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ZodiaX69

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23 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
Type of car
  • 2014 Ford Focus S
  • Manual - not plagued by the automatic transmission
  • 82,000 KM
Issue
  • Cold start, idle is pretty rough until the car warms up
  • Once the car warms up, Idle is mildly rough. When you stop the car and the idle regulates you can feel small shudders in the steering wheel and peddles.
  • I find when I give it a small amount of gas when parked can trigger the rough idle if the vehicle is not currently showing symptoms
  • Adding additional load on engine can make symptoms more prevalent (Air Conditioning)
  • Vehicle is not throwing any codes and not showing misfires.
Things I have done
  • Changed spark plugs – no change
  • Changed air filter – no change
  • Cleaned Mass Airflow Sensor – no change
  • Had ERG valve recall performed (recall 18V735000) – no change
  • Checked for vacuum leaks – none found
  • Replaced Throttle Body (mechanic advice) – no change
  • Used crc gdi intake valve cleaner (Ford recommended the intake valved be cleaned as they may have excess carbon build up) ford did not have the machine to do it at their shop. I'm trying to get an appointment for a shop that that the professional equipment. I tried the over the counter stuff in the meantime – No change
  • Ford said they adjusted the motor mount as well which also had no change.
  • Combustion leak tested - OK

Has anyone dealt with this kind of issue on the MK3 focus? What solutions worked for you?

I'm leaning to get the intake valves walnut blasted and see how that goes. Has anyone done this and noticed a significant change?
 
I would recommend replacing the passenger motor mount. It improved idle vibrations going into my cabin big time; I also have 5 speed 2.0L and replaced PMM at 72k miles. It is likely not an issue of the engine running rough, just that the mount is transmitting vibes because it's worn.

Part number is cv6z6038c.
 
As far as the walnut blasting goes, I think this is about the only thing you can do to really clean up the intake and back side of the valves. My Ford dealer had recommended the intake cleaning service but when I looked into it, they were only going to do basically the same thing you get from the CRC GDI cleaner. (The machine just takes the liquid solvent and atomizes it as it introduces it into the throttle body port). I went ahead and did the CRC cleaning myself but I just had the intake off this weekend and it is still pretty nasty in there. I wasn't having any performance issues, however.

I once saw a video of a guy who 3D printed an adapter that you mount to each of your intake ports. It was a snug fit and it had fittings for a vacuum hose that you hook up to hour shop vac and a media blaster gun. He used it to do his own walnut blasting service on his intake and when it was done, everything looked like new. You just need to make sure that all the valves for the port you are servicing are completely closed before you start shooting stuff in there and as a precaution, it's a good idea to tape off all of the other ports. If I had a 3D printer, this is one of the first project's I'd do.

Back to your issue. Can you spray some carb cleaner around your intake ports with the engine running to see if you detect any revving? That would be an indication that you have a leak in one or more of your intake gaskets. This would be a pretty simple fix if that was the case.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
I would recommend replacing the passenger motor mount. It improved idle vibrations going into my cabin big time; I also have 5 speed 2.0L and replaced PMM at 72k miles. It is likely not an issue of the engine running rough, just that the mount is transmitting vibes because it's worn.

Part number is cv6z6038c.
Thank you for the suggestion. I have the part on order and will see if that fixes the issue.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
As far as the walnut blasting goes, I think this is about the only thing you can do to really clean up the intake and back side of the valves. My Ford dealer had recommended the intake cleaning service but when I looked into it, they were only going to do basically the same thing you get from the CRC GDI cleaner. (The machine just takes the liquid solvent and atomizes it as it introduces it into the throttle body port). I went ahead and did the CRC cleaning myself but I just had the intake off this weekend and it is still pretty nasty in there. I wasn't having any performance issues, however.

