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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / July 20042000 Focus : Rear End Fishtails all over the road when i hit a bump!
I have no idea what is wrong with my car.. I love it, but lately i have been having a problem with the rearend of the car. It seems to be targeted to the rear-passenger side. When i hit a bump in the road, and the rear tire hits it, the cars uncontrollably fishtails all over the road. I wont even take the car on the freeway for fear that i will lose total control. (yes, It's that bad) I am sure i need to replace something, but not sure what it will cost me. I could use any advice anyone is willing to give at this point. Thanks so much! Pris I've never experienced the problem to that degree, but the rear end of my wagon would sometimes feel a little looser than I liked. I replaced my rear shocks about a month ago and that sensation has now gone away. BTW, both my local dealer and the shop that replaced the shocks told me Ford has updated the design of the rear shocks. That change must have been in response to some shortcoming. Rob my focus se wagon did that and we had the rear shocks replaced (under warranty). the problem went away > I have no idea what is wrong with my car.. I love it, but lately i have > been having a problem with the rearend of the car. It seems to be targeted [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > what it will cost me. I could use any advice anyone is willing to give at > this point. Thanks so much! Pris >... When i hit a bump in the road, and the rear > tire hits it, the cars uncontrollably fishtails all over the road. Three possible causes: a) shocks b) shocks c) shocks. Not a defect, just a routine replacement item. >>... When i hit a bump in the road, and the rear >> tire hits it, the cars uncontrollably fishtails all over the road. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Not a defect, just a routine replacement item. Ya, but every 20,000 km? Rear tires along with them also? Ford dealer and Ford of Canada: "There's nothing wrong with your car, sir." I have a 2001 SE wagon. Worst piece of sh.t I ever got stuck with. Bob > I have a 2001 SE wagon. Worst piece of sh.t I ever got stuck with. I have a 2000 SE wagon. Best piece of pure gold I've ever had the joy to own. Too bad our cars seem to be made by different companies. For what it's worth, I agree, word for word, with you Dave. Rob ---------------------------- > I have a 2000 SE wagon. Best piece of pure gold I've ever had the joy to > own. Too bad our cars seem to be made by different companies. >>I have a 2001 SE wagon. Worst piece of sh.t I ever got stuck with. > > I have a 2000 SE wagon. Best piece of pure gold I've ever had the joy to > own. Too bad our cars seem to be made by different companies. You may find the problem with your "piece of sh.t" to be nothing more than a lousy set of tires, or a worn set of tires. Our 2002 Focus SE wagon developed a fishtail like you mention, especially over concrete pavement. A trip to the dealership and an alignment by the dealer did not help. Only taking our car to our trusted mechanic showed us the Focus required DIRECTIONAL tires. To top it off, the limited adjustment that can be done to a Focus alignment was WAY off. Switching the tires and bringing the alignment into spec fixed the problem. You might want to look into this first before making such broad pronouncements. Bob, I too have a 2001 SE wagon and had a similar problem to the one you describe however apparently mine was not as pronounced... I also had excessive tire wear on the rear as well... What cured my car of this problem was a "good" alignment shop... I talked to the guy who runs the shop about posts I'd seen on here regarding Fords rear-end alignment specs being a bit suspect... Anyway he told me that he used his own specs and not Fords to align Focus rear ends... You might need to make a few phone calls to the alignment shops in your area but I'm sure you can find someone who can fix you up. Good luck! Steve > >>... When i hit a bump in the road, and the rear > >> tire hits it, the cars uncontrollably fishtails all over the road. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Bob > Bob, > I too have a 2001 SE wagon and had a similar problem to the one you describe [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > > > Bob My handling improved when I put P185/65R14 tires (and rims of course) on my '03 and '04 Focus Wagons. With the 15" low profile tires I was bending O.E.M. rims quicker than I could replace them. Both sets of replacement rims came from a '99 Escort. Happy modeming, Bill Bob, Another thing that was brought up to me along with the alignment problem with the Focus SE wagon was DIRECTIONAL tires. My wife's Focus used to dance over concrete pavement when we changed from the original Goodyear Eagles to BF Goodrich. The tires were not directional, and were getting chewed up in the process. Went to the tire and alignment shop, a guy that's been doing my car maintenance for twelve years, he put the proper tires on and set the alignment. No more dancing and problem solved. Richard >>Bob, >>I too have a 2001 SE wagon and had a similar problem to the one you [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > Happy modeming, > Bill I just solved my rear jumping around problem that has been with me since new. The car had been aligned by Ford, shims installed, other shops aligned it and still it would jump around. Also the left rear tire wore real bad and was making lots of noise. Car was not quiet, not fun to drive any more and only had 34k on it. I was running the original tires at 40lbs pressure and not rotating them. I went to a local tire shop and talked to them twice and even went out and talked at length to the alignment guy. He told me, don't worry, I CAN align that car and you will be rid of the handling issue, trust me. Well - to make a long story short I purchased 4 new tires and the alignment and he was true to his word, my problem is gone, I look forward to driving the car again, it's quiet, does not jump around and I am VERY happy with it now. It's a 2001 SE wagon, I would buy another for sure. I just love the car and I get 35 to 37 on the highway with it even going 70 mph. >Bob, > [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] >> Happy modeming, >> Bill > I have no idea what is wrong with my car.. So is 2000 the year of manufacture or the engine size?  SignatureChris Game Maintenance-free: When it breaks, it can't be fixed... check ur suspension ur shocks may of had it... > > I have no idea what is wrong with my car.. > > So is 2000 the year of manufacture or the engine size? |
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