My £525 Ford Focus

[p4cks]

Two jobs today:

Repair chipped windscreen (not successful)
Replace heater thermostat (successful).


The heater blower would only work on number 4 of the dial, so after some Googling I found that the thermostat regularly failed so I spent £4.49 delivered on a new one from eBay

New one
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Had to remove the glovebox, again. Also found removing the fuse box made things a little easier:
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

There's the bd. Had to undo the screws using 'feel' only, which was awkward given you're half in the footwell and half out of the car. Torx screw T20 for anyone wondering.
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

This was the old one. fked:
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr


The other job was to repair a chip
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Using this £3 kit from eBay:
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Which didn't work and I lost motivation for the job so I will just live with the crack.

[Sir Bagalot]

helix402 said:

p4cks said:

Looks fiddly, but doable in about 30 mins?

https://youtu.be/yMc-C1AxYeQ

Sounds about right. It’s not too bad when you’ve done it once.

I have the perfect thing to change pollen filters in fiddly places. My Daughter. Small fingers & Wrists. I pass her the screwdriver and small socket set and give her the YT link. Sorted

[Sa Calobra]

Great cars. I had a 58plate greeny/blue 1.6 Style. Bought privately and drove around Europe. I forgot to get breakdown cover and boy I didn't need it either

Everytime I see one I regret selling it.

[p4cks]

I have to say though it’s not great on fuel. Currently at 36mpg and I’d assumed that it would be better

[p4cks]

The gear stick never returned to the centre which sometimes made going from 2nd to 3rd a bit of a lottery so after a bit of Googling I found that it's quite a common issue with Focuses and whilst the mk1 Focus just needs a spring to fix it the mk2 needs a whole new gear selector mechanism.

Got the part number and found one in mint nick on eBay for £14 which also included a gear knob, gator and surround - all of these were knackered on mine so it turned out to be even more of a bargain.

4 screws to keep the centre console in and another 4 screws holding the mechanism in. 30 minutes later it was in and works perfectly.

New mechanism
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Centre console removed
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Scrap
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Et voila
Untitled by p4cks, on Flickr

Still on the to do list (which will probably be done at MOT time) are:

• new catalytic converter
• new clutch
• identify and fix suspension creaking

[Eyersey1234]

Good to hear it was a cheap and easy fix.

[p4cks]

Jobs done today:

Bought a brand new eBay catalytic converter for £86.82 (taking advantage of the 20% eBay sale earlier this month) and a £8.95 gasket kit and it's now with my spanner monkey for fitting for a mere £50

So a new cat fitted all in for just £145.77 - bargaintastic!

[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

[Eyersey1234]

Glad to hear it's serving you well. Mines fine, now done over 12k miles in 9 1/2 months. Getting serviced and a cambelt at the end of the month.

[si_xsi]

Good work OP. We have one too, it's the shopping and daily beater for my OH, ours is a 2.0 tdci Ghia on a 55 plate at 165k miles, bought 6 years ago on 125k. We just change the oil and do a minor service every year and it's been good as gold. Regulalry see 60mpg, strong engine and gearbox although I suspect the clutch is origional and on it's way out so not sure how much longer it will be with us. Ours has rusty sills too, AC doesn't work and an engine mount is starting to go but we love it and parts are cheap. Ours has dents on most panels but for the value of car there isn't alot point in spending the cash. Enjoy.

[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.

[Bobberoo99]

I got so pissed off with mine popping open I slammed it shut so hard one day it popped off the spring on the rear which opens it, it now stays shut and just requires something to prise it open!!!

[Eyersey1234]

I didn't know the Mk2 had a dashboard storage area, was it all of them or just certain models?

[Bobberoo99]

As far as I know Ghia only.

[p4cks]

Bobberoo99 said:

As far as I know Ghia only.

Aren't I lucky

[Bobberoo99]

p4cks said:

Bobberoo99 said:

As far as I know Ghia only.

Aren't I lucky

Don't laugh too soon, my dash top panel has started to crack and break up, they're an eye watering £165+ from Ford!!!!

[Eyersey1234]

Thanks, that explains why I've never seen one on my lowly Zetec lol

[zedx19]

Love a mk2 Focus, I've had a few now! Had 2 mk2 1.8TDCI which went to 120k with no problems, then had a mk2.5 1.6 petrol which while faultless, was painfully underpowered. Wifes had a mk1 1.6 which was much more fun, also never went wrong. My current car, which I've had for 2 and half years, is a mk2.5 ST which I've had no major problems with again and is an absolute riot to chuck down a B road. One of the best second hand cars around imo, lot of love for old Focuses!

[768]

helix402 said:

p4cks said:

Looks fiddly, but doable in about 30 mins?

https://youtu.be/yMc-C1AxYeQ

Sounds about right. It’s not too bad when you’ve done it once.

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.

[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.