Something is clearly off with my car (running rough, overheating, something has blown out in exhaust) and I am not a wrencher for these modern car so I need a professional. I am concerned that the car is so 'special' neither my local dealer nor any other shop will be all that qualified to work on it. I live in central NJ, any thoughts?
Go to the dealer or other shop for repairs
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Sounds HG related. These guys are in NJ and reputable.
Speed Perf6rmanc3
SPEED PERF6RMANC3 is your number one stop for Mazdaspeed performance parts and built engines. We sell everything you need to upgrade your mazdaspeed 3 or 6 with many in-house custom products designed specifically for the MZR DISI platform.
www.speedperf6rmanc3.com
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i am at the point that i will only do things myself now, but am fortunate enough to have a shop with a lift! i am even considering buying a tire mounting and balancing machine since my tire install this week ended with 5 large scrapes in every one of my TE37s where old balancing weights used to be. And this was the shop that all the car guys know and go to in my area. Never again...
Thanks Sickflo_RSSounds HG related. These guys are in NJ and reputable.
Speed Perf6rmanc3
SPEED PERF6RMANC3 is your number one stop for Mazdaspeed performance parts and built engines. We sell everything you need to upgrade your mazdaspeed 3 or 6 with many in-house custom products designed specifically for the MZR DISI platform.
Dumb question: What does HG stand for?
I hear you, I don't trust shops either but really don't have time for the steep learning curve, I need to get this thing running as quickly as I can.
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Headgasket. Rough running, overheating, and stuff out the exhaust is a surefire sign. If it's cloudy white smoke that smells sweet, that's the ticket.
OH ****, describes what is happening exactly. And the limited powertrain warranty I got when I bought this just ran out.
Before it really started acting up, it was doing something more subtle, when I floored it, it would accelerate hard but at various point across the RPMs (long before redline) act like it hit a rev limiter but then power comes back on a sec later. Yet if I half throttle, it doesn't have those power drops. Anybody heard of this?
I thought maybe it was some sort of traction control kicking in, yet it would do it even when I put it in track more and turned off ESC totally. Might have just been some sort of early sign of other problems.
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What's most likely happening is coolant is getting into the combustion chamber of the engine, trying to burn up with the gasoline, thus creating a less effective bang(your power cut feeling). These cars were notorious for early HG problems. The reason you're overheating is because your coolant reservoir is either very low or empty from the coolant leaking and then burning up. If yours was never looked at, I'm not sure what options you have at this point. Maybe others can chime in on this.
I do know many Ford dealerships have done HG swaps on the RS because of these common issues, so you might be able to find a local Ford dealership with a tech who has already completed this a few times. My suggestion, DEFINITELY DON'T DRIVE IT, see if Ford will cover it. This is all hypothetical based on what information you've given us but if you search youtube for blown RS headgasket, and your car is doing anything like this, she's toast and needs open heart surgery. Sorry
I do know many Ford dealerships have done HG swaps on the RS because of these common issues, so you might be able to find a local Ford dealership with a tech who has already completed this a few times. My suggestion, DEFINITELY DON'T DRIVE IT, see if Ford will cover it. This is all hypothetical based on what information you've given us but if you search youtube for blown RS headgasket, and your car is doing anything like this, she's toast and needs open heart surgery. Sorry
I hear ya. And actually, as I type this, I'm getting some RE71Rs mounted onto my TE37s by my tire shop. The manager knows me, and he personally works on these wheels himself. Just relieved I found a guy who knows how to take care of these (reverse mounting, etc). The previous tire shop I used did the same thing to mine as yours when it came to removing the weights. Fortunately, it's on the inside (and only on one) of the wheel, so it doesn't bother me as much.
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Are you tuned? The stock tune will do that, something like the car hitting its torque limit too early and pulling back the power.
You very likely will need a head gasket, hopefully nothing's warped. Find someone who has been successful with these things. Hit up Jessica Livernois per this thread: Post HG issues - dealerships uncooperative | Page 3 | Ford Focus RS Forum
Took the car to the dealer on Friday before I saw this post, it was losing coolant.
To the first part, about stock tune pulling back, is that something many others experience?
To the 2nd part, will check out that thread.
Despite me being able to drive the car to the dealer, they tell me the car is hydrolocked right now and won't start and that it needs a new long block due to this. Why would it need the bottom end replaced? That doesn't make sense to me unless I don't understand something about this particular engine. Either way, I am not having them work on it since they said nothing could be done warranty wise. I am checking with speedperf6rmanc3 to see what they might suggest/cost. Any other shops in central NJ or Philly area that you all might recommend I check with?
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speed is your best option. Pablo and Nishan will take great care of you. Tell them James the oil guy sent you.
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Last time I took my car to the Ford dealership for what sounded like a valve issue, they called me 2 days later to say they threw a rod but weren’t covering it under the CPO warranty. My mechanic I should have taken it to from the beginning is doing the rebuild. I’ll never go back to Ford again.
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