How To Change a Boost Solenoid on a Focus ST/RS Mk2

[@royevans4581]

Just a little tip. For extra room for your right hand to get in, you can unclip the driveshaft protector thingy. That piece of plastic above driveshaft that seems to be in the bloody way when you try and get your hand in there. It is just clipped in without any other stuff to undo, you unclip it. There's a kind of a barbed tab you have to move before it will let go. You will see what I mean when you have a tug about with it. It comes away, leaving a nice bit of extra room. Makes the job far easier.

[@ecp4538]

Nice be info there buddy

[@MrPitbulluk]

Really useful video for me. Have some car repair confidence but hesitate because of lack of knowledge and or experience 😭 gonna give this one a go. Thanks very much 🍻

[@ecp4538]

No worries buddy hope it helps feel free to ask any questions on here or the ECP Facebook page

[@STVenom225]

Very useful and detailed video. Also good info on marking pipes so you know for when you put your new part on.

[@ecp4538]

Cheers hope it helped

[@NeilPartridge-x3q]

Were there 4 pipes to disconnect? 02:35 Does it just slide onto the flange or attach via a bolt? Is this all the same for non ST (1.6 TDCI). Thanks

[@royevans4581]

Oh by the way. Changing over to a MAC valve instead of the standard Pierburg is a world of difference, particularly if the standard one has been on for a while. It creeps up slowly on you how they lose responsiveness. When you put the new one in, wow. WATEESH!! Also, now is a good time to delete your symposer if you have not done so already. Those things split and if you are needing to change your boost solenoid, chances are you've got a split symposer diafragm too and it's leaking boost. All these things age and eventually give up all at around the same time )))

[@Kyle-R]

what is this mac valve does it work with the factory ecu

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. interesting information provided.

[@slyfox186]

Tips for Fitting a New Boost Solenoid Valve to the ST225 Replacing the boost solenoid valve on the ST225 can be tricky, so here are some tips from my experience: 1. Access through the wheel arch: Working through the wheel arch is tight. To improve access, unclip the circular white plastic guard (pull from the top-left corner) that protects the engine belts from dirt and grease thrown up by the driveshaft. 2. Disconnecting the valve: From the wheel arch, unclip the valve's electrical connector by holding the metal clip and pulling the plug. Next, unclip the valve from its mounting bracket. If you can't do this from the wheel arch, you'll need to go in from the top: Remove the wipers and scuttle panels only not crossover pipe. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6K7i6OInp6rhNEsi=7o5tipXEoYgqurnH Reach down past the turbo and pull the valve upward at a slight angle. It will unclip from the metal bracket. Be careful not to pull on the hoses; instead, grip and wiggle the square body of the valve. 3. Marking the hoses: Use colored tape to label the three hoses, matching them to the painted marks on the valve, or take a clear photo for reference. 4. Removing the hoses: This is the challenging part. Use pliers to slide the clips up the hoses, then carefully remove the hoses from the valve. 5. Fitting the new valve: Install the new valve in reverse order, ensuring everything is securely reconnected. Hopefully, this makes the process smoother!

[@R36vw]

Thanks buddy. I’m about to do mine now. Bloody freezing too. Lol. Very clean ST by the way. 👍👍

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. Thank you for your comment.

[@RIBsosay]

What those little clips called bud or will a cable tie be alright

[@ecp4538]

Just a small pair of Jubilee clips would do it buddy

[@RIBsosay]

@@ecp4538 Thanks for the reply pal

[@jawknee21]

im getting full boost but when pulling between 3.5k and 5k it seems to cut boost then come back. it'll get about 26psi according to my accessport but cuts boost to like 15 with steady pedal at like 95%.

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. Did you manage to answer your question.

[@jawknee21]

@@ecp4538 nope

[@ecp4538]

Do you still have the car@@jawknee21

[@jawknee21]

@@ecp4538 yea. i've been driving it more lately but its still doing the same thing. 36k on the car now.

[@ecp4538]

@@jawknee21 you say it cut boost, can you be more specific on that?

[@jasonreece7963]

Do you have the link for the part please

[@ecp4538]

It's in the description buddy, A&K motorsport

[@neil_st6073]

Useful Video mate and like the new intro although the previous music was bangin'🤣 . Could be a good idea to change/uprate the recirc. valve too as it's next to it. Especially if the car is modded on stock recirc still.

[@ecp4538]

Cheers buddy constantly a work in progress never easy doing it all by yourself, maybe one day I will have someone that will do my editing for me lol yeah unfortunately I was constantly getting copyright emails from KZbin with the old music. I will be doing the recirculating valve after I've done the actuator which is next and will be done in the coming days, then I can take the car back to the Dyno

[@neil_st6073]

@@ecp4538 Good stuff. Hopefully you'll put a how-to up for the recirc as I'll be doing that soon 👍

[@ecp4538]

@@neil_st6073 yeah cause I will be buddy hopefully in the next coming weeks

[@slyfox186]

Had a look at mine today, got the driveshaft belt guard off to make more room, I couldn't even get the valve unclipped from the mounting bracket. 🙁, what a sod of a job! Any tips anyone?

