The "I love my ST220" thread...

[bigkeeko]

Great place to sit




after a bit of polishing.....

Edited by bigkeeko on Wednesday 26th March 23:27

[sanguinary]

Looks a cracker! ^

sanguinary said:

I Love my ST slightly less at the moment...

DMF looks to have failed.


That aside. It's a brilliant car, which has surprised me very much. Ford's best kept secret.

I like mine again now. It did cost me £700 for a new flywheel, clutch and starter, but it's much smoother now and no longer rattles on start up.

Happy days!

[Howard-]

I've got a new rocker cover gasket to replace on the front cylinder bank because it's leaking a bit.

I'm comfortable doing the job and I've done it before on my MX5 but is there anything ST220 engine-specific that I need to know when doing it? There isn't any info online really. I'll bust out the Haynes manual if all else fails.

[GaryST220]

Howard- said:

I've got a new rocker cover gasket to replace on the front cylinder bank because it's leaking a bit.

I'm comfortable doing the job and I've done it before on my MX5 but is there anything ST220 engine-specific that I need to know when doing it? There isn't any info online really. I'll bust out the Haynes manual if all else fails.

First try an oil with a seal conditioner additive.

[Kidders]

If it's a weep, I'd leave it. It's only a leak when it drips.

[Howard-]

It is dripping, the coolant pipe in front of it has drips on and it's making its way down - at first I thought it was the sump gasket or crank seal but it's coming from higher up.

[GaryST220]

What oil are you using Howard and does it feature a seal conditioner? If not try switching to Valvoline MaxLife or similar, you may not need to replace the gasket after all.

[Howard-]

I have been using Castrol Edge but recently switched to Shell Helix. They're both Ford spec but I don't know whether or not they've got seal conditioners in.

Anyway, I did the gasket this afternoon Simple enough job and fingers crossed it's sorted the oil egress..

[fathomfive]

Guys, just followed a link from GG.

Toying with an ST220 estate for family and commuting duties and seen a couple on AT I figure I'll put some serious thought into.

What are the main things to look out for?

ETA: they're both facelift cars.

Edited by fathomfive on Wednesday 23 April 21:39

[Dave_ST220]

Can't think of any for a facelift estate, it won't suffer from the bumper sag issue & the rusty doors. I guess just common motoring stuff. The only weak point I can think of is the DMF which fails. Common for the starter motor to go first as it fills with the carbon st from the DMF. Some people stick a new starter in to mask the issue so have a look around that (under the air filter). Brakes are weak IMO so check for warped discs.

[fathomfive]

Excellent, cheers.

What sign, if any, would there be if the DMF was on its way out?

[Dave_ST220]

I ***think*** they become noisy when starting. I've never seen the issue but I'm sure someone on here will have!

[sanguinary]

My DMF had a slight rattle when starting. It almost sounded like a lower end engine rattle. My starter packed up due to the crap in it as above. It cost me around £700 for a new DMF, starter and clutch. (Mates rates)

Just check the usual bits and bobs, make sure all the buttons work - my passenger door handle appears intermittent at the mo.

Super cars though. I've just covered over 1,500 miles chasing friends in their S2000 around Skye. They were amazed the car kept up, but it really did hold its own over the weekend.

Managed an average of 26.9 too. Hit 32mpg on the way up there - cruise control on at 65ish. Checked the mpg this morning against the clocks and it wasn't too far out. I manually calculated 26.4 over the 1,500 miles (and that was with some proper hoonage)

[fathomfive]

Cheers for the input, much appreciated.

At the moment I'm squeezing 30ish from an IS200, so mpg isn't a concern despite the 20kpa.
It's a lovely car with a nice straight 6, but not really suited to job it's asked to do when all 5 of us get in it.

I think the ST220 will do that plus sound good.

[sanguinary]

fathomfive said:

I think the ST220 will do that plus sound good.

I'm not sure whether I've said this here before or not.

My last car was a Merc CL500, which I adored. I had to sell it as my other half was struggling with access with our new born.

I took a punt, rather unhappily at the time, on an ST estate. On the drive home from the dealer I didn't like it, I missed the V8 power I was used to.

NOW though, I love it. The car has outshone itself, way, way above my initial expectations. Sure, I still miss the CL a little, but my ST is almost as well spec'd, just as comfortable, possibly with a better driving position. Much better feel from the wheels and when driven hard it gives me more confidence than the Merc ever did.

Find a good one and you will not be disappointed. Ford really managed to keep this gem of a car a good secret. Mine? It's a little tatty on the outside, I've already picked up various dings from idiots. The inside is immaculate though and a nice place to be. Everything is well laid out and working properly. I'll be spending money on mine this Summer to sort the alloys out and possibly even get the whole car resprayed - it's that good.

Two years ago (having owned a Skyline R33 and an Impreza), I would never have imagined me enjoying the ST. (apologies for sounding like a car snob) - how wrong I was. Now I wish I had one earlier. The best all rounder I've had the pleasure to own.

[Podie]

Hugely underrated - I still miss mine.

Drove one with KW suspension and a Quaife diff and that was fantastic.

[sanguinary]

Yup, a diff would be good, sometimes you have to put the power down a little earlier than necessary to make up for the lack on inside grip... that's being rather picky though.

After my run around Skye last week, my front suspension has picked up a creaking noise - hardly unexpected with the stick I was giving it.

I've spent some cash on the engine and drive train recently, I think I'm not too far off looking at the brakes and suspension next.

Mine's got quite a high mileage I guess, just clicked onto 100,000 whilst coming over Applecross pass. But, if the motor goes pop, I'll happily put another unit into the chassis I have. Having said that, I see no issues with the engine at the moment - and whilst it's driven hard sometimes, I do maintain it well too.

[neiljohnson]

Cracking cars my old boss had a metallic red pre facelift estate with 165k + on it & it took some very serious abuse!!

Only real faults were the front hub nuts kept coming loose (sorted with modified type nut from ford) & a fuel pump failure which is becoming a common thing as they get
Older
Did do a few other bits like shocks & springs lower arms etc but that was just wear & tear

Still went like stink & didn't use any oil only thing I will say is don't be tempted to remove the rear silencers it makes a great noise but drones horrifically

[Podie]

sanguinary said:

I'll happily put another unit into the chassis I have. Having said that, I see no issues with the engine at the moment - and whilst it's driven hard sometimes, I do maintain it well too.

Wonder if the Focus ST/RS 5 pot would fit..?

[Podie]

neiljohnson said:

I will say is don't be tempted to remove the rear silencers it makes a great noise but drones horrifically

My car was used as the development car for the saloon / hatch JP exhaust system. No drone, more noise on throttle and a few cheeky crackles...

http://s21.photobucket.com/user/Podie77/media/ST22...


Kidders had them make up a pipe without the bullet silencers...