Low compression on No. 5 cylinder and rough idle

[k31th]

:( at least you know what the problem is, now. If you're going to pull the engine down to replace rings, you replace them all rather than just a single cylinder, so that the others don't fail soon afterwards.

Did you buy the car brand new?

[Puffwagon]

There won't be enough bite left in the cross hatch to bed new rings in properly. 

To fix the issue properly the engine will need the bottom end reconditioned at the very least.

It may be cheaper to buy a second hand motor if the budget does not allow for repairs to the existing engine. 

[Vipir]

I'm leaving it in the hands of my mechanic. I trust his experience and I trust him to do the right thing. It's in his hands now.

[Vipir]

1 hour ago, k31th said:

:( at least you know what the problem is, now. If you're going to pull the engine down to replace rings, you replace them all rather than just a single cylinder, so that the others don't fail soon afterwards.

Did you buy the car brand new?

Yes, I did buy it brand new straight off the production line. They halted production to change it from auto to manual and then I got him. My first-ever brand-new car. I don't think I'll buy another Ford again.

[k31th]

Did the symptoms get worse over a long period of time?

Normally Barra's can run a million km if they're serviced/maintained correctly.
Turbo ones typically have a shorter lifespan, but should at least make it to 250,000km+ without having to pull down the engine if it's maintained very well and remains stock. (modified of course can shorten the lifespan dramatically).

[FiftyOne]

I think you can still buy fg short blocks direct from ford? Might be the quickest fix (plus the money there on) to get going again?

[Puffwagon]

5 minutes ago, k31th said:

Did the symptoms get worse over a long period of time?

Normally Barra's can run a million km if they're serviced/maintained correctly.
Turbo ones typically have a shorter lifespan, but should at least make it to 250,000km+ without having to pull down the engine if it's maintained very well and remains stock. (modified of course can shorten the lifespan dramatically).

This. You wouldn't expect the rings to be worn out with the milage described from the op.

With just one cylinder low it seems like a broken ring land or snapped rings in that cylinder. Obviously this would manifest immediately. 

I hope your mechanic does the right thing by you. With the problem solved you should be trouble free for a long time. 

[Vipir]

1 hour ago, Puffwagon said:

This. You wouldn't expect the rings to be worn out with the milage described from the op.

With just one cylinder low it seems like a broken ring land or snapped rings in that cylinder. Obviously this would manifest immediately. 

I hope your mechanic does the right thing by you. With the problem solved you should be trouble free for a long time. 

This is how the whole situation started:

I bought Vipir in 2010 brand new. One day, not even a year after I had bought him, I was cruising along and tapped the accelerator to overtake someone and the engine started clunking and rattling like it was trying to break free of its moorings.

That scared the bejeezus out of me and I reported it to my mechanic. However, he was unable to replicate it.

Over the past 5 years, and at irregular times, this has happened again. I am always unable to replicate it and my mechanic has been unable to replicate it. Unfortunately, "clunking engine sounding like it wants to break free of its moorings" is too vague a problem for them to draw conclusions and it was put down to dirty fuel. It could happen in 6th gear, it could happen when I dropped back to 4th. There was no rhyme or reason or replication.

Since August 2015 I have had rear diff bushes replaced, rear joint cover arm replaced, 2 x front shock absorbers replaced. This engine problem has been gradually worsening until it got to the point in January when I noticed it was skipping a beat when starting the ignition. So a new spark plug was put into the No. 5 cylinder. No go. 

Now, gentlemen and any ladies out there, I am no mechanic. But I love my car so very much that as soon as something doesn't feel or sound right, I can sense it and I go straight back to my mechanic. I give it 98 Octane fuel from any number of new service stations here in the Latrobe Valley so there is less risk of picking up sludge. I go in and ask when they had their tanks filled so I don't pick up any sludge. Like I say, I don't know mechanics but I appreciate the precision engineering that has gone into the mechanical miracle that is my beloved Vipir.

Back to the story. It got to the point where the misfiring upon starting was obvious for all to hear, including an obvious tardiness in the engine turning over at one stage. That was late January 2016.

The problem is that the engine light came on and went off at odd times.  I could start it over a number of times during the day and sometimes the engine light would come on, and sometimes it wouldn't even though it had been on earlier.

And idling? OMG. It sounded dreadful. Clunking and rough. Which is why someone suggested to me the clutch bearing, but the clutch itself is fine.

My mechanic has put a camera down the cylinder and has not seen any damage to the bore. That has to be in my favour, yes? 

Cylinders 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6 are all firing at 125psi.

Cylinder 5 - 85psi. Coil pack, new spark plug, injectors all replaced for No. 5 cylinder.

