kishy's 2005 Focus

[kishy]

Made some compromises on the detailing in order to actually get it done. Specifically, skipped the "polish" step, which was actually going to be something like a full paint correction. No time. There's just not enough of it in a day.

I did wash it thoroughly, and I clayed it, which for the fully horizontal panels yielded a lot of crap pulled out of the paint. Was worth doing even if it doesn't create an immediately visible benefit.

I used an aging but unopened Turtle Wax black box kit from my stash which included two steps, cleaner wax and finishing wax, with quick detailer to aid in buffing. I'm not convinced the product was any better than others I've used, but it made the car shine alright. Also cleaned the wheels quickly, got some improvement.

After taking a break to mow the lawn, I moved on to the interior plastics followed by glasswork. Got it all pretty decent. Unfortunately the console armrest is broken in a way that makes me not really want to reinstall it, so it's staying out until I can sort that out.

















Imperfect, yes, but it passes from a short distance and smells reasonably fresh inside, so I'm pleased.

No plan yet for how to present it to her. I want to, so she'll at least believe it really exists, but I do need to tackle that wheel bearing before I leave it with her.

[DerekTheGreat]

Here's how I'd suggest you surprise her:

Take her out for her birthday in your car. Have a friend drive her gift to the restaurant while you and mom dine & park it near your car. Have friend drive your car home. When you and mom wrap up, walk her to the car, make a comment about it/the situation and then present her the keys.

[friskyfrankie]

here's how i'd suggest you surprise her:

Take her out for her birthday in your car. Have a friend drive her gift to the restaurant while you and mom dine & park it near your car. Have friend drive your car home. When you and mom wrap up, walk her to the car, make a comment about it/the situation and then present her the keys.

Sweet!!

[Giraffe]

Excellent job! That car looks pretty immaculate to me.

[Grand1]

Very nice car for the money Kishy and the quality of the work transcends any "pre-owned certified " car one could buy on a lot. Amazing job.

[GM_Guy]

Wow, polished up nice. Looks great!

[kishy]

I appreciate the kind remarks!

I asked her if she'd like to go out to eat, and she accepted. The plan we devised was to pick up fish tacos from a restaurant and eat them on the pier/dock of the neighbouring marina, since it was a beautiful evening.

I picked her up in the car, so the surprise was fairly brief, but she's thrilled that she's getting a car (it will effectively be her first car - all through her life she has had access to cars owned by others, and at other times has lived in places where a car was impractical e.g. Toronto). She's also quite happy with the car itself - she's happy that it's a 4-door and is a sedan with a large trunk, she loves the moonroof, and she thinks it's a sharp looking car as well. She did start to voice some concern about the window tint, which I quickly put to rest by just pushing the window switches enough for her to see the fronts are not tinted (I knew swapping the glass would pay off). She also immediately recognized the value of the hitch and bike rack when I mentioned it.

No photo as it doesn't seem to be my place to put a pic of my mom on the wide open internet, but she's happy.

Previously listed to-do items which have not been done, and the reasons why:

• Replace engine and transmission mounts (2 - the bottom one has been done): not done because not deemed to be faulty, however there is a fair bit of engine vibration coming into the interior, so I might need to study this a little closer. As long as there is not excessive powertrain rocking I'm not worried about it; mainly just concerned about protecting the exhaust flex pipe.
• Rebuild the shift tower with M6x30 12.9 cap screw in place of the current roll pin: not done because I couldn't find the hardware when I looked for it. Still would like to do, as roll pin failure is established to be common and it can occasionally grenade the trans.
• Delete the intake manifold runner air flaps: not done because I've determined it isn't making the noises that indicate problems are coming, yet, and the car is quite low mileage.
• Change outer tie rod ends and sway bar end links: sway bar links totally unneeded; tie rod ends pass safety as do not create any play at the wheel. I will probably do them anyway as I think it might be worth sending this in for an alignment, as it will need tires soon.
• Figure out the clutch switch issue: not done because there isn't an issue, the thick rubber winter floor mat was the problem.
• Acquire an appropriate M18 O2 sensor threaded plug for the centre O2 hole in the cat: not done as I found an old O2 sensor to fill the hole, however, I'd prefer a less bad looking solution.

Therefore, the to-do list before handing it over to her is as follows:

• Solve this awful squealing noise
• Get some prettier hardware for the license plates. I don't want either rust stains or galvanic corrosion to set in.
• Evaluate the engine/trans mounts; replace if appropriate, don't if not.
• Rebuild the shift tower if hardware can be found easily, and regardless of that, do it anyway if I change the trans mount because 90% of the work is repeated between those tasks.
• Start up the new insurance policy for her; currently the car is on my policy and I am its driver.

