Hi guys and gals, I've just joined this site as this seems to be the best place with the most experienced Ford owners, could someone please give me some advice on the following issue?

I have a 2008 Ford Focus 1.6L TDCI Diesel Hatchback, and have recently been experiencing intermittent steering wheel juddering with rhythmic engine knocking sound when driving above 55mph. This usually lasts for between 10-15 mins before spontaneously resolving but can happen multiple times on the same journey. Engine power also seems to drop during these episodes.

I have taken it to a garage who initially told me that they could not find any issues and there were no error codes, likely because of the intermittent nature of the problem. I pushed for an injector leak-off test, which came back as can be seen below.

The mechanic told me that injectors 1 & 2 (reading from L>R) were faulty, however from my limited understanding I feel like it's more likely that 3 & 4 are the issue? Could someone with experience in this area please? Many thanks in advance!

Welcomw!

Could be mixed up depending on engine type i.e. Some engines count cylinder 1 as between engine and gearbox so any confusion on that needs discussing before any action is taken.
The ones with the most leakage look faulty to me, especially 2nd from right.
Alan does it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E89oncZcZgg&t=4s

 

19 minutes ago, Shearers said:

Welcomw!

Could be mixed up depending on engine type i.e. Some engines count cylinder 1 as between engine and gearbox so any confusion on that needs discussing before any action is taken.
The ones with the most leakage look faulty to me, especially 2nd from right.
Alan does it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E89oncZcZgg&t=4s

 

Thank you!

He actually pointed at the 1st and 2nd from the left and said they weren't leaking enough which confused me so I thought I'd check! I'll just have to politely explain that it's the others that need doing I guess. 

Thanks for the advice and video link that's really helpful!

Whilst there has to be some leakage (I assume) I have never noted anyone saying that too little leakage is the fault, it's always more IMHO that causes the problem unless anyone else on here thinks different?
The other issue is that "we" recommend Forscan to pick up any and all Ford specific fault codes and live data so, again it is to be discussed what device they are using in case they haven't found codes? Codes need to be rad when the fault is on and live data of fuel rail pressure (demand vs actual) would be one of the relevant  parameters (along with multiple others)
Plus, I'd also suggest "If there's a fuel problem, change the filter" as the first line treatment and ask why the steering is juddering
It is a worry about their statement and, if it were me I'd be probing them to see if they actually have the expertise required (without any disrespect)

20 hours ago, Shearers said:

Whilst there has to be some leakage (I assume) I have never noted anyone saying that too little leakage is the fault, it's always more IMHO that causes the problem unless anyone else on here thinks different?
The other issue is that "we" recommend Forscan to pick up any and all Ford specific fault codes and live data so, again it is to be discussed what device they are using in case they haven't found codes? Codes need to be rad when the fault is on and live data of fuel rail pressure (demand vs actual) would be one of the relevant  parameters (along with multiple others)
Plus, I'd also suggest "If there's a fuel problem, change the filter" as the first line treatment and ask why the steering is juddering
It is a worry about their statement and, if it were me I'd be probing them to see if they actually have the expertise required (without any disrespect)

That was my thinking from my limited knowledge/experience too! Everything I've looked up seemed to point towards the left 2 being normal while the right 2 being abnormal.

Thanks for the advice re forscan, I will check whether or not he has used it. I have ordered an obdii Bluetooth dongle to try to catch it in the act myself as they haven't been able to reproduce the symptoms at a low speed test drive.

I had the fuel filter changed earlier this year so that has ruled it out, it did seem to help a bit as it had similar symptoms beforehand, but it seems like it wasn't enough to completely solve the issue as it has come back again.

Yes I'm not sure if they are specialised enough in this area, I will just try to push to get the correct 2 injectors sorted and see what happens! Thanks for all the advice 👍

Too little leak off can be a bad sign. 

If it's not coming out of the leak off hole, it's either dumping too much into the cylinder (not shutting off properly between firing) or the injector filter could be clogged preventing diesel getting into it in the first place.

However, in this case, as the low 2 are both pretty equal, I would agree it's more likely the high 2 that are the issue here.

Though on a 2008 model, I'd replace all 4 as a set anyway.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Too little leak off can be a bad sign. 

If it's not coming out of the leak off hole, it's either dumping too much into the cylinder (not shutting off properly between firing) or the injector filter could be clogged preventing diesel getting into it in the first place.

However, in this case, as the low 2 are both pretty equal, I would agree it's more likely the high 2 that are the issue here.

Though on a 2008 model, I'd replace all 4 as a set anyway.

That does make sense, it's a shame that there aren't any unit markings on the tubes but I'm assuming each notch is a 10ml increment which as you suggested would indicate the high 2 are the issue. Thanks for the added insight!

Unfortunately it's not really economically worth changing all 4 as that would cost more than the current market value of the car, I'm hoping just changing the worst offender/s will help me keep it on the road for a while longer! Wish me luck!