2.0 TDCi (UK) issues/DPF Engine

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Paul - 13 Jul 2008 22:38 GMT

I recently bought a 2.0 TDCi and have been having a few problems with it
that I can't seem to get sorted. Very lumpy tickover, heavy diesel
consumption (which I believe may be the norm for this model - 41 ish mpg)
and now a leak has developed from somewhere round the windscreen in heavy
rain.

Ultimately I feel I may have bought the wrong model and maybe even car and
am considering cutting my losses and swapping it for a 1.6 TDCi to ease the
burden on fuel at the moment.

The 2.0 has the Duratorq engine that I am familiar with and always found to
be very robust and reliable from a MK1 Focus whereas (I understand) that the
1.6 has the lighter DPF engine?

Is this as reliable a unit as the Duratorq and have there been any
particular problems with it? Is there enough torque from the 1.6 unit and
any advice on the best variant to buy (Zetec/LX etc) much appreciated.

Reply to this Message

Paul Giverin - 14 Jul 2008 07:08 GMT

>I recently bought a 2.0 TDCi and have been having a few problems with
>it that I can't seem to get sorted. Very lumpy tickover, heavy diesel
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>and any advice on the best variant to buy (Zetec/LX etc) much
>appreciated.

Please don't get confused by a name. Ford have a terrible habit of
coming up with an engine name and applying it to everything.

Duratorq is a generic name applied to most of Ford's current diesels.
The "Duratorq" engine in the Mk1 Focus is a Ford unit and derived from
the "Endura DE" engine from the Escort and Mondeos of the 90's.

The Duratorq engine in your 2.0 TDCi Focus is actually a Peugeot engine.
The engine in the 1.6 TDCi Focus is also a Peugeot engine. Only the 1.8
TDCi Focus uses the original Ford built engine from Mk1 Focus.

DPF stands for "Diesel Particulate Filter". Both the 2.0 and 1.6 have
it. The 1.6 engine is lighter because it is smaller.

I've got a 2.0 TDCi Focus and I get about 43mpg with a heavy right foot
and over 50mpg when on a long run at legal speeds. The 1.6 will be more
economical but you will notice the difference in performance after the
2.0 which I think is quite powerful. Of course if you do mostly town
work, you won't be able to use the performance of the 2.0 and the 1.6
may be better for you.

Tell us more about the lumpy tickover. Was it like that when you bought
it? Have you had a dealer look at it?

Signature

Paul Giverin

British Jet Engine Website:- www.britjet.co.uk

My photos:- www.pbase.com/vendee

Reply to this Message

Paul - 14 Jul 2008 07:37 GMT

> Please don't get confused by a name. Ford have a terrible habit of
> coming up with an engine name and applying it to everything.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Tell us more about the lumpy tickover. Was it like that when you bought
> it? Have you had a dealer look at it?

Hi Paul

Thanks for your reply - that was helpful.

The car has been a bit of a saga really from the start. I agreed to buy it
after driving it, but between then and picking it up, had all manner of
prpblems.

In short the car has developed these issues since purchase and the dealer
(non - Ford I would add) simply does not want to know - I have considered
all the legal stuff but to be honest really don't have the energy for it. If
the ca r has a mega fault I will simply move it on. The tickover is
interesting and is noticeable mostly when cold but also not absent when
warm. It's more of a 'judder' really where you can feel that the tickover
is definitely not smooth - similar to the 'miss' of a petrol engine which,
say, has a dodgy spark plug. It's also made worse if you put the air con
on!!

I do a mixture of Motorway and town work really and am a bit disappointed in
the 41 mpg I was getting but maybe my expectations are too great from the
car. I guess my nervousness is around the fact that I have read on numerous
forums thatthe majority of problems seem to occur with the 2.0 diesel
variant rather than the 1.6 or 1.8.

If the 1.6 is an option then I'll look at it and guess I need to drive one
and see for myself. I do love the performance out of the 2.0 but could cope
without it if the trade off is a hassle free (if there ever is such a thing)
1.6.

As a starter I am having a diagnostic check done at a dealers tomorrow and
will go from there.

Whilst I love it I must admit I wish I had stuck with my Toyota - perfect
reliability.

