Hi all, I posted here a while back and got some very helpful replies, thanks again to all who did!

My original post was here: http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/62088-engine-systems-fault-2006-diesel-focus-titanium-please-help/#entry413261

I took this to my Ford dealer the other day for some advice, they spent a couple of hours looking over it, they said there was no evidence the EGR valve was at fault but that error codes were telling them something like "not enough power to the iglow plugs" so they are telling me now they are almost certain it's an electical fault which could be something as simple as a loose wire (yeah right) or something as bad as a faulty ECU which they said is in the area of £800 to put right :( They said the glow plugs themselves were fine...

Now I don't have anything like £800 spare, nor will I in the discernable future so in 2 weeks times when they do their detailed tests I will have evey finger crossed it isn't the ECU but knowing my luck I am fairly confident this will be the case. So, in anticipation of this, does anyone with a MK2 Focus 1.8tdci have experience of needing this done? How much did it cost?

Thanks in advance folks and please keep your fingewrs crossed for me...

Do you know when the fuel filter has last been changed? it could case this issue if it is too blocked, causing fuel starvation and the engine light when you accelerate hard.

also do you hear any whistling or wooshing sounds while driving, mostly when the revs are over 1500?

if the dealer tell you you need work done take it with a pinch of salt my c-max was in dealer recently for belt/pump and few other bits picked car was told drivers shock was leaking.

checked that when got home it was fine and the funny thing is service manager said would not pass nct "mot" passed with no advisory's yesterday

get a second opinion before you commit to any work done

hope you get it fixed

paul

Do you know when the fuel filter has last been changed? it could case this issue if it is too blocked, causing fuel starvation and the engine light when you accelerate hard.

also do you hear any whistling or wooshing sounds while driving, mostly when the revs are over 1500?

Fuel filter was changed 2 weeks ago, I did it myself. As to the whistling noise- funny you should mention but come to think about it yes, there is an underlying whistle/ whoosh type noise that has come on the last few weeks, not sure about what revs it comes on though, I take it that's not a good thing? :(

that could be the cause. you would want to check all the intercooler pipes in the engine for splits, the most common one to go is the big 90 degree pipe, as you can see from this picture you took:

Thank you for your advice but for a total car novice which are the intercooler pipes please and are they simple enough to exchange for new ones?

Edit, just found this, gonna have a read tonight (i'm on night shifts till Monday morning)

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/tutorials/article/220-guide-to-replacing-intercooler-pipe-on-a-mk2-focus-18-tdci/

the ones on the left are simple, just needing a flat head screwdriver or a 7mm socket, the ones on the right will need some more taking things apart to get to.

the most common one to check is the one the blue rectangle below. take that off by unscreweing the clamps on both sides and taking a look around it for any splits or cracks.

James you are a star thank y ou so much for taking the time to help with this! I will have a look on Monday. If there are splits and/ or cracks would that cause engine fault lights and loss of power as I've been experiencing?

yup

Update on this: Today I took off the large 90 degree intercooler pipe, it was rather dirty (kind of oily but didn't really smell like oil?) but absolutely no evidence of splits or holes. I checked as much of teh intercooler piping as I could get my hands to, it all `seems` fine.

I took out the sensor on the intercooler pipe and cleaned it, nice and shiny now but hasn't fixed the problem of course so now I'm back to....

Well I don't really know! Is it the EGR? Is it an electrical fault that Ford want £120 just to diagnose?

I have taken some pics and a video of how my engine sounds at idle. I will post here in the hopes that you lovely people have some more ideas :)

So anyway, pics and vid here. In the first photo, is this the EGR valve? If so is that large round hole where I should spray EGR valve cleaner (I bought a can of Wynn's cleaner but have been too scared to use it in case I put it in the wrong place lol)

And a short video of how my poor engine sounds when idling...

Thanks in adance guys you are all so helpful :)