The suspension of the Ford Focus 2 is quite reliable, as evidenced by the technical characteristics of the Ford Focus 2. It has a long service life, but if you repair the Ford Focus 2 suspension, then some problems often arise. It is not easy to fix breakdowns yourself. In view of this, if you choose this model, you will have to immediately look for a good service station.
The average cost of major repairs to the front suspension of a Ford Focus 2 is 13 thousand rubles. Repairing the rear suspension of a Ford Focus 2 will cost 23 thousand rubles.
Ford Focus 2 front suspension: fault diagnosis, repair diagrams
The front suspension of the Ford Focus 2 is lever-spring, independent, MacPherson type.
Consists of a subframe, a steering knuckle with a hub, a lever with a ball joint and silent blocks, a shock absorber strut and a stabilizer bar with a strut. Most of the front suspension design elements are designed to last approximately 100 thousand kilometers without repair, except for the wheel bearing, which must be changed after 50-60 thousand kilometers. In this case, the hub bearing, the hub itself and the steering knuckle are not disassembled and the entire assembly is replaced. Due to the unsatisfactory condition of roads in our country, the mileage of the front suspension is halved. After every 20 thousand kilometers or impact when driving through particularly deep holes at high speed, it is necessary to check the condition of the front suspension. The problem that most often arises with the front suspension of the Ford Focus 2 is the noise effect (knock) when driving over bumps.
What is the reason for such a noticeable difference in price?
The thing is that the design of the front suspension of the Ford Focus 2 is quite common and simple. It consists of a shock-absorbing strut with a spring, a lever equipped with a ball end, a stabilizer link and a steering end. This is the well-known McPherson type. By the way, the Ford Focus 2 fuel filter is located not far there, just under the hood.
With the rear suspension of the Ford Focus 2, the situation is much more complicated. It is multi-link-spring (on each side there is 1 longitudinal and 3 transverse levers), independent. Among other things, the suspension is equipped with a stabilizer bar and telescopic shock absorbers.
Preliminary diagnosis of front suspension faults
Shock absorbers
- The function of a shock absorber is to dampen spring vibrations. If, when pressing on one side of the machine, it returns to its original position and there is no repeated vibration, the shock absorber is working.
- We grab the wheel and swing it towards and away from us. If we feel play, it means the shock absorber is faulty. If the play disappears after pressing the brake, there is a very high probability that it is time to change the front wheel bearing.
- Upon visual inspection, there should be no damage or oil leaks in the lower part of the shock absorber and the springs should be intact.
Steering rods
It's best to check when the car is raised.
We swing the wheel left and right. If play is felt, it means the ball joint, tie rod or tie rod is faulty.
Anti-roll bar joints
- No external damage to the ball strut covers.
- We move the stabilizer bar up and down by hand or using a pry bar. If we feel play, then the struts need to be changed.
Rear silent block for subframe mounting
- Visually there should be no delamination of rubber.
- We are trying to move the lever ear by inserting a screwdriver between it and the subframe. If it moves, then the silent block needs to be changed.
Ball joints
Take a screwdriver and carefully insert it between the lever and the steering knuckle. We move up and down. If there is play or knocking, the ball must be replaced.
Having completed the preliminary diagnostics, it is advisable to go to a service station and make sure your conclusions are correct. In most cases, the problem will be in the wheel bearing or one of the parts of the control arm.
Repair schemes for the two most common problems with the front suspension of Ford Focus 2
Front wheel bearing replacement diagram
It is advisable to replace both bearings at the same time.
- Jack up the car, unscrew the hub bolt, unscrew and remove the wheel.
- To avoid damage, we release the stabilizer bar link.
- Disconnect the ABS (anti-lock braking system) sensor terminal.
- Release the tie rod end.
- Remove the brake caliper. We do not disconnect the brake system hose. We secure the brake caliper in such a way as not to damage the hose. We knock down the brake disc.
- We unscrew the ball fastening nut and press it out using a puller or knock the pin out of the lever with a hammer. Please note that under no circumstances should you hit the ball, we hit the bottom of the steering knuckle.
- Unscrew the bolt connecting the shock absorber and steering knuckle. Using a chisel and hammer, loosen the terminal connection and release the shock absorber strut.
- We remove the steering knuckle by pulling out the constant velocity joint of the front wheel drive from the hub.
- The ABS sensor can be pulled out if you are afraid of damaging it. The bearing is equipped with a red seal. When replacing a bearing, buy the same one. The fact is that the wheel rotation sensor ring is combined with a bearing, and if there is a bearing without this red seal, the ABS will not work.
- Using a puller, press out the hub together with the bearing and press in a new one.
- We collect everything and go to do the wheel alignment.
