Ford Focus juddering

Martyn_H

Hi

I have an 04 petrol, manual Focus that has started to judder a little when pulling away in first gear/changing up to second gear. The garage has checked and cleaned the plugs and cables, but has been unable to find the cause of the problem so far.

The problem started with the snow last month and seems to clear itself after approx 10/15 mins. The car doesn't seem to be losing power as such and is fine in higher gears.

A friend had a similar problem with a Peugeot which was traced to a simple fault with the engine management system, but he couldn't remember any specifics.

Any thoughts please?

Strider590

Irratic idle speed too?

mikey72

Mine does that when the clutch plate is damp. It clears after a few minutes when the heat has dried the friction plate out. It's done it every winter, never really bothered much about it to be honest.

s_b

any garage that cleans plugs and leads is best avoided

its usually plugs and leads or the coils cause this malady

get advice at a garage willing to do a more in depth investigation rather than squirt everything with damp removing spray

s_b

mikey72 wrote: »

Mine does that when the clutch plate is damp. It clears after a few minutes when the heat has dried the friction plate out. It's done it every winter, never really bothered much about it to be honest.

funnily enough i just removed that from my reply in case everyone laughed
not had it on a focus but had it on corsas

Martyn_H

Strider590 wrote: »

Irratic idle speed too?

Not that I've noticed. Idle speed is approx 1000 for a few mins then settles down to approx 750 when warmed up.

Martyn_H

s_b wrote: »

any garage that cleans plugs and leads is best avoided

its usually plugs and leads or the coils cause this malady

get advice at a garage willing to do a more in depth investigation rather than squirt everything with damp removing spray

I know that the plugs are due for renewal at next service but have been told that they're ok for now. I'm inclined to agree with you and have the plugs and leads renewed. At least if that doesn't cure it then I can rule those two possibilities out.

mikey72

s_b wrote: »

funnily enough i just removed that from my reply in case everyone laughed
not had it on a focus but had it on corsas

It's what I'm here for.

It's actually a vauxhall I've got, but I've noticed it on a couple of brands as well. It's worse after cold damp rainy nights, but is fine when it's dry. Doesn't feel like a misfire.

Maybe it's modern friction plates.

Martyn_H

I've had the car hooked up to diagnostics and nothing looks amiss, however the juddering persists.

Martyn_H

Turns out it's probably the thrust bearing in the clutch.

apesxx

when mine was doing this it was the ignition coil? has the engine managment light come on?