Fixing The Problem That Ford REFUSED To Solve *Ford Focus DCT Clutch Replacement*
One transmission took the Ford Focus from being an extremely reliable and affordable car, to being the laughing stock of compact cars, the Powershift DCT. My girlfriend drives this 2015 Focus and with less than 70,000 miles on it, it's ready for an early funeral. We've got the dreaded P0902 Clutch Actuator A code.
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#Ford #FordFocus #Powershift
At least you had the shop and the knowledge to fix this.... it's just sad that Ford refused to do the right thing and do this for you. Could have been some good PR for them. Instead, it makes people think twice before buying a Ford product.
Ford has ceded the small car market.... so.. yeah.
According to the story Ford knew it was a bad design but decided to go ahead with the DCT anyway. Better PR would have been to bite the bullet and scrap or redesign it.
That's today's Ford
The fact that it’s a ford should make people think twice. No American made cars are worth a damn.
Fits with the fact, that Ford thinks that it is a great idea to have a rubber cambelt in oil.... The cars are not meant to last.
YES!!! Whatever camera you decide on PLEASE keep using the lapel mics. SO much better than the echo chamber from the camera mics.
And its not so peaky and shrill sounding. Sounds alot better!
He could use an iphone quality is good, also same mic was very good
@@Chris-hw4mqI'd go for either an iphone or a galaxy s23 ultra. The workflow of uploading would be easier as well.
Don’t think I’ve seen your brother in a while on here……good to see him! Watched the crusher video and your dad is a straight up genius!!
If you lift that transmission by yourself, your lug nuts will be swollen also.
🤣🤣🤣! Best comment ever!
@@bigjohnson7415 It's more than just a Ford thing. lmao
Greetings from Sweden. So I just can't understand why WJRG doesn't have plus 2 million subscriptions. There must be something completely wrong with the YT algorithm. You are doing a great job, please keep it up 😄
Sloppy fast filming
It's YT algorithm...it favors expensive projects and super cars, particularly buying new cars
Best car I ever had for the first 15,000 miles and then it was a nightmare.
That’s a shame. Test drove the Focus in 2012 and it drove much like a 3-series BMW EXCEPT the transmission was stumbling awkwardly during the test drive.
Escape as well
2018 focus SEL hachback. The transmission failed twice under 33,000k miles. This is a good car with a horrendous transmission. If you can find a manual transmission focus, you've found a good car. The dual-clutch ruined this car.
@@TVC15185 I had a Fusion that I changed the brakes, tires, belt, battery, and oil. 150k miles-no issue. Then some idiot totaled it. It had the 2.0 ECOBOOST.
@@TVC15185 Saved up and bought a nice barely used Lexus ES 350. Not a super sexy car but hopefully 100k issue free miles.
Don't forget to reprogram the TCM for the new clutch.. good for another 30k miles 😅
Haha, my fiesta's was replaced at 30,000, and then it went out at 70,000 agin, so I got 40K. They charged me 4k to fix it, and a few months later are saying the clock gear is stripped and needs to be replaced. Ford and its dealers are clowns in my book, will never buy a Ford again.
I have to tell you how much I love and look forward to your videos!!! I’m Amazed that you’re not over a Million Subs,. I hope people subscribe and get you there..😊
I agree. JR is definitely a jack of all trades. He can work/fix such a variety. Like his pops!!
Remember doing a clutch on one of my cars the best part of 10 years ago now. I was working on my drive, with junk tools and the car at ground level. ID have killed for a heated shop and ramp like this. Good work
When I briefly owned one of these the dealership explained to me that the fact it is a dry clutch dct is the problem. That they actually poorly designed some coolant or oil paths and a few drops hit the clutch and destroy it. That the reason ford never issued a recall is because to fix it they would have to replace every engine and transmission entirely. Because it’s a design flaw in the big parts.
Every other DCT transmission is "wet clutch". No one else does a dry DCT - NO ONE. Hindsight, ford would have been better off with increasing production of their existing transverse 6 speed. At least it was a known quantity, and they wouldn't be facing a billion $ class action lawsuit.
Wet clutch don't have problems really you want me to start naming them? Guy oh there is clutch dust no kidding all clutches give off dust. I've found many problems caused by owners hitting start button and throwing it into gear at same time. Seen low voltage faults caused by this battery just started engine, voltage low and alt hasn't even start charging yet.
I'm glad you're able to save that car.
