New commuter hack Mondeo - petrol this time
Discussion
My 1.8 Mondeo does 38 average, mostly long runs. 30 round town. I do 1k to 2k a month depending on work. The all up cost of mine over 24k/ 2 years was 20p a mile. Good enough. If I were doing more miles a diesel might be worth the risk of expensive repair, but as it sits 20p a mile is good enough.
SebringMan said:
For those worried about mileage we took one from 133k to this:
It drove fine, better than quite a few cars!
Wow. Mine is on 134k, was 127 in November but I had some miles to do. I drove it today, having done a bit of suspension maintenance last year it drives perfectly. As for yours, is it petrol, and did it manage all that on the original engine?It drove fine, better than quite a few cars!
battered said:
Wow. Mine is on 134k, was 127 in November but I had some miles to do. I drove it today, having done a bit of suspension maintenance last year it drives perfectly. As for yours, is it petrol, and did it manage all that on the original engine?
We used to pile on the miles back and this is the last Mondeo we took to uber high miles. Although we have taken our 2.5T to 163k which many consider high.As for the car on 325k it was a 1.8 petrol on LPG. You ask about the work? It had the following during our ownership outside of tyres and servicing etc.
-Rebuilt head at 209k ; the first 2.0 petrol we took to 380k without rebuilding it and the compression being fine. We don't know to this day whether this one died down to wear, the LPG killing the valves or not shimming them ;they were not checked because we were told :they don't need checking... I really doubt that now.
-Clutch and flywheel at 310k; Yup, that was its first clutch change! It was only changed as the slave cylinder started to leak.
-Rear brake calipers along with the handbrake cables
-Springs and dampers all round
-2 lots of brake discs
-Alternator
-Front airbag sensor
It looked like this. If I am honest the bumpers got no worse later on in life. They were tatty when we bought it! It was the roughest looking car when we got it but also the cheapest. 5 years old with 130k along with a disgusting coffee stained interior for £1450 back in 2012. Up to 209k it only really had money spent on servicing.
As said we took a 2.0 to 380k without taking the engine apart and the compression to my surprise was spot on. Both had oil changes every 10k. The 3.0 V6 we had went to 260k with the following needed:
-Springs on the front; it did want dampers later on
-Clutch at 210k. Yup, the slave started to leak
-Rear brake caliper
-Rear wheel bearing
-LPG conversion at 130k ; we bought it at 111k.
-Various cooling hoses (around 3 IIRC) along with the radiator and fan assembly ; these things run hot and you neglect the cooling system at your peril! The rad is near enough the same size as the 2.0 TDCI!
I would have happily have kept that car as it did look very straight and with a relatively unworn interior compared to many 'low milers' But that would end when someone rear ended it.
Edited by SebringMan on Saturday 22 April 09:45
Hey, those are some pretty big numbers for mileage done in one.
I sold my Mondeo last year (because I really really wanted a warm hatch) and the rear top mounts were clonking and it had new brake pipes fitted too. Did you not have to do much on the back end of yours? I thought the hatchback rear suspension needs refreshing / overhaul every 80k or so?
I sold my Mondeo last year (because I really really wanted a warm hatch) and the rear top mounts were clonking and it had new brake pipes fitted too. Did you not have to do much on the back end of yours? I thought the hatchback rear suspension needs refreshing / overhaul every 80k or so?
Other than the head rebuild there's nothing there that I don't regard as a service item. Mine is 03 reg and it has a steady diet of susp bushes, handbrake cables and exchange calipers at MoT time, I regard this as normal. Even the head rebuild at 200k or whatever you said is neither here nor there.
As for rear suspension, I don't think they wear any more than anything else. Roll bar drop links, but that's a so-what. Mine came to me just under 3 years ago showing 96k (iirc) and needing new drop links on the front ARB's. Did this and MoTed it that September, I wasn't planning on keeping it because it had been neglected by a previous owner. Dents to all panels, even the roof, filthy, the previous owner was clearly more interested in what was happening on the back seat than what was happening outside the car. This was 2014.
Sep 2015, about 110k - rusty brake pipes, handbrake cable, rear ARB bushes. More expensive than you would think, I nearly killed it but got it fixed on the cheap thinking I'd run it for the winter.
Winter came and went, I suspected the clutch was not long for this world but then work took me away so firstly I didn't need a car and then I needed to do 2500 miles a month. I thought "sod it" and pressed it into service. It lapped it up, the clutch was fine.
Sep 2016, about 120k. MoT fail on broken spring, groaning strut top bearing, rear brake caliper. Sorted.
