I've only driven one other 1.6 TDCi so I don't really know what "normal" is, but just how noisy are these engines? From cold its like shaking a tin full of pebbles. Of course its a diesel, and a Focus Style doesn't have the best sound-deadening in the panels, so maybe its normal. There's a fair bit of drivebelt whirring, as well as some gearbox whine. I'm hoping these are all Ford "features", little noises to help you know everything's still working
Oh, and in terms of preventative maintenance, apart from using 5/30 fully synthetic every 8k miles, is there anything else I can do? Is replacing the turbo oil feed pipe(s) worthwhile, or even inspecting for sludge? Anything I can do to stay on top of injector seal issues?!
Oh, one other question- the engine doesn't have a big black plastic cover as you'd expect to see. The other 1.6 I looked at didn't either. Presumably it came with one, do they get thrown away for some reason??