Hey I'm new to this forum and new to liking the focus.

My bug had a small electrical fire and im considering selling it for 3500 to buy a focus

Ive heard these cars are pretty bad about wheel bearings and some other stuff


Ive been looking at 2000 to 2003 and i know i want a hatch

ill be starting at wyotech in October so i need a car that is reliable and even though i love working on cars its not feasible to work on them now

now ive never road in a focus although my cuz has a svt and i want to no if they are fast ive had a prelude in the past and i want to know if its at least as fast as a b18 or do i need to mod

i cant honestly tell you becuase i have an 05 with a duratec. the 2000 to 2003 came with SPI or a Zetec.(ive heard...steer clear of that SPI motor) but ive heard the Zetecs are pretty peppy. our focuses stock were never really built much for speed, but minor bolt on work wakes them up pretty good. not sure as compared to the b18 tho.

good luck on the search. ive got over 135K on my focus, no major problems. as for wheel bearings, i only replaced mine because i had to replace the steering knuckles and lower contorl arms(wanted C-F-M LCAs) due to the fact that they ceased to the ball joints. new bearings came in the new knuckle. but my old ones worked just fine.

my focus has been great to me, and most people on here will tell you the same thing.

and good luck at wyotec.

^Exactly except for one small point you missed. The 2003 Foci were rarely available with the 2.3 Duratec, if you can find one of those in good condition go for it. The duratec's are great motors.

^Exactly except for one small point you missed. The 2003 Foci were rarely available with the 2.3 Duratec, if you can find one of those in good condition go for it. The duratec's are great motors.

^^This^^

OR

Buy this one:

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=262227

$7000 Canadian.

I like my Focus, the only problem I've had is one of the relays for the A/C died, and now it won't work at the highest fan setting. Of course, that's because I had had the A/C on full blast for 12+ hours a day for 4 days in 100+ degree weather. And besides, replacing a relay isn't that expensive. I think you can access the relays in the fuse box, so if you have a replacement you can swap it out yourself.

what does the engines look like spi vs. z tek or ztec vs. duratek
is there a thread or sticky of what the engines look like

what does the engines look like spi vs. z tek or ztec vs. duratek
is there a thread or sticky of what the engines look like

The SPI will say split port or split port injection on the valve cover. The zetec will say zetec on it. The zetec will have the exhaust manifold or headers in the front, I believe the duratec is exhaust manifold towards the cabin.

IIRC, the SPI is a single-cam engine, while all other Focus engines to date have been DOHC. Pretty easy to tell the difference in the valve covers, even without the labeling!

i understand dohc over sohc ok i deff dont want an spi but the duratec and the ztec are laibled as such

duratec isnt labled, zetec is labled. and the hatches never came with the spi engine , only zetec and duratec.

so i noticed alot of zx3 for 2800 or less in my area are these the sport models or is svt the only sport model and is this a good price for one also is this a good model or one of the pass it for another model

ok wheel bearing how often do they go out

sorry canada is to far away and i dont think itl pass smog here in cali

i live in the desert so has any one else had a a/c issue

ive read a lot on his web site and i hear alot about erratic idling and clutches going out

as any one had a problem getting there stock foci to pass smog

bump for edit