And the to-do list to continue working on once she has it is as follows:

• Shop for, acquire, and install tires (the ones on the car are marginal but not dangerous yet; I drove it in the rain the other night and tried to get it to slip but it grips pretty well)
• In conjunction with tires, replace outer tie rod ends
• Following new tires and outer tie rod ends, get alignment
• Find an M18 O2 sensor plug/bolt/something along those lines

Also thinking of doing a thorough underside wash followed by taking it in to get oil sprayed; if I do that before I give it to her, it won't be her driveway that gets all oily from the initial drip.

[kishy]

Therefore, the to-do list before handing it over to her is as follows:

• Solve this awful squealing noise
• Get some prettier hardware for the license plates. I don't want either rust stains or galvanic corrosion to set in.
• Evaluate the engine/trans mounts; replace if appropriate, don't if not.
• Rebuild the shift tower if hardware can be found easily, and regardless of that, do it anyway if I change the trans mount because 90% of the work is repeated between those tasks.
• Start up the new insurance policy for her; currently the car is on my policy and I am its driver.
• Probably oil spray

And the to-do list to continue working on once she has it is as follows:

• Shop for, acquire, and install tires
• In conjunction with tires, replace outer tie rod ends
• Following new tires and outer tie rod ends, get alignment
• Find an M18 O2 sensor plug/bolt/something along those lines

I took the Focus out to my friend's shop to get another set of ears and eyes on the squeal noise problem. I had placed it at the right rear corner, and figured it was either a failing or unhappily-torqued hub bearing, the tone ring scraping on something, or possibly the brake hanging in a weird and specific way. Side-loading it (turning corners) could make it go away or get worse.

We took the drum/hub/bearing assembly off and looked at it, couldn't make any sense of what might be making noise. Torqued it back on to spec with a recently acquired junkyard axle nut (the captive washer on the one original to the car was kind of broken). Test drive yielded no change.

With friend in the passenger seat with his head out the window, he quickly identified it was definitely the front right corner. We swapped seats and I verified the same. My thought shifted to maybe the CV axle bearing race is spinning inside the bracket that holds it...but it didn't seem loose when I had it apart and I did put blue threadlocker (admittedly not the most perfect choice of product but it's better than nothing) on the outer race when I last reassembled it.

We jacked up the front right corner, took the wheel off, and immediately the problem became clear. That stupid little protective shield for the ball joint boot was leaning into the rotor. Bent that back a bit, went for a drive, and SILENCE. Just can't wrap my head around how it was ever quiet to begin with, because this noise onset later than when it first hit the road. Not by a lot, but later enough.

As for tires, two local Canadian Tire locations each have one set of General Evertrek RTX all seasons in the correct size for this car, on clearance for $85/tire. As far as retail tire pricing goes, and in Canadian dollars, that is very close to as good as it gets. Giving that some serious consideration.

[GM_Guy]

If you need tires, and you are okay with the Generals buy them yesterday. Tires seem to be another item hit with the supply chain issues. The new tires for my vomit comet where the last set of 4 at the distributor in this area, the other tires on my list, not currently available, if I missed on those four no telling how long I'd have to wait. CTC had them briefly on their tire sale at the same time period, they went down to zero stock everywhere here in London/St.Thomas/Aylmer shortly into the sale.

[kishy]

If you need tires, and you are okay with the Generals buy them yesterday. Tires seem to be another item hit with the supply chain issues. The new tires for my vomit comet where the last set of 4 at the distributor in this area, the other tires on my list, not currently available, if I missed on those four no telling how long I'd have to wait. CTC had them briefly on their tire sale at the same time period, they went down to zero stock everywhere here in London/St.Thomas/Aylmer shortly into the sale.

I've left a message with their auto service desk to verify they have the set of 4 and get back to me. I have access to Detroit as well but that doesn't help much with the exchange rate being what it is.

I've now crossed 700km with the car in all sorts of driving conditions; peaceful city and country driving, reckless Detroit driving, spirited sporty tire-spinning fun, highway at reasonable and unreasonable paces. It's rock solid. Hoping to do at least 1k before I hand it over.

