TDCI Turbo Issue

[Tw1ster]

Hi,

Just bought a 2003 1.8 TDCI Zetec Focus. Its done a little over 50k miles.

Anyways, I took it for a test drive and all seemed fine before buying. I've since done about 150 miles and am having a strange issue with the turbo.

Basically, when I put my foot down there is obviously a delay and then the turbo kicks in but then it stops and I loose a bit of a power and then it will kick back in again. It basically means my acceleration is jerky. It seems that when the car is cold the turbo doesn't kick in at all (I don't really get a decent amount of power until the temperature gauge is around half way).

I was told when I bought the car from a dealer it had recently had it's turbo replaced at a cost of £1500 but I have no paper work to back this up.

Now, when the car has been running for about half an hour on the motorway and I come off, the turbo seems to be OK, acceleration is smooth so it only seems to be a problem for the first 15-20 mins or running it.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

By the way, I have no service history for the last 20k miles. I did have a friend look at it and he checked all my levels and said they were good and the oil looked relatively new so he thinks it has probably been serviced but just not stamped in the log book.

Thanks :)

[illy28]

I recenlty bought a 2.0 tdci mark 2 ford focus. The mileage was 80, 000 miles on the clock. Basically i experinced similar problems to yourself wnere there was a turbo lag. I took it into mechanics and after much investigation i had to get the egr valve replaced. Since this has been replaced its been ok, touch wood, the part cost me £150

Hi,

Just bought a 2003 1.8 TDCI Zetec Focus. Its done a little over 50k miles.

Anyways, I took it for a test drive and all seemed fine before buying. I've since done about 150 miles and am having a strange issue with the turbo.

Basically, when I put my foot down there is obviously a delay and then the turbo kicks in but then it stops and I loose a bit of a power and then it will kick back in again. It basically means my acceleration is jerky. It seems that when the car is cold the turbo doesn't kick in at all (I don't really get a decent amount of power until the temperature gauge is around half way).

I was told when I bought the car from a dealer it had recently had it's turbo replaced at a cost of £1500 but I have no paper work to back this up.

Now, when the car has been running for about half an hour on the motorway and I come off, the turbo seems to be OK, acceleration is smooth so it only seems to be a problem for the first 15-20 mins or running it.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

By the way, I have no service history for the last 20k miles. I did have a friend look at it and he checked all my levels and said they were good and the oil looked relatively new so he thinks it has probably been serviced but just not stamped in the log book.

Thanks :)

[Tw1ster]

Would the EGR valve only be sticking when the engine was cold though?

I've just taken it out for a drive and it's been sat for about 2 hours but it was driving fine, nice smooth acceleration with the turbo kicking in as expected. It seems to be after it's been left over night that it is at it's worst.

[Simon S]

Would the EGR valve only be sticking when the engine was cold though?

I've just taken it out for a drive and it's been sat for about 2 hours but it was driving fine, nice smooth acceleration with the turbo kicking in as expected. It seems to be after it's been left over night that it is at it's worst.

Exactly what mine does. I have disconnected but not removed the EGR and although smoother on acceleration still makes little boost until normal temperature is reached. I put this down to programing.

[Steve_d]

Cant be good if the turbo needed changed at 50K, got me a bit worried now! Turbo should last the life of a car

[Tw1ster]

Will it cause any damage not getting this EGR valve replaced if it's faulty? I will do in a couple of months but now isn't a good time - just want to check I won't be damaging anything by leaving it.

[illy28]

Will it cause any damage not getting this EGR valve replaced if it's faulty? I will do in a couple of months but now isn't a good time - just want to check I won't be damaging anything by leaving it.

it all depends on how badly your car loses power. My car suffered sever loss of power so it was something i could not ignore. At first the mechanice relised that was a build up of carbonised oil which he tried to clean but made no differnce that is why i had to get the egr valve replaced. faulty egr valves seem to be a common fault on diesel engines, im juts going by what i have already read on the internet and what the mechanic told me.