2002 Ford Focus new lifter

Tiny
SQUISH059
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 FORD FOCUS
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 126,794 MILES
I bought a used car 2 1/2 mos ago. This past week while driving up a mountain the car downshifted to maintain speed. When it downshifted my car felt as if it had no power, like I was running on 2 or 3 cylinders instead of 4. Not to mention previous to this it would bog down when stopping at intersections like the idle was low. I was able to get it home that day although it stalled at intersections. During the problems my check engine light cam on and so did my oil pressure light. I took it to the garage that my warranty company told me to.
The garage report is written as: "car brought in because engine was missing, we took valve cover off to reveal rockers, and the #4 cylinder intake rocker was loose. We then removed the rocker and the lifter came apart. Body of lifter was stuck in cylinder head, we then had to allthread to lifter body and slide hammer it out. The lifter bore was scarred, we cleaned it up, installed new lifter and reassembled. It runs fine."
they also replaced the plug wires.
my question is: My warranty is up in 2 weeks, and unfortunately I don't know a whole lot about engine repair. But from what I do understand this seems to be a big deal within my engine. Did the garage just put a band-aid on my car. Because I definitely can not afford replacing parts of my engine continuously. Can someone offer a bit of advice? If the lifter bore is scarred could that cause me to lose compression or cause future problems with my engine?
Friday, January 15th, 2010 AT 11:32 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Hi squish059, Welcome to 2carpros and TY for the donation

If the lfiter bore is scarred up so bad the new lifter will rock and end up with the same problem not only this will happen but the valve will not be opening and closing properly cause it to lose power

The lifters and camshaft works together one goes the other follows like the distributor cap and rotor.

They should have mike the camshaft lobe/s to check if its within specs-sounds like a band-aid quickie fix for me-sorry this is my opinion
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Saturday, January 16th, 2010 AT 1:23 AM
Tiny
SQUISH059
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Do you think I should take it back to the mechanic and have him check and replace the camshaft if necessary. I really didn't like the mechanic I went to I already feel like he tried to screw me. Should I contact the warranty company and find a different mechanic and TRY to explain to them my concerns. I imagine they don't want to pay any more money out that they dont have to, but I really don't want to leave myself in the position to be getting screwed by a mechanic and warranty company. Maybe I should buy the extended warranty since mine is up in 2 weeks. Then when I have camshaft or valve problems or more lifter problems then they'll have to pay for it. But I hate wasting money on a warranty that is not very good at all. I'm in a tough position here.
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Saturday, January 16th, 2010 AT 1:09 PM
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
You're in a tight spot here if I were you just get the extended warranty
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Saturday, January 16th, 2010 AT 2:13 PM

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