1999 - 2007 focus 2.0L DOHC Torque Specs


2007 focus Front End Torque Specs

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Focus 2.0L Repair Information

Focus 2.0L Engine Repair Information

Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Focus front end. In this guide we will cover the essential repairs for the front end of this vehicle. Included within these repairs is the inner and outer tie rod removal and change, the front wheel hubs installation, ball joint removal and installation, the upper and lower control arms, and the front shock installation. Along with the repair procedures we also include the corresponding bolt torque specs for each fastener involved. These guides are intended to assist in each procedure to help diyers with the job.

Focus Tie Rod Change/Removal

Focus Tie rod
To install a new tie rod on a Focus you must first remove the old one from the vehicle. This can be done by raising the vehicle up by either the use of a floor jack or a vehicle hoist. Once the vehicle is in the air you can remove the corresponding tire for the side that you want to change the tie rod on. Once the tire is off you can now access the old tie rod and remove it for replacement. The inner part of the tie rod uses an nut that will need to be removed, this nut may spin depending on how rusty it is. I suggest using a pair of vice grips to hold the portion of the bolt to prevent it from spinning. You may also use a wire brush to clean off the threads prior to removal and or use penatrating oil to aid in the removal. Once removed you can now tap out the tie rod from the spindle and start to remove it completely. If you want to replace just the outer portion of the tie rod you can use a wrench to hold the inner tie rod and spin off the outer tie rod. I usually count how many turns it takes to come off so that I can then use the same number when installing the new part. This helps to avoid alignment costs and hassles, although you may still want to get your vehicle realigned. Once the outer tie rod is off you can now screw on the new part and reinstall it the same way it had been removed. Once you get the nut back in place you can torque it to 35 ft-lbs. Be sure to tighten back up the nut on the middle of the tie rod to ensure it does not move your alignment. If you happen to be installing the inner tie rod as well you will need a special tool to loosen and tighten the inner part. The torque specs for the inner tie rod are 50 ft-lbs.

Focus Outer Tie Rod Torque Spec : 35 ft-lbs

Focus Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec : 50 ft-lbs

 

Front Wheel Hub Installation

Focus wheel hub
To install the new wheel hub you must first remove the old hub from the vehicle. On this car the hub and bearing is actually apart of the entire steering knuckle. This means that if you want to replace the bearing you will need to remove the knuckle itself To do this you must first jack up the vehicle and remove the lugnuts from the side of the vehicle that you want to replace the part on. Once the tire is off you will need to remove the bolts from the brake bracket on the steering knuckle. These bolts will be rather tight so you may want to use an impact or find some leverage. Once removed you can move the brake assembly out of the way and move the brake rotor from the vehicle. Now you have access to all the connecting points of the steering knuckle, these include the lower ball joint, strut, and tie rod end. Before removing the connecting points make sure to remove the axle nut from the center of the hub. I recommend using an impact and some penetrating oil in order to loosen the nut. Once the nut is removed make sure the axle moves freely and then move onto the other components. Starting with the lower ball joint there is a pinch bolt that will need to be removed in order to lower the control arm from the knuckle. The tie rod merely needs to be loosened and removed while the strut will need to be loosened and hammered out. With everything removed the knuckle should just come out of the vehicle. From this point you can either install an entirely new steering knuckle with the bearing already in place, or press the old bearing out of the knuckle and press in a new bearing. Whichever way you choose the next step is to install the knuckle back into the vehicle using the reverse procedure as when it was removed. The strut bolt will need to be torqued down to 65 ft-lbs, the tie rod to 37 ft-lbs, and the ball joint pinch bolt to 37 ft-lbs. The center axle nut will need to be tightened to 180 ft-lbs. With everything put back together you can reinstall the brake system and the wheel and tighten the lugnuts to 95 ft-lbs.

Focus Front Axle Nut Torque Spec : 180 ft-lbs

Focus Lugnuts Torque Spec : 95 ft-lbs

 


Front Ball Joints Installation

Focus Front Ball Joints
The Focus has two sets of front ball joints being the upper and lower ball joints. The most common one for replacement is the lower ball joint which is apart of the lower control arm. For reference on how to install the lower control arm please seek out the portion covering that part. The lower ball joint is fastened using a pinch bolt and nut which is tightened down to 37 ft-lbs.

