My wife has a 14 month old Focus which is a great car generally.
However the one thing that annoys me when I drive it is the high point of engagement of the clutch, compared to most other card I drive.
I know the focus (1.6 Zetec) has a hydro clutch, but is it possible to adjust this bite-point at all ?
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The clutch is not adjustable in any way but if you deliberately introduced air into the system, the bite point would be lower. I can't say that I advise this action though.
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Got a similar problem with my X reg Corsa, even had it back to the garage to have the clutch and gas pedals checked out - but no faults can be found.
Im used to it now, but my hubbie drove it for the first time on Sunday and hated it because the bite point is so different to any of the other cars he has driven including his own 9 year old Corsa.
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Roly93,
It's just possible (but not probable) that your car has been fitted (either during original assembly or subsequently) with either (a) a clutch master cylinder having a smaller bore diameter than that specified or (b) a clutch slave cylinder having a larger bore diameter than that specified. Either of these would give the symptom you describe. I don't know whether checking would be a DIY job, though.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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L'escargot,
Please could you further explain the logic behind what you have said about master and slave cylinder sizes? I'm not at all sure about it.
number_cruncher
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L'escargot, Please could you further explain the logic behind what you have said about master and slave cylinder sizes? I'm not at all sure about it. number_cruncher
Different diameter master cylinders will have a different travel for a given displacement of fluid. Similarly, different diameter slave cylinders will require a different displacement of fluid for a given slave cylinder piston travel.
Just to confuse the issue, different Focus variants may possibly have different clutch pedal ratios and different clutch operating lever ratios.
The people best qualified to say are Ford dealers or Ford themselves.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Close L'escargot the other way round. A larger master causes excess movement at the slave so the disengagement is rather rapid thus the high pedal. I suggest the owner goes to a ford garage and tries another Focus and a quite word with the workshop forman may resolve the issue. Regards Peter
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One possibility could be that if the master cylinder piston is not retracting far enough such that the connection between the reservoir and the output is not made, thus, the self adjusting behaviour of the hydraulic clutch actuation is lost.
There may be an adjustable link between pedal and cylinder. The pedal should sit away from the upper pedal stop by a given distance.
number_cruncher
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The V reg Focus 2.0 I drive also has a high bite point for the clutch.
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Thanks for all of your replies on this.
I am intrigued by the large/small diameter master/slave cyl issue. From a pure engineering viewpoint I can see how this would work, but I am surprised that these diffent parts may exist for this model.
For now I think I may check the pedal stop-point as described above.
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Thanks for all of your replies on this. I am intrigued by the large/small diameter master/slave cyl issue. From a pure engineering viewpoint I can see how this would work, but I am surprised that these diffent parts may exist for this model. For now I think I may check the pedal stop-point as described above.
Page 6.1 of my Haynes manual indicates that different variants have different clutches. The 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol models have one clutch, and the 2 litre petrol and 1.8 diesel have another ~ presumably to cope with the higher engine torque. It would not be unreasonable to expect there to be differences in the master and/or slave cylinders. If this is so, then the different versions may well be interchangeable from the point of view of the relevant external dimensions, but not from the point of view of operating characteristics.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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2 litre petrol and 1.8 diesel have another ~ presumably to cope with the higher engine torque.
99 2 litre Focus IIRC has a Mondeo type gearbox so that alone would tend to point to a different clutch arrangement.
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>> 2 litre petrol and 1.8 diesel have >> another ~ presumably to cope with the higher engine torque. 99 2 litre Focus IIRC has a Mondeo type gearbox so that alone would tend to point to a different clutch arrangement.
You are correct, henry k.
Haynes lists the different gearboxes for the two groups of Focus variants.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Close L'escargot the other way round. A larger master causes excess movement at the slave so the disengagement is rather rapid thus the high pedal. I suggest the owner goes to a ford garage and tries another Focus and a quite word with the workshop forman may resolve the issue. Regards Peter
This weeks deliberate mistake. I was just checking that everyone was awake!
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Easily done my friend. Been there, done that. Regards Peter
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A common feature (fault?) I'm afraid, Roly93. My wife's Focus 1.8 Estate is the same. The clutch takes up over the final 20% or so of pedal travel. You get used to it but it is a pretty poor mechanism - especially if it isn't adjustable.
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