2004 Focus TDCi metallic clunking sound when starting

In message , Alt Beer writes

Someone else will come along and confirm but it sounds like it could be the dual mass flywheel (DMF) which is a common problem on modern diesels.

The Focus went to two repair places this morning.

First one confirmed that the noise was to the left not flywheel end and thought it might be a problem with an engine mounting.

Second place took off the bottom splashguard cover and confirmed the problem to be the auxiliary drive belt tensioner.

A pleasing outcome.

Useful info. thanks for the update. I had thought of the engine mount, but since you had no other faults when driving that seemed unlikely.

believe the starter motor is at the right.

since you had no other faults when driving that

As an additional note, I went to a third repair place this morning. I couldn't park close to the workshop so the bloke didn't get a chance to listen to the sound so I described it to him.

He thought it might be the DMF but he went on to say "don't worry about it too much, they can go on like that for years"

I have no idea whether it is advisable to continue driving with a clattering DMF but that's wheat he said.

no, don't go far once the dmf starts to play up, if they fly apart you may add a lot of expensive damaged bits. Have a look on Honest Johns site for description of dmf failure: starts with a bit of a clunky start, then clunky gear changes, and usually eventual total failure which just stops the car, in the mean time it can take the starter motor, and possibly other bits.

What sort of mileage are we talking on DMFs? My daughter has a '52 Focus TDCi and it's just had a new starter... As she rarely comes home I can't get to listen to it, but it would be good to know if it's likely to cost me an arm & a leg in the near future!

they can fail at very low mileages (20k - on), one of the early signs is that the starter gets clogged up with metal particles and fails.