Ford Focus Track Rod End Replacement

Right, track rod end arrived this morning. I awoke a little hungover and was confused because I heard a thud sound. Apparently the door bell doesn't work which explains a number of things....

So anyway, threw on jeans and answered the door topless - unfortunately it wasn't the post girl of my dreams, but a very nice post man who was completely unperturbed by my get-up; I guess he gets that a lot...

Anyway, first job as always is to check the part is the same or similar to the old one.


Now try to loosen the lock nut on the track arm. This is incredibly tight and the corrosion doesn't help. There are flats on the track rod end which you can get on with a spanner to hold it in place. Unfortunately when I did this, the entire track arm rotated with the lock nut but at least this freed the track rod end.


Next job is to undo the nut that holds the ball joint onto the steering knuckle. This is again incredibly tight and very prone to rounding off due to corrosion. I decided to hammer on a socket that was just too small. Then plenty of elbow grease via the breaker bar and it came loose. Then there is the challenge of getting the nut out of the socket!


This next bit was my favourite. Get the ball joint separator and make sure it is seated properly - you might need to wiggle it into place (like all the best things in life). Tighten the bolt until BAM! the ball joint pops out. Very satisfying!


A quick look confirms that the old one is indeed borked!


Remove the old one, counting how many turns until it comes off, because that'll give you the best starting point for the tracking. Once it is off, I set about loosening the stubborn lock nut. Holding onto the track arm with vice grips seems savage but I don't know how else I'd have done it. Also, I brought the lock nut out rather than in because the threads were too corroded to let the lock nut move far in the other direction. Once loose, get a wire brush and clean the threads as best you can before applying some copper grease.


Now get the new track rod end and screw it on the same number of turns the old one required to come off. Fit the ball joint into place and tighten everything up. An allen key will probably be required to stop the threads on the ball joint rotating with the nut.


Get everything nice and tight and admire.


Just got back from the Garage, tracking only cost £25. I can't tell yet but the short drive to and from the garage seemed to be clunk free and the steering certainly feels a bit more positive now. Hardly surprising considering the state of that track rod end!


Quick Update: The clunk has gone!

Ford Focus Engine Mount Replacement

Got a replacement engine mount today in the hope that it heals my clunking noise. First job is to jack up the gearbox to support it. I didn't have any bits of wood to go between the jack and car, so I used an Argos catalogue!


Next remove the air intake system.


Here's the mounting that will be replaced. It's been soaked in WD40 because the nuts are tight.


Using my crows foot spanners and breaker bar to loose the nuts. Reason for using the crows foot spanner is because there is a lot of thread and I don't have any deep sockets.


The same goes for the centre nut but there is no space for a crows foot spanner. Luckily I had a spark plug socket that was the correct size.


Here's the hole it leaves behind:


Put new one in, tighten it all down.


And here you can see the cracks in the old one.



Unfortunately the clunk is still there. I suspect there have been a couple of things let go at the same time which has made this difficult to pinpoint but I believe I have narrowed it down to a track-rod end.

Ford Focus Cat Clamp Replacement

Bit of an odd one this, but I noticed the clamp that holds the catalytic converter to the engine block had corroded really badly. I phoned Ford Parts to ask how much a replacement would be and to my surprise, it was only £7!

Here's the corroded clamp.



Getting the bolts loose was quite difficult. The close proximity to the exhaust along with the corrosion made them very hard to budge. Some WD40, a breaker bar and lots of elbow grease did the trick. Once it came off, it was in two pieces.


And a picture with the new part in place.


Cheap and cheerful.