 

 

 

Focus Front Lower Ball Joint Torque Spec : 37 ft-lbs

 

Front Control arms Installation

Lower Control Arm
Focus Front Control arms

On the ford focus there is only the lower control arm as the upper portion of the suspension is held together using the front strut. The lower control arm on this vehicle also consists of the lower ball joint. For direct information regarding the ball joint please check out the ball joint section on this page. To replace the lower control arm on this vehicle you will want to have the vehicle jacked up to a decent height as bolts from underneath the car will need to be accessed. With the car lifted in the air you can start be removing the tire from the vehicle. With the tire removed you can see the front suspension components. The lower arm is pictured to the left, it has 3 main fastening points. Two being further into the car and one being located on the steering knuckle. You must remove all of these in order to uninstall the control arm. To intall the new part you merely reverse the process. Starting at the ball joint you can move the new ball joint into the knuckles pinch portion and install the pinch bolt and nut and torque it down to 37 ft-lbs. Moving to the backwards direction you can install the bolt and nut towards the front of the vehicle and torque it down to 85 ft-lbs. Then install the two bolts and nuts on the opposite end and torque them to 85 ft-lbs as well. Once everything is tightened you can reinstall your wheel and the job is done. Be sure to grease any grease fittings while under the car if your new part came with regreasable parts.

Focus Lower Arm Ball Joint Torque Spec : 37 ft-lbs

Focus Lower Arm Frame Bolt Torque Spec : 85 ft-lbs

Focus Lower Arm Bushing Bolts Torque Spec : 85 ft-lbs

 

Front Strut Installation

Focus Front shocks
To replace the front struts on the Ford Focus you will need to lift the vehicle up into the air and start by removing the tire on the side you want to replace. Once the tire is off the first thing to do is remove the stabilizer link bolt that connects itself to the strut. With that removed we can now remove the bolts and nuts that hold the strut to the steering knuckle and pull the strut out of the knuckle. The only fasteners left are the three nuts under the hood that hold the stut to the strut tower. With these removed the old strut can be taken out and the new strut can be placed in. Reversing the method for removing the old one we will start by installing the 3 nuts under the hood. Then going through the other fasteners and hand tightened all of them. Once all have been hand tightened you can return to the original 3 nuts and torque them down to 27 ft-lbs. Moving to the bolt that hold the strut to the steering knuckle we will tighten it to 65 ft-lbs. The last fastener is the stabilizer link bolt which will need to be tightened down to 30 ft-lbs.

 

Focus Front Strut Upper Nuts Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs

Focus Front Strut Steering Knuckle Bolt Torque Spec : 65 ft-lbs

Focus Front Stabilizer Endlink Torque Spec : 30 ft-lbs

 

Front Swaybar Installation

Focus swaybar
The front swaybar on the Focus consists of a series of brackets that hold it to the frame of the vehicle and a couple of endlink nuts that fasten it the the outer side of the car. To remove the swaybar you will need to jack up the front of the vehicle and remove both the endlink nuts as well as the brackets. To install the new swaybar you will need to move it back into the place as the old one and torque the endlink nuts to 37 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 52 ft-lbs as well.

 

 

Focus Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 52 ft-lbs

Focus Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 37 ft-lbs

 


Front Steering Torque Specs
Outer Tie Rod Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs
Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec 50 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub / Knuckle
Brake Caliper Bracket Torque Spec 80 ft-lbs
Wheel Axle Nut Torque Spec 180 ft-lbs
Swaybar Mount Torque Spec 52 ft-lbs
Swaybar Endlink Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs
Control Arms Torque Specs
Lower Ball Joint Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs
Lower Arm Front Frame Bolt 85 ft-lbs
Lower Arm Rear Bushing Frame Bolts 85 ft-lbs
Front Strut and Extra Knuckle Torques
Upper Strut Nuts Torque Spec 27 ft-lbs
Lower Strut Bolt Torque Spec 65 ft-lbs
Stabilizer Frame Bolt Torque Spec 52 ft-lbs
Stabilizer Link Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs