SM105K's Ownership/Performance/Maintenance Thread

[SM105K]

Focus ST Update: Yes a Focus ST update......not a good one though. Actually...this car has been pretty good for 4.5 years. 172K miles on the dial. I have driven it 90K. I have only replaced the battery, one engine mount, upgraded the trans mount, fuel tank purge valve, radiator, and tires.

It has had a small fuel leak for the past year. When I fill the tank it seeps, used to be a couple of drop that weren't a big deal. Well now it is dripping all the time. I dropped the tank, and thought it was the fuel connector hose from the hat to the main fuel line. There was some slop in the connector. Replaced the line, and it started leaking even more.

I was able to put the tank on the ground and start the car and sure enough it was leaking. I thought it was the same spot, but there is a small crack in the hat itself right before the connector. So for $400 dollars I will be picking up a whole new fuel pump assembly and new o-ring. Yaya me. FFS.

 

[Zpak]

Damn, you drive the **** out of that thing. I don’t remember if you mentioned it before, what happened to the radiator?

 

[SM105K]

Damn, you drive the **** out of that thing. I don’t remember if you mentioned it before, what happened to the radiator?

At about 110K miles it failed. One of the plastic side tanks cracked. So...yeah. The Focus took over the daily driver duties from the SHO back in the day.

 

[SM105K]

Focus ST update: Replaced the fuel pump and all was good. Drove it around with a 1/4 tank of fuel and no leaks. Sweet.

Filled the tank the next day.......****** all over the ground.........

Where the fuel filler neck connects to the tank cracked. When it is over 3/4 a tank full it just leaks. I am out of town until this coming Thursday. So for another $300 dollars, I will get to replace the tank.......FFS.

That is roughly $800 in fuel system replacement....which I could have used to upgrade the Haltech on the Lexus.

 

[kryptto]

Focus ST update: Replaced the fuel pump and all was good. Drove it around with a 1/4 tank of fuel and no leaks. Sweet.

Filled the tank the next day.......****** all over the ground.........

Where the fuel filler neck connects to the tank cracked. When it is over 3/4 a tank full it just leaks. I am out of town until this coming Thursday. So for another $300 dollars, I will get to replace the tank.......FFS.

That is roughly $800 in fuel system replacement....which I could have used to upgrade the Haltech on the Lexus.

Had this same issue with my 160K daily driver... one FFS after another.... all money went into the driver and not my car. I did get Tony D transmission mounts recently. Will install shortly.

 

[SM105K]

Had this same issue with my 160K daily driver... one FFS after another.... all money we t into the driver and not my car. I did get Tony D transmission mounts recently. Will install shortly.

Those mounts are great. I raised my idle in my Livewire 200 rpm and that helped with vibrations. After they break in, I don't even notice them anymore until I launch the car.

 

[kryptto]

raised my idle in my Livewire 200 rpm and that helped with vibration

Good to know...

 

[SM105K]

Focus ST Update: So I bought a new fuel tank and it fixed the fuel leak problem. Seems I am even getting almost another gallon of fuel capacity. That is pretty cool.

On a related note. The Focus usually averaged around 30 mpg the way I drive it. 90% of my commute is on the freeway. I have noticed over the past couple of months the best I could get it 26.5/27 mpg. I chalked it up to the crappy summer blend fuel and hot temps.

However, since I replaced the fuel pump....back to 30 mpg it has gone. The original fuel pump did have 174K miles on it....

I do however have to change the transmission fluid, and put in a new pair of spark plugs. So I will work on that when I change the oil roughly 1,300 miles.

 

[SM105K]

Sorry guys no updates on any of the fleet. I am been getting crushed at work. Kinda moved in a "Special" Operations Manager billet within my company and it has been well "special". So yeah. Hopefully early next month, I will be upgrading the old E11V2 for a Haltech Elite 2500. So........

 

[kryptto]

Sorry guys no updates on any of the fleet. I am been getting crushed at work. Kinda moved in a "Special" Operations Manager billet within my company and it has been well "special". So yeah. Hopefully early next month, I will be upgrading the old E11V2 for a Haltech Elite 2500. So........

Hope you are getting the commensurate pay for this 'special' work. Glad to hear your doing well, looking forward to your return.

 

[SM105K]

Hope you are getting the commensurate pay for this 'special' work. Glad to hear your doing well, looking forward to your return.

I appreciate the kind words. My line of work really ramps up for the holidays and our clients are doing work this year.

 

[shoblock]

I'm going on three years retired. Can't believe how time flies. Spent this year in Florida supervising the rebuilding of my house destroyed with 7 feet of water, thanks to hurricane Ian. My SHO sits in a garage in Ohio, largely taken for granted because I had to get rid of my lift.
Sorry to hear your overwhelmed with work issues. I went through dozens of upper managers in my day, some were golden, then got replaced by someone 'special'.
Honestly, I was one of the few engineers who could work with 'special' managers. I would put aside my own thoughts long enough to listen to where they wanted to go with an idea, then report to them personally with my findings and efforts done to help them accomplish their goals. It was amazing how these high rollers could make my career easier as I made their career easier. I didn't want their job, (they lived at the plant) Hope this helps, and Merry Christmas old friend!
SHOBLOCK

 

[kryptto]

Spent this year in Florida supervising the rebuilding of my house destroyed with 7 feet of water, thanks to hurricane Ian.

Sorry to hear you were one of the affected. I am on the opposite coast. Did you build back or buy in a less prone area with a new home?

 

[shoblock]

Sorry to hear you were one of the affected. I am on the opposite coast. Did you build back or buy in a less prone area with a new home?

Built back, because we couldn't afford to build up. ($1,000,000+) The last hurricane, which passed to our West by 160 miles, still put flood water 3 ft from our front door! Too close for comfort. Time to sell and move further inland.

 

[kryptto]

Only way to go, tbh regardless of people's thoughts on ocean rise... It's not worth being near the water. I moved further west here on the east coast. Glad to hear it's under way.

 

[SM105K]

Lexus Update: Today I purchased a new Haltech 2500 Elite. Probably take a bit to actually receive it. Then transferring the tune, tweeking the tune, then optimizing the tune.

Going to have to rewire leads, but it should be pretty straight forward.

Picking up a whole mess of tuning aids and functions as well. Excited for built in knock detection/control, launch control, and most importantly.....rolling anti lag!

A new dawn for the Ole Girl is coming. Super excited to share the journey with you guys.

 

[SHOdded]

Built back, because we couldn't afford to build up. ($1,000,000+) The last hurricane, which passed to our West by 160 miles, still put flood water 3 ft from our front door! Too close for comfort. Time to sell and move further inland.

prepare for atlantis! may neptune favor you.