What coolant? steering?-petrol ford focus 1999

ampersand

#.Thankyou again - start to day burgered when. a nano-second later, I remember there is a problem. About to go out and lift bonnet.

Will look at your link, tom[my long late Dad's name, so I like it:-)]

I have never used a main dealer in my car-owning life yet. 45+yrs.
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Right!:T

Bonnet up.
- mid-blue steering fluid at max.
- topped up oil anyway.
- coolant empty AND
- that loop thing, looks like old-fashioned liquorice strap, has come off, not broken though.
- when I refill coolant reservoir, water's dropping out from some lower point[black hose bits down there?]and reservoir's empty again, within 15 secs-ish. Doesn't gush out, but pours in steady thin stream.

Is feeding loop thing back around those circular bits something I can do?
I'm off to try and will look back soon, hoping for further answers from you all.
Help from here feels friendly.

facade and others - I'm assuming the bit that's flapping loose is the fanbelt, but neither Haynes nor owner's guide has this word in index or any cut-away illustration for me to i.d. for sure.

What next, please?
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Now reading 3.3 Haynes, cooling system hoses - disconnection and renewal.
Am I on right track thinking a hose has split, down where I can't see?

ampersand

Okay, have fed black rubbery loop back round the grooved cogs it matches, but there's slack left over - where else should it be going round?

There is a smooth polished looking circle, c.10cm diam within the oval circuit described by the 4 grooved cogs. Should that be part of fan-belt route?
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These illustrations look right - 'serpentine' is perfect adjective.
https://www.google.co.uk/images?q=fan+belt+circuit+for+ford+focus+1999&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-Address&oe=&gfe_rd=cr&gws_rd=ssl&hl=en&sa=X&as_q=&nfpr=&spell=1&ei=wZIBVOGyLMjL0QWK-oHoDQ&ved=0CBIQvwU

I'm going to try again.

facade

You might find they call it
serpentine belt
aux auxiliary drive belt

They don't just "come off" though, so something is wrong, probably a bearing gone in one of the pulleys, try rocking the pulleys side to side (I guess it is the water pump, and that is where the coolant is escaping.) and see if they are free to turn (except the big one on the crankshaft- it wont turn with fingers) in case something is seized and thrown the belt off.

You need tools to fit it, as there is a tensioner pulley that has to be released to get it on, then moved to tension the belt properly.

try google fitting aux belt focus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8hPHuAafC8

ampersand

Thanks facade - that's odd, I'd posted finding this, and remarking that 'serpentine' was perfect adjective, but it's disappeared.
https://www.google.co.uk/images?q=ford+focua+fanbelt+pics+1999&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-Address&oe=&gfe_rd=cr&gws_rd=ssl&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ei=wZkBVNGzG-LT0QWz8oCgBA&ved=0CB0QsAQ

and I see a youtube lisitng:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgg0bBavpK8

I don't have special tools.
Not sure what I'm looking for as pulleys - any pics to guide me please?
Will look at your link now - merci millefois.
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Sound doesn't come on 'til 1.53, then cuts out a lot, but this task seems beyond my tool and prob. capability range.
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Disappeared post now back.

facade

I think you will have to get a mechanic out to the car.

Pulleys = the round wheels that the belt is supposed to go round. Looking at the images you googled, you need to count the pulleys, and pick an image that matches.

Anyway, all of the pulleys/wheels except the crankshaft pulley should be free to turn with your fingers.
If you grasp a pulley with your thumb at 3 o'clock, and your fingers between 7 & 10 o'clock then flexing your wrist so as to pull your thumb outwards, and push it inwards (rock from side to side) should not be able to move the pulley more than a hairsbreadth-it should not feel "loose"

If you printed out an image that identifies the pulleys then you can report the name of the pulley that is stuck, or loose.

ampersand

facade - how grateful I am that you looked in again:-)

Et oui, I need to ask one of my Fenboys.

Thought that's what you meant, but didn't want to tinker and make things worse. Be assured, I'd never start pulling engine-y bits apart.

Had just printed out image to do precisely that - great minds!- if in differing fields.

Will pop out now to test pulleys and report back - at least I then have a further poi for mechanic.
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Okay facade - have just spoken with T, sort of village garage and am heading there now.
Under a mile, so - as he says - 'Any harm done yesterday is done. We'll need to see it.'
I related posting Thread here. He asked me to read from it and praised your diagnosis and advice 'He's right' , but of course must now see it.
Will report back.

facade

Hopefully the problem is the water pump, then you can ask for the waterpump to be replaced with confidence, and obviously they will have to refit the belt and add coolant. Provided that it wasn't run too long without coolant, it should be ok, but be warned that overheating it could cause engine damage.

(what I am thinking is the waterpump bearings have failed, allowing the coolant to escape from the waterpump, and the loose pulley has caused the belt to slip off. It could be that another pulley has failed and when the belt came off it damaged a water pipe though, so no guarantees, but it is unusual for multiple faults to occur spontaneously, so I think all the problems are related to one thing)

Good luck anyway, hopefully it is a cheapish fix.

ampersand

Just in - left garage just in time for a village bus, had loads to do in Cambs and further afield.
You're spot on, facade. Uncannily so. 'I see the problem' said T. 'See those?'
2 little round metal pegs, about 1cm, slightly bevelled ends, lay in a hollow beside that smooth big wheel/pulley, which wobbled about easily. 'Those are your water pump bearings. They've popped out...T Reg., fair wear and tear I'm afraid.'
So, it's not cheap - absolute thuggery for a lady pensioner.
He made 3 calls around the trade, 4th to a Ford place. Best is pump 63 + belt 28, plus 2.75hrs[close est.]labour and blutty VAT = thick end of £300. Ford-sourced bits were double. T said 'you realise it depends what we see when we get the covers off....' 'What covers?' I asked, then remembered seeing the chap in your link doing sth that must have been that.
So, now I'm praying for nothing worse. If so, I'll just get car back, safely mobile, then over to Fenboys.
No choice.
They have kept me mobile with great kindness since R's death, 14 yrs ago.
I'm hating it all right now.

That's the story, facade. It just occurs to me - could that same belt not have been put back on? It looked undamaged to me, which is a totally unqualified opinion of course.

facade

Yes they can fit the old belt, but as it is likely the original which will be perished and cracked, and as he has to remove all those covers to fit it, he is opting to renew it.
If the old one breaks in short order, you will be paying out a lot of labour again, and worse, you would be stranded where it broke.

He isn't trying to diddle you on the belt replacement, although £28 seems a tad steep, depends on what make he is getting I suppose.

One other thing, whilst all that is apart, he is half way to changing the cambelt, probably add another £100 to the bill if it is due shortly.

ampersand

I know you're right, facade.

Labour's £46 ph+VAT and I could hear all the phone chat, see him noting prices correctly - he was asking for bits 'on the shelf' so he'd have them 1st thing Mon.
Actually, I think I have the 8 and 3 reversed on those quotes. I know it was 91 total. The cheapest Ford bit was the belt at £126.71! Madness.
But I know my Fenboys would have done everything poss. to pare it down and they know I do long-haul France a few times a year.. say 3000k per jaunt.

As MOT's due 14/9, I want to do car tax before then. Another 100 now will scotch that[with some NZ shipping, storage rental, NZ insce policy, and other one-offs due this month - all planned for]but is this the sort of repair that might provoke cambelt failure? In all life, this can happen - fixing one thing then elevates and spotlights a weakness elsewhere, hastens it.