Ford Focus Mk2 Core Plug Leak

[g3legacy]

Hello everyone, first time poster on this forum but I've seen other people have had this issue! Please bear i mind, I'm new to this, but I've done a lot of research, and I mean hours of reading forums/articles. I know about the usual core plug issue and the washer jet issue, but I'm no mechanic.

The history;

- I bought my FF a couple of months ago. It's a MK2 LX, 1.6. It had done about 62k at the time.

- A mechanic was investigating an engine warning light which came on three days after buying, whilst he was around I mentioned that I'd researched some common faults on the FF, and the washer jets can leak on top of the engine when used. We lightly pressed the HT lead cover and it looked wet, so he pulled it out and found the area around the spark plugs was full of a coolant/water mix. He syphoned this out.

- A few phone calls later, and searching through the paperwork, I found someone had been paid to fix a "coolant leak" in Jan' this year. I called and he agreed to have it back to fix it as he'd not done so before.

- The drive there (40 mins) was terrible, the car misfired really badly, warning light flashing (misfire on cylinder 4). When we got there he stripped off some epoxy/resin from the top of the core plug. The mechanic I had round to look at the car originally said this looked like a bodge, and I agreed! The mechanic I drove to see, showed me the spark plugs weren't corroded in, and showed me the core plugs which were replaced in Jan'. He then put a load of metal/epoxy stuff over the top to try and ensure the leaking didn't happen again, whilst saying "I don't know who put the epoxy on before, but it seems like a good idea".

- We drove away, the car was still misfiring badly. We went back, he put on new HT leads (coolant must had broken the connection with the spark plugs??) and put new spark plugs in. We paid for the bits and left.

- Car was mostly ok for the next 600 miles. We did a long drive over 2 days, and when we got back the car started misfiring again. The mechanic I know came out again, and this time we found the top of the engine literally FULL of coolant, about 500ml came out. Clearly, it's still broken.

- Today my mechanic came around again, as we've not had time to look into this since. We got two new core plugs and got ready to swap them over. All the epoxy stuff was chipped off, and when we got down to the core plugs we noticed the metal around the outside of the right core plug had been damaged by a screwdriver. Probably someone tried to lever the old core plug out wrong, and had made a right mess of the job, which is why no seal is made and the engine keeps leaking.

I'm obviously pretty gutted by this as I the core plug swap won't fix the issue. It's my first "half-decent" car, and I'm feeling really bad about buying it! So far, I've been told the best fix will be taking the cylinder head out, drilling two new holes and fitting larger core plugs.

If anyone has encountered this problem, I would love to know how you fixed this! Any advice would be very much welcomed.

Many thanks, Dan.

[copelcon91]

Hiya mate!!

I had this issue countless times! Everyone I took it to said about the core plugs so I had them replaced but yet water was still finding its way in the cylinder head and the core plugs and coolant wasnt leaking!

After a while I investigated the issue myself and found the bonet where the washer jets sit leak water when it rains like you would not belive! So I sealed them up and they still leaked. I then thought about an engine cover I rang ford and it is not something they make!

So with no luck I made my own out of perspex and covered the ht lead top and touch wood to this date theres not been a drop of water in there and it hasnt ever misfired! It looks daft but I dont care it runs perfect!

Hope you get it sorted

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Ford OC mobile app

[g3legacy]

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately it can't be just the washer jets, because there is definitely coolant in the top of the engine, and I certainly don't put coolant in my washer jet solution

[copelcon91]

Haha you laugh but I got asked if I had done that!!! The cheek well good luck getting it fixed! Be interested to see what they do to rectify it!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Ford OC mobile app

[Jimpster]

Resurrecting and old topic. My mk2 went for its MOT and a mini service, there was water "not a lot" and the plugs were rusty. My mech changed the welch plugs. I drove it home without issue. Set off to go out yesterday 5 minutes out coughing low power engine light, turned around and back to the garage. Both plugs had blown top of the engine was soaked. Allegedly a Ford only part and will need to wait till Monday to order, my guy was seriously gutted as he prides his work. Reading up on this, fixes can be hit and miss. Any extra tips ? He did say yesterday they seemed to go in easily.