[@damo8754]

Is your axle stand on the sill next to the jacking point? I'm not a professional obviously. I can see where to jack up but can't make out where to put the stand

[@ecp4538]

Anywhere close to the jacking point will fine buddy

[@bullitt68390]

Don't touch your car ever again. Get someone that has at least a half a brain to fix it for you if you can't put your car on axle stands.

[@Stringfellow-xo6do]

I'm on my 2nd boost solenoid, went for a aftermarket up grade this time around. Are you going to install a block mod? Now that would be a cool vid and a first for KZbin unless I'm wrong.

[@ecp4538]

Errrr I'm not buddy unless I can get hold of a second ST broken or not, where I can do videos on everything regardless of if I need the work or not, or if and when I Forge the engine which I would do a video on. I think the key for now is to get a second ST for videos, if there is someone that would give me one lol

[@hypernova6460]

@ecp4538 is the mk3.5 the same solenoid as the one you have a link to? Thanks in advance

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. Did you find the answer to your question.

[@royevans4581]

Put a MAC valve in to replace the pierburg ones that come as standard. MAC makes all kinds of control valves and are regarded as one of the best. Be careful of chinese copies. Make sure you are getting one from a tuning shop, price is about £70 but a copy can be only £20. The valves in this application should be automotive spec. and able to handle the environmental challenges they face under a car bonnet. They handle the boost better than a standard pierburg valve especially on mapped cars and will really refresh your boost control. Note though, that the port layout on MAC valves is different to the standard pierburg so make sure you know where your pipes are going to when reconnecting. I include instructions below. The MAC valve ports are numbered, and the supplier tells you which port is for which pipe connection. Note that suppliers valves even though they are MAC valves can be different. Some MAC valve ports are 1 Vent to atmosphere 2 Actuator 3 boost source, as in one supplied by Autodynamix. Others can be 1 boost source 2 actuator 3 vent to atmosphere, as supplied by Collins Performance. Check which yours is. I don't know why this is the case, just be aware of it. Anyway to make sure your connections are correct, connect 'vent' to pipe that goes up to top of turbo (inlet) 'boost' to the pipe coming from the right (compressor housing) and 'actuator' to actuator (duh) lol.

[@philpot1972]

I have boost fine most of the time then nothing at all, if I turn off the engine and then back on again it is fine for a good 50-60 miles do you think this is the problem?

[@LA_Commander]

Great video, thanks!

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. Thank you for your comment.

[@ErickeverRB]

Does the car throw a code when this part isn’t working anymore?

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. The answer is no, but my answer is a bit late now, sorry.

[@scoobpower]

Hi Adam I was on 1/4 boost b4 I mapped my car so maybe mine needs 1 too it’s actually pathetic on standard map I’m running bluefin stg 3 now and it goes full Tilt on dial but I’m sure somewhere I read standard Sts go to 1/4 on the dial ?

[@ecp4538]

Hey buddy it might be worth changing it, but on standard putting your foot down should only give half of 1.2bar of boost, so the boost needle should only go up to half way

[@scoobpower]

Ye mine was 1/4 in stock so I’m gonna give it a go 💪🏽👍🏽

[@ecp4538]

@@scoobpower might as well buddy it's not a great cost to do

[@scrawnyboi]

I have a P0234 code on my 2016 focus st. Would i replace this directly after checking all hoses are properly secure? Im replacing the MAP sensor at the moment to be safe. Thanks.

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. Did you sort your issue?

[@scrawnyboi]

@@ecp4538 no I did not lol. Any ideas?

[@ecp4538]

what mods have you done?

[@slyfox186]

I took the driveshaft or belt guard off, but i couldn't even get the unclipped from its mount😢 Anyone got any tips?

[@kimboslicefan78]

car still has a good amount of boost but i hear air leaking, sounds like from the bov from turbosmart... sounds like it's stuck open? so i don't build full boost when full throttle... it would def be the bov and not the boost solenoid?

[@ecp4538]

More then likely buddy, just to point out that these cars are not meant to have a BOV even if its a 50/50 spit as they work of a recirculating system, you will for sure be losing alot of power because of this, I know they sound great but but it comes at a cost I.e POWER

[@ropson1corona]

Front what side wheel?

[@ecp4538]

Front Right

[@x25xecally]

Did it make any difference?

[@ecp4538]

For when I changed my buddy very much as I was only getting 1/4 boost when stock you get up to 1/2, soon as I changed it got 1/2 boost again and ever since

[@x25xecally]

@@ecp4538 hoping to get mine changed tomorrow.

