Ford Focus: is this a turbo problem?

Vamp369

Hello all. I have a 2010 1.6TDI 109bhp Ford Focus with a 196000miles on the clock. I started to have some problems. When I acclerate hard sometimes, I get an "Engine Malfunction" warning. The car judders and sometimes conks out. The car is then in limp mode for a while.

I took the the car to an indy garage. After looking at it they think its the turbo as its got some play in it, oil inside it and has high miles on it. From my research I think its a DPF problem as if the turbo is failing then surely the car should be losing power all the time? When not in limp mode the car drives great. Any advice? Thanks

listermint

This is a turbo problem, id say with 100% certainty.

No turbo issues dont mean car is in limp mode all the time, it can be restricted to speed etc.

Their diagnosis is fairly apt, id say replacement is in order.

Vamp369

listermint wrote: »

This is a turbo problem, id say with 100% certainty.

No turbo issues dont mean car is in limp mode all the time, it can be restricted to speed etc.

Their diagnosis is fairly apt, id say replacement is in order.

What's happening inside the turbo to cause the problem? From my understanding its two fans inside the turbo, both spinning. Does one fan get stuck or is there a leak?

martinr5232

You have two options 1 go with the indys diagnosis or 2 get a second opinion. No point in guessing and nobody can tell what your problem is from sitting behind a computer screen.

Irish Steve

"looking at it". If it goes into limp mode, it should also have logged errors in the ECU, which should provide some clues as to what's going on, The codes will be pretty specific, and should provide either confirmation of the "looking" diagnosis, or cause even more confusion, depending on what they reveal, but without that specific information, there is a very real risk of throwing money at the problem and not having a solution at the end of the process, which could become very expensive.

Waterson

If turbo has failed mechanically it will be noisy when spooling up, but you also need to know why i.e. oil starvation. If it is an issue with the vgt actuation or wastegate, ant remember which is fitted to those pug engines, then a generic scantool should be able to actuate the linkage or use a vacuum/pressure gauge to check. Ask your mechanic to test drive and log desired boost vs actual boost readings in 3rd gear up to around 3000 rpm. Ask to see the results and also what logical steps they took before diagnosing a bad turbo. If they look at your like you've just landed from mars, take your car elsewhere. This is simple stuff.

Vamp369

Waterson wrote: »

If turbo has failed mechanically it will be noisy when spooling up, but you also need to know why i.e. oil starvation. If it is an issue with the vgt actuation or wastegate, ant remember which is fitted to those pug engines, then a generic scantool should be able to actuate the linkage or use a vacuum/pressure gauge to check. Ask your mechanic to test drive and log desired boost vs actual boost readings in 3rd gear up to around 3000 rpm. Ask to see the results and also what logical steps they took before diagnosing a bad turbo. If they look at your like you've just landed from mars, take your car elsewhere. This is simple stuff.

Thanks for the advice. Just to add more detail to the situation. I had an engine rebuild done about 4 months ago. At the time I asked if they noticed anything that might doing fixing/replacing. They said everything was fine including turbo. They said it was normal to have oil in it as well.

Fast forward to today. The emissions light came on this morning on the way to work and stayed on. I went back to the indy garage and asked them to check the ECU. The scan tool they used It showed faults in the crankshaft sensor and EGR getting stuck. They said these faults are caused by a dodgy turbo. I did have EGR problems before, got it cleaned and replaced. Would the turbo affect the crankshaft?

Also there is no odd sound coming from the engine bay when the turbo spools up.

mullingar

With an egr stuck open, a large amount of exhaust is recirculated back into the air intake system.

A cheap fix to test is a €5 egr blanking plate. These can be cleaned out easily, but it's an awkward job to remove.

A faulty crankshaft or camshaft sensor would prevent the ecu from knowing exactly where the timing is to inject fuel.

Waterson

Forget the turbo diagnosis. What were the exact fault codes? Was it an egr flow code or egr circuit code. The egr issue needs to be investigated. It will cause power loss issues if it is sticking open.

Vamp369

Sorry for the delayed reply, been a hectic few days.

I went back to the garage fro a third time, with the "Engine Malfunction" warning on. I asked the garage for the errors codes and got given the following:

P0405 - EGR sensor A circuit low
P0087 - Fuel/Rail/System Pressure Low
P1936 - Clutch pedal position
P193B - Accelerator pedal position (APP) sensor circuit malfunction
P2290 - Injector Control Pressure Too Low
U0416 - BUS error
U0073 - Control Module Communication Bus OFF
U1900 - CAN Communication Bus Fault – Receive Error

The garage folks have changed their minds about the initial problem being turbo related and now suggest an oil change and EGR clean. The car needs a service so leaving it with them next week to give it a service and EGR clean to see if that fixes things. The can is still throwing the engine malfunction when I accelerate hard. Doesn't seen to happen when it has over a half tank of fuel tho.

martinr5232

Did anyone replace the fuel filter since this started ??

Vamp369

martinr5232 wrote: »

Did anyone replace the fuel filter since this started ??

No, that will be done next week along with oil filter.

mullingar

+1 on the filter, if these block it will make the engine cut-out under load as the fuel pump can't maintain the pressure.

Row

If a new fuel filter doesn't do the job ive came across the fuel hoses at the back of the engine feeding/returing from the fuel filter giving problems where they suck in air and cause cutting out and difficult to start if left for awhile...Ford should have these on the shelf as they are quite a common failure.

Maybe drive it with the egr valve unplugged to test and if your still having the same problems then its unlikely to be the egr valve,
As the lads said above if its starved of fuel then it will cut out.

babydream

This happened my 2009 Mondeo earlier this year. Engine malfunction light came on and limp home mode. It happened a few times and when I would restart the engine, problem had cleared. Eventually it wouldn't and turned out to be a fuel injector.

Waterson

As above, the fuel pressure on the low pressure side needs to be checked with a gauge and the high pressure fuel rail risings read out with a scan tool and compared with factory spec. The egr shouldn't need cleaning out as it is not a flow related code, it's a circuit code, so your mechanic should be checking power supply, ground and egr potentiometer signal outputs. There's a chance those codes are red herrings, i.e. someone disconnected the valve with the ignition on and the fault code was logged then, I have to say I wouldn't have much confidence in these lads...

P.lane78

Has this focus a lift pump ? ......same symptoms as my mondeo on hard accelleration and it turned out to be the lift pump.

mullingar

No. The Focus does not have a pre-pump, just a single high pressure pump

Vamp369

Just a quick update. Got the EGR valve replaced along with oil filter and fuel filter. Driving perfect now.

Waterson

Glad you got it sorted. Would be interested to know whether it was a restricted fuel filter all along. Had a similar experience recently with an underpowered Navara whose filter hadn't been changed in donkies and causing similar symptons to your own.

Vamp369

Waterson wrote: »

Glad you got it sorted. Would be interested to know whether it was a restricted fuel filter all along. Had a similar experience recently with an underpowered Navara whose filter hadn't been changed in donkies and causing similar symptons to your own.

They said the EGR was sticking and covered in carbon. They weren't sure but think occasionally bits of the carbon would come loose and cause problems. That and the EGR valve sticking.

martinr5232

Vamp369 wrote:

They said the EGR was sticking and covered in carbon. They weren't sure but think occasionally bits of the carbon would come loose and cause problems. That and the EGR valve sticking.

%99 fuel filter was your problem.