Now on 134k and running like a watch. It's spent Nov-Mar doing Leeds to London every week, without any incident. It's collected another scrape courtesy of a white van driven by Stevie Wonder in a Holiday Inn car park. I can't say I care.
So in conclusion I suspect that an 80k suspension rebuild is a myth. I'm very sure that the previous owner wouldn't have done it, I got it at 96k needing ARB bushes and in nearly 40k since it's not done anything other than rear ARBs.
I keep talking about replacing it, but until it hands in a big bill I can't be bothered. The only thing that it has started doing recently is an occasional tappety rattle while the oil gets up on a first start. Probably some crud in a tappet, I'll maintin the 10k oil changes. Oh, and the air con is terminally goosed.
As for rear suspension, I don't think they wear any more than anything else. Roll bar drop links, but that's a so-what. Mine came to me just under 3 years ago showing 96k (iirc) and needing new drop links on the front ARB's. Did this and MoTed it that September, I wasn't planning on keeping it because it had been neglected by a previous owner. Dents to all panels, even the roof, filthy, the previous owner was clearly more interested in what was happening on the back seat than what was happening outside the car. This was 2014.
Sep 2015, about 110k - rusty brake pipes, handbrake cable, rear ARB bushes. More expensive than you would think, I nearly killed it but got it fixed on the cheap thinking I'd run it for the winter.
Winter came and went, I suspected the clutch was not long for this world but then work took me away so firstly I didn't need a car and then I needed to do 2500 miles a month. I thought "sod it" and pressed it into service. It lapped it up, the clutch was fine.
Sep 2016, about 120k. MoT fail on broken spring, groaning strut top bearing, rear brake caliper. Sorted.
Now on 134k and running like a watch. It's spent Nov-Mar doing Leeds to London every week, without any incident. It's collected another scrape courtesy of a white van driven by Stevie Wonder in a Holiday Inn car park. I can't say I care.
So in conclusion I suspect that an 80k suspension rebuild is a myth. I'm very sure that the previous owner wouldn't have done it, I got it at 96k needing ARB bushes and in nearly 40k since it's not done anything other than rear ARBs.
I keep talking about replacing it, but until it hands in a big bill I can't be bothered. The only thing that it has started doing recently is an occasional tappety rattle while the oil gets up on a first start. Probably some crud in a tappet, I'll maintin the 10k oil changes. Oh, and the air con is terminally goosed.
It's great to see a bit of Mk3 Mondeo love goin on.
I've had my 2002 1.8 Mondeo since June last year, bought it a hurry albeit very cheap ( Think a nights stay in a half decent 4 star hotel) it's fitted with a BRC LPG kit.
I've personally done over 30k miles in it in that time and it's currently sitting on a suspicious 151k miles. In that time all its needed is front tyres and discs, hand ful of oil changes and a greesing of the rear calipers ( I refuse to pay for replacements )
It's a great car, engaging to drive, very stable flat out and comfy. Averaging 50mpg cost equivalent to Diesel on the LPG and runs perfectly. Sure it has a few noises from the rear suspension but passed that MOT equivavnt with 0 advisories so I shan't be investigating.
No one else has mentioned this but does anyone lose find the standard speakers surprisingly good? I after a aftermarket head unit with stock speakers but they do a convincing job of drowning my singing out as well as the road noise.
I've had my 2002 1.8 Mondeo since June last year, bought it a hurry albeit very cheap ( Think a nights stay in a half decent 4 star hotel) it's fitted with a BRC LPG kit.
I've personally done over 30k miles in it in that time and it's currently sitting on a suspicious 151k miles. In that time all its needed is front tyres and discs, hand ful of oil changes and a greesing of the rear calipers ( I refuse to pay for replacements )
It's a great car, engaging to drive, very stable flat out and comfy. Averaging 50mpg cost equivalent to Diesel on the LPG and runs perfectly. Sure it has a few noises from the rear suspension but passed that MOT equivavnt with 0 advisories so I shan't be investigating.
No one else has mentioned this but does anyone lose find the standard speakers surprisingly good? I after a aftermarket head unit with stock speakers but they do a convincing job of drowning my singing out as well as the road noise.
DickP said:
Hey, those are some pretty big numbers for mileage done in one.
I sold my Mondeo last year (because I really really wanted a warm hatch) and the rear top mounts were clonking and it had new brake pipes fitted too. Did you not have to do much on the back end of yours? I thought the hatchback rear suspension needs refreshing / overhaul every 80k or so?
