Hi all,

Sorry for a first post being a plea for help!

My 3 series is off the road after hitting a pothole and snapping a droplink, so I've been trundling around in my parents 57 plate 1.6 petrol Focus.

Ever since they've owned it, the fuel economy has been quite poor (40mpg at a push - I've managed 39.* mpg (on the gauge) doing 60 miles from Aylesbury to Oxford and back while driving carefully, whereas my old Polo GTI would manage this without much effort at all. . .), but I've noticed the the temp gauge never sits properly upright, it's always about 10-20degrees left of vertical.

I connected the car up to the Torque app on my phone and watched the coolant temp readings - it never made it above 87, but usually sat around 85ish. Given my 330d sits at a higher temp than this, I assume something's not right.

Does anyone know what temp the 1.6 engine should be running at? I have looked, but can't find anything useful.

As an aside - the lowest marking on the temp gauge is 60, but the needle will be upright before the car has even reached 60! Either the gauge is screwed, or the dash calibration is way off! (I know on my BM it ranges from 7* - 10* while staying in the 'normal' position, but for this to read over 60 before it's got there seems a little strange IMO!)

Anyway, cheers for any help.

Joe

 

Thermostat is probably stuck open.

That is if it has one.

 

Cheers - they're our thoughts too, but I was hoping to find what it should be running at to know for sure.

I assume it has one - I know it's a pretty basic car, but I don't think it's that bad!

 

You think 40 MPG is bad, what exactly are you expecting?

That temperature is about right.

Martin

 

40, (well, 39.6 indicated - no idea how accurate the dash is) on a low speed run which is what I've been using it for. Their normal driving seems to return high 20s to low 30s, which doesn't seem great for what it is IMO (some A-roads, some town, nearly all gentle driving). A petrol 330i will achieve that, and has nearly twice the engine capacity and over twice the power. Unless these engines just aren't an economical design?

My much older Polo GTI would better it on MPG while being faster too (and driven more aggressively) - this just seems like the worst of both worlds from my limited experience of the car.

Good to know the 'stat isn't dead though, although it would have been nice if it a replacement would have lead to an MPG increase.

Cheers

 

But it is heavier than your Polo.

Martin

 

This..

 

And this..

 

It is heavier yes, by about 200kg, so a couple of large passengers (although it feels a lot more than that behind the wheel, my 3 feels lighter to drive), but also a more advanced engine (I'd assume, the Polo was a 2000 plate so lots of time for engine development) and the Focus is driven more gently than the Polo.

If that's what it is, then that's fine, it's just a little lower than they expected when buying the car a few years ago, and I thought the 'stat might be a culprit after having noticed odd gauge position and seemingly low running temp.

 

The base engine in that (1600 'sigma') dates back to mk1 Focus/Fiesta 1995 era of design.

Some have been updated with VCT on both cams, and even the latest shape Focus still uses the same basic design.

These usually run with gauge at 12 o clock after a few miles from what I see.

 

Interesting info, thanks. Wow, that's older than I thought. I Assumed the mark 2/ mark 3 Mondeo era would bring along a whole new range of engines (I know nothing of Fords unfortunately). Not sure if this has VCT, I think it's the 115 model, but not sure without checking.

This never reaches 12 on the gauge, hence my trying to ascertain what temp they do run at, as I've got a precise figure to compare with (compared to a digitally controlled/'smoothed' temp gauge).

 

VCT ones will have 2 solenoids on top of the cam cover and 'humps' on the top cam belt cover.

I've never data logged one to see exact temp sorry, but I do know the temp gauge soon runs at 12 o clock after a short drive.

 

My old mk2 focus st and my mk4 Mondeo both sit at just below half way on the gauge. If you watch the digital read out of temperature then it is not accurate, the gauge always gets to it's normal temperature long before the engine is actually there. 87 degrees is bang on normal though.

 

115 is VCT, that is where the extra power comes from.

The MK1 it never goes above the said 12 o'clock when operating correctly.

The engine was new in 1998 in the MK1, so in engine terms it's not exactly old, when you consider the original KA engine dates from the 60's, likewise the proper Mini uses an A-series engine, which was designed in the 50's, as a couple of examples.

Mondeo's are totally different and never had this engine.

I wouldn't say the L6 engine in your 3 is advanced, the S54 M3 engine and all the M engines are, however.

Martin

 

Martin, it's only a variation on the Yamaha designed 1.25/1.4 zetec (Ford code name sigma) first used in Fiesta 1995 model year.

 

Yes, but the 1600 variant was all new in the Focus.

Martin