Hi all,
I have a 2004 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI. I put a new fuel filter in yesterday but as soon as I started driving again, I found that it had lost a load of power, especially in the low revs of each gear. e.g. in 4th, it seems to hit a dead spot between 40-50mph and takes forever to speed up. It is even more noticable going uphill as I'm having to change down to 2nd on hills where I used to be able to cruise up in 3rd.

I also changed the oil and air filters last week but I don't think that can be related as I was getting a better performance right until I changed the fuel filter. Any ideas??

p.s. when I started the engine the first time after changing the fuel filter it stalled as there is no primer to get fuel running into the new filter on my car. I got a nearby mechanic to start it with a hand pump. Could this have caused the problem maybe??