I once saw a video of a guy who 3D printed an adapter that you mount to each of your intake ports. It was a snug fit and it had fittings for a vacuum hose that you hook up to hour shop vac and a media blaster gun. He used it to do his own walnut blasting service on his intake and when it was done, everything looked like new. You just need to make sure that all the valves for the port you are servicing are completely closed before you start shooting stuff in there and as a precaution, it's a good idea to tape off all of the other ports. If I had a 3D printer, this is one of the first project's I'd do.

Back to your issue. Can you spray some carb cleaner around your intake ports with the engine running to see if you detect any revving? That would be an indication that you have a leak in one or more of your intake gaskets. This would be a pretty simple fix if that was the case.
I'm really tempted to just get the media blasting equipment and do it myself. I have access to a 3d printer so I may end up doing that. A local shop estimated around 400 bucks to get them to do it.

I have checked the intake gasket with the method you mentioned. I did not find any issue :(

Thank you for the suggestions!
 
I'm really tempted to just get the media blasting equipment and do it myself. I have access to a 3d printer so I may end up doing that. A local shop estimated around 400 bucks to get them to do it.

I have checked the intake gasket with the method you mentioned. I did not find any issue :(

Thank you for the suggestions!
If you do successfully 3D print an adapter for this purpose, you should sell them to the folks on this forum. I would definitely be interested in one. Have you found any good videos on this? If not, I can see if I can find the good one I came across.
 
.
Clear your car’s computer memory by disconnecting the battery terminals from battery, then touch negative & positive for one minute. Connect positive terminal.
-
Keep ground off. Follow battery ground wire to Body main & remove that bolt. Clean this ground to body contact of any paint or rust. Apply dielectric bulb grease to body ground & battery wire terminal. Then bolt cable back to body ground.
-
Then reconnect battery terminal ground.
Start car, let idle till it reaches running temp.
-
Take car out for mild drive. NO hard take-off’s, hard braking or spirited driving.
Follow speed limits & try to get a combination of interstate/highway & stop’n’go driving in for at least 20-miles.
Your car will be relearning during all this driving.
So please follow my instructions exactly to get positive results.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
.
Clear your car’s computer memory by disconnecting the battery terminals from battery, then touch negative & positive for one minute. Connect positive terminal.
-
Keep ground off. Follow battery ground wire to Body main & remove that bolt. Clean this ground to body contact of any paint or rust. Apply dielectric bulb grease to body ground & battery wire terminal. Then bolt cable back to body ground.
-
Then reconnect battery terminal ground.
Start car, let idle till it reaches running temp.
-
Take car out for mild drive. NO hard take-off’s, hard braking or spirited driving.
Follow speed limits & try to get a combination of interstate/highway & stop’n’go driving in for at least 20-miles.
Your car will be relearning during all this driving.
So please follow my instructions exactly to get positive results.
Thanks for your suggestion. I have already done this. I had to do a relearn when I swapped the throttle body. I also scraped all the paint off the main grounding point and applied dielectric grease.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
You could try replacing the coils (tho there should be a code) there fairly inexpensive on amazon.
If my engine mount does not solve the problem I will do that next. I'm thinking I can just buy one coil and swap it around to each plug and see if the idle issue persists. Unless two coils are faulty. I would think it would show a misfire if the coil was the problem. Thanks for your suggestion!
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
If you do successfully 3D print an adapter for this purpose, you should sell them to the folks on this forum. I would definitely be interested in one. Have you found any good videos on this? If not, I can see if I can find the good one I came across.
I've looked at a few videos of walnut blasting. One guy had a 3D printed vacuum attachment but it snapped when he began working on it. He just ended up using a flexible tube attached to the vacuum with a hole drilled in it for the media blaster nozzle.

I also found a pretty detailed video on how to remove the intake manifold on the focus.
 
I removed the intake for extra room on my DPS6->MTX75 transmission swap. It can be done in about 15 minutes. My pro tip is to get a small telescoping magnet as that works perfectly for both retrieving removed bolts without dropping them and for inserting them back in the difficult to access holes in the manifold. Once the bolt is in the hole, slide the magnet off sideways to release it. Works great!
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Well I replaced the Passeneger motor mount. It did have signs that it was leaking so I went ahead and changed it. The idle issue persists :( I think in the new few weeks I'm going to remove the intake and see what kind of condition my intake valves are in.
 
