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$1500 repair or can someone give me another solution to this Ford Focus engine problem
My 2001 Focus with 2.0 liter engine is not doing well. It's been well maintained an just had it's 100,000 mile tuneup recently. It has about 102,000 miles on it.
Lately when I start the ignition with a warm engine (like going into a store and coming out), cylinder 1 misfires for about 30 seconds which really stinks in a 4 cylinder. Then it's fine. It only happened once when I wasn't starting my car with a warm engine and that's when I was stopped on a hill and really had to rev and ride the clutch to get the car moving.
I have a whiz bang mechanic who I really trust. We replaced spark plug, spark plug wire, coil, and fuel injector on cylinder 1. No change. The mechanic said "only 1 thing left to do, pull of the head and see what's wrong with the valve and get it fixed." I said "How much?" He said "$1200 to $2000 I would guess around $1500." I've been with this mechanic for over 10 years and the highest expense has been like $200! He's guessing valve damage but he's guessing. He can't get a compression test because the problem doesn't last long so we're stuck.
At this point I don't think it makes sense to spend this money... I really, really like focus. Any ideas?
Lately when I start the ignition with a warm engine (like going into a store and coming out), cylinder 1 misfires for about 30 seconds which really stinks in a 4 cylinder. Then it's fine. It only happened once when I wasn't starting my car with a warm engine and that's when I was stopped on a hill and really had to rev and ride the clutch to get the car moving.
I have a whiz bang mechanic who I really trust. We replaced spark plug, spark plug wire, coil, and fuel injector on cylinder 1. No change. The mechanic said "only 1 thing left to do, pull of the head and see what's wrong with the valve and get it fixed." I said "How much?" He said "$1200 to $2000 I would guess around $1500." I've been with this mechanic for over 10 years and the highest expense has been like $200! He's guessing valve damage but he's guessing. He can't get a compression test because the problem doesn't last long so we're stuck.
At this point I don't think it makes sense to spend this money... I really, really like focus. Any ideas?
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$1,500 is a lot of money but it's still only 3 or 4 car payments.
Disclaimer - I'm cheap and tend to let stuff get run into the ground. New(er) cars can be a whole lot of fun so don't discount that factor in your equation.
It's always the trade-off - you can dump some money into an old car and the value won't increase any. But if you can drive it for another six months, then it may be worth it.
I guess my question is how much other research have you (or your mechanic) done to try to pin down the issue a bit before tearing into the head?
I would seek out a second opinion from a recommended shop that has the right experience and equipment to figure it out.
" We replaced spark plug, spark plug wire, coil, and fuel injector on cylinder 1. "
That's called "shotgunning" and it might have worked, but it's rather amateur--what one might expect more from a clever backyard mechanic than a trained professional.
Was the spark plug in question examined for fouling?
Has anyone done a cylinder leakdown test to see if the valve guides or valve stem seals are leaking?
I would definitely NOT let him remove the cylinder head without some rational testing beforehand.