I researched the crap out of these because I have one, what I found to to the common denominator was the main oil seal in the transmission, there are 2 of them, the oil gets passed the seals and flings oil onto the clutch pack hence the the slipping and shuddering, they also don’t like sitting in traffic and constantly nudging forward which engages and disengage the transmission. Good luck JR,
This one looked pretty dry, don't think that's the culprit this time. They're just all-around awful transmissions!
The sensors can go out really easily, clutch actuators can go bad, this thing just sucks
I used to have this exact car same color and everything. I had the same problem but ford covered it and once it was fixed it was fine. I loved that car. I was hit by a drunk driver and it saved my life but RIP focus I literally cried I loved that car so much. It’s nothing special but it was very reliable good on gas and pretty fast. I miss it.
She holds 1.8 quarts of Amsoil DCT fluid ... I did every 25-30K miles and had no problems. 178K when it got rearended. Initially, it had the brown seal upgrade along with the bearing setup between the plates. Keep up on cleaning the battery cable ends also ...
You rock dude! Glad your decided to get it done!
I’ve been using the pocket 3 since day one. I up the colors by 10% in post and it does great. Best camera I’ve ever had for what I do.
I'm no camera expert, but it seems like the Osmo Pocket 3 did the job. I like the stability feature. Good video. Also, the fact that the Ford DCT is a dry sump DCT was one of the major problems with that transmission. A wet sump system would have been the way to go, and probably would have saved Ford from many lawsuits.
The wet clutch version they made after(dry clutch was 6DCT250, wet was 7DCT300) didn't do much better.
I wanted to see this transmission issue for a very long time. Thank you John Ross!
Back in 2011 I was looking to replace my second first-gen Focus - I liked those cars so much I had two of them, but after a combined 250k miles driven, I was looking for something a bit more modern and up-market. The fact that you couldn't get a stick in higher trims, and I didn't yet trust Ford's DCT kept me away, and fortunately, I avoided this issue. It's a shame they didn't engineer it right, it seemed like the transmission was half-baked even brand new, compared to the GTI's DCT, and I'd go so far as to blame it for tarnishing Ford's reputation with small cars.
Arent these the cars with the non serviceable air filter,and you replace the whole airbox? Theyve really gone downhill for things line that in the last 10-15yrs.
I like this style of video, your new shop and the organization system for tools. Great work!
I like the camera. Like the way it tracks and it makes the video seem very smooth. Audio sounds great. Did an Focus need a dual clutch? I never heard anyone say...Wow this is the Porsche of compact cars. Good luck, just glad to see you're saving what should be a simple, economical car. BTW, the lighting in the shop is damned near perfect!
Ford spec’d it with a dual clutch to hit the magical 40 mpg mark. They made it a dry clutch to hit the price point for an economy car. And there were time constraints so no quality testing of the transmission, it was already behind schedule.
I prefer the Osmo. I really like how it performs in low light and the sound is great as well.
Another vote for sticking it out with this camera. Get those colors tweaked if you want, but the stability, mic and wide angle are really good.
Ugh. Had the swollen lug nut cap issue on my F-150. After multiple service visits to my Ford dealer, service techs had powered them on to the point the caps would just spin. I eventually had to use a metal hole saw bit to drill-off the caps. If I ever buy a car with these lug nuts again, I’m immediately going to replace them with solid ones.
I finally did this with my F150. Best decision. Save you from so many headaches later.
I'm so glad to hear people discussing this. I thought I was crazy. I mean. they wouldn't sell a car that didn't use a standard size lug nut, would they?
@@the_mowron I had these replaced after 5 years cost a couple hundred bucks. Should have been a factory recall. Thanks Ford!!
I’d say stick with the Osmo. The stabilization and wide angle are great. Don’t worry too much about color. Good updates on the Focus!
Agree. Lighting seems just fine for me. If he wants to show off the color of a specific vehicle or something, change back, but for everyday stuff, this works perfectly.
Feels good having the manual trans version of this car, no DCT problems for me.
P0902 is usually either the Clutch Actuator A or the TCM. It literally means the electrical circuit for the A actuator and is a code that will prompt a TCM replacement if swapping the A and B actuators shows no change in the symptoms or DTC. Did you diagnose it first before buying a whole clutch kit ? Sounds like you had it at a dealer who has no idea. . . I buy and fix these things all the time.
