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??

 

dodgy fuel filter?

 

Did you prime the filter before fitting and are all the fuel pipes back on in the right way, please don't take offence at that question because I have heard of someone mixing up the fuel lines and refitting the incorrectly and it will cause problems.

 

No offence at all! Sometimes the obvious questions are the best ones! I have double checked the fuel filter connections and it looks ok as far as I can tell. I assumed if you connected the pipes incorrectly, the car wouldn't start at all, or would it??

Dodgy fuel filter is another possibility but I did buy it new from halfords. Can they often be deffective from new? I will have to get a garage to check this for me as I don't have a pump/primer to install my own fuel filter.

An update to the power issue: I took the car in to a garage the other day and they said they couldn't see what was wrong despite sending three of their staff out for a test drive!

Stranger still, I took the car out last night and this morning and it seems to have gained back some of it's power. I don't think it's quite back to how it was before the filter change but it's defninitely better. I'm still just as confused about this! What could the problem be if it's able to fix itself over time??

 

Just a shot in the dark but have a read through this thread and see what you think ?

https://passionford.com/forum/ford-f...i-problem.html

I wouldn't be giving up on the filter just yet but it pays to explore all avenues !

Good luck.

 

Buy a genuine ford fuel filter. I'm sure I've heard something about these pattern parts causing probs on these engines.