Today I learned to not berkeleying work on a Zetec Focus. So I figure its a Zetec, must be like me Escort. Nope. Everything is totally un-berkeleying-accessible. Even the tensioner is buried. I had to dismantle half the damn engine bay and tear off the upper motor mount and push the engine part way out to even access enough space to remove and replace the alternator. To top it off, when trying to reposition the engine, the shaft on the jack slipped out trapping the jack under the vehicle. While trying to remove the jack, I lost my balance, grabbing the fertilizer spreader behind me, launching it forward slamming the arm of it directly into the back of my skull. Yea, that felt great. The hood dropped and spilled my Pumpkin Ale, then I couldn't find the hood prop. I had to use a pry bar to push the engine fare enough over to get the pins in and out of the alternator. Complete pain in the ass. I had my Zx2's alternator done within an hour and a half which is far more than I would need now.
Well.. now I know. And my sister owes me quite a bit of beer after that one...
I've learned a lot of the same things with many makes and models.
Ouch, that sucks.
My lesson for the week. When a #2 phillips jumps off a screw, while turning 1500 rpm in a impact driver, will make wonderful deep holes in your wrist. Almost clear to the bone. Amazingly, it missed anything vital.
Toyman01 wrote:
Amazingly, it missed anything vital.
I am very glad. Not too long ago, I drove a bolt into my friends thumb. He learned something too. When I say, "That's tight enough," he shouldn't say, "No its not."
N Sperlo wrote:
Today I learned to not berkeleying work on a Zetec Focus. So I figure its a Zetec, must be like me Escort. Nope. Everything is totally un-berkeleying-accessible. Even the tensioner is buried. I had to dismantle half the damn engine bay and tear off the upper motor mount and push the engine part way out to even access enough space to remove and replace the alternator. To top it off, when trying to reposition the engine, the shaft on the jack slipped out trapping the jack under the vehicle. While trying to remove the jack, I lost my balance, grabbing the fertilizer spreader behind me, launching it forward slamming the arm of it directly into the back of my skull. Yea, that felt great. The hood dropped and spilled my Pumpkin Ale, then I couldn't find the hood prop. I had to use a pry bar to push the engine fare enough over to get the pins in and out of the alternator. Complete pain in the ass. I had my Zx2's alternator done within an hour and a half which is far more than I would need now.
Well.. now I know. And my sister owes me quite a bit of beer after that one...
Co-Worker of mine just did the alternator on his zetec focus. He did not enjoy it. lol.
This is why cars should only be sold in rwd/manual transmission layout
My dad and I did the Tstat housing on my Zetec focus today and I learned to make sure the autozone gives you the one that has all of the parts you need and not just the water neck and you waste two hours waiting for one from a different store
In reply to corytate:
If you lived withing driving distance of me, I could help you out on both fronts: moral support for the Focus, and on the beer front (as I do landscaping for a bar... :D!!)
Ah well... at least you learned something???
corytate wrote:
This is why cars should only be sold in rwd/manual transmission layout
This is why they should make all engineers/designers work on their own cars as they are being developed before releasing them to the public. Maybe then we wouldn't have all those crazy designs.
Seems like we have learned that N needs to video whatever he is working on. Could have made a bundle on America's Funniest Home Viedos!
wae
New Reader
9/6/12 7:54 a.m.
In reply to Feedyurhed:
I was talking with a guy at the parts counter a couple years back who was going to the local tech college. He told me that Toyota donated cars to their shop for them to learn on and they would send their design engineers in periodically to try to perform some "normal" R&Rs and maintenance jobs. Apparently, they were trying to correct problems that were created by different subsystems being designed in a bit of a vacuum. He told me that at one point the various groups were scratching their head over whatever the latest Camry was at the time and trying to figure out how they had designed a car that had to have the rear seat completely removed to replace a rear strut. Overall, I don't think there's enough of that kind of thing going on.
A friend with a focus had a starter issue. He's on a tight budget, willing to get dirty, but not overly mechanical.
I tried to talk him through jumping the solenoid over the phone. It wasn't until I was in his driveway sitting under his car looking at the location of the starter, that I realized where the damn thing was. No idea how the hell you can get that thing out, without disassembling everything.
I looked him straight in the eye and said, pay someone to deal with this.
I Berkleying HATE transverse engines. Sadly thats just the way it is on most cars these days. Everything's jammed against the inner fender or under the cowl and no room for tools.1/2 the stuffs just plain not visible. It's getting to be like an old air cooled VW. Step 1 - remove engine. (Except any modern FWD is hard to remove engine unlike an old bug)
anjaloveshervw wrote:
In reply to corytate:
If you lived withing driving distance of me, I could help you out on both fronts: moral support for the Focus, and on the beer front (as I do landscaping for a bar... :D!!)
Ah well... at least you learned something???
