ST170 Trouble

[TrentST]

Evening boys and girls,

Ive have previously been a member of the AFF after falling for my first car a manual au2 XR6 falcon about 2 years ago.

After owning a 740 turbo volvo since I decided to treat myself to a new (new by my standards) car with performance, heaps of gear and above all fuel economy. I waded through my archives of wheels and motor magazines to find that the car best suited to this criteria and my driving habits was Ford's warmed up focus st170.

I found a great example interstate and finally recieved it earlier this week after waiting for it to arrive via truck. It was an awsome day as I made the 1 hour trip from the brisbane transport deppo to the Gold Coast for my first drive..... However from that drive onwards things started to get a little suss.....

The car hated changing gear, protesting from 3rd to 4th with an intial hunt through the rev range once the clutch was released. Once in gear it would cough and splutter when it eventually made it above 4000rpm (crap considering I bought it to travel through the full 7200). I guessed it was a computer related problem (traction control) so I left it parked for a day with the battery connections detached.

To my utter horror and dismay the problem was back on start up the next morning, this time in all gears. The car came to a shuddering stop on the roadside refusing to start again. So I had it towed.

After a week of diagnosis it has finally been revealed that the clutch has been badly worn, something I didn't even think to check as it was purchased from a repitable dealership with all consequent pre-sale checks being documented and carried out. It sickens me that someone has worn out a clutch in this car after 50000kms...

So with warranty work being carried out (flywheel being machined and new clutch.. $1200) I hope my car is back to its best so that I can enjoy it to its full potential. The experience hasn't soured my love for this little car and I hope there are many fun and rewarding drives ahead.

Thanks for listening.