Hello, I'm having the same issue with my Ford Focus 2002 SE wagon, ZETEC engine DOHC.
It presents several fault codes:
There are some physical symptoms, such as:
In the morning, or at any time, when the engine is cold, it doesn’t start very well, and when it does I have to press the accelerator a bit, or it will turn off again, you can hear the engine going up in revolutions little by little the first 8 seconds or so, until stabilizes at certain rpm.
During the day, when I make a stop on a traffic signal, if I press to strong the speed pedal, the rpm goes down instead of accelerate, and I have to get it back to normal or the car shut off.
Every time I go to the gas station I’ve to fill the tank very slowly, or it will spill out the gas even when the tank is empty.
If I fuel the tank to full capacity, 2 bad things happens: immediately the engine goes bad and it seems that the fuel is pumping interrupted, it will shut off if I don’t press the accelerator, this is annoying, since it takes me some time just to go out of the gas station.
The other bad thing is that for about 2 days you can smell the gas inside of the car, it’s a very dense odor, as if there is a leakage. I made to measure the fuel pressure and it’s 3 bar.
Air filter is new.
I know some of the vacuum hose need to be replaced since they are old and too soft, and could be doing a bad job keeping the vacuum, I’ll do that.
I’ve asked the opinion of 2 mechanics and they gave me these suggestions:
- Replace the fuel pump (not only the pump, but all the container)
- Replace the canister and several valves on it
- Replace both oxygen sensors.
I will gladly do that, but I want to measure twice and cut once, so I need to be sure before starting to spend money in repairs.
I would appreciate your help,
Thanks!