2008 Focus LT TDCI - lack of torque

AZ_567 · 03-08-2016, 01:31 PM

Hi guys, it's my first time in these forums and I'm seeking some advice with regards to my 2008 Focus TDCi (6-speed manual).

The car has about 184,000 km on it, serviced on time (last service was at 180,000 km). I've recently got tires replaced, other than that, the next item due for replacement is the drive belt but that's not expected to be due until the next service.

This problem started last night not long before I reached home. I noticed there's an obvious lack of torque past 1500 RPM, normally at 2000 RPM you will easily feel the might of 320 Nm shoving you into your seat but it didn't happen this time. The car still behaved the same lethargic way when I drove it to work this morning. Overtaking needed a lot more throttle than usual.

I was very afraid that it's something wrong with the turbo but I was told that if the turbo's bust, you'd be seeing black smoke coming up from the exhaust (not sure if this is necessarily true). What other faults do you reckon this could have started from? A leak somewhere, or an injector issue?

CatonaPC© · 03-08-2016, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZ_567

I was very afraid that it's something wrong with the turbo but I was told that if the turbo's bust, you'd be seeing black smoke coming up from the exhaust

Unfortunately, to me, this sounds suspiciously like something has gone wrong with the turbo or the wastegate. The latter is either a separate unit or part of the variable rate turbo if that is what your car has. If the waste gate is in the open position, then there won't be any boost. Your only course of action is to have it checked out my a qualified mechanic.

AZ_567 · 04-08-2016, 01:55 PM

I got a colleague of mine at work to rev it up while I looked at the exhaust fumes and can't see anything out of the ordinary.

However, for the rest of the day (since 3 PM yesterday until I last tested it 1 PM today) it was back to behaving normally, the torque seems alright now. I'm still gonna get a qualified mechanic to check this though. I know the engine uses a VGT (variable geometry turbo) so it could be the variable vanes that need fixing, I'm not sure.

kevino · 06-08-2016, 10:12 AM

keep us posted on whats happened. My LT TDCI has done 256000 and still gutsy but feels down a little bit. Be interested to see what you find out.

DBT · 30-09-2016, 10:46 PM

Had similar issue with my LT TDCi recently. Started with black smoke on acceleration, then soon after engine light on and no boost. Engine sluggish and refused to rev over 2k under load.

The ECU had gone into limp mode.

Cant remember the fault code, but it was the one for turbo overboost detected.

After a few days of stressing, I worked out the real problem: MAP sensor was fouled and reading high. Thus the ECU "saw" overboost and cut power. I suspect the smoke was due to overfuelling prior to the "overboost" determination.

Cleaned up the sensor, cleared the fault. All G.