Hi I have a focus td on a 2012 I went work drove normal came out of work and the engine had a high pitch whistle so thought turbo gone drove each day to work about 3 miles each way for 3 days on way home started to cough and splutter till it cut out had white smoke coming out of exhaust

Tried to start will crank but nothing else had a second hand turbo fitted oil changed and air filter changed tried to start nothing again checked the timing belt no teeth missing but car still won’t start hope you guys might have some idea what’s going on

Thanks Liam

Hi,

Is this a 1.6 or 2.0?

Was there definitely shaft play in the old turbo?

Did you re-pin the timing belt or just roll it over to see whether any teeth had come off?

Hi sorry for the delay it is a 1.6

100% play on the turbo shaft

took timing cover off to inspect the belt

18 minutes ago, Liam75 said:

Hi sorry for the delay it is a 1.6

100% play on the turbo shaft

took timing cover off to inspect the belt

Thank you.

As a 1.6 it is single cam, so we can rule out a faulty cam chain which was a possibility on the 2.0.

There is a common fault on the 1.6 where the camshaft lobes can twist on the shaft if valves hit pistons. As you say the belt hasn't lost teeth, I'm wondering whether the vac pump at the opposite end of the shaft locked solid and twisted some lobes so that the intake and/or exhaust timing is now out.

Turbo shaft play and a seized vac pump would both be caused by a lack of oil to the top end, either due to a low oil level or due to a blockage in the pickup or filter.

If it was mine, I would be removing the vac pump next to check whether that is broken. If it did seize, it may not still be seized now, so have to check carefully.

The obd scanner also said injector 3 was at max output don’t know if this would have any bearing on the matter

Thanks for your help

19 minutes ago, Liam75 said:

The obd scanner also said injector 3 was at max output don’t know if this would have any bearing on the matter

Thanks for your help

That's a standard code for 8v 1.6 TDCI. Mine had two injectors at max adaptions at just 6 years old with 42k miles. That code can generally be ignored.

Top man will definitely have a look at the vacuum pump to see if that’s failed as well

Have you had this issue before with a focus

18 minutes ago, Liam75 said:

Have you had this issue before with a focus

No. This 8v engine in Mk3 is generally reliable. The only common issue is the injectors, but they don't usually cause a non-start, and they continue to work without any noticeable issues for years after the 'max adaption' code gets triggered.

Turbo failure is very rare on these which is why I believe the non-start will be linked to that in some way.

We do also see cambelt failures now they've passed 10 years old, and that is usually when the camshaft lobes spin.

I have seen the same type of vac pump seize on other Ford diesels. So it's a semi-educated guess at the minute.

You have been really helpful will have a look at the issues you have brought to my attention