Replacing the Focus trailing arm
A silent block is installed in the front part of the Ford Focus trailing arm, through which the arm is secured with two bolts to the body. The rear wheel hub assembly is secured to the rear of the lever with four screws. Replacement of the lever is required when it is deformed or the silent blocks are worn.
As with other levers, we carry out replacement work in a pit or overpass (lift) with removal of the spring and wheel. Plus you need to place a stop under the lower arm. Without an adjustable stop, removing the bolts from the silent block eyes will be problematic.
Remove the three wheel speed sensor wire holders from the trailing arm holes and disconnect the wire block from the wheel speed sensor.
Using a 10mm head, unscrew the self-tapping screw securing the stop of the parking brake cable sheath and remove the stop from the hole in the lever.
Disconnect the lower end of the shock absorber from the trailing arm, then disconnect the transverse suspension arms from the trailing arm.
We remove the hub assembly, then use a 15mm head to unscrew the two bolts securing the lever to the body and remove the trailing arm.
Install the new trailing arm in reverse order. An important point - we finally tighten the threaded connections in the “vehicle on wheels” position (under load), this will extend the life of Ford Focus silent blocks.
Rear suspension Ford Focus 1, 2
The rear suspension on Ford Focus cars is multi-link, independent. It is a rather vulnerable element for Focuses, as it contains 8 levers and 14 silent blocks.
If, over time, your suspension begins to rumble, or a slight wobble of the stern appears when driving, then this article is for you.
Figure: Screenshot from the program for selecting spare parts, Ford Focus 1 and 2 suspension. It shows all the main rear suspension arms. The diagram shows:
5A638 – trailing arm silent block, 5500A “bone” lever, 5500b – “sickle” lever, 5K652 – large wishbone, HB1 – fastening bolts (8 pcs. in total), HB3 – silent block bolt (4 pcs.)
5500b is a crescent-shaped lever; on the sedan and station wagon they differ in shape (the lever for the station wagon is shown in this diagram).
The arrows point to the camber bolt, nut and washer, which need to be changed every time the lever is removed (if this is not done, it will not be possible to set the required rear wheel alignment angles in the wheel alignment stand).
5A638 - silent block of the rear trailing arm, as a rule, requires replacement along with the levers. Fastened with HB3 bolts, which are supplied only in the original (with variable thread).
5500A is a small wishbone, the so-called “bone”. These levers take a lot of load, I recommend installing the original, Febi, Lemforder or Meyle.
Figure - sickle rear suspension Ford Focus 1, 2 (sedan and hatchback)
On station wagon cars, crescent-shaped levers of a different shape were installed from the factory; this was done because in a station wagon there is more load on the trunk, and when the trunk was loaded at maximum, in large holes there could be impacts of the standard crescent-shaped lever on the body. The station wagon's crescent-shaped arms resemble a banana in shape. When buying levers for a station wagon, you can buy standard levers from a sedan and hatchback, because “banana-shaped” levers are more expensive and there is less choice, these are either Chinese levers or expensive original ones. Standard “sickle-shaped” levers are cheaper and there are good analogues. As practice shows, messages from forums and so on, standard “sickles” from a sedan are easily installed on a station wagon, and this does not lead to any impacts or wear.
Figure - Crescent lever of the banana station wagon
Ford Focus 2 cars are equipped with two rear suspension options.
The first suspension option (straight arms) is the same as the Ford Focus 1 suspension, it has direct spring arms. Straight levers can be original or non-original.
Figure - Straight arms (Ford original number: 1357317)
Figure Straight levers on a Focus 2 car A stabilizer bar “pin” (1719542) is installed on the “straight” levers.
The second suspension option is distinguished by spring-loaded arms - they are “bent”. According to statistics, such levers occur in 1 case out of 10 cars. Levers are only original. You can install levers from Mazda 3, they are absolutely the same, they even have a FoMOCo stamp on them.
Replacing the rear stabilizer link
If a knock appears in the rear suspension area, it is likely that the stabilizer links are worn out. Changing parts is quite simple; if there are no complications during removal, you can replace the stabilizer strut in half an hour or even faster.
It is convenient to perform the replacement on a pit or a lift; the wheel does not need to be removed to perform the operation. We carry out the work in the following order:
- unscrew the nut that secures the strut to the wishbone of the suspension; for this you will need a 15 mm spanner. To prevent the strut from turning along the axis when unscrewing the nut, hold it with a hexagon;
- then use the same keys to unscrew the upper nut that holds the strut to the wishbone;
- Having unscrewed the fasteners, remove the old part, install the new one, and at this point we can consider the work completed.
