My New Car In Its Raw State

[Sassygirl]

Here's my new focus....in standard form and looking a bit tired.

Have booked a valeter to come next week to give her the full works so she should be gleaming on Tues hopefully :D

(would normally do it myself but my backs not been too good so don't want to aggravate it )

Couple of questions tho.........

1. The steering feels really heavy..........power steering fluid???

2. The bite point on the clutch is really high.... Is that normal for a focus or could it need the cable re-adjusting?

Thank you :D

[adz83]

I recently got a focus mk 2 similar to yours and i find the steering fairly light, its an electric power steering not hydraulic i believe. Also the clutch bites fairly high on mine aswell so it might just be the car.

[Sassygirl]

Oh, Im sensing ££££'s when you say electric steering Its really heavy on the steering compared to any other car i've driven. Might get it to the garage soon for a full service and check over :)

[frostman83]

Bites high on my 59 plate. And steering is smooth.

[Preee]

Car looks great Sassy.

When you say your steering is tight , is that on all surfaces , when stood still , general driving?

[Sassygirl]

Its in general, just seems very heavy. Might be because im used to driving a car with really light steering. It needs new brake discs as i think they are warped, it judders on braking. Its not bad to be honest but i know its there LOL

Think ill have it in the garage at the end of the month just for peace of mind.

to be fair cant complain as i got it at a good price :D

[FOCA]

Your front tyres could be soft (causing the heavy steering) stick the recommended pressures in the tyres (and a couple more PSI for good measure), see what its like then

As far as i know, the clutch is hydralic and cannot be adjusted (its self adjusting) if the clutch "takes up" on the last cm,it could need replaced - when its like that, try not to "ride" it/ keep your foot off it/ weight off the pedal as much as possible during driving because just a little weight on it can cause slip/ overheating and clutch failure

[artscot79]

My bite was high and if you read my post suddenly stopped it can and will go if the bites at the very top trust me you dont need the hassle i had if it suddenly goes and it does suddenly go new clutch has a midway bite point. its hydraulic steering on all mk2 petrols not electric thats on the diesel easy way to know you dont have the sport comfort option on the display so start with tyre pressure 31-33 rear 28-30 front is best if its just you in the car the lower is better failing that have the power steering checked

[Sassygirl]

Thank-you for your replies, will get it checked as soon as i can just to be on the safe side. Will check tyre pressures tomorrow as well :)

[artscot79]

If possible check the pressures on cold tyres if you have a hand held tester if not depending on the length of the drive the pressures may read higher than they are cold 30 psi on hot tyres can be 27 when cold small testers are relatively cheap i find aa ones give the most accurate reading the focus i find is quite tempremental with tyre pressure too much theres very little feel the steering is over light as the tires dont grip too low its heavy on the steering since its mainly only me in the car ive found 29 front 31 rear to be best all round even with a few passengers it still gives the best balance of handling and grip and weight on the steering

[Sassygirl]

Well......................................... did tyre pressure................. n/s front was 12psi!!!! :o :o :o

Took her for a spin down the A1 and there was serious wobble @ 60mph + and the brakes juddering like mad.

so took her to the garage and she was bald on the two front tyres inside edges. Then they checked alignment and that was badly out.

So £150 later all is good with her :D No juddering brakes or steering wheel and steering feels lighter now :D

Just the clutch to sort :)

[artscot79]

12 psi thats bad tut tut tut no wonder it was heavy any decent garage will do a basic clutch test the pedal can be high for say a year with no issues its the point where high and at the very end of the pedal that makes the difference they do have high bites however with my brand new clutch etc mine is now midway which is taking some getting used to

[Preee]

Ouch! 12psi no wonder the tire's were shot , at least sorting the tryes has helped the steering :)

[Sassygirl]

Just a quick update on this :)

The juddering is still happening.....thought it had solved itself but drove 160miles last night and it was awful.......only happens when braking at speed, so going to have to have new brake disks and pads me thinks.

I also found that it has three steering modes.......sports, normal and comfort.......was set to sports mode and when i changed it to comfort it feels like a dream to steer!

She's been washed and polished this weekend by me .....however she needs a serious clay bar session and a very heavy wax session LOL on the to-do-list once the backs recovered! (couldnt afford the valeter to do it after needing new tyres etc lol)

[Oliverb]

YES ! The juddering when breaking at a higher speed ... is most likely to be a warped disc break (this is not visible)

to be honest if you are going to get them sorted get the set. not just the one! buy them yourself, try to get a friend to do them for you unless you know how to do this. its not a big or hard job but we all know these garages like to rip us off... you are looking at about £70 max if you do it yourself...

Hope the car will soon be spot on for you ..!!!!!