Tom's TDCi Titanium X...

[Jonny81191]

You've folded the mirrors in.

And fitted wind deflectors..

[Toms306]

yep mirrors folded... have you fitted the present yet?

I haven't had time. Hopefully do it Friday though...

[Toms306]

So, I f*cked up this morning.



Will update when pics have uploaded lol. It is sort of fixed now I hope.

[Eeyore]

oh tom what have you done...

[procta]

oh tom what have you done...

done a burn out

[Toms306]

So, the anniversary present I ordered for the car was a set of gloss black honeycomb grills and fog surrounds for it, the ST bumpers are a different shape so the lower grills are specifically made in honeycomb for the non-ST and usually out of stock on ebay... Well they got stock in last week so I jumped on it...

Got excited when the box arrived...seems an odd shape for grills but ok...



Woop...



Also ordered some gel plates so I didn't have to stick the dented pressed plate on the new grill...




Now, some of you will know how delicate the bonnet lock is on Fords, why they cant just use a cable I don't know. Anyway, kept checking it at every opportunity... Tiny air intake is the same even on the proper engine ones!





Lock still working, just needed to release it from the tabs before pulling the grill...



Old grill off and lock still working!



But this is where it goes downhill...

New grill out. Hmm, badge sits a bit low, and there are scuff marks from the badge flip already. Bit annoying but tried to fit as I'd got that far...



Offer it up and it doesn't fit properly either. Manage to get it in but it sits a bit proud, push the lock into position and break the damn lock.

Photo's stopped now as I'm trying to fix it, lock inner doesn't push back as it should. Have to remove the grill again. Lock still wont go back. Remove the whole lock from the car (easier said than done with a solid boost pipe in the way). Still cant do it, put it back again. Put all my weight against it while turning the key and finally it went in...and immediately fell out again. Urgh.

In the end I had to refit the old grill, put all my weight against the lock while turning the key and it did go back in, but feels really rough. Seems to work atm but I won't be at all surprised if it fails now and leaves the bonnet stuck closed.

Also tried to remove the lower grill but the bumpers too flexible, it just bends as I'm trying to pull the clips out and somethings gonna break before it comes off. So gave up on that.

Did fit the gloss black fog surrounds though, they left the factory in faded grey for some unknown reason. Not sure if I like them without the grills as well. One of the tabs broke off them as well.






So not really sure what to do now, doubt I can return the grills, guess I'll just try to sell them to someone who is less fussy than me maybe? No idea...

[procta]

what a f*cking nightmare tom! sounds like things have gone from bad to worse!! At least you backed off before the full lot went tits up!
id get a new bonnet lock on order straight away and send the remaining parts back. Waste of time if they are not going to fit well.

[1616six]

How much were the plates Tom?

Looks good, make the grill fit.

It'd also look much nicer with the bonnet strip wrapped in black IMO.

[Toms306]

what a f*cking nightmare tom! sounds like things have gone from bad to worse!! At least you backed off before the full lot went tits up!
id get a new bonnet lock on order straight away and send the remaining parts back. Waste of time if they are not going to fit well.

Indeed, not what I wanted after having a really shit drive on Tuesday, got stuck on a closed road, then caused a flood in my Nans kitchen yesterday, the weeks going well so far.

I'm not really sure how the bonnet locks are bought, I doubt they come in one lump, will look into it though they wont be cheap if it's one lump, don't forget it'd need the key barrel to made to my car as well.

Don't think I can send the grills back as they're not actually defective, just don't fit lol.

How much were the plates Tom?

Looks good, make the grill fit.

It'd also look much nicer with the bonnet strip wrapped in black IMO.

Plates were £27 off ebay. Not sure they're worth that but they do look good tbh. I got carried away on ebay if you hadn't guessed lol...

I like the chrome strips on the bonnet and boot, everyone wraps them black on modded Focii and I really don't like it. I'd actually been putting off getting the lower honeycomb grill as they don't do one with the chrome outline like the Titanium grills, wish I'd kept putting it off now lol.

Can't make the top grill fit without cutting lumps off it or the bumper, even then it's literally millimetres between the lock working and collapsing so may still not work, and the badge doesn't sit right which already annoys me so won't be fitting them. They did look cool on the ebay ad, and one of the guys on FOC has a set which look ok in pics, but I guess the quality control just isn't great.

[procta]

I would still send them back tom, as they don't fit. what is the point in keeping parts that don't fit. get a refund and that's it. I wouldn't waste anytime in trying to make things fit, a f*ck on you can do with out really.

[Seb_Ryan]

We did one the other week in work and managed to swap the barrel over, its usually the white plastic clip that breaks that goes into the actual bonnet lock

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

[Toms306]

I would still send them back tom, as they don't fit. what is the point in keeping parts that don't fit. get a refund and that's it. I wouldn't waste anytime in trying to make things fit, a f*ck on you can do with out really.

I don't think they'll take them back though, I'll have to sell them on to someone that's got more patience and less OCD than me lol.

Also decided I don't like the black fogs next to the grey grills so they'll be coming off today as well.

At this rate the wind deflectors might be coming off too, drivers window still keeps bouncing back despite using the proper clips and adding more tape. All the other windows are fine. Plus now I've fitted the clips there's one in my vision all the time which is really annoying. And they add quite a chunk to the A pillar blind spot which isn't ideal.

