Hi, I'm a college student in Sacramento. Just sold my 66' Karmann ghia (beautiful car, fun as hell) and was looking to pick up a good commuter car. Have friends that live in SF, and Reno so i go up to visit them time to time, as well as transport other friends up there. Not only that, i'm just looking for a car that i can easily drive and maintain till i'm thinking about buying a 'new' car. So, upon searching on the 'C List' found a nice 01' Focus Wagon. Problem is, previous owner was a bit of a traveler himself (167k miles, *finger nails against the chalk board*). Not really looking to race, or mod it (if i dont have to). Just looking for good soild car, the looks way cooler than a late 90's Corolla.

So, my questions are:

what kind of troubles do any of the serious driver (90k +) on this forum have or had?

Or, any known problems with the ATX (4F27E) transmission in high milage conditions?

Thanks for your time.

Ps. i'd like to say thanks to this site, i am ten times more informed about possible problems that i could get myself into. [pray]

My buddy in Folsom is selling his ZX3 hatch for 2500. its got lower mileage and is in good shape.

I personaly have 150k on my car and have had no problems with my car. I never really heard of the focus having any tranny problems.

167k is getting up there in mileage! you need to check and see if the timing belt has been replaced! should of been replaced at 120k...also check the valve gasket, thermostat housing..those are common problems with the focus...

Thanks Greddy!

Now i know the guy did get it maintained thru the local ford dealership. He did mention that the sepertine belt was replaced, he also (i assume) has all the paperwork to back it up. I've been trying to also find out when cam belts need replacement ? for that matter do foci have cam belts or chains?

the serpentine belt is the one you can see on the passenger side running all your accessories...the timing belt is behind all that crap and you can't see it...it is your cam/timing belt..and must be replaced at 120k! hope this helps

welcome to the focus world

To answer your question, all 2000 - 2003 Foci have timing belts. I believe all 2005 - 2009 Foci have timing chains. 2004 is a mixed bag since some have the Duratec (chain) and some have the Zetec or SPI (belt).

Here is a recent thread about the Foci's known problems.

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194932

My Auto tranny has had no problems, I have replaced the shifter with another OEMthough, but that's not internal , the button mechanism got fubared somehow.

As for other's

- Valve Cover casket

if im not mistaken? causes...

- O-ring / Thermostatic housing cracking

- Ignition cylinder often gets locked, good after replacement.

Also, I dont know if these differ for the wagons. Somebody else will have to chime in.