Focus Alloy Wheels

Malc

Malc

Malc

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Joined
16 May 2004
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Manchester
Hi,

After taking my MK2 Focus to the garage this morning to sort out a steering wheel wobble that I've had for a while, I was told that the front left alloy had a flat spot and needed replacing. The other 3 alloys are also in bad condition and definitely could do with a refurb. These are the wheels that came with the car http://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/ford_focus_mk2_65_x_17_alloy_wheel_f_1384604_c_259.htm. Therefore, my question to you is what it the best course of action, or more like, what would you do in my situation?

The way I see it these are my options:

1) Get all 4 wheels repaired/refurbed. I've rang a local company to be told that, including the straightening of the flat wheel, it's £384 for all 4. They can't book me in until 1st of November though. Also, if they can't repair the damaged wheel, I've wasted 2 months of waiting.

2) Try and find some 2nd hand original focus wheels. I'v had a scour around and couldn't really find much and there is the potential that they'll need a refurb as well.

3) Buy some aftermarket alloys. I've found some half decent looking ones for the £330 mark. This option has the benefit that I'll be confident of the condition of the wheels.

4) Buy 4 brand new Ford Wheels. This comes to £700 plus delivery and probably not worth it considering the value of the car.

I'm leaning towards number 3 as it's probably the cheapest option and the condition of the wheels will be good. But which wheels and where from? Any advice?

Cheers
 
Refurbing them will be the cheapest option as aftermarket ones would need to be declared to insurance and depending on your insurer could get a nice extra load to your premium.
 
£384 seems steep if it's just fixing cosmetic damage on 3 wheels and then a repair job on the 4th? Have you looked for any more quotes on refurbs from different companies?

Aftermarket alloys may be an option but personally I'm very picky and would prefer the standard look on a Focus so my vote is #1 assuming you can get a decent price.
 
Thats actually a point, nearly £400 does seem a little steep. Local place here (that I used a few years ago) will do all 4 wheels (up to 16") for £230 (extra £20 for 17" wheels)
 
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Cheers for the advice. The car will look better with stock alloys and it'll be easier to sell on.

I've managed to get a quote for £300 including the repair and they can do it on Monday.

rossk26 said:
Try and find a second hand replacement for the flat spot alloy wheel.

Then get all 4 wheels refurbed (don't pay anything more than £60 a corner.)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-C-Max-Focus-S-Pack-Alloy-Wheel-17-inch-/251327585398?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Rims_Car_Wheels_ET&hash=item3a844a9c76

That looks the same alloy as yours. Get rid of the cheap tyre, and have your tyre put on by the refurb place.
Click to expand...


Ross, nice find. It's on my watch list.
 
Hmmm interesting. I swapped the wheels between axles last night in order to check the damaged wheel (it's got a massive flat spot!), rotate the tread depth and also see what putting the damged wheel on the back did to the steering wobble.

Interestingly, it's shifted the wobble to between 45mph and 65mph whereas before it was between 60mph and 75mph. This obviously means it's not just the damaged wheel that's causing the resonance.

The wheels were all balanced in February when I had the car serviced and even after that the wheels still resonated, I've just been too lazy to get it fixed until now.

My plan is to buy another wheel to replace the flat one and when I take it to the garage to get the tyres swapped over mention the remaining problem considering they've diagnosed the problem as the flat wheel.

Any ideas as to the best course of diagnosis?
 
Right an update.

I bought that alloy from ebay (thanks ross), changed the tyre over and got it fitted. All wheels have been balanced. It now has a much milder vibration between 45 and 65mph still. I noticed that the wobble got worse under braking so I changed the front discs and pads at the weekend. This has completely removed the braking wobble but the resonance at speed still exists.

The guy who balanced the tyres checked the suspension set up and couldn't find any play. I assume this rules out suspension bushes?

My next step is to get the tracking checked tonight and also swap the wheels back between the axles to see if it changes the speed of the resonance again. I'm thinking one or more of the tyres could be slightly egg shaped?

After that, where shall I go?
 
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You've done most of the ruling out so far, so I'm stumped.

My wheels were misaligned, bushes were gone, and CV boot joint split and dry.

The thing that fixed my steering wheel wobble was the bushes being replaced. Tracking will only adjust the angle in which the car heads, and reducing uneven tyre wear of course. It depends how the guy checked the suspension set up, but one would hope he checked the condition of the bushes. But you could check yourself for and leaking oil around them. The would indicate that they are probably gone.

If you suspect the tyres, I'd recommend seeing if you can try a set of other tyres to see if it resolves the issue rather than buying 4 brand new tyres.
 
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The guy just tugged the hub around on both sides to check for play. He didn't really do any visual inspection of the bushes.

As I'm pretty new to this, what am I looking for?
 
9ABDC32A-B1A4-47FE-8212-739CE9826041-2176-000001F5F0F7C78E.jpg


That's the only picture I've got of mine, sorry it's not very clear. This is also an after shot with the polybush fitted. It's dark purple in colour.

But you are looking for 2 cylinder shape bushes attached to the wishbone, one on each side. One large in diameter and one smaller. They will be dark black (and probably a bit rusty). If they look greasy, then it's likely they have split and leaked. It's a common issue with Ford's.
 
They look like the outer lip is polished or diamond cut which most people on this thread have missed. If that is the case then don't expect normal refurb prices. Expect to pay around 300 to 400 for all 4
 
Cheers gents, I'll check the bushes out tonight.

I've given up on the refurb idea. I may do it in the future but the cost is racking up trying to sort the wobble which is definitely more important than the aesthetics on a ~£2k second car.
 
Not really helping on the wobble side but assuming all the alloys are straight and you just want them tidied up on a cheap car just refurb them yourself, it's dead easy and with patience you can do a pretty tidy job with a rattle can! I just refurbed my Dads Celica alloys for about £40quid buying paints/primer/lacquer from eurocarparts during a sale.
 
Check your Alloys for any buckles and bulges in the Tyres.

That was the issue mine turned out to be in the end, fake ST alloys.

:o

If you feel the Lower Track Rod Arms and Bushes are shot, Kwik Fit replaced both front corners for £200 all in, OMC Ford and even an Indy Garage wanted to strip me of £500+

See this Focus is a PITA, if there's not one issue there's another. now I have an intermittent warm start issue? Sometimes it will start PL. sometimes it needs me to pump the Accelerator Pedal to start it, is this an Alternator issue? I do hear it tick on cold mornings and wet days...

Diagnostics show no error codes :confused:
 
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