Ford Problems

This sounds very much like a fuelling problem. Since a diesel engine has no ignition system (beyond its own compression) any fall off in performance can often be traced back to the fuel system.

The best bet is to take the vehicle to a diesel specialist that knows this make and model and will have either seen this exact set of symptoms before or will be able to make a logical diagnosis rather than just changing random parts that may or may not be the cause of the problem. Things that are likely causes, however, are the fuel filtering system, fuel pump and injectors. But don’t rule out something simple like a bad batch of fuel that is playing havoc with the entire system.

As both these model-years concern the same series of Focus, there would definitely be some interchangeability. Body panels should interchange readily (provided you don't try to fit the hatchback from a five-door to the boot of a four-door) and many interior fittings would also be able to be swapped (provided the interior colour and trim materials of the two cars matched).

Mechanically, however, you need to be a bit more careful. Obviously, there would be major differences between the driveline of the diesel version and the more common petrol model, but there will likely be differences to driveshafts and all sorts of components when you compare a manual Focus to an automatic one. Different trim levels can also cause interchangeability problems in terms of a base-model car not having the electrical wiring to support the convenience equipment of the upmarket version. Things like the power windows in the rear of a Focus Ghia, for instance, will cause problems in the base-model CL which relied on manual rear windows.

Perhaps you've been lucky and simply bought a freakish Focus without any DCT Powershift transmission problems. But when more than half the small Fords sold in Australia fitted with that transmission  experiencing either single or multiple failures, I'm afraid the odds are stacked against you in the longer term. It seems there are two types of Focus Powershift transmissions: Those that have failed, and; those that will fail at some stage.

The price you paid is probably about where the market is now, but this is a car we can't recommend at any price.

It sounds as though the transmission itself has encountered an internal failure for that level of mayhem. Diesel versions of this model Mondeo were fitted with a six-speed double-clutch transmission otherwise known as the Powershift transmission. With a wet-clutch design, this gearbox was a lot more durable than the dry-clutch design used in many other Fords including the Focus and Fiesta, and the latter was a complete disaster with premature failures earning Ford Australia a caning at the hands of the ACCC.

But even the wet-clutch Powershift must be considered a liability to some extent, and failures like yours are absolutely possible. This won’t, however, be a cheap fix and you can expect the repairs to be a good chunk (if not more than) the retained value of the car. At which point, you have to make some very pragmatic decisions.

If you’re lucky, a transmission specialist might be able to determine that the problem is a simple one and fix it cheaply, so that’s worth a shot in the first instance. But don’t be surprised if the diagnosis is a lot less rosy than that.

The reason the car overheats under load or when travelling uphill is simply because it's defying gravity and, therefore, doing more work in those circumstances. Think of it as a person using a staircase. They'll go down the stairs easily, but they'll sweat more going up them, and more again going up the stairs with a suitcase under each arm. In a car's engine, hauling a load or driving uphill requires more throttle which, in turn, injects more fuel into the cylinders. And more fuel burned equals more heat. It's as simple as that.

If you've replaced the radiator, water pump and thermostat, you've started logically enough, but simply replacing bits and pieces is not the way to proceed as you've already discovered by replacing parts that were probably good (and didn't fix the problem). You could have a collapsed radiator hose (Were these replaced, too?) or a problem with the fuel-air ratio which can make a car run hot when it's under duress. The steering column sounds unrelated, but if the wiring to the dashboard was damaged during this process, it's possible that the temperature gauge is reading incorrectly and the engine may not be running hot at all. An electronic scan will be able to check the actual running temperature as well as uncovering any fault codes the computer has logged.

Don't rule out things like a build up of debris inside the cooling passages in the engine that could be blocking the flow of coolant. And a check of the radiator overflow bottle is a good idea. These have been known to perish and crack on Falcons, allowing some coolant to escape, leaving you with a low radiator level when you need it most.

Probably not, and since this would be a classic back-yard conversion, we don't know of any documented proof or a set of instructions for how to do it.