I have one(2014 fiesta se) and after doing sparkplugs, ignition coils and wires my transmission suddenly started acting bad. The engine sounds great, but startup is rough and though it's fine going forward very slowly, going in reverse is like a machine gun and I can't get it very fast(clutch B perhaps?) Ford Town and country of Nashville TN won't look at it til 6 months from now. So I'm on the feet mobiles for a good hot minute unfortunately
I have the HF Icon snap ring plier set. Love it. I've seen a few of these for sale with the same issue, but have steered clear so far. I may take one on in the future.
Great video.....Also your new shop is absolutely perfect. Neat, well lit, good looking and just the right size.
Watching this channel for so long now, the first thing I noticed in this vid was that something was different.. the image, I like how crisp it is. The audio is also great.
I like the new camera and mic setup. I see what you are saying about colors but it's not bad, and like you said, likely configurable. Nicely done, thanks for bringing us along. ~ Chuck
Great video. I loved how clean your shop is . Keep up the great work.
This just reminded me that a friend of mine had an older Ford Mondeo Titanium (or Titanium X) that had the powershift DCT gearbox. One day it started not shifting into gear properly - Dealership was happy to cover it but then it happened a second time and he decided to get rid of it. Traded it in for a Galaxy as he wanted a vehicle he could also use for uber driving. Admittedly this Galaxy also had the powershift transmission but he didnt have the car long enough to run into issues with it. For some reason he couldnt get the permit that allowed him to work as a private hire vehicle and his uncle wanted a car for business use so he sold it to the uncle and bought a BMW 1 series. Im from the UK if that makes any difference so maybe consumer rights laws are a lot stronger here so dealerships here have no choice but to cover repair/replacement if the car is under warranty unless they can prove that the car had been driven recklessly or abused.
The workshop is looking so much better than the monster you had.
Enjoy your vids man, not sure why you haven't hit the 1 mil.sub yet. Keep up the great work and thank you.
He's gone a long ways since the "I got fired for doing youtube" video. Maybe that's not the real title, it's been a long time.
Yes he should be over a million. I believe I started following couple videos before he got fired.
I bought a new 2013 Fiesta that blew the front oil seal at 6k miles. The clutch/trans started slipping/chattering and making grinding noises while cruising at a constant speed. The dealer I bought it from said they never had any problems with the DCT and that the noises were normal.. I got a technician to drive it and he said it was the worst one he had seen so far. He admitted there had been a lot of failures. All they agreed to fix was the oil seal and clutch pack. I traded it off while they fixed it.. One of the service managers said they only replaced the seal at first...Then when the clutch still slipped they took the trans back out and replaced the clutches..No retraining the trans was done..
First thing I noticed was the better audio. Love the lapel sound in the shop. Way higher quality. Yes the Sony has better colors but stability is crazy and the colors still look decent. I’d keep it
It’s wild that I was just looking this up three days ago. I’ve got one with similar issues in my driveway that I want to fix. I’m going to get it done in the next couple weeks
kuddos for you for having enough courage to do this job bro
I remember driving those new and thinking those transmissions won’t last. JR pull out that Harbor Freight hydraulic table to use to dump that transmission onto. Also snag another fold out table from Lowe’s to keep your parts off the floor. While I’m spending your money snag an Icon 73 tool chest with the stainless steel top for a work bench. Great work and the color is a little washed out and the audio is a touch fly but overall look is very nice!
I like the more muted color! Video focus seems better, stability is great and audio is a huge improvement
Echo issue is much improved. When you were standing on top of the ladder it looked really sketchy.
This shop is great. Excellent work
The picture is a bit cold. (Highlighted blue tones) if you can find the setting to warm it up a little so you don't look so much like Casper the ghost it will be perfect. The audio was spot on. I'm watching on a 2023 model 55 inch TCL UHD panel. Hopefully this helps
What, no moaning torque wrench? 😮
On a focus if you first unbolt the starter you can angle the end with the cables down. This gives you easy access to the nuts to get the cable off.
Great that you have a shop again and back to cool car vids
This is the JR we missed watching. I dk what it is but this video took me back to good ole days.
Stabilization much improved! Not gettn seasick any longer!
WOW! Classic WatchJRGo vid!! Thank you!!
JR does what FORD won't!
JR isn’t afraid to bust those nuts.
And you have never done his before? That really impresses me! 👍👍
The Sony camera is better for seeing things since it's not as wide angle as the Osmo and it has less of an awkward artificial sway. I'm not losing any sleep if you choose the Osmo though, I didn't notice the color difference.