I guess I missed a couple of things off but not many.I sold my Mondeo last year (because I really really wanted a warm hatch) and the rear top mounts were clonking and it had new brake pipes fitted too. Did you not have to do much on the back end of yours? I thought the hatchback rear suspension needs refreshing / overhaul every 80k or so?
The 2.0 that we had did 380k. Regarding the rear end that had;
- 2 lots of rear springs
-Pair of dampers
-Drop links x 3
-ARB bushes x 5
-ARB bar
-Rear subframe bushes changed to PowerFlex items.
The 1.8 had
-Pair of dampers
-Pair of springs
-ARB bushes
-Drop links
This time around we changed the ARB bushes and drop links with genuine items. They never went again unlike the OE/pattern crap on the 2.0.
The brake pipes started to get slightly rusty but nothing much. We cleaned and regreased them and they were spot on. I've never had much luck with cars on copper pipes where they have come to me fitted ; they seem to go brittle over time, more than even a rusty steel pipe which seem to take alot of abuse.
TimeFlies said:
It's great to see a bit of Mk3 Mondeo love goin on.
No one else has mentioned this but does anyone lose find the standard speakers surprisingly good? I after a aftermarket head unit with stock speakers but they do a convincing job of drowning my singing out as well as the road noise.
Now that you mention it, yes they are pretty good. I hadn't noticed it but my MX5 came to me with an aftermarket stereo and presumably standard speakers. The MX5 is crap, the Mondy is OK. You never notice good performance in these things but yes, it's good.No one else has mentioned this but does anyone lose find the standard speakers surprisingly good? I after a aftermarket head unit with stock speakers but they do a convincing job of drowning my singing out as well as the road noise.
battered said:
Now that you mention it, yes they are pretty good. I hadn't noticed it but my MX5 came to me with an aftermarket stereo and presumably standard speakers. The MX5 is crap, the Mondy is OK. You never notice good performance in these things but yes, it's good.
Yup. A HU makes all the difference.It makes it worse that BMW got the radio quality so bad in the E46, even on the HK equipped cars!
Still got my eyes on my old mans 1.8 Dura, drives like new even if it has a bit of the door rot that these suffer from. Only has 80K on it I think it has loads of life in it despite being 16-17 years old.
How big a job is doing the rear subframe bushes, could it be done in the drive way with help?
How big a job is doing the rear subframe bushes, could it be done in the drive way with help?
Anything can be done in a driveway if you need to! It's just a question of whether you are prepared to go through the pain. If you and your mate know your stuff, then yes. If you have the emergency jack, half a set of Whitworth spanners and a bent screwdriver between you, no.
Get some Waxoyl (failing that, grease, failing that, oil) and slather it on the inside of the door bottoms where they rot. It stops it getting worse. I did this 2 years ago, it seems to have worked. On other corrosion spots I've just rubbed it down and rustproofed it and touched it in with a repair pot. Repeat annually if it returns. It's a shed, you don't need a permanent repair, you just need to slow it to a crawl.
Get some Waxoyl (failing that, grease, failing that, oil) and slather it on the inside of the door bottoms where they rot. It stops it getting worse. I did this 2 years ago, it seems to have worked. On other corrosion spots I've just rubbed it down and rustproofed it and touched it in with a repair pot. Repeat annually if it returns. It's a shed, you don't need a permanent repair, you just need to slow it to a crawl.
I've put 22k on my 1.8 Duratec since I bought it last March, when it had just been freshly MOT'd and serviced, with new rear calliper and quite a bit more.
It's had no more than a new rear hub straight away, discs and pads, and a service. I replaced a faulty passenger window switch too, and both front wing indicators as the lenses kept popping off when washing it, but that didn't cost more than a tenner.
Boot struts have got a bit lazy, rear right door rot has set in a bit more (only visible on the inside of the door though) and theres a cyclic tapping noise coming from the front drivers side when I go around left turns.
I bought a spare set of steel wheels, and got some winter tyres near new from the previous owners for £50. About time to swap to my summer tyres, but I need two fronts.
I am now looking to upgrade to a MK4 2.5T, but struggling to find a 2.5T Titanium X Sport. No hurry though as the MK3 is serving me so well.
It's had no more than a new rear hub straight away, discs and pads, and a service. I replaced a faulty passenger window switch too, and both front wing indicators as the lenses kept popping off when washing it, but that didn't cost more than a tenner.
