So Who Has Done An Lpg Conversion For Ford Focus?

[Mikoyan]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone has done or had done an lpg conversion on their ford focus?

I have a FF 1.6 and trying to weight up the pros and cons of it, and also wondering how the fit is in the Ford Focus?

[Mike77]

Had a couple of lpg kits fitted to cars in the past, never to a focus though. Can't see it being a problem though, straight forward enough. I would say with lpg kits, you get what you pay for, so don't just opt for the cheapest kit. The tank for the gas would probably go in your spare wheel well, so you need to leave the spare in the boot, possibly buy a space saver. The kits have come a long way over the last few years, and are now near enough equal in terms of power and mpg. And at 70p per litre, almost half the cost of petrol. The thing you need to weigh up is the initial cost of the kit, and fitting. You will need a certificate to prove its safe, most insurance companies will insist on this. You will normally break even cost wise, in a couple of years. So if your thinking of changing cars in the next 3 years, its not worth bothering with. Running wise, if anything, my cars were smoother on gas than petrol, and never had any problems with it, other than minor set up issues, bit the fitter soon had that sorted. All in all, I would recommend an lpg conversion. Especially if your planning on keeping the car, and cover a lot of miles.

[Stoney871]

Agreed.

I haveta mate that has two LPG converted Chrysler people carriers and it took about two years to cover costs and see the financial benefits.

One thing you may want to do before going ahead is locate all the LPG supply sources in your predicted travel area to ensure it's readily available.

[artscot79]

the focus notoriously does not like lpg conversions and they run like a bag of sxxxe thats from people who did have it done and had nothing but problems from then on in to the point the sold it

[Lpgc]

I am an LPG conversion specialist in Yorkshire.

There are many misconceptions regarding LPG conversions... I will briefly clear a few up: Almost any petrol engine can be converted to LPG, the few exceptions are a minority of very recently developed direct injection engines (direct injection engines need special vehicle specific LPG systems) An LPG conversion doesn't affect the petrol system at all, will drive on petrol exactly as before. Any engine should run smoothly on LPG (including all Ford Focus models), if it does not run smoothly then the installer has done something wrong. There should be no noticeable difference in power on either fuel. An LPG conversion will reduce fuel bills by over 40%. Some makes of vehicle, most Fords included, should be fitted with a 'valve lube system' when an LPG system is fitted; this is because the vehicle has engine valves made from softer metal than most other vehicles, most vehicles don't need a valve lube system. A valve lube system adds around half a pence per litre to fuel costs because it uses a special fluid at a ratio of one part fluid to 1000 parts petrol. LPG is available at around 1 in 8 garage forecourts, it is also available from gas supplier depots like Calor / Flogas.

I have converted just about every model of Ford going, from Ka's to American V8 supercharged models. All run extremely well on LPG!

I know a guy who runs an American V8 supercharged pickup, the company he works for (as a rep) allow him to use this vehicle for work and pay him fuel costs based on engine size (5.4L) and miles covered (lots)... he doesn't tell his company it runs on LPG so he profits every time he drives anywhere for work!

Simon

Lpgc

[ben1191]

Airwaves Racing Race Their focus touring cars on LPG if you wanna ask them :)

[Avon Tuning]

Hi Simon, just out of interest are any modifications normally done to the engine management system after the kits are installed. Or do the kits come with their own control module of some sort?

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

[artscot79]

i think it depends on where you live theres no lpg pumps up my way with the nearest being a 30mile round trip and they are usually empty as they are used so much so if you have access to plenty of pumps it can be financially viable if you do the miles as said unless you have edd china in youre garage lurking under a tarpaulin its not cheap saying that most people i know who have it drive big old land rovers etc

[bt_cav]

this reminds me of old MG`s that neeced harder valve seats fitted to run on unleaded..

could harder valves be fitted to avoid the need for an additional lube system?

[JW1982]

Most Focus MK1, MK2 and MK3 Petrol engines have solid valve lifters. On some engine types the correct valve lash adjustment can be obtained by adding shims on top of the solid valve lifter. On other engine types the correct valve lash adjustment can be obtained by changing the complete valve lifters for different size valve lifters (there are over 30 different sizes available).

When driving on LPG Ford recommends to check/adjust the valve lash adjustment every 160.000 KM / 100.000 MLS. My experience is that even after 200.000 KM the valve lash was still within specifications and there was no need to adjust. When driving on LPG the valve lash must be checked/adjusted every scheduled maintenance. Because of the soft valve seats it is possible that after only 80.000 KM the valve lash can not be adjusted anymore. In this case it will be necessary to overhaul the cilinder head and install harder valve seats.

It is possible to drive these engines on LPG but you have to calculate higher maintenance costs and an overhaul of the cilinder head. Flashlube will reduce the wear of the valve seats but there is still the need for extra maintenance. Considering the maintenance costs it may take a long time before LPG becomes cheaper than Petrol.

As far as I know the 2.5L engine of the Focus MK2/MK2.5 ST/RS is the only Ford engine which can run on LPG for a longer time without any problems. This engine has proven itself in the different Volvo models and is known to be perfectly suitable for LPG conversion.