My £525 Ford Focus

[p4cks]

As well as a cat it needed a centre and rear section which my mechanic fitted for an additional £86

It currently owes me £924.28 which by all accounts is fk all.

It'll still be going the journey when I get a new job, I really can't cope with the 36 MPG

[p4cks]

Latest update is a repair to the dashboard storage lid which stays open, which is a common problem on these Focuses



Some efforts for repair were the dealer's efforts of jamming a piece of paper in to keep it closed, which didn't work. I then used a phone holder on the window to keep it down but each time I needed to use it I had to move it, therefore making it open again.

I eventually reluctantly bit the bullet and I bought a new latch on eBay for £6 and fitted it yesterday, which frustratingly didn't fix the problem either.

I reverted back to my ethos of 'do the cheapest fix' and just superglued the closed. Job done and lesson learned... don't spend unnecessary money on a shed.

[p4cks]

Bobberoo99 said:

As far as I know Ghia only.

Aren't I lucky

[p4cks]

768 said:

You don't actually need to take the glove box out.

I'm in two minds as to whether it's easier to or not.

To be fair the glovebox removal is a 5-10 minute job and worth it for the additional access.

Of the 35+ cars I've had this is my first forage into Ford ownership and I quite like it. Granted the quality isn't the greatest but it's very easy to work on.

[p4cks]

Took it to the local hand wash as I was going to chop the car in for a C160 Coupe but it'd been sold. Another £5 wasted

These were taken for the ad:
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

and you can see the NS damage here:
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

In the ad that I'd written I gave the areas a scoring of
Interior 9/10
Mechanical 7/10
Bodywork 2/10

Next up will be the MOT in a few weeks.

[p4cks]

Booked in for an MOT a week tomorrow. Hoping that it doesn't need anything major as it's just had tyres and cat/exhaust system.

Also had a crack at removing the dent on the rear OS quarter but it proved too much effort so I gave up

[p4cks]

MOT day and I’m not confident :/

[p4cks]

I’m going to hazard a guess and say:

• Handbrake cable / brake shoes
• Front suspension
• Welding somewhere
• front brake pads

[p4cks]

Not many surprises, other than it definitely isn’t leaking oil:

Repair immediately (major defects):
Registration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (4.7.1 (b) (ii))
Nearside Parking brake inoperative on one side (1.4.1 (a))
Offside Parking brake inoperative on one side (1.4.1 (a))
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Offside Front Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect (5.3.2 (b))
Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Nearside Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Offside Front Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
nearside body damaged

Left it with the garage to inspect the handbrake issue as might just need adjustment. The advisories I'm not too fussed about at the moment. Shall find out later how much it'll be

Edited by p4cks on Wednesday 18th September 11:44

[p4cks]

I'm now £220.26 lighter for the labour and parts to replace the two handbrake cables and one of the wheel cylinders and of course a bulb some some other sundries.

This new MOT takes me up until 12 October 2020

It now stands me at £1,166.95 inc the purchase price

[p4cks]

I just research how the centre console was removed (four screws) and then the gear linkage thingy was a few screws too, none hidden so it was a piece of piss really

[p4cks]

The car has just developed a misfire and more often than not it's a coil pack. After some researching it most likely is a coil pack, especially considering it's had new plugs in the last 6 months.

I've been on carparts4less this morning and ordered one for £22.49 delivered so should be with me this week. This of course means I'll have to tootle around in my Evora, which means having to tax the fker

OT - This place is my 'go to' for any parts and it always amazes me how inexpensive their parts are. I know they're part of ECP but how on earth do they make any money on a £22.49 coil pack delivered to my door by DHL?! I like to think I'm fairly resourceful which can maybe explain how I'm running three cars at the moment with relatively little expenditure. It's places like this that helps people like me out massively, and long may it continue.

[p4cks]

Yeah I do hope it’s not water in the plugs, as if so it’ll be game over.

ETA: The error message is telling me it's a misfire on cylinder three. I'm hopeful that this means just a duff coil pack as opposed to water ingress. #prayforp4cks

Edited by p4cks on Sunday 6th October 12:43

[p4cks]

Update:

bikesalot (on the shed thread here ) kindly supplied me with this information:

Bikesalot said:

Replace the plugs at the same time. It will most likely be water pooling / getting in. Take some time and give it a good clean out with something suitable.

Head to your local volvo dealer and order PART NUMBERS -

COVER - 30650468

SIX POINT SOCKET SCREW - 986019 x4

Volvo engine cover fits perfectly and stops any more water getting in....

So I'm going to do that. Against the grain of true shedding as it's a belt and braces approach but I'm here for the long run so I beg forgiveness.

Costs were:

COVER - 30650468 - £16.56 inc VAT

SIX POINT SOCKET SCREW - 986019 x4 - £2.94 each

I'll also get some plugs from a local car parts shop and update once it's all done.

[p4cks]

Got all my bits and pieces and started work



Pretty straightforward really. The plugs were a little wet in cylinder 3 and 4 so dried that with some towel... then the HT lead attached to the 4th spark plug split so I've now ordered some new ones (again from cp4less, for £9.23 delivered)

Et voila:


No more misfire... well until the inevitable 4th cylinder misfire when the loosely fitted broken HT lead obviously has come loose

[p4cks]

It is such a simple fix, I wish I could take credit for it too!

I just hope that these HT leads fix the (new) misfire and that it’s not the water ingress problem. Time will tell

[p4cks]

Well, driving the car today the misfire got worse and even threw up an error code - misfire in cylinder 3

I'm hoping these new HT leads solve the issue. If not I'm snookered

[p4cks]

Bobberoo99 said:

Have you not fitted the new leads yet? Check all your earth points too!!!

They've not arrived yet, probably going to be Monday/Tuesday now. Shall also check the earth points when I fit them, cheers

[p4cks]

Cheers WJNB!

I just hope this misfire isn't terminal!

Edited by p4cks on Saturday 12th October 16:24

[p4cks]

UPDATE:

Fitted the new HT leads and I'm pleased to say that my misfire is now cured

If the misfire manifests itself again I'll know it's terminal and I'll be looking for another shed