ford focus?

[swynx]

so i went and test drove a 2000 ford focus, with 152k miles. auto. nice car, but at idle it had like a knock? im kind of leary of it.. but idk if this is a common thing? it drove fine tho, didnt shift hard. i couldnt hear the knock but my girlfriend could hear it at 65 mph...

in general are these good commuter cars? im trying to replace my saturn, and almost match gas mileage, but i dont want a junker.

another car lot has another 2000 ford focus 2 door auto. not sure how many miles.

 

[adsm08]

The early Focus is a really good car. They were pretty reliable and the power trains had been used for a long time. If it has engine noise I'd be careful though. If it has a 2.0 SPI I'd be wary. If it has a 2.0 SPI and engine noise I'd run. The SPI engine was known for bottom end issues and a used one can run from $4,000 to $6,000.

In 6 years I have only seen one Focus that needed a transmission (looked like it hadn't been taken care of and was toasted) and three that needed engines. The first was an engine that wouldn't be in a 2000, I think they down shifted into 2nd gear at highway speed and over-revved it. The second the guy double gasketed his oil filter and locked the engine up after running it dry. The last one had a SPI that had been abused for over 200K miles.

 

[swynx]

im pretty sure it was an 1.9l? and is 2000 considerd an early year? i dont know any thing about these cars... some body want to school me?

 

[adsm08]

It wasn't a 1.9. The Focus engines, through the first few iterations, were 2.0 Split Port Injection (SPI) and the 2.0 and 2.3 Ztech/duratec (basically the same thing) 4-cylinders.

2000 was the first model year the Focus was sold in the US, with sales starting 2nd half of CY 1999.

 

[swynx]

ahh, yeah, i remember seeing some funky leters (spfi) and i kept remembering mpfi but knew that wasnt it.

im trying to decide if i want to get a focus or another saturn

 

[kunar]

If it has a 2.0 SPI I'd be wary. If it has a 2.0 SPI and engine noise I'd run.

if it has an spi engine, weather it sounds good or not, i'd run! the zetec engine was a good engine though.

The SPI engine was known for bottom end issues

ive never heard of the bottom end issues but i have heard of many that lose a valve seat. what bottom end problems were common?

 

[adsm08]

ive never heard of the bottom end issues but i have heard of many that lose a valve seat. what bottom end problems were common?

Same as the 4.2L, they just come apart.

 

[swynx]

that makes me feel great about buying a focus...

 

[JohnnyO]

My company car (I own the company) is a 2004 Focus wagon. All kinds of people drive it all over the place and it has asked for nothing more than normal maintenance and fluid changes. It is basically an anvil.

I bought it used in 2007 with 36k on it, it has about 110k on it now. Replaced the rear shocks twice and at 100k a new serpentine belt and tensioner pulley that was kinda pricey. That's all. 2.0 Zetec automatic. Goes like stink. I had cruise control added on because I was afraid of getting tickets.

 

[pontiacfieroguy]

had a 2002 sedan with 2.0spi and auto. got it with 75k and ran terrific until the trans started slipping at 105k. usually got 35mpg city and 42 hwy but I have a light foot

 

[trail B2]

I had a 01 zetec 5 speed two door really liked it.The waitress I sold it to still drives it.I put shorter springs in it and it handled great.One thing to check is insurance rates I was surprised how high it was.

 

[Little_blue_B2]

I have a 2001 Focus with the 2.0 spi engine and the 5 speed manual transmission. I loved having the car as my daily driver. It got great mileage and my four door model had plenty of room to haul people and gear... I say "loved" because mine too started to have a slight tick at idle, but with 210,Xxx miles on the clock it wasn't that concerning. I now have a yard ornament because I've lost compression in my #4 cylinder...I haven't dug into it yet so I'm not sure if its head work or a whole rebuild in my future but moral of the story is be very careful with these engines. Again I really loved driving the car and it did everything I could ask of it and more but bad heads do seem to be an issue with these cars.

On a side note anybody want another project vehicle to work on?

 

[adsm08]

that makes me feel great about buying a focus...

Hey, they are great cars, it's just the one engine that had issues. After the SPI the two biggest issues I have ever seen on a Focus, the 2nd gen American version chops tires if you don't get them rotated and aligned regularly (which you should be doing anyway) and the parking brake cables rub on their eyelets and make this annoying little squeak until you cut the eyelets off the car.


Stay away from the SPI engine and you will be fine. The SPI is easy to ID. It has a fully aluminum valve cover that says "SPLIT PORT INJECTION" on the top. The good engines have plastic valve covers that may or may not (due to age, dirt, and fading) say "Ztech"