I had my friend clear the codes as I still can't find my OBD II cable. It did have a code for the loss of signal on the rear ABS sensors, as well as a code for open circuit on one of the front sensors, both codes easily explained by work I had done to the car and neither was current. After doing so, I forgot to test cruise, but just by chance the next day or so later, I did try it on the highway and it worked. Indicator light came on, and it held speed just fine. Both the clutch and brake pedals successfully canceled it as well.

That was short lived though, as it went back to not working. Then, it came back to "kind of" work...indicator light will come on, it does partially hold the pedal but not enough to maintain speed, and after a few seconds it gives up and lets go of the pedal while turning the light off. Because that particular event occurred, I am unsure of my next steps, but it feels like it isn't a code problem anymore. We're moving into component troubleshooting territory. FWIW, mom said she doesn't care if the cruise works, but I do on her behalf.

There is a substantial amount of engine NVH coming into the car. I'm told this specific type of NVH usually condemns the right side hydraulic engine mount. I have a new one, so it's going to get swapped and we'll see what happens. The trans mount is still waiting for the shift tower bolt to materialize first as the work is all common between those tasks.

The exhaust may have developed a leak somewhere up front. Not surprising given use of RTV in places, but I will need to take a peek and evaluate where the leak is. It may or may not require attention.

Both inner and outer tie rod ends are now confirmed items coming up this week. If I'm putting tires on it, it's getting aligned, and if it's getting aligned it might as well have new stuff.

Not that this is the place for family drama, but here's some anyway:
My aunt on my mom's side, the person who told me this car became available, had offered at one point to pick up the bill for some work on the car at her mechanic if it was too much for me, and at the time I was feeling a little irritated about it (while navigating the thought process of how to deal with the exhaust). I neither declined nor accepted; I told her that I'd already bought the parts, which in my head should have been received as "he's going to try it, and if it goes poorly, maybe will then take the help".

As I figure it, that bill wouldn't have been under $500. It may very well have gone over $1000. I got good deals on all parts installed, in most cases better than a shop could get, and I still blew past the $500 mark easily. No labour factored in there either. I was also very insistent that, being the car's future caretaker, the work must be done the way I want because I have to deal with it later as well. Hence the use of band clamps and bolt-on parts, not welded joints. If I need to warranty that resonator pipe assembly because it rusts to pieces, guess what? 4 bolts and it's out, and the replacement will pop right in too.

Anyway, I threw my aunt a text message talking about these clearance tires, and she comes back saying she gave it a lot of thought as she was put off by my lack of acceptance of the earlier offer and is only willing to contribute $150, for two tires (which it isn't, because price doesn't include balancing and mounting). She's pretty apparently trying to teach me a lesson about the way I handled the earlier interaction. I'm pretty sure I'm not taking the $150 because it's going to come with baggage attached. Truthfully, I'm not currently in a position to afford the tires, but they can sit on the credit card for a couple pay periods until things work a little better in that respect. As far as I'm concerned, paying interest on them is better than taking on the baggage of the family member gift money. Some things are worth more than money, and peace is one of them.

Keys and key fobs. There are two chip keys; one for mom and one for me as a spare/lockout key. I've had the key copied 2 additional times as a non-chip key, one to keep in her house, and one to put in a hide-a-key, both intended for lock-outs. The car included one fob, working, but with the legends rubbed off the buttons. While in the junkyard yesterday, I had my friend go fob hunting, and he found me two, one of which has a brand new replacement housing with fresh button legends. We programmed them to the car, so now there are two fobs, one for her and one for me. Fantastic.

As for the broken armrest: I have pieced together one using the junkyard-sourced good parts from the weekend, and the car now has a perfect one in it. Wrong colour, but it doesn't really stand out. I'm sure failure is forthcoming, but I have another good one still, and I am now aware of a Dorman Help repair product for it, #41053. I'd probably be inclined to DIY-fix it more reliably with a piece of allthread if it happens again, though.









Another observation: the headlight aim is level, but the beam pattern is making me think the low and high beams are crossed between sides. DRL & Low beam has one side appearing to be the top half of the beam, the other side appears to be the bottom half. Flip to high beams and the pattern reverses. Hold flash-to-pass and both beam patterns fill out completely as you'd expect. Not really sure how that happens. Going to have to look at the bulbs and probe some terminals. Seems the lamps were aimed to work around this problem in the past but something is definitely still needing attention here.

There is an occasional long crank which sorta feels like fuel delivery, but it does start every time, just cranks longer sometimes. This car seems to have a FPDM and returnless system. I don't know anything about troubleshooting these guys; maybe this is a normal event occasionally. It doesn't happen if I let it prime before cranking. It happens maybe 1/10 times that I directly turn the key to crank skipping priming.