Cheers

Reply to this Message

Paul Giverin - 14 Jul 2008 10:23 GMT

> The tickover is interesting and is noticeable mostly when cold but
>also not absent when warm. It's more of a 'judder' really where you
>can feel that the tickover is definitely not smooth - similar to the
>'miss' of a petrol engine which, say, has a dodgy spark plug. It's also
>made worse if you put the air con on!!

I think that's normal. Mine does exactly that. It gives what I'd
describe as a "shudder" every few seconds or so and the frequency of the
shudder is increased when the aircon is on. As you say, it feels like a
miss on a petrol engine.

Mine has done it from new. I got the dealer to check it out but they say
its fine. A friend has one and his does it too. Its only really annoying
when sitting in traffic. I've had the ECU software updated and two new
sets of injectors fitted (to try and fix an unrelated fault) and its
still the same. I just live with it now.

>I do a mixture of Motorway and town work really and am a bit
>disappointed in the 41 mpg I was getting but maybe my expectations are
>too great from the car. I guess my nervousness is around the fact that
>I have read on numerous forums thatthe majority of problems seem to
>occur with the 2.0 diesel variant rather than the 1.6 or 1.8.

Just out of interest.... what forums? I used to be a regular on FFOC
before they started charging. Also be aware that the 2.0 TDCi in the
Mondeo is a different engine to the Focus.

>As a starter I am having a diagnostic check done at a dealers tomorrow
>and will go from there.

Keep us posted.

Signature

Paul Giverin

British Jet Engine Website:- www.britjet.co.uk

My photos:- www.pbase.com/vendee

Reply to this Message

Paul - 14 Jul 2008 18:59 GMT

> In message <g5es83$uvr$1@aioe.org>, Paul <neverchecked@nomail.net> writes
>
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
>>
> Keep us posted.

Thanks again for that - it's been really useful to learn about the car and
the engine.

If the tickover problem is 'normal' it's really annoying to be honest as I
do find it very noticeable. I guess it may be an unfair comparison but my
other half's VW Golf is as smooth as a bell from startup.

Other question is whether I'd get significantly more mpg out of the 1.6? My
car is telling me I average around 41.6 mpg which is worse than I imagined
it would be. I previously owned a 1.4 Diesel Corolla which gave me at least
52 mpg all up but just didn't have enough power at all. I'm ideally looking
for something to give me that balance between enough torque and grunt to
overtake but that won't ewat my wallet like this is doing. I do about 250
miles a week and had to spend 40 filling up from just over half empty
yesterday - that hurts.

Once again thanks so far.

Reply to this Message

Paul Giverin - 14 Jul 2008 19:13 GMT

>Other question is whether I'd get significantly more mpg out of the
>1.6? My car is telling me I average around 41.6 mpg which is worse
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
>Once again thanks so far.

The 1.6 will undoubtedly be more economical than the 2.0 although the
2.0 does benefit from its six speed box which helps its economy at
motorway speeds. The 1.6 has only a five speed box. Why don't you test
drive a 1.6 and see if you can live with it.

FWIW, I'm sticking in £55 worth every week. These prices are hurting
everyone. It might be worth doing a full tank to full tank manual mpg
calculation because the cars computer might be inaccurate.

Signature

Paul Giverin

British Jet Engine Website:- www.britjet.co.uk

My photos:- www.pbase.com/vendee

Reply to this Message

Paul - 15 Jul 2008 18:17 GMT

Well....at least I have a result. The fault is the diesel injection pump
which is, apparently, very common on this variant.

And gettin' it fixed is gonna hurt my wallet too......

Reply to this Message

Alan - 14 Jul 2008 17:43 GMT

In message <g5dsk0$kts$1@aioe.org>, Paul <neverchecked@nomail.net> wrote

>and now a leak has developed from somewhere round the windscreen in
>heavy rain.

This often occurs after a service and the pollen/cabin filter has been
changed. The cover for the filter is on the passenger side at the base
of the windscreen - it forms part of the bottom windscreen seal.

Search the news archives at http://groups.google.com/ for Ford pollen
filter (or cabin filter)

Signature

Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

Reply to this Message