Dont forget to check which rings are installed inside. I think brown is the newer ones. I think there was a recall due to the rings going bad
New camera is good, one issue though is the stability feature prevents us from seeing anything that happens under the frame such as when the clutch box is opened, you were showing the top of the transmission under the hood, or in the first video you used it where your dad was pulling vacuum on the AC line.
Snap on sells a wheel nut kit with a buch of weird sockets 19.5 for the swollen nut and 18.5 for the missing caps. A few other companies (otc) makes them as well, I like my kit very much
At the automotive shop I work at, we have a dedicated flip socket that is both 19.5 and 18.5 (it’s made by Steelman Tools) and we have a saying for 2012+ Ford lug nuts: “it’s not a matter of IF they will swell, it’s WHEN they will swell”
The same as Jeep ones, and a few cheep wheels nuts are the same.
I just bought a Autel 808BT Pro and I hope it works great for the new Audis and other VAG cars I work on from time to time. I still use a OBD Port cable for VCDS Lite and a laptop for my 2003, maybe it will replace it. Who knows. I just hope it does what I need it to without having to buy modules all the time like some other scanners.
When you look at how expensive a new car is you would think customer loyalty would matter to the owners and their bottom line. There is a shortage of good mechanics and when you look at how cars are engineered to save money but cost so much to get at certain maintenance items it is no wonder why. Sad.
Back to some good ole wrenching. Also the camera looks great.
The Osmo camera feels a lot better to me. The stabilizer and lapel mic are very nice. Also, it might be just me but it seems like the autofocus works a lot better on the Osmo.
You must have a photographic memory. You know so much about every vehicle you repair.
Hey man great video. You need a A/C lift dolly. I run a transmission/automotive shop on my own my pops builds transmissions. We have three A/C lifts hand cranks. One is a hydraulic pump from the 50s or 60s we left it at the shop I quit and we got a new crank one. We use them to load and unload 55 gallon drums transmissions storage stuff up on our top shelves. They are a life and a back saver
I've been super lucky with this car. I feel like I'm driving a time bomb. My car has 245k miles on it. I've replaced the clutch actuators but everything else is original including the TCM. About 90% of the miles on it are distance miles so I'm sure that's helped.
Hey is nice to see your brother there helping you. I lost my brother last year.
Audio sounds amazing.
Excellent content! Just imagine how awesome that car would be if it was a manual tranny from the factory. Based on your work, I do not understand why Ford did not want to repair it. I am looking forward to the rest of the rebuild.
I had a 2014 Focus SE with a factory 5-speed manual. It was a great little commuter car, and completely avoided these transmission issues.
I like the new cam. Super steady. I hope he keeps using it
I like the new camera, but if I could make a suggestion. It feels like you need to tilt the viewing angle down a little more with this new camera. Example when your brother was unboxing the clutch 17:19, parts at the end 24:00 or when your dad was putting the battery in the vacuum tester in the other video, I felt like I was trying to peer over the bottom edge of frame to see what was going on, while there was too much above the area of focus visible. Not the end of the world, love the channel, keep up the hard work!
Just a side note. You do not need the reset tool if you are installing a new clutch which I would do if you drop the transmission unless the clutch has less than 30-50k miles
Hey man nice to see you back wrenching again !
There are a bunch of one time use parts starting with just about every nut and bolt you remove to get the trans out except for the bell housing bolts. That snap ring is also one time use.
The whole trans is a one time use part so what
@@jacobfrancen9029 Such an intelligent and insightful comment. Here is the simple solution. Don't buy a Ford, don't watch content about Fords, and don't waste your time commenting about Fords.
@Dave-in-MD don't take it so personally. I've got an 18 focus with a 2nd blown 1.0 due to wet belt tensioner failure, under recall. And another 18 focus with 2.0 DCT that needs a clutch. 2 broken ford's under 150k cus I'm a 🤡
Your shop is so nice man! I'd love to have a place like that!
Audio sounds great 👍🏻
I totally geeked out over that video. Good one!
if you remove the intake manifold its a lot easier to access the flywheel -flex plate nuts after the starter is removed. I just did this job on my driveway was not to bad. I just removed both axles just makes life easier.
You could have a side hustle buying focuses for cheap and fixing them.
Wouldn’t want them to come back though which they will
That's not such a dumb idea for someone. Once you've bought the tools and repaired a few, it might not be such a bad job. They are good cars otherwise.
@19:46 I love the Chris Fix impersonation, lol! 😂😂😂
Check the fluid filled engine mount that its not collapsed as that has actually stuffed around with sensor's on a few cars ive worked on.