Cory wasn't working on a focus, I was LOL. I always have plenty of beer, but someone to hold the ice pack on my head would have been nice. Still a nice sore bump on my head.
wae wrote:
In reply to Feedyurhed:
I was talking with a guy at the parts counter a couple years back who was going to the local tech college. He told me that Toyota donated cars to their shop for them to learn on and they would send their design engineers in periodically to try to perform some "normal" R&Rs and maintenance jobs. Apparently, they were trying to correct problems that were created by different subsystems being designed in a bit of a vacuum. He told me that at one point the various groups were scratching their head over whatever the latest Camry was at the time and trying to figure out how they had designed a car that had to have the rear seat completely removed to replace a rear strut. Overall, I don't think there's enough of that kind of thing going on.
This explains why my 92 Camry was so easy to work on, the hardest job on that car was changing/tensioning the power steering belt.
Feedyurhed wrote:
corytate wrote:
This is why cars should only be sold in rwd/manual transmission layout
This is why they should make all engineers/designers work on their own cars as they are being developed before releasing them to the public. Maybe then we wouldn't have all those crazy designs.
That used to be one of my favorite sayings.
If it's any consolation, I've never seen an alternator on one of those go bad, but there's a 150% failure rate of the wires going into the connector. Ford still offers a service kit that includes the wiring pigtail and shrink/crimp connectors.
NOHOME wrote:
Pumpkin Ale?
THERE'S your problem!
Someone replaced the cat with a dog!
Knurled wrote:
If it's any consolation, I've never seen an alternator on one of those go bad, but there's a 150% failure rate of the wires going into the connector. Ford still offers a service kit that includes the wiring pigtail and shrink/crimp connectors.
I just did the work. My father is the Ford service manager (or whatever they call it in order to pay him less.) I'm sure he looked into it or has any recalls taken care of. Its always the first thing to take care of.
On another note, it IS the second time within two years she is getting a new one. The one I took out didn't roll smoothly and talked to me while I spun it. It said, "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick thick thick."
N Sperlo wrote:
Knurled wrote:
If it's any consolation, I've never seen an alternator on one of those go bad, but there's a 150% failure rate of the wires going into the connector. Ford still offers a service kit that includes the wiring pigtail and shrink/crimp connectors.
The one I took out didn't roll smoothly and talked to me while I spun it. It said, "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick thick thick."
Just how hard did you hit your head with that manure spreader?
N Sperlo wrote:
Today I learned to not berkeleying work on a Zetec Focus. So I figure its a Zetec, must be like me Escort. Nope. Everything is totally un-berkeleying-accessible. Even the tensioner is buried. I had to dismantle half the damn engine bay and tear off the upper motor mount and push the engine part way out to even access enough space to remove and replace the alternator. To top it off, when trying to reposition the engine, the shaft on the jack slipped out trapping the jack under the vehicle. While trying to remove the jack, I lost my balance, grabbing the fertilizer spreader behind me, launching it forward slamming the arm of it directly into the back of my skull. Yea, that felt great. The hood dropped and spilled my Pumpkin Ale, then I couldn't find the hood prop. I had to use a pry bar to push the engine fare enough over to get the pins in and out of the alternator. Complete pain in the ass. I had my Zx2's alternator done within an hour and a half which is far more than I would need now.
Sorry you spilled your beer
N Sperlo wrote:
Knurled wrote:
If it's any consolation, I've never seen an alternator on one of those go bad, but there's a 150% failure rate of the wires going into the connector. Ford still offers a service kit that includes the wiring pigtail and shrink/crimp connectors.
I just did the work. My father is the Ford service manager (or whatever they call it in order to pay him less.) I'm sure he looked into it or has any recalls taken care of. Its always the first thing to take care of.
On another note, it IS the second time within two years she is getting a new one. The one I took out didn't roll smoothly and talked to me while I spun it. It said, "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick thick thick."
That alternator is notoriously bad. We sell A LOT of them. We actually installed an engine into a customer's car, and they called a couple weeks later saying that is was making really bad sounds and were afraid that there was something wrong with the engine we had just installed. They brought it back for us to check out, and the rear bearing of the alternator was in pieces! The sounds that alternator was making were quite impressive. And yeah, they do kind of suck to change.
I see your problem, you had the wrong beer. For working on a Ford, you need to stick with a beer that comes in 18-packs.
alex
UltraDork
9/6/12 4:08 p.m.
Twin_Cam wrote:
N Sperlo wrote:
Today I learned to not berkeleying work on a Zetec Focus. So I figure its a Zetec, must be like me Escort. Nope. Everything is totally un-berkeleying-accessible. Even the tensioner is buried. I had to dismantle half the damn engine bay and tear off the upper motor mount and push the engine part way out to even access enough space to remove and replace the alternator. To top it off, when trying to reposition the engine, the shaft on the jack slipped out trapping the jack under the vehicle. While trying to remove the jack, I lost my balance, grabbing the fertilizer spreader behind me, launching it forward slamming the arm of it directly into the back of my skull. Yea, that felt great. The hood dropped and spilled my Pumpkin Ale, then I couldn't find the hood prop. I had to use a pry bar to push the engine fare enough over to get the pins in and out of the alternator. Complete pain in the ass. I had my Zx2's alternator done within an hour and a half which is far more than I would need now.
Sorry you spilled your beer
Even worse, I'm assuming it was a Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, which is a really good beer. (Or an O'fallon, which is also damn tasty.)
