just sold mine and im putting an rs engine in an st170 now

-look out for knocking front suspension struts (worn)

-leaking/ corroded coolant pipe on underside of engine in o/s wheel arch, also leaking/ corroded oil cooler.

-make sure the chargecooler pump is working when the engines running (should be small jet stream in chargecooler tank)

-rattly chargecoolers (youll here a `knock` under acceleration when the chargecooler is moving and hitting the fuse box) cheap to fix though.

-af `cough` at 5k rpm. theres two engine maps from ford, the earlier one (ae) is the better one, af is the later one it has a misfire at 5k. if youre unsure how to find out ask for lami or carl on the focus rs section on the rsoc or a wds machine.

-idling problems, all easily sorted but the frs can have 2 or 3 causes!! either the maf, icv, or the black vac pipes on the back of the inlet manifold so make sure it revs/ pulls smoothly and doesnt stall when you come to a stop.

-thermostat housings leak, so look for signs of dried coolant on the stat housing. sometimes they last 100k sometimes they last 5k, it all depends on who replaces them and how they go about it i suppose.

-worn steering wheel, they all go manky after around 30k and theyre 150 notes!!!

- worn/ sagging seat bases. the earlier cars came with unstitched seats bases and they sag under your arse. the later ones have a stitch right across under you bum and stops the sagging.

-apart from that the usual panel damage and tyres, check front brake pads, discs and clutches are all very expensive on the rs so check theyre all good or start knocking the seller down.

-check the black trim around the front grill, see if its `warped`. they do it from the heat form tuned cars..

-the turbo heat shiled (white ceramic heat shield on the turbo) check this isnt cracked or hanging off (check above and below) the bolts can also come lose from these so again check top and bottom. another 100 if it needs one

the only other bits to look out for come from serious abuse i.e worn turbos from overboosting (on a standard turbo it should be running no more then 22psi (if its chipped with a manifold) at the very very max!! 18-20 is safe (again if chipped), if a seller is claiming over 300bhp on standard turbo+mani then be worried

if its got a venting dumpvalve then take it off, as these cause massive over fueling, poor fuel consumption, loss of power and stalling issues. they have a re circ valve as standard and these can be uprated and sound nearly as loud as a venting one if you go with an induction kit too

the engines sound tappety as standard so dont worry unless its really noisy, and the paint is soft on these cars so expect stonechips on front end and rear arches, dont be suprised if you see fresh paint on them!!

this `phase 1` and `phase 2` you hear is a load of bollocks. ford just changed a couple of bits on the car but didnt do it in any order and just seemed to fit them when they could be arsed. these included the engine start sticker around the start button, the pink throttle grommet on the throttle cable, the stitched bases, covers on the rear seat hinges, a yellow insulation on the bonnet support and a dashboard light dimmer.

oh and the build numbers arnt it order of time the cars where built. once they get to around number 2500 they went tits up.
some of the last cars made are actually numbered around 3250 instead of the 4501 that they sold..

cant think of anything else.. if i do il add it