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Ford Focus - 1.8 duratec- gearbox issues - differential pin - eustace

Hi,

Firstly, Happy new year all..

I was looking into buying a Ford Focus Mk2 1.8, when I came accross the below review on the whatcar website.

h*********************/car-reviews/used/ford/focus-hatchback/readers-reviews/25391-5?editionId=451

Copying the review below, if the above link does not work,

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My car

Not bad to drive in terms of handling and it has a roomy boot.

However, this model also has a fundamental flaw - the gearbox has a weak or badly designed differential pin and, apparently, it's question of when rather than if it'll fail. This is something I found out to my cost 2 months after buying a secondhand example with 44k miles on the clock and in otherwise immaculate condition. While driving home one day, it suddenly refused to go into gear and, after pulling over to the side of the road, I could see oil pouring all over the place.

The diff pin had gone and taken with it both gearbox and clutch. I had it towed to a nearby garage and was later quoted about £2.5k to fix with new hardware. Trying to source a secondhand gearbox was very hard - the first few scrap dealers I called simply wouldn't sell a gearbox for the 1.8 petrol manual because it seems as though they knew it had this inherent fault. I eventually sourced one and had it fitted for a total bill of just under £2k.

I'd done my research before buying the car and nowhere had I seen mention of this fault, but it seems the parts dealers were all too aware and I heard many negative comments about the quality of Ford cars. Needless to say I won't be buying a Ford again - it's a shame because I liked the design of the car but driving this one feels like a ticking timebomb waiting to fail. From what I heard, the weak diff pin only applies to the Mk2 1.8 petrol manual - not sure if it applies to other models.

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I have not been able to find any other references to this problem on the Internet, though the reviewer above states that it is a common problem for this model.

Jut wanted to check whether any one on the Back Room is aware or has come accross this problem.

Ford Focus - 1.8 duratec- gearbox issues - differential pin - eustace

Bump!

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding this? Does the above problem sound like a design issue, or does it sound like an unfortunate one-off issue that can happen to any mechanical device?

Would appreciate any thoughts on this, as I was seriously considering buying a Focus 1.8

Ford Focus - 1.8 duratec- gearbox issues - differential pin - Avant

Have a look at the relevant model of Focus on the car-by-car reviews section of this site. I had a quick look but couldn't see anything. If you want to ask Honest John himself, E-mail letters@honestjohn.co.uk.

Ford Focus - 1.8 duratec- gearbox issues - differential pin - carl233

Not heard of this issue, does the 1.8 engine not have the proven IB5 gearbox as fitted to countless Fiesta\Focus types over the years? I think the 2.0 has the MTX75 gearbox it was the case on the Focus MK1.

Would interested to here more on this issue

Ford Focus - 1.8 duratec- gearbox issues - differential pin - Bolt

Not heard of this issue, does the 1.8 engine not have the proven IB5 gearbox as fitted to countless Fiesta\Focus types over the years? I think the 2.0 has the MTX75 gearbox it was the case on the Focus MK1.

Would interested to here more on this issue

http://www.helicalgearboxes.com/ford-focus-gearbox/

Ford Focus - 1.8 duratec- gearbox issues - differential pin - Semajttam

Hi there,

I have just left my MK1 Focus 1.8 TDDI on the Isle of Wight after the diff pin went in that. Looking back through the service history this is the first time it's needed a new clutch and gearbox, the latter which I have had to source second hand from a scrap dealer. Expecting the final bill to be in the region of £400-£500 all in. What I should've realised far too late is that rarely the car was jerking to the left, mechanic tells me that that is a telltale sign of the diff pin on its way out and a trip to the garage is very much in order.

For 193000 on the clock if that's the worst I can expect from my otherwise excellent focus I'm happy!!

Cheeeeerrrrrrs