Loss Of Power In 1St Or 2Nd Gear - Ford Focus 1.8Tdci(2006)

[shays47]

We have a 2006 Ford Focus Zetec 1.8 TDCi Climate Pack. After picking it up from the garage we bought it from, we noticed that there would be a loss of power when driving, mainly in 1st or 2nd gear. It has happened when pulling from a junction in 1st, and also when going uphill in 2nd. When the loss of power happens, if you take it out of gear and then put it back in, it seems ok. Although today, my wife was driving and she had to pull over, and leave it in idle, for a minute or so. There are no warning lights, and the engine doesn't cut out. We took it back to the garage we bought it from, and they had a look(as it is under warranty), and hooked it up to the diagnostic machine. No codes came up, and the guy who did the test said that it was one of the best engines he had seen, as all the readings etc were near perfect. The only thing that fluctuated a very tiny amount, was something to do with the air flow(?), but he said it should clear itself in a week or so. The garage told us to take the car away, and see how it goes, and if it played up to bring it back(we picked it up yesterday morning(Tuesday)), and since then it has happened again 4 times. When driving along the dual carriageway it has been fine, and the acceleration has been fine aswell. It only seems to be in the lower gears(1st and 2nd). Does anybody has any idea what it could be?

UPDATE

We have now had the fuel filter replaced, and the garage have said that there was an 'o' ring in there that was perished, and they think it could've been causing the problem. The car has now started doing the same thing again. I have been told by a mechanic friend that it could be the EGR valve getting stuck, and to have it cleaned out. Is it better to get it cleaned or replaced? Also, would the Mass Air Flow Sensor or EGR valve show up on diagnostic computer, as no warning lights are coming on. Someone has mentioned driving with Air sensor unplugged, is this safe, and for how long?

Since then the car is still doing the same thing. Have now had the Mass Air Flow Sensor replaced, and also the guy at the garage sprayed some EGR cleaner into the air intake while he was changing the MAF. That was about 2 weeks ago, and it is still playing up. Have spoken to a couple of people in work, and they have suggested a couple of things. EGR valve has been mentioned again. Another person said it had happened to him on a focus he had repaired, and he said he eventually traced it to some sort of sensor or switch under the accelerator pedal. Could this be the cause of the problem? Apart from this the car is a lovely car, I even took it up the motorway the weekend, and it was fine. Like I said before, it doesn't happen all the time, and there are no warning lights at all.

[FOCA]

Modern mechanics/ technicians/ engineers/ garages rely heavily on OBD fault codes, if none appear, it can leave them "scratching their heads" unable to understand what is wrong, often, it has been known that even (or especially) main Ford dealers have you replacing components (seemingly randomly) at great expense, this seems to happen more often after the warrantee runs out

In my opinion, there is one good type of EGR valve, a blanked or disabled one (or better still, one that has been removed completely )

You can fit a solid EGR blanking plate, more sensible than disconnecting the MAF sensor (which can ruin your performance/ economy

Egr cleaner sprayed in the inlet is a waste of time - you must completely remove the EGR housing, and the inlet manifold to clean it properly, i had to use a high- pressure industrial steam- cleaner with special cleaner to remove the hardened/ caked on carbon the EGR system had deposited on the inside of my inlet manifold

The accelerator pedal IS a switch, or more correctly, a potentiometer, (a bit like a computer mouse or the volume control on a stereo- not like the cables of old) the throttle pedal position is measured with the potentiometer and a variable resistance/ voltage is sent to the ECU -if its faulty/ worn, its just the sort of thing that does not show on fault codes, (possibly) because the ECU cannot tel,the difference from a faulty throttle potentiometer and your inputs (unless its "miles" out of range)

Lastly, how do you drive the car? "modern" turbodiesels have a realatively narrow power band and may require to be revved in a certain way/ use a certain technique to be "quick" in the lower gears, - it may be if you dont keep the revs between X and Y and time your changes perfectly you are getting nowhere, (there is a "knack" to it) the garage may be thinking this/ to this effect

In the higher gears there is a longer "pull" so the engine has a wider operating range realative to road speed

The exact technique depends on the car/ engine you run

Alternatively if you have a (turbo) boost problem (can be EGR related as an egr sticking open can loose you boost) and the turbo is taking a bit longer to boost up, this can seem worse in the lower gears in the higher gears the engine has more time to let the turbo boost up

Seeing as its under warrantee just keep taking it back to the garage till you are happy with it and don't let them "fob you off"