I did a full intake cleaning using a method similar to the video posted above. More labor intensive than walnut blasting and it takes more time but also with good results and it takes less equipment. It helps if you can let the solvent soak the valves for hours or even overnight.

I bought a set of drill mountable engine brushes and a blow gun with a 7 inch nozzle from Harbor Freight and these worked well along with Chemtool as the solvent. Once the manifold is off, turn the crank bolt until the valves in the ports you are working on are closed then add solvent to those ports and give it a good, long soak. Then use the nylon brushes in the drill or manually to scrub the port and valves. The brass brushes in the set tend to shed bristles so I stuck with the nylon. After brushing, cover the port with a rag and blow it out with air. A face shield and gloves are a good idea as it tends to spray everywhere even when covered. I also cleaned the intake manifold and replaced the gaskets.

Here are some pics:

Intake port, before and after.
Image
Image

Image


Harbor Freight blow gun

Harbor freight engine brush kit
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
I did a full intake cleaning using a method similar to the video posted above. More labor intensive than walnut blasting and it takes more time but also with good results and it takes less equipment. It helps if you can let the solvent soak the valves for hours or even overnight.

I bought a set of drill mountable engine brushes and a blow gun with a 7 inch nozzle from Harbor Freight and these worked well along with Chemtool as the solvent. Once the manifold is off, turn the crank bolt until the valves in the ports you are working on are closed then add solvent to those ports and give it a good, long soak. Then use the nylon brushes in the drill or manually to scrub the port and valves. The brass brushes in the set tend to shed bristles so I stuck with the nylon. After brushing, cover the port with a rag and blow it out with air. A face shield and gloves are a good idea as it tends to spray everywhere even when covered. I also cleaned the intake manifold and replaced the gaskets.

Here are some pics:

Intake port, before and after.
View attachment 305049 View attachment 305047
View attachment 305048

Harbor Freight blow gun

Harbor freight engine brush kit
Nice! Did you notice any difference in idle or throttle response? How long did this take you?

I'm going to do it but I think I want to get a walnut blaster for ease.
 
Not much noticeable difference in my case but it was running well before I did it. My primary reason for doing it was having seen the carbon build up when I had previously had the manifold off so, it was preventative maintenance.

Having removed the manifold before, it was about a half hour for everything up to and including getting that removed. Plus 10 minutes for the plugs and another 10 to jack the passenger side, remove the wheel and half of the fender well to gain easy access to the crank bolt. Then you're ready to start cleaning. That part is hard to gauge because you soak the ports with the closed valves, wait/scrub/blow out and repeat until it is clean. The longer you can let it soak, the better - even overnight. So most of that time is just waiting. When it's clean, another hour to replace the gaskets and put it all together.

But, paying a shop to do such a thorough and careful cleaning would cost a fortune.

One tip on a bit of a tricky part removing the crankcase vent tube at the bottom of the manifold. You have to squeeze the tabs on the tube (part with the bumps) while pulling at the same time in very limited space and you have to get both hands in there. Use a pair of regular pliars to squeeze the tabs (somewhat gently so you don't crush the plastic tube).

Good luck. Please report back on how it goes.
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
So I finally completed the intake valve cleaning... and my problem still persists. I also replaced the canister purge valve today and that also did not work. I'm stumped and this is driving me insane. :(
 
So I finally completed the intake valve cleaning... and my problem still persists. I also replaced the canister purge valve today and that also did not work. I'm stumped and this is driving me insane. :(
Sorry to hear that. What route did you go with the intake/valve cleaning - media blasting or solvent cleaning?

Do you know if you are getting any misfires at cold idle? Would be interesting to see what the dealer thinks would be the next step given a list of things you have tried to no avail.
 
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