Ford Focus Tdci 1.6L Sluggish And Slow Acceleration - Possible Turbo Problem?

[clewsy7]

Hey, ive had my Ford Focus Estate TDCI 1.6L now for about 3 weeks and its been the same since i got it...that is its very slow...

There must be a problem because it takes forever to accelerate and this is most noticable when trying to accelerate from 40-70 going onto a duel carriageway/motorway..which is most annoying and somewhat embarrasing at times. <_<

Ive been told it could possibly be a turbo problem/leak, accelerator problem etc. and havent really had it fully checked be a professional yet...

Anyone else had/have a similar problem or know of any cost saving solutions??

also perhaps worth noting is that the car doesnt really tend to go above 3500rpm.. in any gear or even in neutral.

SOLUTIONS?? ADVICE??

[Sliveredge]

When was it last serviced? a good change of oil, and filters can make a good difference. Check for leaks on any of the charge air pipes and system. Get a friend to rev it a bit and have a good listen and feel around pipe joints etc

[tomsredfiesta]

Can you hear any hissing from under the bonnet when you're trying to accellerate. It sounds like there's a intercooler pipe leeking somewhere. It could be a split (i.e. damaged pipe), or a loose jubilee clip or similar. If there are any leaks whatsoever in the circuit of pipes from the turbo down the the intercooler and through to the inlet manifold, it'll drastically effect the amount of boost the turbo can provide, as half of the air the turbo pressurises and blasts into the engine will escape.

It might be hard to find as it's a circuit that's got a lot of bends and joins in it, and it's in quite a confined space down the front of the engine, but as Silveredge says, a mate revving it gently while you look for a leak.

good luck!

TN

[clewsy7]

Cheers guys, after some closer inspection I've noticed a pipe that comes from the air intake into the engine has come off!! i put it on and its made a bit of difference but not drastically..i plan to jubilee it on tomorrow so the connection is better and i will service it very soon

[FOCA]

I agree with the chaps - could be the turbo hoses

There are loads of other reasons for lack of power though

if the car has a DPF this can get blocked , restricting the flow - this can make the turbo sluggish to boost up

the EGR valve/ system can cause all sorts of problems - this can coke up and restrict the inlet manifold

the EGR valve can stick open, loosing boost pressure and reducing energy to the turbine

the VNT (variable nozzle turbo) has vanes that can be coked up/ jammed

So most of these things are (lack of) "boost" or "restricted" related

Are there any other symptoms (smoke/ strange noises etc)

What car did you have before this one? do you know how hard the car was driven before you?

[k13r4n]

just after getting my car I had the problem of the vacuum pipe on the turbo was loose and I had practically no power at all

[clewsy7]

I had a 1.4 petrol Peugeot 206 Quiksilver before this so im pretty new to diesels. I dont know how it was driven before me but it does have 160k on clock so its been pretty well used...

No smoke, No knocks, engine sounds as it should but power is just lacking :/

[FOCA]

Ok i recommend you give it a service yourself -

A pattern air filter could help with your lack of power and is easy to change and cheap (about £5 online)

An oil+ filter change is a good idea won't make a big difference power-wise but protects the engine from premature wear, engine may run sweeter/ rev just a little better

The fuel filter can get clogged, a fresh, genuine Ford or premium filter can really help, if you are doing it yourself if you fill the new filter up with diesel and have a second car with jump leads or a booster so the cars' battery does not go flat (you have to "turn the engine over" to bleed the system)

These are all "service" items so will need to be changed at some point anyway, so you can rule these things out. Fords recommended service intervals can be very long (too long IMO) and often some, of these things are not done at a "dealer" "service"

Servicing the car 1st may save you money "fixing" things you don't need to fix - garages love spending your money - injectors are favorites (nice and expensive!)

The other thing to do at this stage is blank the EGR valve with a solid (no holes to let gasses through - that type does work) stainless steel blanking plate. (about a fiver online)

The EGR valve sticking open could be what is wrong with your car - fitting a blanking plate may "fix" it, this is cheaper than replacing the EGR valve and the car will actually run better with the EGR blanked than a "perfectly" working EGR system, blanking the EGR will not cause the car to fail a 2013 UK MOT (it may help - less smoke) and the worst thing that can happen is the EML (engine management light) comes on on some (euro4/5, not ero3) engines

The inlet manifold can (read will) get contaminated with carbon from the EGR system (egr means exhaust gas recirculation - literally directing dirty exhaust gasses into the inlet) - taking the inlet manifold off to clean it out can help matters (i don't think this is what is wrong with you car though)

The other thing is to invest in a Haynes manual for the car, and aquire a code reader, a garage will charge you about £80

to have your cars' code read (each time) i have a code reader for sale for less than that that you use again and again

Hanes manuals are quite expensive now, but they can pay for themselves in the long run, sometimes you get conficting advice on forums, Fordpidia etc, the Haynes manual is often based on the original Ford workshop manual, so can be trusted to have the correct information at least 99.9% of the time (wont have info on blanking EGRs though, i dont think

nuff said for now

[martyntdci]

The fuel filter can get clogged, a fresh, genuine Ford or premium filter can really help, if you are doing it yourself if you fill the new filter up with diesel and have a second car with jump leads or a booster so the cars' battery does not go flat (you have to "turn the engine over" to bleed the system)

depends if his filter has a bleed nipple on the housing unit (at the top) like mine does..... if so i got some fish tank air line open up the nipple and sucked it out, keep on closing the nipple inbetween sucks, and you will see all the air coming out..... i did try cranking it over but it didnt work for me, about 10 mins or so sucking thro a tube worked....... when it kickes in it will be little hesitant, kick out loads of smoke, but give it a good harsh rev.....