"maximillious" (maximillious)
10/31/2013 at 10:29 • Filed to: None
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"maximillious" (maximillious)
10/31/2013 at 10:29 • Filed to: None | 1
| 24 |
Yesterday 10/29 morning I went down to my 2002 SVT Focus that was parked indoors. Got in and turned the key, the engine started to turn but I heard a very soft thud and then the engine wouldn't completely turn over. I tried again and could hear it trying but still not turning all the way over. I got out and opened the hood and I heard a very quiet bubbling sounds, as if an oil was draining from somewhere in the car. Went and got my GF to come down and try to start it while i stare blankly and confused at the engine. While she was attempting to start it while I watched I saw motion from the belts . Then i noticed the large mount of oil/coolant or something flowing from beneath the car to the nearby drain.
UPDATE::UPDATE:: 10/30 I tried a start test again. Still nothing. This time I watched closer and not in a morning stupor and noticed that there is motion in the engine when I try to start (belts moving etc.) Good sign.
The fluid is most certainly Coolant. (Ford Yellow) I checked the levels when I got home last night and it was completely empty. I then poured about a half gallon of water into the coolant tank to see if I could watch it flow out. The tank seemed to hold the water pretty well. While I waited I removed the spark plugs. All four were dry and showed no signs of any fluid contact.
Then I got back "under" the car as best I could and saw that a few new drops were on the floor. The consistency of these new puddles were mostly water. After shining a light around underneath for a while it looks like the leak (wherever it is coming from) is running down the Bell housing and dripping onto the floor from there.
I did some reading and saw that sometimes where the coolant flows into where the Oil filter is screwed on, those tubes can rust through. (i have no clue what that is called) I wasn't able to locate the filter and assembly because I don't have a lift and it is buried in the engine (thanks obama).
UPDATE UPDATE:: 10/31 - So last night I went home, defeated by a lack of engine knowledge and work space I put back the little of the engine i had taken apart to investigate this issue and called a tow truck (roadside assistance rocks). Everything went smoothly as they pulled it out of the tight parking garage and started to load it onto the flatbed. Then as the car was about half way up (turned off and not in gear) there was a very bright flash of light and a very loud bang from under the hood. I saw the tow truck guys go ghost white and start mentally preparing for a law suit. We threw the hood open and grabbed a fire extinguisher just in case something was burning but there was nothing. We looked around an saw no noticeable damage so we moved under the car to see if something was laying on the bed. Nothing. Then I went back up under the hood and found that the Upper intake manifold had blown off of the engine. This piece was what an SVT focus expert told me was likely the issue. He had instructed me to jostle this piece around to see if there was movement, which i had done an hour prior and saw nothing. My assumption is that between me shaking it and then moving the car outside into the cold it finally let loose and all the gas and pressure that was built up from attempted starts gave it something to explode. (im glad it didnt do this when I was checking it or I would have had to wash my pants and underwear after) So it seems more clear now why it wouldn't start... I still don't understand how the coolant drained out though? Any of you have any thoughts on why that might be caused by this? Could it just be multiple individual failures all at once?
Squid
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 10:33 |
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probably two failures at once. But then again coolant may flow to the throttle body which could be the culprit if the intake manifold blew up.
Kugelblitz
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 10:34 |
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After the first para I was wondering if your motor had been fodded by a cat. Which has happened.
Casper
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 10:39 |
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Duly noted. I will not buy an SVT Focus.
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 10:43 |
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The coolant is probably leaking from a bad thermostat housing. The SVT is notorious for poor T-Stat housing quality. Call Steve at Tasca Auto in MN to get an upgraded replacement. I'd also have the garage check all the coolant hoses while they have it on a lift.
The intake manifold can do that. Ford used simple hose clamps to seal both halves together, and they can weaken over time.
It sounds like it flooded when you tried to start it, and you continued attempts only added more fuel. The fuel cut-out when starting is to floor the gas while you turn the key.
As to why it wouldn't start to begin with, I have no idea. Good luck getting it sorted out. Hopefully it's not too expensive.
