NHTSA Complaint #10764226 — 2001 FORD FOCUS

AFTER A 2~ HOUR DRIVE, ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED 5MIN LATER. AN INTAKE VALVE SEAT DROPPED AND IT INSTANTLY SMACKED THE PISTON ON THE FIRST TURN OF THE ENGINE, IT HIT HARD ENUF TO BLOW THE PISTON APART AND THE CONNECTING ROD PUT A HOLE THRU THE PISTON LINER. PUTTING COOLANT IN TO THE CRANK CASE, AS IT WAS NO LONGER CONNECTED TO THE PISTON ANY MORE. NEEDLESS TO SAY IT WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE. I REPAIRED THE AUTO WITH A AFTERMARKET HEAD FROM HTTP://CIFICINC.NET/ AND A SHORT BLOCK OUT OF A PARTS CAR. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH IM NOT THE ONLY PERSON TO HAVE THIS FAILURE, THERE ARE FOCUS ALL OVER THE NET THAT HAVE HAD THIS FAILURE. I SEEM TO BE LUCKY AS ITS MUCH MORE COMMON FOR IT TO HAPPEN AROUND 110/140K THEN 206K THE ESCORT ALSO HAS THE SAME ENGINE OR ONE OF THE SAME SPI SOHC 1.9/2.0 ENGINE FAMILY AND CAN ALSO HAVE THIS FAILURE. . . I REPAIRED THE AUTO ONLY BECAUSE OF ITS ABOVE AVERAGE MPG, HAD IT NOT GOTTEN HIGH 30S OR BETTER, I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF IT. AS THE VALUE OF THE AUTO IS AROUND 1,400~ AND THE REPAIR WAS ABOUT HALF THAT, DOING ALL THE WORK MY SELF...TAKING IT TO A SHOP WAS OUT OF THE QUESTION AS THE COST TO REPAIR WOULD HAVE BEEN 2X THE VALUE OF THE AUTO OR WORSE....