My car has maybe 138,500km on the clock. I don't bag it, I don't street race it...I bought it after my husband died (in a car crash!) and owning it made me feel good. I appreciate the mechanics of it and was so awestruck by my purchase that I wrote to Ford Australia telling the CEO and manager of Marketing or PR (can't remember which dept.) just how much this car meant to me. The CEO wrote back to me thanking me for my letter! I drive it like a little old lady going to church on a Sunday. Except I do enjoy being first off the grid at the traffic lights when I'm next to a Commodore. Especially a P-Plate Late model camira with a boy driver and I have the kids in the backseat. I don't even look at them and they can kiss my car's very sexy rear.

I drive my car with respect (occasionally have had it a few tens of kms over the speed limit on the back roads) and change gears at the right rpm. He is always serviced at Ford. Always. 

But now I am apprehensive of what will happen when (if?) I get him back.

That is why I am so stressed and distressed about what has happened and why. I am really quite frightened by the potential for what could have happened had I continued to drive it with my children in the car. I am worried sick about the cost, but some of the comments here have truly terrified me. FG engines are not thick on the ground and where would I get one from to rebuild? 

So that is what I am dealing with. I am in the realms of the unknown although I do know what rings do and how very important they are. If anyone reading this can offer me a glimmer of hope I would appreciate it because that is what I need right now. Being female, being mechanically inept, being a mum with kids and no car except the loan vehicle which will have to be returned, I am very prone to tears at the moment. Any good news or hope would be much appreciated.

My father told me to buy a Camry back in 2010. Perhaps I should have listened to him.

[k31th]

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

... not even a year after I had bought... tapped the accelerator to overtake someone and the engine started clunking and rattling like it was trying to break free of its moorings.

...Over the past 5 years, and at irregular times, this has happened again....

...This engine problem has been gradually worsening until it got to the point in January when I noticed it was skipping a beat when starting the ignition. So a new spark plug was put into the No. 5 cylinder. No go.

The problem is that the engine light came on and went off at odd times.  I could start it over a number of times during the day and sometimes the engine light would come on, and sometimes it wouldn't even though it had been on earlier.

And idling? OMG. It sounded dreadful. Clunking and rough...

Judging by these symptoms, you cracked a timing chain guide and/or the timing chain has skipped a tooth. Leaving something like this happen for a long time will eventually cause valves to open at the wrong time which can cause detonation or cylinder pressure issues (or oil starvation which can cause almost any desctructive event in an engine)
From what you've said here, it doesn't look like anything you did in particular caused it, other than not getting it diagnosed successfully sooner (within warranty period, ideally) which you cannot be blamed for not getting done.. it's just something that you'll have to live with.

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

My mechanic has put a camera down the cylinder and has not seen any damage to the bore. That has to be in my favour, yes? 

That's correct. If all of the bores are OK then you can re-use the engine and it's just rings (and gaskets, seals etc for reconditioning) and labour. It's about as cheap as any repair is going to be.

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

I am really quite frightened by the potential for what could have happened had I continued to drive it with my children in the car

Any engine failure would be very unlikely to endanger you, so there's that...

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

FG engines are not thick on the ground and where would I get one from to rebuild? 

FG F6 short engine is about $2200 from Ford spare parts. Might be cheaper again for a FG XR6T short engine.

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

My father told me to buy a Camry back in 2010. Perhaps I should have listened to him.

You made the right choice.

[k31th]

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

... not even a year after I had bought... tapped the accelerator to overtake someone and the engine started clunking and rattling like it was trying to break free of its moorings.

...Over the past 5 years, and at irregular times, this has happened again....

...This engine problem has been gradually worsening until it got to the point in January when I noticed it was skipping a beat when starting the ignition. So a new spark plug was put into the No. 5 cylinder. No go.

The problem is that the engine light came on and went off at odd times.  I could start it over a number of times during the day and sometimes the engine light would come on, and sometimes it wouldn't even though it had been on earlier.

And idling? OMG. It sounded dreadful. Clunking and rough...

Judging by these symptoms, you cracked a timing chain guide and/or the timing chain has skipped a tooth. Leaving something like this happen for a long time will eventually cause valves to open at the wrong time which can cause detonation or cylinder pressure issues (or oil starvation which can cause almost any desctructive event in an engine)
From what you've said here, it doesn't look like anything you did in particular caused it, other than not getting it diagnosed successfully sooner (within warranty period, ideally) which you cannot be blamed for not getting done.. it's just something that you'll have to live with.

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

My mechanic has put a camera down the cylinder and has not seen any damage to the bore. That has to be in my favour, yes? 

That's correct. If all of the bores are OK then you can re-use the engine and it's just rings (and gaskets, seals etc for reconditioning) and labour. It's about as cheap as any repair is going to be.

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

I am really quite frightened by the potential for what could have happened had I continued to drive it with my children in the car

Any engine failure would be very unlikely to endanger you, so there's that...

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

FG engines are not thick on the ground and where would I get one from to rebuild? 

FG F6 short engine is about $2200 from Ford spare parts. Might be cheaper again for a FG XR6T short engine.

3 minutes ago, Vipir said:

My father told me to buy a Camry back in 2010. Perhaps I should have listened to him.

You made the right choice.