Ok so I’ve picked up my new (to me) focus, car is what it is and everything works, the only complaint I have is that engine seems really noisy. It idles smooth and runs well, starts on the button etc.. injectors are noisy but it’s a 12 year old car so it’s kind of expected. The thing that’s worrying me is a knock coming from what sounds like the top of the engine on idle, it had a service and cambelt was changed before I picked the car up and the noise wasn’t there when I test drove it. Anyone any ideas what it could be? In all honesty it’s putting me off the car and thinking of taking it back. Checked all the oil and that’s all ok, I’m thinking it could be a bad plug but the car idles and runs well, worried I’ve bought a lemon ☹️ Thanks in advance for any help 

Can you post a video? Saves the guessing games...

Yep will do 👍🏻

Oh ffs!! It’s converted as a photo, hang on…

Oh ffs!! It’s converted as a photo, hang on…

Think I’ve managed it 😂

Sounds a bit like a clutch thrust bearing to me. Does the noise stop once you've put the clutch in?

No it stays the same, I’ve taken a video from inside the car with windows open, it’s really loud 

 

if you rev the engine slightly and the noise speeds up could be tappets maybe, anyway just a thought.

Outside the car the noise appears to be coming from behind the offside wheel, where the a/c compressor lives. I’m going to take it to my mechanic tomorrow see what he thinks 👍🏻 The only major thing that the garage did before I picked it up was change them timing belt, wondering if they’ve cocked it up? The car was fine when I picked it up on Friday it only started making the noise yesterday 

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/whats-causes-a-tappety-engine-and-how-can-it-be-fixed/

Read this article it might help you!!!

In my opinion the previous owner might have never changed engine oil as it needed.

Lot of diesel (Ford) owners here in Greece (as me) change engine oil and oil filter every 5.000 miles in average.

It is good for the diesel engines and a little more fuel efficient.

Of course there is a manufacturer's manual that writes in how many miles had change the engine oil but we follow our own schedule that we believe is better for the car.

 

The car has a full Ford dealer service history but the last one was 8000 miles ago. The supplying garage serviced the car before I picked it up and changed the timing belt, It passed an mot without any problems either 👍🏻 I’m really hoping it’s a simple fix, if not then it is covered by a warranty so it can either be fixed or I can get my money back and look at another car, which would be a shame as it really does appear to have been looked after 

19 minutes ago, ZetecShezz said:

The car has a full Ford dealer service history but the last one was 8000 miles ago. The supplying garage serviced the car before I picked it up and changed the timing belt, It passed an mot without any problems either 👍🏻 I’m really hoping it’s a simple fix, if not then it is covered by a warranty so it can either be fixed or I can get my money back and look at another car, which would be a shame as it really does appear to have been looked after 

I hope everything is going to be fine because Ford is a good car company and has a great variety of spare parts to fix it like new. But the cost is a little big for making lots of serious repairs at the engine.

If the rest of the car is in a verey good condition and you like it a lot on the road, you should consider a great repair of your engine. Your pocket,your decision!!!😀

Ok quick update 👍🏻 Spoken to my mechanic over the phone, he’s had a quick listen (I know not the same as in person) and I’ve told him everything that’s happened since I’ve picked the car up. The only thing he can think without seeing the car in the metal is that when I filled up after I’d collected it is that the E10 petrol I put in is causing the knock 😳 totally my fault as I wasn’t aware this engine shouldn’t run on anything less than 95 octane petrol ☹️ I’m taking it in on Wednesday for a thorough inspection but for now he’s recommended I put a bottle of octane booster in the tank and only fill up with super unleaded in the future 👍🏻 I hope he’s right and fingers crossed it’s not caused any major/permanent damage. I’ll keep you guys updated, cheers 

15 minutes ago, ZetecShezz said:

E10 petrol I put in is causing the knock 😳 totally my fault as I wasn’t aware this engine shouldn’t run on anything less than 95 octane petrol

? E10 is 95 octane.

2 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

? E10 is 95 octane.

Oh yeah it is 94/95 octane rating 🤔 like I say he’s not seen the car in the metal yet as away until tomorrow, I’ve got some octane booster so will Chuck that in and see if it helps, I’m just hoping and praying the engine isn’t knackered ☹️

1 hour ago, ZetecShezz said:

Oh yeah it is 94/95 octane rating 🤔

I'm inclined to think the fuel might be a red herring. Depending on when your filling station got its last delivery, it could have still had E5 in its 95 tanks anyway, or a mix of E5 and E10. A lot of discussion and links on this subject here:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/128954-e10-fuel-my-experience-so-far/#comments

From your posts what stands out as having been recently altered is the cam belt change. It could be it has slipped a tooth if not correctly installed/tensioned.

