Hi all,

After creating a thread a long time ago asking about the mk2.5 Focus I have finally gotten around to giving my lease car back and buying a car. I decided to go for a 2008 mk2.5 1.8 petrol Zetec. Really enjoying it so far I must say.

One thing I am struggling to figure out is which air filter is the right fitment. The part finder thing on the eurocarparts site seems to suggest it's the cylinder style filter yet in the Haynes manual I picked up it shows a panel style filter for the Duratec 1.8 being used. Easiest thing would be to just have a look in the airbox and see what's in there but I haven't had chance yet. Does anyone know for sure which type fit? or are they interchangeable even?

Another thing I've noticed, and it might just be because of the weather, but the inside of the car is full of condensation a lot of the time. What's the most likely cause of this? A leak somewhere? I bought one of those dehumidifier bean bag things but it has not really helped.

 

4 hours ago, Shominy said:

cylinder style for yours 🙂

 

 

Thanks. Do you know which engines do use the panel filters as they seem to keep showing up on various parts websites?

Any idea about the condensation? From what I've read there could be water getting into the boot causing it. I might try and take a look at that tonight.

A lot of condensation usually indicates a leak as you have said. Check the spare wheel well and all the cabin footwells then report back so we can advise where to look for the water ingress.🙂

On 2/27/2019 at 10:26 AM, Shominy said:

Do you know which engines do use the panel filters as they seem to keep showing up on various parts websites?

My mk2 1.8 uses the panel filter, seems strange if they changed over to the cylinder type on the mk2.5 surely there was a reason for the panel type in the first place? Pop the bonnet and look at the right hand side end of the air box, you should be able to tell from that. If it’s got a round piece in the end, you’ve got the cylinder type. 

Facelift uses a cylinder, prefacelift uses a panel.

 

I wonder what the thought was behind the panel filter on the mk2 then, the cylinder type was around at that time fitted to the diesels and the even the 1.6 petrol I think.🤔

I imagine the cylinder has more filter area than the panel, so would be the better choice.

On 2/27/2019 at 12:42 PM, WES180 said:

A lot of condensation usually indicates a leak as you have said. Check the spare wheel well and all the cabin footwells then report back so we can advise where to look for the water ingress.🙂

So I've had a chance to have a look in the spare wheel well and there's no sign of excess moisture. All the foot wells are dry as well. Any ideas?

Have you checked the carpets for damp? It might indicate where the leak is coming from.

On 3/3/2019 at 3:11 PM, Matt92 said:

I wonder what the thought was behind the panel filter on the mk2 then, the cylinder type was around at that time fitted to the diesels and the even the 1.6 petrol I think.🤔

I imagine the cylinder has more filter area than the panel, so would be the better choice.

It's cheaper to fit the same box & filter to every model so just a way to drop production costs when they started producing the facelift.

As you say, the cylinder shape has a larger surface area so is a better option although the smaller engines won't get any benefit from it.

2 hours ago, Shominy said:

So I've had a chance to have a look in the spare wheel well and there's no sign of excess moisture. All the foot wells are dry as well. Any ideas?

Are you using the air con before switching the engine off?  If so, switch off the AC a few minutes before you get home to air it through and dry off the system.  

If not...well...the water has to be coming from somewhere lol!  I take it it's just plain water, not coolant that would smell and make the windows sticky?

31 minutes ago, btmaldon said:

Have you checked the carpets for damp? It might indicate where the leak is coming from.

 

29 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

It's cheaper to fit the same box & filter to every model so just a way to drop production costs when they started producing the facelift.

As you say, the cylinder shape has a larger surface area so is a better option although the smaller engines won't get any benefit from it.

Are you using the air con before switching the engine off?  If so, switch off the AC a few minutes before you get home to air it through and dry off the system.  

If not...well...the water has to be coming from somewhere lol!  I take it it's just plain water, not coolant that would smell and make the windows sticky?

There's no sign of damp or moisture in the carpets anywhere, it's just the windows that seem to be attracting moisture. I may be overplaying it and it is perhaps not that bad but it's definitely worse than my old car.

I've not really thought about the air con so not sure if I drive with it on until I park up or not. I'll definitely make an effort to turn it off a few minutes before I get home to see if it makes a difference. I've thought about get wind deflectors and I've read that they can sometimes help with condensation as they allow the car to breathe a little bit. Any truth in that do you reckon?

Wind deflectors won't make any difference with the windows closed.