Got a question man. Once i put the clutch and everthing inside the transmission. The main shaft was not spinning. Is this normal and can i put the transmission back on like that?
awesome new image and sound!
I am so glad that you decided to fix the Focus! It just seemed so clean and well cared for to just toss ! I know that you did not want to do this job, but at least you will get content from the two, or maybe three, videos . Didn’t this car also belong to a friend,or maybe girlfriend , of yours ? Maybe I am just mixed up !
I think the Osmo was great. The strong shop lighting would help any camera. But objectively the video looked great.
Nice the new cam in my opinion. Also just curious is there a fully manual conversion available for this car model? Maybe in Europe they have it with a manual transmission?
They sold it here with a manual too but everyone says it was poorly geared 🫤
@@WatchJRGo echo is gone, big improvement!
This just reinforces the old adage Fd over road disaster! Shame on the Ford engineers and quality control. What a way to mess up a simple commuter car. Good job J.R.
Good assesment of the camera, it's exactly as you described. Great, but the colors are a little dreary.
Genuine question about the powershift transmissions, in regards to your comment at 2:37... Is the programmed (in Drive and brakes not applied) "creep" achieved with precisely calculated clutch slip?
Thanks!
Your video and audio are great with the Osmo. There was a time or 2 when the audio sounded like it got covered by your hoodie for a second. I was most interested in how the auto-focus would work. It seemed good but it wasn't flawless. I wish there was a camera with infinite focus so that whatever was in the viewfinder was in focus. I guess I will keeping hoping. Otherwise, good job!
What are those cabinets on the back wall? Looks like i need that in my shop
What's with all the snow? Are you on remote from Canada?
Gentleman and ladies! I just realized when I shift into drive from a stop, I get neutral instead. Its been jerky from a stop for a few weeks, but i chose not to think about it. This just happened happened in traffic, so my first reaction was choose a gear from the column shifter (PRND321). 3rd wouldnt react, 2nd was halfway between nuetral and first, and going fully down to first works best. in order to use other gears, i have to get up to speed like a manual transmission, and shift to the next gear myself. What is going on here? Please tell me this car doesnt need a trans. I went to my mechanic and he topped off trans fluid since it was reading about 1/2, he added 1.5 quarts. He cleared the CEL as well, that was for a camshaft position sensor fault. Not sure which bank atm, or the # of the code, but i can find out. Thanks for reading everbody!
It's called clutch chatter. Every manual transmission I ever drove for the last 25 years would do it at one time or another. Some days, it would be butter smooth, some days, you get the chatter. This is nothing more than a manual transmission that shifts itself. With the dry clutch setup, you are going to get the chatter. The only ones in which I never got clutch chatter were in motorcycles. They have a wet clutch.
The Osmo is definitely better in low light, but I think the Sony setup is better in every other way, especially the audio
What are you talking about?
I could tell a marked difference in the volume level, it was distracting ...I liked the other picture quality.........
The sound is like a too low bitrate mp3. It's annoying. The picture is fine-ish, but the other setup did everything better, at least fro me!
Hey Jared is back. Its been a long time. Good to see him.
AUDIO is good, video quality is good enough.
How has the drive been? do you think you will have to replace the clutch again?
What’s the torque of a fuel brushless on a couple clicks?
I drove my Focus 7 years, putting only 145,000 miles on it. I drove a jeep during the winter months for the 4×4 abilities. I really liked the car. It handled very well for an economy car, and it got great mileage. It was getting 40 plus mpg. When it became too unreliable with trans problems and left me stranded numerous times, it was time for a change. They put 3 TCMs in it while I had it, and one after my niece got it. Ford had sent me a chit for one last TCM. The niece used it.
Those focuses work really good at rusting away
Not 100% sure if they are the same, but the axle nut torque on the Focus ST with the 6 speed manual is 80n/m + 90 degrees. I found out the hard way that if the nut is not properly torqued it will take out the bearing. My 1/2" impact did not get it tight enough. Great video so far; love the stability of the new camera.
It was probably your 1/2 inch impact that destroyed your axle nut. You should never use an impact to tighten axle nuts. That information I got from my Bently manual for my VW.
@@yodasbff3395 The axle nut was fine; the impact did not get it tight enough and the bearing failed. 90 degrees on top of 80 n/m is alot of torque. Need to use a long breaker bar (4 foot for me) or torque multiplier.
I actually love how the osmo looks and sounds.