Not sure whether the mechanic you mention is at the supplying dealer or not? Whatever, I'd be raising it with them in the first instance and avoiding driving it until you get to the bottom of matters in case of worsening the damage. 

 

 

Thanks for all your replies guys, glad to have found an active forum 👍🏻 I’ll be taking the car back to the seller as it’s under warranty so may as well let them find the problem and fix it 👍🏻 Just out of curiosity though, I found this on another forum page

On 6/18/2021 at 5:36 PM, JW1982 said:

Ethanol has an octane rating of RON 108.6. Adding Ethanol to petrol is a known way to increase the octane rating.

E10 fuel with an octane rating of RON 95 consists of 90% Petrol with an octane rating of RON 93.48 and 10% Ethanol with an octane rating of RON 108.6. This basically means that the E10 fuel with an octane rating of RON 95 is based on lower octane (cheaper) petrol than regular RON 95 petrol without Ethanol.

 

Ethanol is known to be very hygroscopic. This means that it absorbs water from the air. On the longer term water could form in the tank when using Ethanol-containing fuel. In countries where a lot of Ethanol-containing fuel is used this is a known problem (especially on vehicles that are not used regularly). Be aware that many E10 fuel types contain wet Ethanol. Wet Ethanol is Ethanol from which not all the water has been removed during the production process. Wet Ethanol consists of approximately 5% water. This makes wet Ethanol much cheaper to produce than dry Ethanol. A tank of 50 liters of wet Ethanol based E10 fuel contains approximately 0.25 liters of water.

1L of Ethanol contains less energy than 1L of petrol. This simply means that compared to regular RON 95 petrol the fuel consumption will increase when using E10 fuel with an octane rating of RON 95.

I only drive approximately 4000 KM a Year and because of Covid last Year and this Year probably even less. I only use high octane (RON 98 or higher) petrol that contains a very low percentage of Ethanol. I simply do not want to risk problems that would possibly be caused by the (a bit cheaper) Ethanol containing fuel.  

Not saying it is the cause or isn’t but makes for interesting reading 🤔 maybe I should have gone for a diesel lol 😂

1 hour ago, ZetecShezz said:

Thanks for all your replies guys, glad to have found an active forum 👍🏻 I’ll be taking the car back to the seller as it’s under warra!nty so may as well let them find the problem and fix it 👍🏻 Just out of curiosity though, I found this on another forum page

Not saying it is the cause or isn’t but makes for interesting reading 🤔 maybe I should have gone for a diesel lol 😂

Yes, I think Wilco's main worry there is largely the hygroscopic qualities of E10 taking account of his low mileage. I have similar concerns particularly in respect of my wife's car which does very little mileage and therefore the "turnover" of fuel in the tank is low.

Absolutely no reason (other than cost) why you shouldn't use 97/98 E5 on an ongoing basis if you prefer, but I doubt that one fill of what may or may not have been E10 would cause the problems you describe,

Let us know how you get on with the seller.😀

 

I will do @Eric Bloodaxe 👍🏻 The car is in really good condition for the year and meets my needs perfectly, would be a shame if it is no good ☹️ The seller is a local garage and well established so hoping I have no problems with them, I’ll update you guys once I know more 👍🏻 Thanks 

Hi! I know this is an old thread but, my 2017 1.6 ti-vct focus started making the exact same knocking sound that can be heard on the second video.
It happens only at idle and higher makes it go away unlike rodknock which should get faster and louder with higher rpm.
I was thinking worn engine mounts but thats more like wishful thinking on my part since its "only" 7 years old and the front right mount still has about 1cm of distance between the rubber and the bottom part of the mount.
@ZetecShezz What was your cars problem?
Was there a solution to fix it?

Thanks in advance!


This one:

 

4 hours ago, Zlowmu said:

I know this is an old thread but,

don't expect a reply from them

Well I was hoping that there is email notifications when someone is tagged, and maybe just maybe I get closer to an answer.
I'm out of luck I guess...

So in my case it was the piston wrist pins.Expensive as f to fix.