So your hearing a ticking sound coming from your engine on your Ford Focus and that’s what’s brought you here, we’ll start your car, open the hood and disconnect this air hose. Sound go away? Well I’m happy to tell you it’s 100% not a lifter tick. It’s the swirl valve for your IMRC. (Intake manifold runner control) Sometimes your IMRC itself is the issue or one of your vacuum lines is cracked and leaking but 95% of the time it’s the butterfly flaps themselves called the swirl valve that is located right at the end of your intake manifold where it mounts to the head of the engine. They break or get gunked up and stick open or closed. Unfortunately this part is not replaceable so your only option is to buy a new intake manifold and replace the entire assembly. Buy a Genuine Ford Intake Manifold you can get them for about $205 on eBay. Part number is 4S4Z-9424-BK. Your welcome :) btw it’s not a fun job to remove or reinstall.
