The "I love my ST220" thread...

[Podie]

Zad said:

If you have any traffic calming there, I really wouldn't go for lowering springs.

Agreed!

Check the Eibachs though, they may be lowered versus the standard car, and the 220 is a bit lower anyway.

[sanguinary]

A slight drop is okay on the roads I tend to use but I certainly wouldn't want to go too far. 20mm on the current ST height won't give me any issues.

For the cost of dampers + springs, I may as well spend a little more and go full coilover. At least I have complete control on final ride height.

Finding them for the estate is proving inconclusive though!

[Kidders]

Never had any issues with Eibachs on mine, its a subtle drop and does improve the handling. Can't see coilovers for these being decent enough to not drastically affect the ride for £600, need to spend closer to £1k..

[sanguinary]

Kidders said:

Never had any issues with Eibachs on mine, its a subtle drop and does improve the handling. Can't see coilovers for these being decent enough to not drastically affect the ride for £600, need to spend closer to £1k..

Did you keep the original dampers?

Also, fitting wise. DIY?

Ta.

[Kidders]

sanguinary said:

Did you keep the original dampers?

Also, fitting wise. DIY?

Ta.

Yes I did, they are designed for standard dampers. I had mine fitted, bit of a PITA.

[sanguinary]

Thanks for the info.

I think I'm heading this way. Can I be bothered fitting them myself? Possibly not!

I need to get an issue diagnosed anyway as the engines doesn't always return to idle, especially around town, so I'll probably get them done then.

[Rat_Fink_67]

Picked mine up yesterday after a lengthy search and have to say I couldn't be happier

Managed to find my ideal spec of a panther black saloon with infrared interior, and as an added bonus the original owner laid out £1800 for the Denso touchscreen.



There's the odd blemish here and there, but she cleans up nicely for a 10 year old...

[JimClark49]

Just brought a mint ST220 hatchback after previously owning an ST TDCI.
I lowered the TDCI using the Eibach Pro Kit, but Eibach kit from FordpartsUK says it is NOT for ST220 and only kits for saloons are listed. Will it still be suitable for my ST220 hatchback?

https://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/ford_mondeo_eibac...

[Kidders]

Anyone want a PH enthusiast owned ST220? I have too many cars so I'm downsizing the fleet.

85k, MOT'ed till June 2016, had loads spent in the past couple of years including the gearbox and clutch, Powerflex subframe bushes, this years for MOT it had handbrake cables, CV joint, all new breather pipes. Might put a for sale ad up, bloody love driving it when I get the chance but not had that recently.

[GreenArrow]

Hmm, very tempting!! I leave my job in December with a big fat cheque and an ST220 Is very high up on my shopping list!!

[Raynkar]

Rat fink 67
That's the best colour mix IMHO

Here is one of its cousins hahahahahaha

[Raynkar]

JimClark49 said:

Just brought a mint ST220 hatchback after previously owning an ST TDCI.
I lowered the TDCI using the Eibach Pro Kit, but Eibach kit from FordpartsUK says it is NOT for ST220 and only kits for saloons are listed. Will it still be suitable for my ST220 hatchback?

https://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/ford_mondeo_eibac...

Jim. Eibach sell two Spring kits for the mk3 ST. One diesel and one petrol. The diesel springs you have were designed for a car with a heavier front end than the 220.
While 220 springs would be too soft on a TDCi I'm not sure what effect the stiffer TDCi springs would have on an ST.

[Raynkar]

Rat fink 67
That's the best colour mix IMHO

Here is one of its cousins hahahahahaha

[Rat_Fink_67]

Raynkar said:

Rat fink 67
That's the best colour mix IMHO

Yeah I reckon so too!

[MH82]

Knocking/Rattling suspension:

Thought I would share, I have been chasing a knocking/rattling noise on the front of my ST220 for a few months now. I changed the following items:
- Drop Links
- Inner tie rods
- Top Mounts
- Anti Rollbar bushes

The answer though, the incompatibility of after market shock absorbers and Ford Top Mounts. All parts that I buy are genuine Ford and that was my undoing, the struts that were fitted already were aftermarket Monroe. I have now replaced with Ford struts (~£75 each) and the car is absolutely solid. This is because the position of the spring on Ford struts is slightly different to that of aftermarket versions. The Ford Top mounts are designed to work with Ford shocks as you would expect and rattle when used with aftermarket struts. Conversely I believe that aftermarket top mounts and struts would also have sorted the rattle but I wanted the car to drive as Ford intended.

If you have a rattle over very small bumps then the above could be your issue. Also make sure the top mounts are fitted in the correct orientation

[TheBALDpuma]

The garage has told me the MAF sensor (he didn't say MAF, but the words air, flow and mass were in there) is narked - idle, stalls very easily, poor performance and economy.



How easy is this to do myself? and where can I get one from?

[D_T_W]

GreenArrow said:

Hmm, very tempting!! I leave my job in December with a big fat cheque and an ST220 Is very high up on my shopping list!!

Welcome to come and buy mine, 4 months it's been advertised and not even an email offering a daft price for it. Wrecked my ankle pretty much permanently so in need of an auto. Spent a fortune on it as well making it sound like a proper V6!

[GreenArrow]

D_T_W said:

GreenArrow said:

Hmm, very tempting!! I leave my job in December with a big fat cheque and an ST220 Is very high up on my shopping list!!

Welcome to come and buy mine, 4 months it's been advertised and not even an email offering a daft price for it. Wrecked my ankle pretty much permanently so in need of an auto. Spent a fortune on it as well making it sound like a proper V6!

hmm, you're in Scotland, I am down in Bournemouth! That's a long, long way to go to buy a car! Where is it advertised? I will take a look. Since I posted that previous comment tbh, I was put off the ST a bit by people saying they can be troublesome and expensive to maintain and run. I still think they look fab, but I don't want to buy something that is going to become a money pit.

[Howard-]

GreenArrow said:

hmm, you're in Scotland, I am down in Bournemouth! That's a long, long way to go to buy a car! Where is it advertised? I will take a look. Since I posted that previous comment tbh, I was put off the ST a bit by people saying they can be troublesome and expensive to maintain and run. I still think they look fab, but I don't want to buy something that is going to become a money pit.

IMHO they're not that expensive to run, most of the problems are age-related wear and tear. They have a small number of 'known issues', and they're not even that big a deal - breather pipes breaking, ARB drop links.. OK the subframe bushes cost a few quid to put right but it's not the end of the world.

[RichGault]

Right chaps,mine has thrown me a bit of a wobble management light flashed up yesterday,was straight on here for some research into the archives. This is probably familiar story for you gents but I'll fill you in....
Engine idles and runs through the rpm range with no hesitation,car drives as it should. Looking at past posts,suspect breather hoses. Have had a look and can find no damage/splits etc. However then noticed the throttle mechanism has an upper and lower cable,Lower one is missing its plastic attachment and fallen off butterfly mechanism. Have traced the cable to a small covered box behind the n\s\f strut.this casing does look to have a sensor multiplug attached.so may be throwing up the light on the dash?

Could,someone please enlighten to the function of this cable? Or if I'm barking up the wrong tree?

Cheers gents.