Hi All,

 

I have recently bought a 2020 ST-Line 3 door with the 1.0 100PS Ecoboost engine that has done 23,000 miles and been serviced twice at main agents.

I took it for an oil and filter change at my local main dealer yesterday as it wasn't due a service but the oil quality was showing as 20%.

They called me to say the VCT solenoids were leaking and they needed replacing along with the wiring loom and O2 sensors... for £1,770.65.

Naturally I declined the work and now I have got the car home I can't see any leaks, but maybe I am looking in the wrong place?

I am sure this is one of the solenoids, on the top left hand side of the engine by the dipstick and there are two of them?

There are no signs of leaks of any kind. Is the dealer trying it on ?

The other thing they said was that the air filter was highly contaminated and could cause engine perfomamce issues. I took it out to check and it is really clean and easily has another 10,000 miles in it!

Can anyone help please ?

It's a very common issue, you won't see any external leaks but if you unplug the vct plug, you will see oil. They are prone to leaking at the connector and then the oil travels up the loom due to capillary action of the copper and the pressure of the oil.

Put your VIN number in here and it should only give you part numbers for your own vehicle.

https://www.catcar.info/ford/?lang=en

You can find parts on e bay quite often, some genuine but be careful.

I don't have experience of the 1 litre unit but I know on the 2 litre ecoboost, when the leak gets serious it shows on the outside without pulling the plug

If you are unable to do the work yourself I would suggest finding a decent independent Ford specialist for a second opinion and price

Ok, thank you. So the Ford dealer must have unplugged them to check ?

 

I don't feel comfortable with what your Ford dealer has said - hence I would get a second opinion off a Ford Independent Specialist

No need for a 2nd opinion.

Just remove the VCT actuator connectors and take a look yourself. If there is oil inside the connector the Ford dealer has correctly identified this well-known problem.


When oil is found the VCT actuators and the affected wiring should be replaced. You can just replace the entire engine wiring harness or strip the engine wiring harness and replace only the affected wires. 

Removing the existing engine wiring harness, stripping the harness, replacing the affected wires and rebuilding the harness with the correct tape is quite labor intensive. This is why most garages will just install a new wiring harness.

However, these wiring harnesses do often have long delivery times from Ford (it literally can take Months when not on stock in Germany) so repair of the existing wiring harness can be a good option.

Many people just replace the actuators and leave the contaminated wiring harness in place. On the longer term this can result in serious electrical problems varying from disintegrating insulation to a defective PCM.  
 

On 11/1/2025 at 11:12 AM, TrevorB said:

Put your VIN number in here and it should only give you part numbers for your own vehicle.

https://www.catcar.info/ford/?lang=en

You can find parts on e bay quite often, some genuine but be careful.

I don't have experience of the 1 litre unit but I know on the 2 litre ecoboost, when the leak gets serious it shows on the outside without pulling the plug

If you are unable to do the work yourself I would suggest finding a decent independent Ford specialist for a second opinion and price

Sadly their diagrams on go up to the MK3.5 focus/ mk7.5 fiesta so useless I'm afraid for the MK4 focus and for the mk8 focus that have these engines.

Hi Ben, yes you are correct. Sorry but I forgot about the cut off dates/years

I have check the plugs, and yes there is oil in there. A bit rubbish for a car that is only 5 years old and has done 24,000 miles.

I am going to change both of them but I am struggling to find anyone in the UK other than ford that have these in stock.

Any suggestions please ?

Few aftermarket options on Autodoc.

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-search?keyword=1761191&_gl=1*1c5jy7m*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiA8bvIBhBJEiwAu5ayrPEcqr8AF6M4VUgGErjyC7-_8IQA_N4C9q0DDDb8Mz4Zo8zlyGGIVRoCQQcQAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAAoWFwrfIj6qTxvBFVlJXhH4dqMAiX

 

Though Ford eBay currently have a 10% off code making them cheapest for a pair posted.

https://ebay.us/m/hTvXsE

No brainer, go for the genuine Ford ones that Tom suggests

Thank you. I have messaged the seller to double check it is the right one as the part number is different to the one I have - which is 1761191

Hopefully Ford has fixed the reliability as the original ones weren't any good !

12 minutes ago, lambo911 said:

which is 1761191

The Ford finis 1761191 has been superseded. - Old stock is still available.

Search the Ford engineering part number CM5G6M280FA to find the replacement finis code.

On 10/31/2025 at 5:40 PM, lambo911 said:

Hi All,

 

I have recently bought a 2020 ST-Line 3 door with the 1.0 100PS Ecoboost engine that has done 23,000 miles and been serviced twice at main agents.

I took it for an oil and filter change at my local main dealer yesterday as it wasn't due a service but the oil quality was showing as 20%.

They called me to say the VCT solenoids were leaking and they needed replacing along with the wiring loom and O2 sensors... for £1,770.65.

Naturally I declined the work and now I have got the car home I can't see any leaks, but maybe I am looking in the wrong place?

I am sure this is one of the solenoids, on the top left hand side of the engine by the dipstick and there are two of them?

There are no signs of leaks of any kind. Is the dealer trying it on ?

The other thing they said was that the air filter was highly contaminated and could cause engine perfomamce issues. I took it out to check and it is really clean and easily has another 10,000 miles in it!

Can anyone help please ?

Did you check the plugs (inside)?

Are they indeed oily?