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Squid
10/31/2013 at 10:51 |
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That's kind of what I was thinking. He may have a cylinder full of coolant.
nafsucof
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
10/31/2013 at 11:00 |
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I was thinking this too. They don't fail completely however, just leak when it's cold from deformation. I wonder if one of the extra cooling lines from the water cooled oil attachment popped. The new housing is from the contour which will hold up for a long time. Sometimes it's even just the seal on the water temp sensor that goes on these. Mine has over 150k and I've replaced lots of this stuff. Steve at tousley or whatever they call it can recommend parts. He has a silver SVT like me. That's my kitten it's her one year birthday... Lol
04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 11:02 |
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This seems highly unlikely. The intake manifold blowing off sounds like something from Fast and Furious, and definitely not anything I could see being related to a coolant leak. Coolant wouldn't cause an intake manifold to blow open. I can assume fuel was puddled up somehow and possibly moving the car caused compression or something.
Now the coolant leaking seems to be something else, possibly head gasket (depending on the mileage it may be about time) or like originally guessed something might have rusted out.
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maximillious
> Casper
10/31/2013 at 11:09 |
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Are you sure, I have one for sale, just needs some minor repairs
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maximillious
> nafsucof
10/31/2013 at 11:11 |
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Haha yeah I have heard of the infamous Steve. I have a silver SVTF as well. this car makes me very mad but yesterday as I finished putting the engine back together I realized that it has taught me more about dealing with engine problems than any other car... mainly because, unlike my hondas, its the only car to ever have problems.
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Casper
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 11:11 |
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I guess it has already been detonated...
That is a weird and very specific issue to have. I don't think I would have ever guessed that the upper intake manifold was damaged/leaking and thus turning into a bomb. Good think your head wasn't over top of it when it went off.
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maximillious
> 04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
10/31/2013 at 11:14 |
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The upper intake manifold on this is cheap plastic... on the earliest models of this car (which mine is) its not even clamped down, it is just some ridged plastic stuck into the engine. I wouldn't have even know this could be the issue if I hadnt talked to this SVT guy that makes a living tuning these things. He had told me beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was probably this piece and that these cars are know to blow these off at varying degrees of intensity... he told me he has seen the upper intake manifold on the ground in a dozen pieces...im just glad that wasnt the case with mine.
I do not however understand how this relates to the coolant but I will soon find out and report back
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maximillious
> Squid
10/31/2013 at 11:16 |
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I pulled the spark plugs and they were bone dry, also tried to to turn car with them on and heard nothing out of place coming from the engine. My biggest fear was a blown head gasket... although now that the Intake manifold blew off maybe something has changed...luckily the coolant was also empty.
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maximillious
> Casper
10/31/2013 at 11:17 |
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thats what I was thinking. I would have probably gotten a concussion from slamming my head up against the bottom of the hood when it went off... not to mention a loss of eyebrows and arm hair.
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04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 11:22 |
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I've owned numerous SVT Foci, and I've never had an issue with the intake manifolds blowing off. Not to say he's lying, but I don't think it has anything to do with the intake manifold. Plastic intake manifold or not, if it fired or backfired on its own that's not right.
Had you been trying to turn it over for quite a while? Had you pulled the spark plugs at all? Fuel puddled somewhere or there was fuel in the combustion chamber and when the car was being moved compression caused it to ignite. Even if the intake manifold was metal, that backfire would've done damage somewhere else.
But yeah the coolant issue is likely only partially related. I imagine a headgasket was leaking somewhere, probably got coolant either on the plugs or in a cylinder, this prevented the car from firing, which allowed fuel to build up as you were cranking it, and then something finally ignited it after it hit a perfect enough air/fuel ratio to ignite.
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maximillious
> 04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
10/31/2013 at 11:42 |
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According to this guy these upper intake manifolds are an issue for alot of SVT's. The spark pluges were pulled and were bone dry. I wouldnt expect there to be an issue with a blown head gasket, although nothing is impossible. At this point I am so dumbfounded by this car I am just dying to hear whats wrong with it. Hopefully its nothing too expensive so I can get it repaired and ready for trade in. Now i just need to track down a good condition 05 civic SI so i can get back behind the wheel of a car I can depend on.
