Focus st170 are these any good??

GEZZA ZETEC · 01-03-2011, 09:09 PM

Thinking of buying one of these as my daily driver are they any good???

Has anyone got one and got any pointers for us??

HKT11K ST · 01-03-2011, 09:30 PM

Yes yes ive got one and i love it!!!! I drive it to uni n back every day and its awesome! Just watch out for bad gearboxes, cause they cost a bomb. Otherwise really reliable and a fun drive!

melbzetec · 01-03-2011, 09:34 PM

In a word...yes.

Very advanced engine. A lot of work by Cosworth in developing it. They extracted the most possible out of the NA zetec engine.

Test drive it to know if you like it. Some say the 6 speed Getrag gearbox wasn't well matched to the engine.

And make sure there are no problems with the gearbox. A roughly $10,000 replacement I understand (although any problems could be rebuilt for a lot lot less). having said that, there shouldn't be a gearbox problem unless someone has done something really stupid. So don't let what I've said put you off

Wait for more comments from those that own it

GEZZA ZETEC · 01-03-2011, 09:40 PM

Ahh ok the one i am looking at has done 90k and has only had 1 owner from new with full service history and std...

GEZZA ZETEC · 02-03-2011, 12:08 AM

Just been reading up on them and they are apparently not too quick to 100 (8.2) but they are meant to handle great...

photn · 02-03-2011, 03:51 AM

Do - Ettttttttttttttttt

spedwards · 02-03-2011, 09:12 AM

I've had one since May 2010 following a written off Mazda 323 Astina SP20, there is a chalk and cheese difference between the two and if I had my time again I would have pushed for the ST170 from new over the SP20.

Just be prepared to have expensive replacement part costs as there isn't any generics available in Aus, I've had bad luck with mine following it's purchase with an average of 1 problem every month for the first 5 months but things have settled down now.

To give you an idea of the problems I've had:
CEL - Downstream O2 sensor dead
CEL - IMRC stuck open, still to be bothered to fix this as it's intermittent meaning it's just a contact problem
CEL - Upstream O2 sensor slow response
Driver power window motor died
Clutch started to slip, and slip more, then really slip
Pax rear wheel bearing died

Minor annoyances:
Occasional rattle, believed to be the cat heatshield (common problem)
Rear wiper comes on in reverse automatically when wipers are on, sometimes my car does this when the wipers aren't on
Front wipers sometimes stop as soon as they are turned off rather than settling at "home"

It's a 7/8 year old car so things are bound to go wrong, but I've had a particularly bad run. If you hit any problems be sure to check out overseas options for parts if you aren't in a hurry, locally it would have cost $3000+ just for an OEM clutch kit but I got it shipped from the US for about $800 and $800 local fitting.

Overall, I love the car. It's a really well constructed thing and you can tell that a lot of thought went into making it. I would like more low down up and go, but that's not what the car is about, once it gets up to ~5000rpm it really starts to scream (particularly if you are running a Typhoon).

XR5-Boy · 02-03-2011, 11:14 AM

spedwards, with the IMRC, it's probably the transistor that needs to be changed in the control unit. My Cougar had that prob.

Back on topic though, ST170 is a beast in the twisties. Enough said!

spedwards · 02-03-2011, 11:26 AM

Yeah, either transistor or the contact. Just too busy at the moment to get in and pull it out, I just use the ScanGauge to reset it when it comes up.

GEZZA ZETEC · 02-03-2011, 11:12 PM

Cheers guys, its looking better each day, i go to look at it on saturday...

melbzetec · 03-03-2011, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GEZZA ZETEC

Ahh ok the one i am looking at has done 90k and has only had 1 owner from new with full service history and std...

That sounds like a good start!

GEZZA ZETEC · 03-03-2011, 10:53 PM

Could be....!!!

smee323 · 08-03-2011, 10:59 PM

Be aware that the inlet manifold is plastic.
A number of them have been known to crack, and again not a cheap part to replace.
I sold ours with 60,000k on it and bought an XR5.
Only problem ours had was the power steering pump failed. A $500 part.
Ford paid for half, as it failed at 40,000k and 2 months out of warranty.
There are also two routes for the throttle cable. Seem to remember a fix needing to be applied to the earlier delivered cars. Ours rubbebed on the valve cover. And inrelation to throttle cable, there is a mod to ensure you get full travel from the cable.