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Ford Focus 1.8Td 2008 Model Running Sluggish


thunda600
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Hi,

This is my 1st post so i hope im in the correct topic section.

My car was running rather sluggish and just not feeling the same as when i bought it a year ago, It doesnt feel as smooth pulling away and the engine sounds louder posiibly because i'm having to rev harder.

Anyway i got a full service yesterday oil filter , fuel filter, pollen filter and air filter and when i drove away from the ford garage i was amazed at the difference it felt like a new car but after a day of running its back to feeling sluggish again, its just not the same so ive booked it into ford tomorrow for a diagnostic check.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas what could be causing it? im not sure if the diagnostic check will even pick anything up its so frustrating.

I just done the self diagnostic code check on the dash board but there was no DTS fault codes.

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What was changed per the paperwork?

I wonder if the glow plugs need replacing, or if you have any turbo issues...

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The fuel,air,pollen,oil filter got change the plugs weren't done.

I thought the glow plugs only effected the starting of the car ? That's what I got told anyway .

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affects starting the car but if it cant efficiently burn the fuel, then you have no decent combustion for the combustion cycle :P

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Thanks if nothing shows at ford when they plug it in tomorrow I'll change them.

I just noticed when I'm driving , driving the car if I listenrellt closely there's a bell/chime like sound ? Any ideas its reallllly faint though hope its not the engine ?

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check your trip computer is there any warning?

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No warning lights but car feels rubbish to drive I don't understand why it would feel so good for one day after the service .

I'm starting to doubt myself. Never noticed any warnings on dash I done the dash test thing an there's no dtc showing, so I can't see fords tester picking up anything , the longer the drive the worse the car feels if that narrows anything down .

Is there an android app for this forum to make replying easier.

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Android app is something we have discussions going on in management, but as far as the car is concerned, It seems a mechanical issue (as a sensor would have errored)

Plugs might well be the next best bet though IMHO

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If nothing shows up at ford I'll change plugs I'd I can I will try myself

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OK so ford done diagnostic and nothing showed up they seem to think my car is fine , and then they suggested it could be supermarket fuel.

Anyway I'm going to change glow plugs on sat and see

what happens, I can't keep driving the car like this its running like a pile of rusty nails

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you may need an italian tune - if the car has been driven by miss daisy (slowly and very carefully) then it will need to be revved through the gears to give it a bit of a clear out.

go and thrash it for a bit and it will clear the crap out of the exhaust etc.

you could always have it remapped to give it more oomph

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How much of a thrashing do I give it ? I don't want to do more damage than good :-/

Is it worth changing glow plugs and maybe cleaning throttle sensor wherever that is lol ?

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Ring its neck, it has a rev limiter, so you can't push it to far, it won't sound pretty, but will be fine,,, you may even have a shift light show up on the dash to tell you to change gear, little red arrow when you hit the redline. Obviously get it up to operating temp first, then just give it a firm run, try and keep the revs high, do it at night, and you'll notice plooms of black smoke from the back in the headlights behind you. The glowplugs would normally make cold starting difficult, but they also operate with the car in motion nowadays, making the engine run cleaner, and reducing emissions hence one of the reasons for the cheaper tax. Let us know how you get on.

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as Mike says, warm it up and then drive it hard for a bit, go for a good blast. I'd say about 15 mins should do the job.

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Gave it a good boot up the !Removed!, needs a good boot to get it to go ur its not running good , almost like a rasping sensation when accelerating its hard to explain it just feels like it doesn't accelerat smooth like somethings blocked. I feel like when we got the car it was quiet and smooth but now its noisy and stutter feeling . Gave it a good booting a few times but no luck .

I used a can of wynns egr cleaner , plenty black smoke but still no luck with performance .

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A blocked cat maybe then ???

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You can't even blame it on a dpf either.

Maybe the EGR needs cleaning through too.

Try some BG244 in your fuel, it's about £19 a can off eBay but does exactly what it says on the tin.

You could check silly little things too, tyre pressure and wheel alignment can make a car feel sluggish as well.

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What springs to mind is the car driven in the same way as before in the same conditions?

Has the car got the same amount of weight in it?

As others have said, tyre pressures, brakes binding, can cause lack of performance/ economy

the car has a DMF, when its on its way out you can loose performance

Deisels can take ages to warm up and longer in cold conditions and often drive like a "bucket of bolts" when cold

problems with the thermostat / coolant system often do not show up in fault codes, because the ECU percieves that as the (extended) warm- up phase

deisels are less efficient untill they are warmed up, the most efficient temp for economy is 195F

on top of this the temp gauge is "docktored" by Ford on many models (to read wrong) because of punters thinking/ complaining the temp was reading too high or low

As others on the forum have said, the CAT can get blocked up, especially if the car is driven gently too much or is producing a lot of smoke

The EGR valve can choke up the valve housing and the inlet manifold with carbon deposits/ gunge, this is even if it is working "perfectly" with no fault codes etc

Cleaning the inlet manifold / EGR housing of carbon/ gunge is not part of the service shedule (although it shpuld be) and in my opinion, EGR valves/ systems should not/ have never been fitted to diesel engines, (EGR means Exhaust Gas Recirculation)

If you fit a solid, stainless steel EGR blanking plate (you can pick one up online for about a fiver) (there are "how toos" elswhere on the forum) and clean out your inlet manifold that may bring the car back to how it was

Without the EGR (with the egr blanked) it may run "cleaner/ less smokey" - so that when you "boot" it, it helps to clear out/ unblock the CAT, if the CAT stays blocked, the answer is to fit a decat

Finally, how do you drive the car?, if you change up too early or too late, the engine won't be on its operating range/ powerband - i have to ask, sometimes it sounds like members only use 2 gears, 1st and top, and then complain the car is sluggish,exept they don' explain its when going uphill in top gear at 30mph! :lol:

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good point Foca. when i drive my car i notice that its very sluggish in 4th at 30mph so drive it on 3rd at 30mph and in 4th if doing above 35mph and wont go into 5th until i am doing 50mph.

if your CAT is blocked then get it decatted as this will make a big difference.

for the EGR, i have created a guide on here on how to add the blank - 20 mins to do.

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Hard to tell from the video, but it sounds a bit "tappety" ie - valve train/ top end wear/ engine wear

Was it ever run dry of oil/ not had an oil change for a long time or is ever thrashed from cold?

like i said its hard to tell and otherwise sounds healthy - and these engines can be noisy/ rattly

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its never run dry, i just bought it last year and its just had another service.

just seems noisy compared to when i got the car feels like an old taxi cab lol

i think im going to sell since im unhappy driving it now, need to get it valued.

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Ok so im going to try and get a garage or mobile mechanic to check the engine noise and see what they think, can anyone recommend me anyone near rosyth,fife.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Try a can of bg244 pro diesel cleaner with a Fresh tank of Shell or bp posh diesel made a huge difference to mine hope this helps.

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