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04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 12:13 |
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Duratecs and Zetecs are some of the most widely used motors around the world. I've been in the SVT Focus world for quite a while and never heard of anything like this. I don't think this has anything to do with design of the car or motor. But, I wish you luck regardless.
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maximillious
> 04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
10/31/2013 at 12:20 |
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Yeah I might just have bad luck with this car. I bought it in april and had to do the following. Flush coolent because dealership mixed coolants ( not cars fault) Had to do Seafoam because issue with IMRC. Had to replace AC Compressor. Still has issue with error from CAT which I was in the process of fixing. Found out previous owner installed aftermarket Tune without notifying dealership which i was in the process of fixing. Struggling with the unstable idle issue that these cars aparently have due to bad factory tuning ( i assume this is what the previous owner was trying to fix with tune). I bought the car for around 6k with 38k miles on it. I didnt expect it to be perfect being a 11 year old car with really low miles but I wasn't expecting this. And since it wasnt my first choice in vehicle but I got it at such a good price I am fine getting it fixed selling it off and getting back into an 05 SI which is what I previously had and loved dearly until some drunken jack ass totaled it when it was parked on the street.
Dont get me wrong... the SVT is a BLAST to drive. It has trunk space like the USS Enterprise and the engine sounds better than any car in its class. But I cannot keep having to pay for stupid shit breaking constantly. SOme things I have been able to deal with on my own. But i have a limited understanding of auto mechanics and I live in an apartment with a shared garage which offers little to no workspace. Thanks Obama
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04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 12:45 |
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LMAO! Perfect Obama placement at the end. But, yeah I'd definitely say you haven't had the best of luck there. I've bought a few SVT Foci with anywhere from 60k miles to 100k. And I think between the three I've owned I replaced less stuff than you did lol.
Being in your situation I can definitely understand the frustration. Replacing an AS compressor and constant issues like the idle can definitely make or break a car experience.
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maximillious
> 04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
10/31/2013 at 13:08 |
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Yeah it sucks I really wish I could have loved the car. I mean it came in to my life at a deficit because i dont really like the looks of that gen Foci. But i figured if the car performed well I could move past it pretty fast. Sadly that was not the case and the car was a problem from day one. When it did work it was great but I always feel like something bad is about to happen, not to mention the check engine light has been on and off constantly since i bought it. really just sucks that it turned out this way. I told my dad if the engine was shot in it Im doing a V8 conversion because fuck the world.
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Squid
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 16:26 |
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I don't know about the ztec in the SVT but the duratecs have heated throttle bodies as do a lot of cars. That is what I was referring to as the culprit. The coolant issue may or may not have caused the intake manifold failure, but the most likely area for your mysterious coolant leak probably stems from that area. It could also be something more sinister as the timing being majorly off, but in that case I believe that the ztecs are interference motors so the intake manifold would be the least of your worries. There is a possibility of the head gasket going as well but generally they leak inside to the cylinders and steam clean one of them. There could be a burnt valve causing pressure to build in the intake manifold with cranking but you most likely would have noticed a serious drivability issue if that were the case. It seems like you need to get to the root of why your intake manifold commited suicide to be able to diagnose the coolant concern. But then again, how old are your coolant hoses? If they are original to the car, one may have decided to spring a leak on you. A thorough inspection is required to figure out what went wrong with your motor.
Sorry, I wasn't coherent earlier this morning. . .
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maximillious
> Squid
10/31/2013 at 17:50 |
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haha its ok. I have it at a mechanic now.. rough estimate is 1100$ to replace the intake manifold... he is saying 450$ in labor alone...i feel like im getting fleeced... He was nice enough to say that it might not make the car start when he is done :\
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Squid
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 17:52 |
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The Focus isn't so nice to the people that work on them. . . Not enough space but that is saying it is a 4 and a half hour job. . .
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maximillious
> Squid
10/31/2013 at 17:54 |
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i know
it suck
i haz a sad
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Squid
> maximillious
10/31/2013 at 18:13 |
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How many miles are on it?