Help required - Ford focus MK1 LPG

[FordFocusLPG]

Hello

I have been to test drive a 2004 MK1 factory fitted LPG Ford Focus Zetec 1.8.

It is a tremendously clean car with a mileage of 80k and I took it for a test drive. It runs fine on petrol but when one presses the button to switch it over to LPG the gauge zeros and resets as normal but then proceeds to drive horribly as if the car is misfiring. The dealer sat next to me said that it sometimes runs lumpy on lpg and blamed it on the 'cold' but after interrogating him further he admitted there was a problem and the last owner got rid of it. After describing it as perfectly running on the ad I was very annoyed so I thanked him, shook his lying hand and proceeded to leave.

Now I have noticed that I never see one of these LPG focuses go past 100k so there must be something inherently wrong with them and I know normal petrol zetec models are incredibly reliable as my last MK1 W reg 2.0l saloon hit 180k!

Now this car has been loitering on my mind as it is clean, low mileage, nice colour and has a tight gearbox and steering etc etc and it was at a very low price so I thought of going back, haggling and doing it up/fixing the engine to run on LPG so I can perform 'dirt cheap motoring'.

I know the aftermarket LPG kits on zetecs never work properly but I understand these cars had a special LPG strengthened head from the factory or something so why do they break? I am pretty sure it may be the age old Valve seat recession problem which afflicts LPG cars. My first question is that if this turns out to be the case (worst scenario) how much would this cost to fix on the focus at a garage approximately (parts and labour)?

Does anyone else know what else the problem could be? The engine seems fine and warms up on petrol. Worst case scenario I buy it and just run it on petrol which would be fine I guess. I am currently driving a duratec KA which is the most fun and best handling car I have ever owned but the lack of bootspace and 5th seat is proving to be a problem. I will also be doing more miles in the coming years and the KA is very uncomfortable on the motorway. I would like something else which handles nearly as well and even more economical so the next best thing I can think of is the LPG focus. 

Thank you for your help.

 

[JW1982]

The 1.8 Zetec Flex Fuel (Petrol/LPG) did have a modified cilinder head. The modifications to the cilinder head basically only consists of machining the valve seats area and installation of harder/more durable valve seat inserts to reduce valve seat regression. Despite the more durable valve seats the seats will still wear relatively quick. On the 1.8 Zetec LPG engine It is recommended to check the valve adjustment and if necessary adjust it every other service.

At some point it will no longer be possible to adjust the valve clearance. This may well be the case on the vehicle you test drove. Excessive valve regression can only be solved by a complete engine head rebuild.

In case of excessive valve regression the engine may currently still run fine on petrol but it may not in the near future.

Next to this you must consider that the LPG system installed on these cars is pretty outdated. The technology is pretty old and It does not have a valve lubrication system to reduce valve/valve seat wear. Most currently available LPG conversion systems are much more advanced and reliable.

 

When buying this car you have to calculate the costs of a cilinder head rebuild which can be pretty expensive. Personally I would just seach for a similar petrol version.

 

 

 

[ScaniaPBman]

I ran an old Petrol/LPG system of this vintage many years ago. It worked well on petrol but just would not start up on LPG.

I struggled for some time with this and eventually sorted the problem.

To ignite a flammable mixture of LPG in the cylinder requires a stronger spark (more electrical energy) from the spark plug than that required to ignite a flammable mixture of petrol.

The car I had, which I actually converted to LPG myself, was right on the edge for spark energy.

I pulled the plugs, reduced the gap, put them back in and BINGO, never a problem again.

There is no guarantee that this is the problem with your potential purchase of course, but it is very simple to test for.

Let us know how you get on.

ScaniaPBman.

 

[Yer Maun]

I bought my Mk1 factory LPG last November (I thought it was marketed as the "Dual Fuel"?!) and negotiated a deal based on it running rough as nails. Read up that LPG cars liked smaller plug gaps also so pulled the plugs and checked the gaps. Standard 1.3mm "out of the box" measurements. Haynes said 0.9mm IIRC. I reduced them to 0.8mm. Runs sweet as on petrol, fine on gas on the motorway but terrible around town.

In an effort to get to the bottom of the issue, I had the MOT tester test the emissions on gas to find the CO was really low and the HC / NOx (can't remember which one without the test sheet in front of me) was really high.

Trouble is, I've no access to any maintenance data for it and living in Brighton, there seems to be a void of 'Gas' installers/servicing within a 50+ mile radius! 🙁

Mind you, getting 300+ miles to a £23 tank full, I'm still smiling! 😀

[Devonboy]

A friend of mine had a Range Rover on LPG, It self ignited in Derryford hospital car park, luckily she wasn't in the car at the time. It destroyed two adjacent parked cars.