Minnesota Focus Owners Club

After spending most of the evening trying to find out some of my car's problems I could not fix one of them.

I have been hearing a little leak from the short header I installed so I made sure the bolts were all tightened correct.
After that I took it for a test drive same noise at different rpm's. I thought maybe it is the throttle body. After looking at it I found nothing that looked wrong. Next I tried to figure out why the idle was acting up. I did the basic checks on hoses, sensors, etc...yet found nothing I could see as a problem. After all of this my brakes don't stop as quick..luckly this is not related to what I did. Although the car now has a check engine light. One extra note I used seafoam through the throttle body to flush the engine in case that was the problem. Which it seemed not to be. The check engine light didn't come on after the seafoam it came on after checking the wires and such.

Did I kill a O2 sensor? Does anyone is the area have a OB2 reader I could use to check it out?
I am desperate and tired.

Randy Rydeen

Go to a checker, they pull codes for free.

Yea I know how days like those go

Your short ram may make a whistling sound, that's the way they sound, my old Ractive sounded like a BOV. So that may not actually be a problem.

Brakes and vacuuum are directly related. your brake system is connected directly to your intake manifold via a tube, check the brake side to make sure you have a proper seal as well. This could casue the idle issues and such as well.

Good luck!

Update: After going to checkers the OB2 reader came up with a P0403 code. The print out showed an EGR problem.
So I went out to Steve at Tousley and had him take a peak under the engine. It seems the problem was here: Fully loosen the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve to exhaust manifold tube nut from the bottom of the EGR valve. That nut was the problem it was not tightened at all.
Problem solved the check engine light is gone and so is the whistle. Thanks Steve for your help. The idle seems a tad better.
Only one noise is left and still unknown.

Randy Rydeen

Well that's good! Yea an exhaust leak sure would make a whistle...

starconvoy2 wrote: Update: After going to checkers the OB2 reader came up with a P0403 code. The print out showed an EGR problem.
So I went out to Steve at Tousley and had him take a peak under the engine. It seems the problem was here: Fully loosen the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve to exhaust manifold tube nut from the bottom of the EGR valve. That nut was the problem it was not tightened at all.
Problem solved the check engine light is gone and so is the whistle. Thanks Steve for your help. The idle seems a tad better.
Only one noise is left and still unknown.

Randy Rydeen

You are welcome, feel free to swing by and we can see about the other noise. All I could hear was the EGR fitting when you were here.

Alright Steve I will do. I have also decided I am going to buy the SVT Header Kit, Cat and Flex in stages.
I will make sure to tell you in advance when I am going to order a part.

Randy Rydeen

FYI, your exhaust bolts do not need to be tightened to more then about 16-20 foot pounds, this means snug, no more.

I HIGHLY recommend when people install exhaust goodies, just snug the fasteners down. Drive it for a day or 2, and snug it down again. Should not leak.

As for the seafoam down the intake, NO!! You pull your brake booster line(have someone in the car, as the car will not want to run), put a small funnel in the hose, put your finger in it, have your friend start the car, and SLOWLY dump in 1/3-1/2 a can, and after its in, kill it. Let it soak for at least 20 min. Hello james bond smoke screen. I remember when I did my truck, James bond smoke screen for 3 FULL blocks

As for engine codes...
http://forums.focaljet.com/team-tech/42 ... =focus+DTC
http://www.focushacks.com/index.php?modid=37

I used my handheld tuner to pull codes, so, I can not commet on their methods.