Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl

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Wed 19 Apr 2006 16:49
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - mike100
My wife has a Ford Focus mk II, 1600 engine. A recurrent problem is water getting into the spark plug "valley" and then when the engine has warmed up, causes one of the spark plugs to become non-operational (as opposed to mis-firing - 'cos it doesn't fire at all.)

The rubber seals around the top of the spark plug connectors would appear designed to keep water out - trouble is if water gets in, the seals prevent water/vapour from escaping. Twice I've removed this water - usually several millimetres deep - dried out the area and squirted WD40 around and inside the spark plug connectors but this solution is only temporary - until the next heavy rain. (My guess is that it is rain water getting in since there is no evidence of coolant or washer additives present.)

The local main dealers have proved useless - they couldn't even diagnose the problem which prompted me to start looking. When the water in the valley was pointed out to them, the response was (you're gonna love this) "......park the car in the garage when it rains................."

This is a lease car provided by my wife's employer so am somewhat limited by what can be done, since the supplying main dealer has to rectify any problems. (Fat chance!) Hence drilling a hole to drain the water would probably be frowned on.

So my query - has anyone else encountered this problem, and if so, do they know what the solution is? I can at least then tell dealer what to do to rectify the problem.

(Sorry about being a bit long-winded.)
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Wed 19 Apr 2006 17:42
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - Screwloose
Mike

Not sure if the Mk II has been modified; but earlier-model Zetecs had two 20mm threaded plugs fitted between 1-2 and 3-4 spark-plugs that often used to leak and fill the valley.

Main dealer service varies widely. Maybe trying a different one would bring better results. If not; try complaining to Ford's Customer Services.
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Wed 19 Apr 2006 18:30
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - mike100
Thanks for the suggestion re. the 20mm threaded plugs. I'll have a look this evening to see if they are present and whether they give any clue.

Unfortunately trying another dealer is not an option - we live in a rural area and the nearest alternative dealer is over 50 miles away. Believe me, if we could, we would. The local dealer seems to be well away of their local monopoly as well as the huge, apparently bullet-proof contract they have for supplying lease vehicles to my wife's employer. The employer, sadly, is immune to the complaints of their staff over the dealers shoddy service.
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Wed 19 Apr 2006 20:43
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - Dave N
They do fill up with rain water, I've seen it where they prepare the ford direct cars. I'm sure there was a mod to stop it happening, but it was a while ago (and I'm not getting any younger!)

I'm at a Ford workshop in the morning, so I'll ask the question.
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Thu 20 Apr 2006 17:48
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - Dave N
I got it wrong, its the fiestas that fill up with rain water. The focus is exactly as screwloose stated. There are 2 threaded core plugs in the head that leak. Coolant needs draining and core plugs removed, cleaned, and loctited back in. That's of they come out in the first place though!!
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Mon 24 Apr 2006 13:31
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - mike100
Thanks for the replies.

An update for anyone else with this problem:

Problem traced to a bad fit around the offside windscreen washer jet. The jets are mounted on the bonnet and the offside jet is directly above the spark plug "valley". Lifting the bonnet and looking through from underneath, daylight was visible. This was pointed out to the main dealer who's solution was - apply some sealant! This has fixed the problem.
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Mon 24 Apr 2006 21:31
Focus Mk II 1600 - water around spark pl - tonyglover9
it took me ages to find it when i had it.make sure you have the rubber seal at the base of the washer jet.
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