Car trouble

[SteveLaura 0]

I have a 2000 Ford Focus SE station wagon. (I know - pretty cool... ) The engine light came on at the weekend. Took it to a garage to have it checked out, and they say that it's a seal on one of the pistons. They don't do work like that and recommended another place to take it to. Phoned them up, they say they just replace engines, and were surprised to learn that the car would have this problem with only 47,000 miles on the clock. They're offering to replace my engine for $1500.

So, do I try to find someplace that will take my engine apart and fix this seal (which I'm learning seems to be a tricky procedure and may be equally costly), get the engine replaced or get a 2nd opinion? I'm reluctant to pay $1500 if the first place has misdiagnosed this engine light, now the 2nd garage has put a doubt in my mind.

If you need more info, please ask simple questions; I know little about cars. 4 wheels, steering wheel, runs on petrol. That's about it.

Cheers.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Trade it in for a Civic (Accord) or Corolla (Camry).

[homesick_american 1]

F.O.R.D. = Fix Or Repair Daily

My recommendation: buy Japanese next time.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

F.O.R.D. = Fix Or Repair Daily

That's the most polite one.

• Found On Road Dead
  
• F*****d Old Rebuilt Dodge
  

My recommendation: buy Japanese next time.

Maybe a more current one would have been a dup of mine (trade in for Japanese)?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I get a second opinion.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Weird that it happened when you only have 47,500 miles on it. My Honda have like 90k on it, and no engine check ever occur. I bought it when it had 10 miles on it.

[homesick_american 1]

That's the most polite one.

• Found On Road Dead
  
• F*****d Old Rebuilt Dodge
  

Bwahahahahahaha

Maybe a more current one would have been a dup of mine (trade in for Japanese)?

There were no responses when I started typing mine; I guess you're a faster typist.

[Heracles 417]

I have a 2000 Ford Focus SE station wagon. (I know - pretty cool... ) The engine light came on at the weekend. Took it to a garage to have it checked out, and they say that it's a seal on one of the pistons. They don't do work like that and recommended another place to take it to. Phoned them up, they say they just replace engines, and were surprised to learn that the car would have this problem with only 47,000 miles on the clock. They're offering to replace my engine for $1500.

So, do I try to find someplace that will take my engine apart and fix this seal (which I'm learning seems to be a tricky procedure and may be equally costly), get the engine replaced or get a 2nd opinion? I'm reluctant to pay $1500 if the first place has misdiagnosed this engine light, now the 2nd garage has put a doubt in my mind.

If you need more info, please ask simple questions; I know little about cars. 4 wheels, steering wheel, runs on petrol. That's about it.

Cheers.

Seal on the piston hey.. I wonder how they came to that conclusion. The check engine light usually indicates an emission problem. Nothing to do with pistons.

I would take it to a local ford dealership and see what they say. Probably best not to mention the first mechanic's opinion to them so you get an honest opinion.

[SteveLaura 0]

Of all the people that work in my organisation, there's only two of us who bought a Ford - me and my Northern Irish boss.

Does anyone know if fixing a seal in a piston is as difficult and expensive as the garage has led me to believe?

Cheers for the advice, BTW, Infidel.

Edited April 19, 2007 by SteveLaura

[Jasman0717 9]

I would get a second opinion from a Ford dealer. It suspiciously sounds like the old muffler bearing problem

[Dr_LHA 3]

Seal on the piston hey.. I wonder how they came to that conclusion. The check engine light usually indicates an emission problem. Nothing to do with pistons.

A broken seal on a piston can cause emissions issues, mainly oil burning. Does the car smoke when its cold, i.e. when you first start it up?

[SteveLaura 0]

Also, the battery froze completely one weekend a couple of months ago. I managed to take it out, thaw it over night and replace it the next morning, but it would stall the first time I needed to stop whenever it was cold, regardless of how long it had been idling beforehand. I finally bought a new battery last week. Don't know if that has anything to do with it, or just a coincidence that the light shows a day later...

Edited April 19, 2007 by SteveLaura

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Weird that it happened when you only have 47,500 miles on it. My Honda have like 90k on it, and no engine check ever occur. I bought it when it had 10 miles on it.

Therein lies the answer; Hondas and Toyotas are remarkably abuse-tolerant, while Ford (in US) still hasn't figured out how to build a 4-banger correctly.

[SteveLaura 0]

Seal on the piston hey.. I wonder how they came to that conclusion. The check engine light usually indicates an emission problem. Nothing to do with pistons.

A broken seal on a piston can cause emissions issues, mainly oil burning. Does the car smoke when its cold, i.e. when you first start it up?

No smoke, just the stalling problem sometimes.

[Dr_LHA 3]

No smoke, just the stalling problem sometimes.

Hmm... yeah, OK. Doesn't sound like a piston seal, but then again I've no experience with Ford engines. However usually broken piston seals mean that you're going to see symptons of oil burning: blue/black smoke out of the exhaust, a funny burnt smell etc.

Do you know if the mechanic who looked at your car hooked up box to read the car's fault code?

Edited April 19, 2007 by Dr_LHA