Everything was simple, but the old stand does not always turn away normally. The thread on the ball pin becomes clogged with dirt, and when you try to unscrew the nut, the hex wrench turns in the body of the pin. Before you start unwinding the connection, you must:
- clean the threads on the stabilizer link from dirt;
- spray WD40 on it;
- wait 15-20 minutes for the remaining dirt to “eat off”.
Only after this should you begin to unscrew the nuts. If, nevertheless, the ball pin rotates in the body, and the nut rotates with it, you will have to use a small grinder to cut off the worn stabilizer link.
Ford Focus 2 suspension (front and rear) requires repair
The suspension of the Ford Focus 2 is quite reliable, as evidenced by the technical characteristics of the Ford Focus 2. It has a long service life, but if you repair the Ford Focus 2 suspension, then some problems often arise. It is not easy to fix breakdowns yourself. In view of this, if you choose this model, you will have to immediately look for a good service station.
The average cost of major repairs to the front suspension of a Ford Focus 2 is 13 thousand rubles. Repairing the rear suspension of a Ford Focus 2 will cost 23 thousand rubles.
What is the service life of suspension parts on a Ford Focus 2?
Front suspension Ford Focus 2
In the front suspension of the Ford Focus 2, the weakest link is considered to be the silent block at the lower arm. Even the service station will not replace it, since this requires specialized expensive equipment. All this means that if the silent block is damaged, you will have to change the lever. The suspension arms are designed for approximately 80-100 thousand km. mileage
Shock absorbers have the same service life. If there is a need to replace them, it is worth changing the support bearings at the same time.
The service life of stabilizer struts and steering tips is 110-130 thousand km. mileage
A wheel bearing lasts approximately 50-60 thousand km. It is changed along with the hub.
Rear suspension Ford Focus 2
The service life of silent blocks of the trailing arm is 80-110 thousand kilometers. To replace them, you will need to disassemble the suspension. This is why repairing the rear suspension of a Ford Focus 2 is more expensive.
However, silent blocks are the most fragile parts in the rear suspension. The remaining parts will last longer, shock absorbers - approximately 90-130 thousand km, stabilizer struts - 130-140 thousand km.
Replacing the lower front arm Focus
As in the case described above, we will need to remove the spring, remove the wheel and place an adjustable stop or a hydraulic jack under the lower arm at the junction of it with the trailing arm, and using the stop we raise the arms so that the rear suspension takes the “car on wheels” position. . Naturally, we do all this on a pit or overpass.
Then, using a 15mm wrench or socket, unscrew the bolt securing the lever to the trailing arm and remove the bolt. Similarly, unscrew the bolt securing the lever to the subframe and remove the bolt. Using a screwdriver, pry the ends of the lever out of the brackets and remove the lever. Photos for clarity are attached below.
Install the new lever in reverse order. In this case, it is worth considering one important point: the inscription “FRONT” on the lever should be directed towards the front of the car.
How to determine the condition of the Ford Focus 2 suspension?
It is best to check on an overpass or pit, lifting each wheel in turn. It is recommended to carry out this action every 20 thousand km. mileage or after the car received a strong blow while driving through a deep hole.
First you need to start with the wheels
- unscrew it with your hands. The rotation of the wheel should be uniform, without any extraneous sounds or jamming.
- grab the wheel from below and from above, the upper part must be pulled towards you, and the lower part in the other direction. Repeat the procedure, but in reverse.
When you do this, there should be no knocking or play. In a situation where there is play, you should ask your partner to press the brake and check the play again.
Now there is no play? This indicates that the wheel bearing has failed. Is there any backlash left? This means the reason is in another suspension part. The next thing we check in this case is the ball joints.
Checking ball joints
Insert a strong screwdriver between the steering knuckle and the suspension arm and press it out. Is there any play? So it's time to change the support. If the cover is cracked, it must be replaced.
Silent blocks of levers of the rear and front suspension of Ford Focus 2
Move the arm eye using a screwdriver inserted between the subframe and it. If it moves easily enough, the silent block needs to be replaced.
The rubber bushing of the silent block should not bulge, and there should also be no cracks.
Ball joints at the anti-roll bar struts
Move them with your hand. The appearance of play indicates that it is time to replace the stabilizer struts.
Inspect the protective covers of the stabilizer ball struts. Covers must be elastic and free of rips and cracks.
Preparing tools and accessories for replacement
Before changing the silent blocks of the rear levers on the Focus, you need to make sure that all the necessary tools and accessories are at hand. First of all, you will need either pullers with grips for pressing out silent blocks, or a press. It is not always possible to knock out the bushings with a sledgehammer, even if you have spacers of the required diameter. But spacers are still necessary. Here are their drawings and dimensions. This is a spacer for pressing out the silent blocks of the spring-loaded rear lever:
