belt is slipping a bit and chirping away. neither the belt or pulleys look 'wet' or have any stains on them from the diesel drips but i can only asume that there is some contamination.

i wonder to myself now would a spray of WD40 shut it up, or will i have to get a new belt and degrease the pulleys or what?

I'd change the belt, rubber doesn't like petrol or diesel leaking onto it.

dr.fuzzenstein

andyseadog wrote: »

time to come back with my tail between my legs :P

its not the filter, after studying things in depth today, i must just have got some drops of diesel on the alternator pulley (as the poster above says) which is literally about 2 inches below the diesel filter and the belt is slipping a bit and chirping away. neither the belt or pulleys look 'wet' or have any stains on them from the diesel drips but i can only asume that there is some contamination.

i wonder to myself now would a spray of WD40 shut it up, or will i have to get a new belt and degrease the pulleys or what?

The squeaking is due to the belt slipping after getting soaked in diesel or oil.
Don't put WD40 onto it, you will only make it worse, since it will slip more.
What want is the belt NOT to slip, so you may want to clean it up with something that gets rid of oil.
Or just throw in a new belt while you're at it and degrease the pulleys, sort it instead of messing around with it for weeks and driving yourself crazy.