poconnor Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Hi, My car has been in the garage today (Ford dealership) after my turbo blew, as well as my turbo being knackered, they say that due to parts of the turbo breaking up, a new engine is needed. Unfortunately I'm not willing to pay £3800 to have that fitted! Luckily, I am not in a place where I need to sell the focus to fund my next one, so as I've always been interested in mechanics and have a big empty garage, I am looking into reconditioning it myself.... Firstly, I have all the time in the world, I aim to take the engine out, take it to bits, clean the whole thing and replace any parts with brand new, genuine Ford parts. Now I know that its not going to be as straight forward as I'd hope, but like I said, I've got loads of time to take my time over this, do it properly and be very thorough. Now I am a complete novice, I'm not going to lie. Any information people can offer me, books I should read or anything that will help me in the slightest is much appreciated. I love the focus so much that I can't bare to watch it turn into scrape for a few hundred quid! Not on my watch ! Thanks Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmcdermott Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Possibly start with the Haynes manuals? they have always been very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I would strongly recommend that its not a job for a complete novice with no experience but i dont doubt your enthusiasm. Have you considered a replacement engine? and transfer all the ancillaries? we will certainly try and help you out where we can in what ever you do though where in the country are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay1981 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 A second hand engine is the best way to go with this. Reconditioning an engine is a specialist job, and not one for a novice. You could try taking the head off your engine to see the amount of damage, but if bits of the turbo have been sucked into the engine the damage could be quite severe. Get yourself a haynes manual, have a look and take it from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 A second hand engine is the best way to go with this. Reconditioning an engine is a specialist job, and not one for a novice. You could try taking the head off your engine to see the amount of damage, but if bits of the turbo have been sucked into the engine the damage could be quite severe. Get yourself a haynes manual, have a look and take it from there. i agree with the above i know my way round an engine and have done head gaskets but i wouldnt recondition one you need proper expensive tools and a good knowledge of what youre doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poconnor Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I did speak to a engine reconditioning specialist, they quoted me £2600. I have been told that a second hand engine is more of a temporary fix i.e. Fix it so it can be sold to an unsuspected victim, which I couldn't do. Could it be easier to rather than recondition, but replace the broken parts with new ones? Don't really want to give up on her! I live in Colchester, Essex. South east. Again, thanks for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire26662 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Reconditioning an engine IS a bit of a big task for a novice, however, as some folks have mentioned, buy a good haynes manual or if you can find one a proper ford engineers manual. It really depends on what has actually broken up and been sucked in, as to what the damage is. I have stripped a few Vauxhall Vectra B DTi engines (X20DTH) after a turbo failure, some have no damage, some have head only damage, and I think only one managed to suck in 1/2 of the inlet turbine rotor and punch a nice hole in the piston! But well done for thinking about having a go. Just be methodical, take loads of pictures as a record (just in case you suffer a brain !Removed! and cant remember where a vac pipe or a connector plug goes. As for tools you will need a pretty decent kit, although if you are friendly with the reconditioning place they might do all the highly technical measurements and possible settings for you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamp Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 If the turbo has blown on a 1.6 TDCi its a good chance that has happened due to oil starvation of the turbo bearings. The most common cause is contaminated oil / sludge problems. Many of these engines have had turbos replaced under warranty, only for them to blow again soon after... the reason being the engine is gunked up with sludgey oil. Read this, it explains better than I can: http://bigjohnd.org.uk/CCC/OilChange-DV6.pdf When a DV6 engine gets to that point, the professionals throw in the towel and fit a new one, as they know that whatever they do, it is likely to happen again. Those of us with DV6 engines that haven't blown yet need to ensure frequent (< 8k mile) oil changes with fully synthetic oil, ensure filter in turbo oil feed pipe is clear, possibly drop the sump at the next service to ensure the oil pickup is not blocked.... and pray to the engine gods it won't happen to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Best thing to do is buy an engine from a write off. back end or side damage, and replace it. Obviously a "decent looking" car with a temp fix is different to a car that was working but got on the wrong end of a bus or something... If you want to recondition, it will be a big job, no doubt, and without the right tools, and spending the money on the likes of engine supports, then you really could struggle. In the meantime a Haynes manual is definately the best place to start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Best thing to do is buy an engine from a write off. back end or side damage, and replace it. Obviously a "decent looking" car with a temp fix is different to a car that was working but got on the wrong end of a bus or something... If you want to recondition, it will be a big job, no doubt, and without the right tools, and spending the money on the likes of engine supports, then you really could struggle. In the meantime a Haynes manual is definately the best place to start! Completely agree. A replacement engine is no temporary fix, if you can source a good genuine low mileage engine it will save you an absolute fortune on tooling and equipment and also a huge amount of your time. there is a good reason why having an engine rebuilt is very expensive. I have recently replaced an engine and gearbox on a mates car with a second hand engine from eBay and a rebuilt gearbox, its been a few months and its still sweet as a nut with absolutely no issues. I have spent quite a few thousand on tools over the last 4 years and i dont even have any tools for rebuilding engines, in my mind its not worth it considering the cost of a replacement engine - just my opinion though. If you do go down the route of replacing the engine, make sure you get a receipt for it as you will need it as proof for changing the log book. all the best, stef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Ford UK Shop
Sponsored Ad
Name: eBay
Ford Model: FordUK Shop
Ford Year: 2024
Latest Deals
Ford UK Shop for genuine Ford parts & accessoriesDisclaimer: As the club is an eBay Partner, The club may be compensated if you make a purchase via the club
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.