Right as some will know I've just had some work done to the focus rs engine.

I've had new rings fitted as i had a problem with number 4, also had 8 new exhaust valves and head fully stripped checked and re built, had quite a few new shims fitted also.

Now my problem is the car starts on 3 cylinders still but after about 25 seconds it starts to pick up and fire on all 4 but you can still tell its not right,its now number 1 that is missing. I've done a cold comp check last night and number 1 is only 40psi and other 3 are all 160psi.

Any engine builders got any idea please as im Fooking sick now.

 

Sticky valve/follower??? have you checked the compression when its running on all 4.

Steve

 

You need to do a leak down test now, ANYTHING else is pure speculation.

 

No not yet Steve, cheers stu ill try find someone local who can come and do one for me

 

Wise move.
It may simply be a badly seating valve or ring, but at the end of the day, its been built wrong somewheer down the line and in an ideal world needs to be fixed right away.
A leakdown test performed by a professional who understands what he is doing will pinpont it to valves / rings or headgasket, then you can move forward in an educated position to minimise further expense / risk / heartache.

 

Agreed, if tis a valve then it will even tell you which valve (inlet or exhaust) as you'll hear it either from the filter or the exhaust!

 

Bloody hell Dicko you havent had much look with this car.

 

Tell me about it glenn im proper sick now tbh. If the problem was still with number 4 cylinder i could understand as that's where my previous problem was

 

were the new valves matched to the valve guides ?

 

I presume so mate, i don't think im unlucky enough to get someone that bad that would fit valves that didn't fit the guides lol

head was done by amac engineering in northallerton

 

its not done by every 1 i had mine all matched to the guides and had to ask at same place amac for this to be done

 

are you sure it the engine ? have tried a different set of plugs and leads?

 

With only 40psi on No 1 Gary it does point to the engine I would say mate.

 

that will teach me to read the post lol only scanned it lol and saw a miss fire.

 

lol

 

Lee, you have the worst luck with cars mate starting to really feel for you!

Leackage test is definately the way forward, note that you will need a compressor for this test and as Stu sais, somebody that knows what their doing and what to check for when doing so.

Or, we could just do a swap and you can come and pick up my S1 and i'll take the focus off your hands

 

As stu says leak down test.!... Then simply let the dog see the rabbit....straight I the point.

 

Its booked in on Monday for a leakage test so time will tell.

David you still not Fooking sold that s1 lol

 

broken ring, bent valve or no clearance probably. hard to say without seeing it. why were the valves replaced? what were clearances set to? were the seats machined when the other work was done? did someone mangle one valve into another when timing up? could be one of many things

 

Im going to double check shim clearance, as that's all i can really check my self at the moment. Then hopefully leak test done Monday will give me better idea

 

I was going to say its worth checking the tappet clearances, just incase a valve is being held open a bit. Fingers crossed

 

Let's hope its an easy fix cos I miss driving it grrrr

Sarah

 

wat clearances are you using mate, cos i always go slighty more than book figs on the exhaust side.

 

well ive just had the rocker cover off and checked all the shim clearances, and with the first 2 loabs pointing up on the inlet cam i cant get a single feeler gauge in????

so is this likely to be my problem?

this is the the gauge size

 

If there's no valve clearance, the valve may not be fully closed, causing low compression.

Do you know what clearance you should have?

 

if you cant get that in, you basically have no clearance

clearances should be roughly .008 inlet and .012 exhaust on a regular blacktop. not sure if the RS is different but they would be bigger if anything. .0015 is not anywhere near enough

 

think there supposed to be 10 thou inlet and 12 thou exhaust

 

mate, you seriously seem to have no fucking idea when it comes to mechanics so im very surprised that you bought that car in the first place, especially as you have had soo many issues with it.

my advice would be to stop pissing money up the wall and break it, get as much out of its as you can. then buy something unmodified and reliable

just my tuppence worth

 

And why dont i have any idea? did i do the engine? did i do the head and did i do the shims? ERM no i fucking didnt, i removed the engine and re fitted it and got it running but that must be a miricle as im clueless eh?

Think you will find the only bits that dont actually work properly at the moment is what ive paid experts/tuners to do, so in your opinion do none of them have a fucking idea when doing there job.

 

are you trying to push them in square? as i would use a cranked gauge as it can give you a incorrect reading going in pissed, but that is not right,

 

That 15 thou feeler won't go in, do you have any smaller? as above 10 in/12ex is about where you want to be, within one thou either way is acceptable.

 

Thats a bit harsh don't you think? And a Focus RS / zetec turbo are pretty reliable, in fact hardly any go wrong, they are pretty bullet proof really.

 

from the man who builds more zetec heads than henry ford himself, inlet 18 to 24 exhuast 25 to 33,

 

wasnt ment as a dig, but every week there is a post about some reasonably simple things that a little research could answer.

i would only buy car in a high state of tune if i was capable of looking after it myself, or have the cash to pay someone else to look after it properly.

the car hasnt ran right since dicko bought it

 

thats a 1 1/2 thou feeler (.0015)

 

should point out thats metric... well i hope it is

in imperial, thats .006-.010 inlet, .010-.013 exhaust *ish*

 

wow........... thats harsh even from me when im pissed!

Dicko, i know you`ve had loads of problems but seems more bad luck IMO and again, other peoples work fucking up

 

thanks that man, this is what ians has all ways told us to set them at, we go on the big size for exspansion, so its a little noisey when cold.

 

Yep, I got confused after reading J1mbo's post

Can't see specific RS clearances but Ford state

For black top Zetec..

Confusing mixing metric and imperial

 

tell me about it

half of our machines are made in europe, the other half are american, so i'm well used to it by now

easiest way to remember it is that (a rough guide) 1mm = 40 thou, so 0.1mm = 4 thou