The bigger question, of course, is why you'd want to try to perform such a transplant. It might be different if the Transit itself was not available with a diesel engine option, but it has been for many years. So why try to adapt a Toyota engine? Buy a diesel Transit and save yourself a lifetime of hassles.

Seriously, aside from the big issues of making a foreign engine physically fit in a van's compromised engine bay, you'd also have the detail problems of running cables and electrics. Then there's the question of making the engine talk to the rest of the car in an electronic sense, which involves everything from the engine-control computer to making sure the dashboard functions properly. And do you use the Transit gearbox, or instal the whole Toyota driveline? Even then, fi you manage to achieve all this, you'd have to convince the registration authorities that the thing was fit to drive on the road.

This crops us frequently as a dispute between car owners and dealerships and it's all because of one thing: Extended warranties are generally not worth the paper they're printed on. They're designed to relieve car buyers of more money, thinking they'll be covered if the worst happens. Usually, the warranty is carefully written to avoid paying out on the things most likely to go wrong. Never has 'read the fine print' been so important.

Consider that the warranty your purchased only covers the first $3500 of an engine replacement. Where on earth can an engine be replaced for that sort of money? It's a clear case of the fine print giving the warranty provider a convenient escape clause. Don't forget, this extended warranty is not a Ford factory warranty, it's a third party deal that car-dealers love because they get a kick-back from the warranty company every time a car buyer signs on that dotted line. Dealers also love these warranties because it forces owners into over-servicing their cars. Does it not seem strange that the car designed and engineered by Ford to have a 12-monthly service interval suddenly needs a six-monthly service as part of the warranty conditions?

As far as the replacement engine goes, be very careful about what you're being offered. If the engine is, indeed, a reconditioned engine, it doesn't really matter how many kilometres it has already done because reconditioned means it has been fully rebuilt with new parts. If, however, it's a second-hand engine plucked from a wrecked Kuga, then I would argue that an engine with the same mileage as the one in your car should be fitted. But I'll guarantee you there's some fine print in that warranty that makes me wrong about that, too.

That model Ranger does, indeed, have what’s called a variable-voltage or `smart’ alternator. The idea is that when the car’s main battery is fully charged, the alternator reduces its workload to save fuel. But the reality is that the system doesn’t always recognise that accessories (like a second battery) have been fitted to the car. If that happens, the alternator doesn’t always make enough power to keep accessories like that second battery system fully charged. Which means that suddenly, your car-fridge won’t run overnight.

The good news is that this smart function is purely electronically controlled, and a Ford dealer can disable it for you, returning the alternator to conventional operation.

The first thing to ascertain is what the fluid is. Is it coolant, fuel, oil or even brake fluid? All these fluids have different ways of leaking, so make sure you know what you’re dealing with. Also, don’t rely on the location of the fluid on the ground as a means of diagnosing the cause. Leaks can start in one place but appear elsewhere as they work their way along wiring, pipes, chassis rails and plenty more before they actually make it to the ground.

Meantime, if the leak is coolant and is actually coming from the back of the engine, there are a few likely culprits. There are heater hoses that run in this area and have been known to leak, as well as a welch plug that can corrode and cause a leak in this area. Other known coolant leak-points in the Territory include the radiator and the O-ring seal at the back of the water pump. If you’re really unlucky, the leak could also be from a head gasket. Have the car checked out by a mechanic, because coolant leaks only ever really get bigger over time, never smaller.

Ford replaced the Mark 1 Focus with the Mark 2 in June 2005, so interchangeability would depend on the build date of the 2005 Focus you have. While the Mark 1 and Mark 2 Focus both offered a two-litre four-cylinder engine (among others) the two engines were from different engine families. The earlier car used a member of the Zetec family, while the Mark 2 Focus two litre was from the Duratec family.

So, unless both Focuses are Mark 2 cars, there's very little chance of sharing things like intake manifolds, even if the spark plugs and ignition systems could be swapped between Mark 1 and Mark 2 cars.