Boot struts have got a bit lazy, rear right door rot has set in a bit more (only visible on the inside of the door though) and theres a cyclic tapping noise coming from the front drivers side when I go around left turns.
I bought a spare set of steel wheels, and got some winter tyres near new from the previous owners for £50. About time to swap to my summer tyres, but I need two fronts.
I am now looking to upgrade to a MK4 2.5T, but struggling to find a 2.5T Titanium X Sport. No hurry though as the MK3 is serving me so well.
charltjr said:
Justin S said:
You got the spanners out to service it yet. My bet is it will be going to your mechanic mate 
Weeeeelllllllllll......Still thinking about it
In all honesty it would make much more sense to just drop it in to my mechanic because he's really cheap and really good, but I fancy getting the spanners out and having a crack at it myself.
Looks like a doddle to be fair, just some basic tools and somewhere dry and flat to work on the car is all I really need.
Tale of woe next week no doubt
charltjr said:
Finished thinking about it, have ordered all the bits to give it a full service, all the filters and plugs.
In all honesty it would make much more sense to just drop it in to my mechanic because he's really cheap and really good, but I fancy getting the spanners out and having a crack at it myself.
Looks like a doddle to be fair, just some basic tools and somewhere dry and flat to work on the car is all I really need.
Tale of woe next week no doubt
Planning on do same next week with mine! A few tools, flat area and a couple of YouTube videos to help, what's the worst that can happen In all honesty it would make much more sense to just drop it in to my mechanic because he's really cheap and really good, but I fancy getting the spanners out and having a crack at it myself.
Looks like a doddle to be fair, just some basic tools and somewhere dry and flat to work on the car is all I really need.
Tale of woe next week no doubt
charltjr said:
charltjr said:
Justin S said:
You got the spanners out to service it yet. My bet is it will be going to your mechanic mate
Weeeeelllllllllll......Still thinking about it
In all honesty it would make much more sense to just drop it in to my mechanic because he's really cheap and really good, but I fancy getting the spanners out and having a crack at it myself.
Looks like a doddle to be fair, just some basic tools and somewhere dry and flat to work on the car is all I really need.
Tale of woe next week no doubt
I make a habit now of cleaning the TMAP sensor every service, makes quite the differance imo. Drives a bit bitter, pick up and general running is smoother also.
Just ticked over 155k miles in mine now, flywheel crackling is getting noisier I think, so fixed it by fitting a new Bluetooth head unit and Vibe sub
Just ticked over 155k miles in mine now, flywheel crackling is getting noisier I think, so fixed it by fitting a new Bluetooth head unit and Vibe sub
What sort of idiot services their own car when they've got a really good, really cheap mechanic available?
Me.....
To be fair, I figured the Mondeo was going to be easy to self-service. There's plenty of space around the engine, it's sensibly laid out and obviously designed to keep servicing labour costs down. Luckily it turned out to be true, everything was very easy to get to and work on. I can now tick "changed spark plugs" and "changed a fuel filter" off the list of things I've never done. How thrilling
Plugs were in good condition, nothing to indicate the engine was running lean or rich. Filters looked like exactly what you'd expect from a car that last had them changed a few services ago (last one was just oil + filter). Seems like the main dealer who looked after it didn't live up to the usual reputation and actually did the work they were paid to do.
Disposing of the old oil will just be a trip to the tip at some point, poured it into an old 5L screenwash bottle so it's easy to deal with.
Obviously I can immediately feel throttle response is much improved, MPG is better and the engine is running much more sweetly than before! Once all the psychosomatic b
ks has worn off I'll at least be able to bask in the glory of having saved myself about £40.
Me.....
To be fair, I figured the Mondeo was going to be easy to self-service. There's plenty of space around the engine, it's sensibly laid out and obviously designed to keep servicing labour costs down. Luckily it turned out to be true, everything was very easy to get to and work on. I can now tick "changed spark plugs" and "changed a fuel filter" off the list of things I've never done. How thrilling
Plugs were in good condition, nothing to indicate the engine was running lean or rich. Filters looked like exactly what you'd expect from a car that last had them changed a few services ago (last one was just oil + filter). Seems like the main dealer who looked after it didn't live up to the usual reputation and actually did the work they were paid to do.
Disposing of the old oil will just be a trip to the tip at some point, poured it into an old 5L screenwash bottle so it's easy to deal with.
Obviously I can immediately feel throttle response is much improved, MPG is better and the engine is running much more sweetly than before! Once all the psychosomatic b
ks has worn off I'll at least be able to bask in the glory of having saved myself about £40. Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff