i think the clutch on my W reg focus is on its way out, so i need to get it looked at..

i want to take it to an official Ford place, as they have the equipment to interrogate and (if necessary) reprogramme the ECUs.. thing is, i'm a bit strapped and could really do without being ripped off..

as i'm sure y'all know, getting a clutch/cylinder replaced is not the cheapest of jobs.. so, has anyone got any stories/experiences to share of ford dealers or repair shops in sheffield?

i live in S7, near sharrow lane, so the closer to that the better..

any help appreciated..

ta.

try Dixons Ford on Saville Street in Attercliffe they are decent there, gotted a new mondeo not long ago from them

Whatever you do Don't take it to Dixons.
I took a 3 year old Mondeo, which I suspected a clutch problem for a service and asked them to look at the clutch because the engine was stalling from time to time at low speed and I suspected a fault with the master cylinder sticking or something.
They did the service and rang to say, yes it's definitely the clutch is faulty do you want us to replace it, its £565.82... I rang around and found that any one of three local clutch companies could do it for less than half. But It was only an occasional fault so I left it for the time being.
3 months later the real fault emerged as faulty ht leads and coil in the engine. One of the leads failed completely and the engine was running with massively reduced power on only 3 cylinders.

A man up southy hill [Raytune]who does crypton tuning fixed it for me for a reasonable fee, and the car went like a rocket after that, must have been a problem for some time.
He told me that you need to replace your ht leads on a modern ford zetec engine every 3-4 years as they break down. It's a design fault.

Thanks Dixon for trying to rip me off for half a grand!

You could try Carters (Ford) on Station road Chapletown.

on our old mondeo lx the clutch went and coz we didnt have a lot of money we took it to a cheap place in hillsbrough i think they charged us about £200 quid, they replaced the clutch alright, but......

a couple of days l8r on our way to meadow hall there was a loud clunk and the car started sounding like a double decker bus! it turned out that a 6 inch bolt had fell out! this bolt held up the gear box which was half hanging off! we took the car to our local mechanic and he had a look for us n put this rather important bolt back and discovered that all the big bolts that hold the shassy up and the gear box which that had to remove to get to the clutch had only been lightly screwed in and could have fell out @ ne time!

and with a newborn baby in the car that could have ended up disasterous, thankfully it didnt.

but neway after that we sed if nething major like that needed doin agen we'd take it to a proper place and pay more for it to avoid nething like that happening agen!

so take ur pick, pay a bit extra for a good job or if u know someone who u trust who can do it for cheaper go with them, but dont go for sumine u dont know nething about just coz they r cheapest.

Louise,
that is a worrying tale, but I would hate to tar all the small guys with the same brush, most of them are very good.

The old TC harrisons on london road, once saved me from expense by finding an egg in my back tyre, when I thought I needed a new wheel bearing. I trusted them though, I had a mate who worked there and I always had a good job.

I would guard against paying for things at a main dealer if you only have their word for it that it needs doing. If you know what it is, you can always get it done at a more realistic price. And they try to make their money with car loans and servicing, as car sales are cut to the bone.

im not saying they r all bad but just be carefull. if you gotta go with the cheaper option try n go with someone who has been recommended by someelse who has had good experiences with them.

its a dodgy world out there, so be carefull

Originally posted by x_LoUiSe_x
on our old mondeo lx the clutch went and coz we didnt have a lot of money we took it to a cheap place in hillsbrough i think they charged us about £200 quid, they replaced the clutch alright, but......

a couple of days l8r on our way to meadow hall there was a loud clunk and the car started sounding like a double decker bus! it turned out that a 6 inch bolt had fell out! this bolt held up the gear box which was half hanging off! we took the car to our local mechanic and he had a look for us n put this rather important bolt back and discovered that all the big bolts that hold the shassy up and the gear box which that had to remove to get to the clutch had only been lightly screwed in and could have fell out @ ne time!

and with a newborn baby in the car that could have ended up disasterous, thankfully it didnt.

but neway after that we sed if nething major like that needed doin agen we'd take it to a proper place and pay more for it to avoid nething like that happening agen!

so take ur pick, pay a bit extra for a good job or if u know someone who u trust who can do it for cheaper go with them, but dont go for sumine u dont know nething about just coz they r cheapest.

this is exactly why i posted this thread! i took my car to Autoworld (just off abbeydale road) not too long ago just cos it was handy; about 5 minutes walk from my house..

unfortunately, they were not official ford dealers, so the "repairs" basically involved them sticking an O-ring somewhere (the clutch cable, maybe).. this has seemed to work in the short term, but now i can tell something is about to give :(

when i floor the accelerator, the revs go sky high but the car just has no pull.. strange thing is, the bite of the clutch is still really low to the ground, which i thought wouldn't be the case if a clutch had become worn..

so, long story short, i want to take it to a certified ford dealership.. i called Dixon's after your (very helpful) response.. worst case scenario i'm looking at £414 (clutch, bearings, feed pipe and labour).. best case scenario, about £120.. plus, they'll be able to interrogate the ECUs as i think pre-2000 models had some inherent problems with the codes (mine's a W reg, so it's an early 2000 plate)..

i don't suppose there is anywhere that offers finance deals on repairs? i could really do without having to shell out 400 notes right now..

thanks for all your replies..

anyone else have any advice or experience on this one? thought i'd do a little bump in case there are any of you who are bored at work reading :)

not sure about finance on repairs but have you looked at Provident personal loans or CLC loans? i know a lot of people dont like taking them on but they can be handy in emergancies.
You will get the money in cash and all they ask is that u can make the repayments.

basically u can borrow upto £500 for new customers and u pay it back over a year, the intrest is high though. £500 is about £15 a week for a year n £250 is about £6 a week for a year.
these are those loans where a guy (or a woman) will come to ur house once a week to collect the money.
The Provident one we have at the mo from xmas and they are ok.

like i sed they are very high intrests but handy in emergancies.

it would be a lot cheaper to save up though, lol

Originally posted by x_LoUiSe_x
not sure about finance on repairs but have you looked at Provident personal loans or CLC loans? i know a lot of people dont like taking them on but they can be handy in emergancies.
You will get the money in cash and all they ask is that u can make the repayments.

basically u can borrow upto £500 for new customers and u pay it back over a year, the intrest is high though. £500 is about £15 a week for a year n £250 is about £6 a week for a year.
these are those loans where a guy (or a woman) will come to ur house once a week to collect the money.
The Provident one we have at the mo from xmas and they are ok.

like i sed they are very high intrests but handy in emergancies.

it would be a lot cheaper to save up though, lol

thanks for your suggestion louise.. i'm not a fan of loans, especially ones with a 65% interest rate and heavies coming round your house! lol.. i think i'll just get the bank to extend my overdraft by £500 for a bit..

Originally posted by muddycoffee
He told me that you need to replace your ht leads on a modern ford zetec engine every 3-4 years as they break down. It's a design fault.

If it's a design fault shouldn't Ford be picking up the bill ?