Lifter problem on late model Focus?

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pbm

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My friend just traded in his 2006 Focus because he believed it needed major engine work. He bought the car new and did 3K OCIs and had just under 100K. He is very mechanically inclined and knowledgeable about cars so I tend to believe he knows what he's talking about.
I was under the impression that these Duratechs were bulletproof.
Have any of the mechanics heard about problems with lifters on this motor?

PS: He still believes in 3K OCIs even though I've told him how much better today's oils are. I'm not sure if he used the spec'd 5w20 or 5w30.
 
There is a lot of information missing here. Why did he believe it needed major engine work? Was the engine noisy, or was it running rough, or was it knocking? With only 100k miles, I would doubt that it would need major work, but a tune-up might not have been out of the question. Is the valve lash adjustable on that engine?
 
These engines do not have lifters. They have "cam over bucket" design. Probably what he heard was the injectors. When the hood is up they are very easy to here. Click, click, click.
 
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I have a Zetec in my 90,000 mile car. It's the earlier version before the Duratech. It's been a great engine for a small 4. It has gotten "noisier" as it's aged but looking in the oil fill cap it's spotless, like new It doesn't use any measurable amount of oil, even in 8,500 mile OCI's. You can always have a lemon but in general the small Ford 4's from the last 15 years have been good engines. Did anybody look into the oil fill and see what the insides look like?

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
There is a lot of information missing here. Why did he believe it needed major engine work? Was the engine noisy, or was it running rough, or was it knocking? With only 100k miles, I would doubt that it would need major work, but a tune-up might not have been out of the question. Is the valve lash adjustable on that engine?


I know there is a lot of info missing but I don't want to question him too much since we aren't close friends. He is far more mechanical than I and yet I feel he may have traded the car in unnecessarily. He said the engine was making a lot of noise and that he didn't want to 'mess with it'. He said he added Rislone which quieted it down enough to trade it in.

I'm asking because the new Focus is on my radar screen but this guy has sworn off Ford because of it.
I wanted to know if anybody is familiar with any 4 cyl. Duratec issues and the answer seems to be ..No.

I think he may have misdiagnosed the noise but I'm wondering why Rislone would 'quiet down' the fuel injectors?
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
These engines do not have lifters. They have "cam over bucket" design.


I suspect that this design is very similar to that in many Toyota engines. You can change the valve lash, but it's rather difficult and requires new parts (new shims and buckets).

As I understand these types of systems, there is no automatic lash adjustment (as with hydraulic cam followers), and there is no regularly-serviceable manual lash adjustment, so as the engine ages and parts naturally wear, noise will increase with no easy way to address it.

It's possible that the lash on this particular engine has opened up enough to where he's hearing valvetrain noise. Maybe his engine is just louder than others. We have two Duratech 4-cylinders at work (in Fusion Hybrids). I wouldn't call either of them particularly "quiet", but they don't knock either.
 
LOL! If he's supposedly mechanically-competent enough to do 3K OCI and yet refused(or declined) to delve deeper into engine noise issues, I personally would not take his comments/remarks seriously.

2c's worth.

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
LOL! If he's supposedly mechanically-competent enough to do 3K OCI and yet refused(or declined) to delve deeper into engine noise issues, I personally would not take his comments/remarks seriously.

2c's worth.

Q.


this..

Its most likely injector noise which is very common on any Ford engine.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Quest
LOL! If he's supposedly mechanically-competent enough to do 3K OCI and yet refused(or declined) to delve deeper into engine noise issues, I personally would not take his comments/remarks seriously.

2c's worth.

Q.


this..

Its most likely injector noise which is very common on any Ford engine.



He is definitely mechanically inclined as I have seen the hot rod that he built (fabricalting many parts himself). He has rebuilt his Harley's engine. I've also seen some of his home projects that were impressive.
I think it's a case of not having much interest in his commuter car and assuming the noise was more than it really was. He probably also had the hots for something new....

The sad thing is that he'll tell people about his "bad Ford experience" which is probably unfair....
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Lifters/tappets/buckets do the same thing.



Are you aware of any problems with the 'cam over bucket' design of this engine or do you also believe it was injector noise?
 
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