We did one the other week in work and managed to swap the barrel over, its usually the white plastic clip that breaks that goes into the actual bonnet lock

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

I have now found an upgraded white clip, it's longer so shouldn't pull out. Wish I'd known about that last week, would've bought one before attempting grills.

[1616six]

At this rate the wind deflectors might be coming off too, drivers window still keeps bouncing back despite using the proper clips and adding more tape.  All the other windows are fine.  Plus now I've fitted the clips there's one in my vision all the time which is really annoying.  And they add quite a chunk to the A pillar blind spot which isn't ideal.

And they create a shit load of annoying wind noise too!

[Toms306]

Ever been in a Focus at speed? Can't hear the wind noise over the road noise, if only they used some sound deadening, suppose its too expensive for a Ford though. I do miss VAG quietness on fast roads!

Seriously though, they haven't added any wind noise that I've noticed, but I can't say they've reduced it either...but then again maybe they're not meant to work with the window fully down at 60+ lol.

[welshpug]

they look wank anyway ?!

you have ac, use it :p

[Strikeforce]

I did a service on my mates focus early this year
Got it up on stands, dropped the oil, proceded to open the bonnet and **** yep wouldnt open.
Was a right faff to get the bonnet open. He was shitting bricks about not being able to get it open because he wasnt driving anywhere with no oil in his car
Eventualy got it open by ripping the grill out and some very very fiddly and bent hands trickery.
In the end it was a plastc clip that broke but on the plus side it was only a few quid from ford, still a shit design tho.

[cully]

remove lock carry large cross screwdriver

[Toms306]

they look wank anyway ?!

you have ac, use it :p

Lol, that's your opinion.

The AC is shit in the Focus, another thing I miss from VAG life lol. It works, and the gas been topped up, it's just not at all effective in hot sun. Occasionally get wafts of cool air but it can't cool the whole car down. Uses a tonne of fuel as well while it's not working well so I just keep the windows down until cruising at '70' on the dual carriageway.

I did a service on my mates focus early this year
Got it up on stands, dropped the oil, proceded to open the bonnet and **** yep wouldnt open.
Was a right faff to get the bonnet open. He was shitting bricks about not being able to get it open because he wasnt driving anywhere with no oil in his car
Eventualy got it open by ripping the grill out and some very very fiddly and bent hands trickery.
In the end it was a plastc clip that broke but on the plus side it was only a few quid from ford, still a shit design tho.

Yeah it's a common issue. Stupid system really, should just use a cable inside lol!!

Not only does it break but it's so easy to put your keys on the engine cover while checking oil or screenwash...then close the bonnet. Fortunately I was at home with the front door unlocked so I could get the spare...

remove lock carry large cross screwdriver

Lol, that was the suggestion on the FB group tbh.

[Eeyore]

what a ball ache. i was looking forward to seeing it with the new grilles on as well!

[Toms306]

what a ball ache. i was looking forward to seeing it with the new grilles on as well!

Indeed.

On a lighter note, fitted the gel plates and new TDCi badge this afternoon, must admit they do look pretty good tbh. And have decided to stick with the black fog surrounds for now.





*Awaits the 'wonky' posts* But they're not in reality, it's just the curves that make it look odd in pics lol.

[Toms306]

So the bonnet lock still seems to working atm lol... And the reason I've been trying to tidy the Focus up a bit is because I'll be keeping it until at least Feb now. After that I'm hoping to change to something VAG...still unsure what it'll be atm but I'm sure you'll all hate it regardless...

And on that note, had a great day at Low Collective today. I won't bore you with all the tyre stretch and air-ride so just a pic of mine, will upload proper pics to fb later if anyone is interested though.

---

Oh, just remembered I took this pic for the mechanical diesel fans...

[Toms306]

Well, it's exactly 2 years today since I bought the Focus, had our ups and downs but we're still together which is the important part.








I also returned the grills for a refund as procta suggested which was easier than I thought it would be. Hardest part was fitting the box in the Fiesta for the post office trip, no chance of it going straight in the boot lol.

[Toms306]

So I've removed the wind deflectors, swear I regret everything I buy lol.

If anyone knows anyone local with a Mk2/2.5 5dr Focus and is after a set I'm asking £15 collected for them.

[Eeyore]

So I've removed the wind deflectors, swear I regret everything I buy lol.  

If anyone knows anyone local with a Mk2/2.5 5dr Focus and is after a set I'm asking £15 collected for them.

what was wrong with those? just didnt fancy them any more?

[Toms306]

They annoyed me ever since fitting, thought I'd get used to it but didn't. They reduce visibility at the A pillar on roundabouts and tight corners/carparks plus there was a shiny metal clip right next to the wing mirror in my vision all the time. Other people with them probably aren't as easily irritable as myself.

[Eeyore]

They annoyed me ever since fitting, thought I'd get used to it but didn't.  They reduce visibility at the A pillar on roundabouts and tight corners/carparks plus there was a shiny metal clip right next to the wing mirror in my vision all the time.  Other people with them probably aren't as easily irritable as myself.

id say that was a given x