More modern JUNK. Thanks Ford, for building 'em ... "tough"

Well I've finally got the head off that '00 Ford Focus (what is it about the model year '00 that is a bad omen for me??? ) .... and the prognosis is VERY bad.

Turns out, Ford has engineered another wonder, almost on par ........ actually .... right on par with the now infamous JIMMY!

It has a 2.0 SOHC engine, which, at anywhere between 80,000 miles & (if your lucky)130,000 miles, likes to spit valve seats out into the combustion chamber. Boy what a fantastic design that is!

SO the seat came out, which was then compressed by the piston probably 800x in a few seconds. Piston gave up the ghost, & it's remains descended into the oil pan. Connecting rod bent at the wrist pin as well.

Finally some luck though - NOT A SCRATCH on the cylinder walls! AMAZING!! I should have this running again in a few weeks if the weather is good. This is another outdoor project.

Have a look at the carnage!

Uh Oh!!!
I have a 2003 Focus, but it has the dual OHC engine...and only 20,000 miles on the clock!

Ford quality absolutely scares me. My daughter has friends who's Ford Fusion had the rear door hinges decay and collapse on both sides, and their rear doors are being held closed by ropes. I'm not sure what year it is, but the model only goes back to 2006.

Wow that's insane! Every year it seems things that used to last forever are now becoming "just until warranty expires" items. The Jimmy had some exceptionally shitty door hinges. They didn't rot out, but WORE out to almost nothing in a VERY short time. The door would drop 3" every time I opened it.

Wood'nCoal wrote:Uh Oh!!!
I have a 2003 Focus, but it has the dual OHC engine...and only 20,000 miles on the clock!

Well your safe. I've heard that cylinder head makes it to 300k. I guess Ford picks and chooses their winners ....

I was talking to a guy in a store parking lot last Sunday, his 1999 F-250 had 445,000 miles on it, the Powerstroke had never been apart. I didn't believe him, so I looked at the odometer to be sure. Go figure.

205k on my 1997 F-150 and *knock wood* the original clutch is still in it.

Had a little issue with an intake gasket about 100k ago, but so far so good.

And 180k on a 2001 Windstar.

A few niggling problems but still going strong.

I was talking to a guy in a store parking lot last Sunday, his 1999 F-250 had 445,000 miles on it, the Powerstroke had never been apart. I didn't believe him, so I looked at the odometer to be sure. Go figure.

I have a 2000 F350 7.3 dually and it's the last great Ford truck. Just as well I can't afford to buy a new one.

2001 Ford ranger 2wd 110,000k drive everyday.
2003 Ford Mustang GT 50,000k, wife drives everyday.
2007 Ford Focus 50,000k wife drives in winter.
2010 Ford Escape 40,000k i drive on weekends and in winter.
All 5 speeds, no major problems on any. They burn no oil between changes. Yes those older Focus do drop valves, Zetec engine, 2005 and up have the Duratec engine. Better? who knows. You have to read up before buying any used Fords. 5.4 in the f250, spits out plugs in early models, spark plugs break off in newer models. Ford 500 cvt transmission, stay away. Fusions are made in Mexico, buy at your own risk. You have to get rid of them at just the right time,when they still have book value and before they need major repairs. Progressive insurance on all too!

lsayre wrote:Ford quality absolutely scares me. My daughter has friends who's Ford Fusion had the rear door hinges decay and collapse on both sides, and their rear doors are being held closed by ropes. I'm not sure what year it is, but the model only goes back to 2006.

You have to oil everything that moves, key ignition, all door hinges. Clean the battery terminals no matter how nice and clean they look. Add some extra grounds from the negative battery terminal. Put some screen in front of the radiator and a/c to stop rocks. Change the oil yourself and look the car over. Change the fuel filter and you won't need to have the tank dropped to put in a new fuel pump. People don't want to grease tie-rods or u-joints. They put gas in, never open the hood, never crawl under, then they complain when their disposable car has to be junked.
I can't help it but i will defend Fords for as long as i drive them. 20 more years i am hoping. When i see new GM's with burned out light bulbs and water sloshing around in the tailights, i laugh.

AAAAhhhhhhh Smitty you have all the fun. I've been getting facefulls of rotten wood and paint chips for the last two weeks.

Some dishonest bastard sold me a Subaru wagon once, with the opposed pancake motor. I heard they run forever as long as the cooling system is up to par. They tended to split heads between the valves. I had a hell of a time finding heads for it! The bare head new was $350 15 years ago. I finally got a rebuilt, and it had heli-arc repair on the head. I sold the car as soon as I got it running.


My old 85 Ranger went 165k before I had the engine rebuilt. Busy shop, I remember seeing a huge pile of used rods six feet high in a corner at that place. That was an honest shop. That little 2.3 fourbanger always rattled a little on the valve train on startup. After the rebuild, they must have taken care of that, it never rattled again. I sold that truck to a kid who blew the trans within a week

mozz wrote:They put gas in, never open the hood, never crawl under, then they complain when their disposable car has to be junked.

No Mozz, those are the people whose cars last forever hahahahahah

Thanks, you guys just reminded me of all the maintenance I've been neglecting....

I stand corrected. My daughter told me the Ford with the collapsing rear door hinges is an Escort. Not a Fusion. Escorts were made from 1997 to 2003. That explains a lot about why its falling apart at the present time.

They always had trouble with door hinges, in most of the old cars the holes on the striker plate were slotted so you could lower it to meet the door for awhile. That may be why they didn't cry too much when they went almost exclusively to four doors. An old 50s Buick door probably had as much steel as most of the modern cars, they were heavy as heck, two man job for those bad boys.

mozz wrote:.... When i see new GM's with burned out light bulbs and water sloshing around in the tailights, i laugh.

Not to defend any new GM vehicle ... but that happens to Fords too.

Grand Marquis headlight .. and in the background you'll see my buddy's rotted out 8 year old (at the time) Eddie Bauer Edition Expedition that I had just spent 4 hours on trying to remove the A/C compressor. :

The latest update on this turd:

I ordered a new con-rod, piston, rings, & wrist pin off eBay. Whole deal shipped just under $100, but the catch is, you have to assemble it. Done that a million times so I figure a slam-dunk ....... er, NOT! This stupid-assed thing has no circlips - so what holds the pin in position is an interference fit into the small end of the con-rod. Well, I've got a 20 ton press - piece of cake ... right? NOT!!! Destroyed the new piston ... so now more money to spend. Got another piston, wrist pin & rings for $53 shipped. So I figure the Ford dealership would assemble that no problem ... right??? NOT!!!!!!

Get this one: The Ford DEALERSHIP does NOT have the proper tools to perform this procedure!! When the service writer told me that, before I could even think I blurted out ... Are you f'ing serious???? For Christ sake - shouldn't the damn dealership be able to do whatever it takes to repair the damn vehicles they sell??? What the hell kind of operation they running over there???


These new pistons have absolutely no place to support themselves while doing any press work. You've been warned ...

The conspiracy theorist in me says this is on purpose, so you give up and either: A. Buy a new vehicle ... or B. bring it to them for $140/hour and get hosed for 8x the vehicle's value for a new engine.

Ended up finding a machine shop that was fairly close by. Ended up a blessing in disguise, because I now have a local place to do all my motorcycle cylinder boring & head work.

Hopefully this turd will be making CO before the snow flies ......