Ford Focus engine/other problems..

[Jennysmama]

Hey everyone. My daughter's car, a 2002 Ford Focus, has been giving us fits lately. Starting this past Friday, it would stutter badly upon start up and when idling at stop lights, etc. It was running really rough and the dashboard and things in the pockets of the car were rattling & shaking. My husband took it to the usual place he's been taking our cars for nearly 30 years and they checked it over, finding nothing wrong. It just had a tune up a few months ago, and is always well maintained. They hooked it up to the diagnostic machine and it didn't bring up any codes at all. No warning lights are on, either. My husband had them change the oil, which was just a bit past due, and it ran super for about 24 hours afterward. Then it started everything all over again, only worse. Dh took the car back and they removed the fuel filter, which was full of gunk. Also gave the car a fuel injection cleanout. After that, it ran perfectly until Monday, when it started all over again with the stuttering and idling really rough. My husband took it back again and this time they replaced the spark plug wires; one was burned almost all the way through. The car ran like a dream the rest of that day and all day Tuesday. On Tuesday she got a flat tire...it's like the car is out to get her, lol. Anyway, today, it started stuttering again--not when idling but when driving down the road. She says it feels like it's going just fine and then it goes bump-bump-bump and feels like it doesn't want to accelerate, making her fear it's just going to stop right in the middle of the road and she'll get hit from behind, but it does go on and the weird "feel" stops for a while. It's happening just intermittently now, instead of all the time, but it does happen at least a couple of times every time she drives it.

So, before we all go crazy and take a sledgehammer to this vehicle, does anyone have any ideas about what this problem could be? The mechanics, all of whom are decent, honest guys we've known for many years, have driven the car and know what it's doing, and every time they find something else that needs to be fixed, it seems to solve the problem, then it starts again. Everyone is puzzled. If anyone can help, we'd sure appreciate it. Thanks! We have to have her car working, as her dad is on the road a lot and with me battling cancer, we need a working vehicle in case of emergency, plus my daughter has to go to work.

Loretta (Jennysmama)

 

[Dazed]

Have them check the fuel pressure (my guess is the fuel pump is bad/going bad), then have them look for vacuum leaks (cracked hose or a bad intake gasket or throttle body gasket).

also have them check the oxygen sensor.

My guess is that it's one of the above, or (this sounds stupid, but it's not) a loose connector under the hood that they are jostling when they open the hood....

Without seeing the car, that's all I can suggest.

I'd think about going to another mechanic though, if they have seen the car act up and are guessing/replacing random parts...

 

[Jennysmama]

Thank you, Dazed. I wrote down what you said and will give your ideas to my husband. I don't know that the mechanics are just guessing or replacing random parts--at least not on purpose. The car isn't giving them any clues as to what the problem is. No codes, no warning lights. They started with what they felt would be the most likely solutions and each thing seemed to work, but then the problem came back again, so they moved on to the next item. When my husband had the spark plug wires replaced, they said something about the coil..that it could be the problem, but I can't recall what that was about. (I don't even drive, so I know less than nothing about cars.) I do know my husband's car, a 1997 Mazda Millenia, runs really rough and it is the oxygen sensor that's at fault, so it may be the case in our daughter's car, too. We just don't know why no codes are coming up or any warning lights are coming on.

Anyway, thanks again for your help!

 

[ainitfunny]

A mean trick sometimes played on mechanically ignorant customers when the fuel filter in the GAS TANK CLOGS AND THE GAS TANK ITSELF NEEDS TO BE DROPPED AND FLUSHED (good size job) is to simply BLOW AIR BACKWARDS THROUGH THE FUEL LINE INTO THE GAS TANK. That TEMPORARILY clears the filters for from 1-50 miles but the gunk is still there and quickly the exact same problem returns.

The ethanol added to fuel will break down and destroy the fuel tank coating and cause it to plug the tank and gas line filters. Just changing the filter without dropping and flushing the crap out of the tank is about as temporary a fix as blowing air backwards. Without cleaning the tank the problem will keep returning.

That may NOT be YOUR problem, but it WAS mine one time. I finally figured out the problem after $600 in phony "repairs". Then it was fixed for good when I pulled into the shop and TOLD THEM WHAT I WANTED DONE INSTEAD OF SAYING "FIX WHATEVER IS WRONG".

I said "Drop the gas tank, steam clean the inside and change the tank and inline fuel filters, don't do anything else." That fixed the problem for good.

 

[Hardpan]

I agree on the fuel pressure, probably the filter in the tank is plugged, especially if they had a dirty filter and injectors already. They should be able to check the fuel pressure and it is helpful to fill up at 1/2 a tank and not let it get too low, the gas in the tank is what cools the fuel pump, plus you can get more condensation with a low tank level.

That said, I had a spark plug wire cause the SAME symptoms that are happening now, maybe they broke a wire when they installed the new ones. I have doubts that it is the coil.

 

[Jennysmama]

Thanks again, everyone, for all your input. I will pass your suggestions along to my husband when he gets home. The car is still hesitating and acting like it wants to conk out, but only when it's actually driving, not when it's idling, as it was doing before. It's been so frustrating.

 

[tech]

Given the info provided thus far, I would strongly suggest having the ignition coil output tested under a load. Oftentimes a damaged spark plug or plug wire will cause the spark to arc inside the coil. Unfortunately, this problem does nor go away once the plugs/wires are replaced, as the carbon tracking is already done. Very common on just about any car with a coil pack.

 

[Jennysmama]

Tech--I, being totally ignorant of all things automotive, have no idea what you just said, lol, but apparently it is exactly what the problem was. The mechanics found a technical service bulletin on my daughter's make/model/year, and that was an issue to be dealt with. They took care of it and didn't even charge us anything, as they had overlooked it before when changing her spark plugs at tune-up a few months ago and again when replacing the spark plug wires just the other day. Anyway, the car is running better now than it was when we first bought it 19 months ago, so we're hoping and praying this has taken care of the problem.

Thank you very much to everyone who suggested what the problem might be with this car. I'm grateful for all your responses.