[@ecp4538]

@@x25xecally Good timing with video on then, the only fiddly part is releasing the hose clamps as there's not a lot of room but be persistent and you shall prevail

[@KingNakMusic]

@@ecp4538 hey dude I changed mine at work today and it's still boosting all the way to red just like my old one had started doing so could it be something else like my recirculation valve etc? My old one used to boost to half and then started boosting to red the new one is doing the same. But I only driven it from work to home and floored it once and it went to red but I had power.

[@daimathers7117]

Hi would this issue make the check engine light come on and not rev about 4K? Thanks on in advance

[@ecp4538]

No buddy the boost solenoid wouldn't do neither buddy there is another fault causing that

[@daimathers7117]

ECP thanks for the reply. I’ll get the codes read tomorrow cheers

[@daimathers7117]

Hi again mate. Done the diagnostic today error code p0238 showed up any ideas. I think it’s the boost pressure sensor. Is that the same as this video. Thanks again

[@herridge819]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@ecp4538]

No worries buddy I am glad it helped, hopefully I will be back up and running in the near future doing videos again

[@mathewwade1415]

Mine was fine yesterday, no boost at all today, no warning lights, and boost pipe near radiator is still attached?? Hope mine is just the solenoid

[@ecp4538]

Hey buddy do you have any boost?

[@mathewwade1415]

@@ecp4538 no boost at all. boost gauge doesn't move. Car feels like the boost is going to kick in but then feels like I've taken my foot off the accelerator, like some kind of limp mode kicks in before the boost does. No warning lights or different noise's, pipe still attached to intercooler

[@jaymoult2778]

@@mathewwade1415 did you manage to fix your problem mate?

[@mathewwade1415]

@@jaymoult2778 yes I did eventually. Car was plugged into a diagnostic machine and instantly flagged up the map sensor. I purchased one for £30 and did the job my self in under a hr. Blaming the boost solenoid seems to be common practice but isn't always the issue

[@Hadders720]

Hi mate. Dunno if you’ll reply cos it’s an old video aha. However my st picks up boost about half way, then when I get to around 3K revs the boost will drop... sometimes boost could shoot up to 3 quarters for a split second. You think this is a solenoid, if so I’ll buy one now. Cheers!

[@ecp4538]

Hi buddy very possible but for the low cost to replace its worth starting there

[@subarupaul1995]

If it is only boosting to ¼ on gauge does that mean I am only getting 0.3 boost, so am down on power?

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. The answer is yes, but I am guessing it is now sorted.

[@dragonmastersalsa7033]

I have the same issue did you fix it ?

[@dragonmastersalsa7033]

Same issue did you fix it?

[@slyfox186]

This might be helpfull to someone.. I changed pierburg BOOST SOLENOID which didn't work, then changed Bosch MAP sensor which actually worked 🥳 and now back to normal running and boost. This is the 2nd MAP sensor I've changed during 15 year ownership. Conclude its the internal electronics that must fail on these MAPS as cleaning them makes no difference whatsoever. My advice would be anyone with boost issues and jerking acceleration change the MAP first.

[@mpioks]

Hi, Can I get the part no. of this please? Thanks

[@asdfsadfashdjb8563]

My Boost is at 0.3 bar I Hope its that

[@freredarme]

I don't know if my solenoid have a problem but my gauge give me always 0,6 and not more... Original tune or remap, dreamscience... Its same thing, I Always 0,6b max.. 🤔

[@ecp4538]

For cost and ease of changing the boost solenoid it's worth changing buddy

[@freredarme]

@@ecp4538 its good idea to replace it by RS Solenoid?

[@ecp4538]

@@freredarme I believe they are the same buddy

[@garyhargraves3567]

Having trouble with my dad focus at had it for 6 months and all of a sudden it will boost once then after it acts like it goes into limp mode but brings no faults up or lights on the dash I am going to be checking the actuator tomorrow to see if that is moving how it should was just wondering if anyone else had this fault

[@michaelversfeld1023]

Having the same problem once in a month..

[@jamescrowther885]

Hello, I'm having the same problem now, did you find the fault?

[@fireballcbrljr5966]

@@jamescrowther885 did u find out what the problem was

[@ErickeverRB]

Any conclusion?

[@ecp4538]

Apologises for the late reply. Did you mage to fix your issue?

[@Kyle-R]

what happens if the hoses are backwards?

[@ecp4538]

It won't work buddy

[@Kyle-R]

@@ecp4538 yeah i get that but the car still runs im chasign a issue with mine after the engin was out where the guage builds boost realy quick

[@lebis94]

Tried replacing myself. An hour of struggle, a lot of swearing, and still couldn't manage to do it. Seems as if the pipes are glued to that thing. Going to a shop next week. Damn, this must be the most stupid sensor placement in any car...

[@ecp4538]

What you need to du budd is get some sort of hook where you can pull the edge of the pipe away and spray some lube spray down the will then slide off