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Ford Focus Bumps, Rattles & Squeaks - READ ONLY

14 messages,  Last post on Nov 25, 2011 at 3:43 PM

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Messages Page 2 of 2

#6 of 14 Vibrations and shimmies by kristi_m

Aug 26, 2010 (6:05 am)

Hi all, I have a 2003 Focus w/ 188k miles. New motor at 105k miles.
 
I took it in last week thinking I needed shocks and struts because it would bounce all over the place and sounded like something was getting hung up on another and clanking when I turned. Turned out I had a broken front coil spring. Almost $400 later, that was replaced. When I left it drove much smoother and nicer.
 
But, when I came to a stop and started to go again, it sounded like the front passenger tire was rubbing on something. And when I start it in the morning, it vibrates a bit, and when I put it in reverse, it vibrates badly. Now, when driving, I can feel a shimmie that seems to be coming from the back and it's running ROUGH. It has to run a while, then gets better. But not great. I thought it was going to die on me when I stopped at a light this morning, it was idling rough.
 
I drive 700 miles roundtrip every weekend and don't have much money right now for repairs. I'm trying to milk this poor car for everything I can since I don't want to buy a new one to put so many miles on it. Any help you guys can offer is appreciated.
 
I was wondering if an alignment would help? Replacing the front coil spring, there was no mention on my receipt about an alignment and I'm being told they should have done one and rotated the tires.

#7 of 14 High Speed Shimmy by fuzzy46

Sep 02, 2010 (7:31 am)

I have a 2003, 4D, with about 120K miles, original engine and trans. Sometime ago I noticed a shimmy when turning toward the right, but only at about 60 MPH, nothing at lower speed. I've had it aligned, had a tire replaced because supposedly the belt within the tire had broken loose and was thought to causing some imbalance, had a wheel replaced because of a rim leak, and most recently, a motor mount replaced.
The shimmy is still there and everyone I take it to can't seem to find anything wrong. The one dealer I brought it to said they would charge about $300 to look at it but couldn't guarantee they'd find anything.
Does anyone here have any ideas?
Thanks.

#8 of 14 Re: High Speed Shimmy [fuzzy46] by markus5

Sep 02, 2010 (8:44 am)

Replying to: fuzzy46 (Sep 02, 2010 7:31 am)
The problem concerns somthing going on during the weight shift at high speed. In this case you are turning to the right and therefore unloading the right side of the car. It could be wheel bearings front or back but they usually have a tell tale noise associated with that. If the motor mount did not fix it perhaps there are other motor or transmission mounts that are loose. You did not mention if they checked for a loose strut or linkages in the steering components
Except for high speed wheel balance, ( wheel balance should not be ruled out here as well ), the dynamic aspects (quirks ) of the cars' behavior at speed on the road are difficult to evaluate while the car is sitting still.
I understand your reluctance about committing $300 just to find out, especially with a car this age. I would just take a look at some of the obvious things I mentioned here first.

#9 of 14 engine mounts by xscout1

Nov 27, 2010 (6:40 pm)

The vibration in my daughter's Focus seems to have gotten worse as the car has aged. Has anyone had experience replacing the front engine mounts? It does not seem to be too bad of a job from what I have read. Going over rises in the road seems to stop the vibrations when there is less load on the front suspension.

#10 of 14 focus by youngbloke1

Dec 04, 2010 (11:24 am)

have an 01 focus with 85k miles.
 
had all kinds of vibration issues at speed and brake pulse issues.
 
went to a mechanic and he rebalanced the front 2 tires. vibration reduced but can still feel vibrations at the pants so asked him to balance the 2 rears as well. (even though the mechanic said it was unlikely to cause that). After rebalancing the vibrations are pretty much gone and brake pulse miraculously improved!
 
i think what it is is that the focus has a pretty tight steering system (little wiggle room), and very wide tires for the car. So any imperfection on the wheel can be easily felt. find a trustworthy mechanic and try rebalance the tires.

#11 of 14 Re: High Speed Shimmy [fuzzy46] by srl3

Apr 14, 2011 (10:00 am)

Replying to: fuzzy46 (Sep 02, 2010 7:31 am)
Fuzzy,
 
Did you find a solution to the shimmy while turning right at higher speeds? My daughter's Focus ZX5 does the same thing, and my mechanic can't find a problem.

#12 of 14 Re: High Speed Shimmy [srl3] by fuzzy46

Apr 21, 2011 (9:21 am)

Replying to: srl3 (Apr 14, 2011 10:00 am)
My daughter had one motor mount changed and she thought it made some improvement. I bought a new set of tires at WalMart, had them balanced, and that made the biggest improvement, she said (I haven't driven it). Although its apparenlty a lot better, it still isn't completely "right".
 
Let me know if you find the/an answer.

#13 of 14 Passenger Door Rattle by needadvice8

Oct 27, 2011 (10:55 am)

Something in/around my passenger door constantly rattles if my rpm is sittin tight at around 3rpm.. But when i shift up and it goes back down to w/e. 2rpm the rattle in the door stops.. Was wondering if anyone else had this happen..Also, would warranty cover such things? Dont think so myself. Thank-You!!

#14 of 14 Vibration gone by xscout1

Nov 25, 2011 (3:43 pm)

Replaced the top right engine mount on my daughter's 2001 Focus ZX3. All vibration is now gone. Would not have thought one engine mount could make such a difference!

Messages Page 2 of 2

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