Mondeo ST24 or Puma 1.7?
Discussion
Avoid the cougar, in fact avoid the 2.5litre V6 duratec engine!
Couple of reasons, I hankered after a Cougar for years, driven a MK2 diesel mondeo, then a 1.8 MK2 mondy. At the beginning of the year I saw a Cougar come up for a bargain £900, it was spotless, black, x-pack options, de-cat with twin exhausts. Was a really nice car.
Within a couple of weeks it became apparent it had a major electrical problem. It is a known issue with the duratec v6 of that era, the charging circuit is known to go high resistance, giving you this pulsing light effect at idle, and as I found out a bloody fond habit of spiking the ecu while driving. It ended up going through a number of front lightbulbs too.
That said, it was quick and the V6 put a smile on your face pressing on. However I needed those 2 extra cylinders!
Good luck if you do go after an ST24, in my opinion stick with a Zetec-s which has the body kit and alloys but either a 1.8 or 2 litre black top lump.
Couple of reasons, I hankered after a Cougar for years, driven a MK2 diesel mondeo, then a 1.8 MK2 mondy. At the beginning of the year I saw a Cougar come up for a bargain £900, it was spotless, black, x-pack options, de-cat with twin exhausts. Was a really nice car.
Within a couple of weeks it became apparent it had a major electrical problem. It is a known issue with the duratec v6 of that era, the charging circuit is known to go high resistance, giving you this pulsing light effect at idle, and as I found out a bloody fond habit of spiking the ecu while driving. It ended up going through a number of front lightbulbs too.
That said, it was quick and the V6 put a smile on your face pressing on. However I needed those 2 extra cylinders!
Good luck if you do go after an ST24, in my opinion stick with a Zetec-s which has the body kit and alloys but either a 1.8 or 2 litre black top lump.
Camaro said:
Avoid the cougar, in fact avoid the 2.5litre V6 duratec engine!
Couple of reasons, I hankered after a Cougar for years, driven a MK2 diesel mondeo, then a 1.8 MK2 mondy. At the beginning of the year I saw a Cougar come up for a bargain £900, it was spotless, black, x-pack options, de-cat with twin exhausts. Was a really nice car.
Within a couple of weeks it became apparent it had a major electrical problem. It is a known issue with the duratec v6 of that era, the charging circuit is known to go high resistance, giving you this pulsing light effect at idle, and as I found out a bloody fond habit of spiking the ecu while driving. It ended up going through a number of front lightbulbs too.
That said, it was quick and the V6 put a smile on your face pressing on. However I needed those 2 extra cylinders!
Good luck if you do go after an ST24, in my opinion stick with a Zetec-s which has the body kit and alloys but either a 1.8 or 2 litre black top lump.
There is a known fix for the pulsing.Couple of reasons, I hankered after a Cougar for years, driven a MK2 diesel mondeo, then a 1.8 MK2 mondy. At the beginning of the year I saw a Cougar come up for a bargain £900, it was spotless, black, x-pack options, de-cat with twin exhausts. Was a really nice car.
Within a couple of weeks it became apparent it had a major electrical problem. It is a known issue with the duratec v6 of that era, the charging circuit is known to go high resistance, giving you this pulsing light effect at idle, and as I found out a bloody fond habit of spiking the ecu while driving. It ended up going through a number of front lightbulbs too.
That said, it was quick and the V6 put a smile on your face pressing on. However I needed those 2 extra cylinders!
Good luck if you do go after an ST24, in my opinion stick with a Zetec-s which has the body kit and alloys but either a 1.8 or 2 litre black top lump.
Can't say I've seen many issues on the 2.5 on various Ford forums I've frequented for the past decade. Water pump is a known fail point - but again, easy to rectify.
Good luck with the ST24 - like I said make sure there is a noticeable increase in power after 3500 rpm and that it pulls hard all the way to the red line. If there isn't, then the secondaries are not opening up - i.e. it is not running on all the valves.
This is caused by the IMRC (Inlet Manifold Runner Control) which sits on top of the engine and is affected by heat soak which fries the circuit board. A new one is around £50 - £100. If it works, then relocate it to underneath the battery tray ASAP!
The wiring that goes to the IMRC can also suffer from heat soak - this was sorted on the US cars under recall, but for some reason not over here. If that fails, then you need to take the inlet manifold off and clean the secondaries out yourself as they can become gummed up with carbon deposits.
Besides that, they are very reliable engines. The water pump has a plastic impeller which can fail and cause overheating, killing the head gasket.
It is a great engine, I sold mine to a mate who then sold it to another mate who both ragged f
k out of the poor thing constantly when it was cold, but 30k miles later it is still running strong.
They rust, so make sure to check under the boot carpet and the arches! Also a clutch change is a right PITA on them (as it is on all Mondeos) so if it is slipping be prepared for a big bill.
Wonderful cars, I would happily have another. Just be careful as they are now at the point where there are a few dogs out there!
This is caused by the IMRC (Inlet Manifold Runner Control) which sits on top of the engine and is affected by heat soak which fries the circuit board. A new one is around £50 - £100. If it works, then relocate it to underneath the battery tray ASAP!
The wiring that goes to the IMRC can also suffer from heat soak - this was sorted on the US cars under recall, but for some reason not over here. If that fails, then you need to take the inlet manifold off and clean the secondaries out yourself as they can become gummed up with carbon deposits.
Besides that, they are very reliable engines. The water pump has a plastic impeller which can fail and cause overheating, killing the head gasket.
It is a great engine, I sold mine to a mate who then sold it to another mate who both ragged f
k out of the poor thing constantly when it was cold, but 30k miles later it is still running strong. They rust, so make sure to check under the boot carpet and the arches! Also a clutch change is a right PITA on them (as it is on all Mondeos) so if it is slipping be prepared for a big bill.
Wonderful cars, I would happily have another. Just be careful as they are now at the point where there are a few dogs out there!
I owned a panther black st24 back in 2001 & it was a lovely looking motor, also had a 2.5v6 ghia x from 2007 to 2010,I think it's a cracking engine the v6 duratec smooth quiet on tickover & punchy when you work it.
Good luck in your search, both puma & mondeo are decent motors but I am an ex ford obsessive!
Good luck in your search, both puma & mondeo are decent motors but I am an ex ford obsessive!
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