"Douglas Payne" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:
Focus 1.8 Ghia Estate. 2000. Tad over 100k miles. Last night, it suddenly
started making a nasty noise from the engine, so bad that even my
daughter commented on it, and it's got to be noticeable for her to hear
anything wrong with a car engine ...

When it's idling, it sounds like a diesel. That's honestly the best way I
can describe it. As the revs build, it becomes more of a growl, until at
2k, it smooths out like a switch has been thrown. I've had a listen this
morning with the bonnet up, and it sounds as though its coming from
around the front side of the engine, and doesn't sound as though it's
anything to do with the exahaust system. My tame mechanic friend, who
hasn't actually heard it yet, suggests a leaking injector seat can cause
this sort of problem, allowing excess fuel into a cylinder at low revs,
causing random detonations. This sounds a bit fanciful to me. Anyone got
similar experiences to share ? Anything common on this engine ?

Thing is, it sounds worryingly like my little Fester did, when it knocked
an end out, and which ultimately led to my scrapping the car, although
that may have been slightly different in that the worst of the noise was
when you were on a light throttle at any revs, whereas this definitely
seems to go away as you pass 2k revs.

Any thoughts from the (far better qualified than me) 'usual suspects',
much appreciated.

I am not a ford expert, but IIRC there's an issue with some ford engines
as fitted to Mondeos and Focuses where a valve or 2 will stick if you
don't use exactly the right spec of oil.

Cheaper than an injector seat, worth a try?

--
Douglas

Oil is the correct spec, although possibly due for a change. Thoughts noted
though, and thanks for them ...

Arfa