As for the to-do lists, they have almost completely converged with some evolution:

Before handing it over to her:

• Axle nut torque re-check
• Axle nut dust caps
• License plate hardware
• Replace right side hydraulic engine mount and re-evaluate NVH
• Rebuild shift tower and replace the upper transmission mount
• Tie rod ends
• Tires
• Alignment
• Oil spray
• Cruise control
• Headlight weirdness
• Investigate fitment issue with rear bumper cover. Might be impossible to resolve and is really only a cosmetic issue as it is now.
• Slap some paint very unprofessionally on a couple spots on the body that need protection from the elements.
• Insurance for her

Continue working on once she has it:

• Find an M18 O2 sensor plug/bolt/something along those lines

Provided the tires thing pans out, I'm thinking it's in her hands by June.

[kishy]

I've left a message with their auto service desk to verify they have the set of 4 and get back to me. I have access to Detroit as well but that doesn't help much with the exchange rate being what it is.

They did not, in fact, have 4. They have 1.
Another Windsor store also has 1.
Two London stores also each have 1.
So I could make a set of 4, but it would involve an hour of city driving, four hours of highway driving, plus the wait time for installation at each location.
I would want the tires installed at Canadian Tire to be eligible for their free road hazard repairs.
The dollars make sense but the time doesn't.

Detroit is looking like (from memory) about $440 Canadian (tax-in, installed) for a set of Crosswind all seasons.
I found a place in Windsor that can sell me a set of West Lake (Chinese but maybe not awful) all seasons for $620 Canadian (tax-in, installed, also including front end alignment which I will need anyway, as well as lifetime tire repairs).

The question at that point is how much will an alignment run me elsewhere, and I think these options probably work out pretty close. I think the lifetime repairs (and those repairs being done in Windsor) tips the scale towards the local option. Flat repairs are also included at Belle Tire in MI but that doesn't help if 99% of mileage is driven in Windsor so flat will likely occur here.

There is an occasional long crank which sorta feels like fuel delivery, but it does start every time, just cranks longer sometimes. This car seems to have a FPDM and returnless system. I don't know anything about troubleshooting these guys; maybe this is a normal event occasionally. It doesn't happen if I let it prime before cranking. It happens maybe 1/10 times that I directly turn the key to crank skipping priming.

There is a TSB about this:

LONG CRANK/HARD START – 2.0L AND 2.3L ENGINE WITH MTX-75 TRANSAXLE
FORD: 2005 Focus

2005 Focus vehicles equipped with MTX-75 manual transaxles, may exhibit a long crank or hard start condition with no malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) and no diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) present.

ACTION:

Reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM) to the latest level using WDS or Ford J2534 release B36.12 and higher or B37.3 and higher.
This new calibration is not included in the B37 CD.
Calibration files may also be obtained at www.motorcraft.com.

So in all likelihood, just going to live with it. It was eligible to have this programming done under warranty, but is not a recall, so that would probably be an hour of shop time that really isn't a critical problem from my perspective. Might kill the starter a month earlier than it would otherwise.

No movement on to-do list items aside from data hunting for these two topics (tires and long crank).

[jaywish]

On much older cars the cruise symptoms you experience were all due to vacuum problems

[GM_Guy]

Did you ask your local Canadian Tire guy if they are able to pull stock from another Canadian Tire in order to get 4 tires? Might be worth a face to face chat with them. Yeah, driving up to London for two tires is not worth it, not to mention CTC agravation.

[kishy]

Did you ask your local Canadian Tire guy if they are able to pull stock from another Canadian Tire in order to get 4 tires? Might be worth a face to face chat with them. Yeah, driving up to London for two tires is not worth it, not to mention CTC agravation.

Did ask; not doable. Apparently they don't have a means to arrange stock transfer between stores. Something something different owners of each store, something something distribution only happens from warehouses to stores, and only in that direction.

[GM_Guy]

Yeah, their favorite excuse; franchise owner, able to set their own store policies etc. (ie; the ones that are bastards about returning things). I'd ask if they'd do road hazzard if you brought the tires to your local ctc, but I already know the answer to that one (some bogus claim about it being an individual store road hazzard, not a corporate road hazzard).

If you decide you want the tires anyway, let me know, I can always pick them up--thoughyou might want to have a backup plan for tire #4 knowing the local canadian tires, they might say one thing this morning, and by the time you get there they won't have shit or can't locate it because you alerted some goon to the super good deal and they bought it out from under you.

Alex.