Discussion
smeagol65 said:
thinking of buying an mondeo st 24 . can pick them up quite cheap now.has anyone got one ? what are they like? what things do i need to look for ect ect cheers
Mines not an ST24, it's a Mk1 24v, but things to look for are service history, good quality engine oil used, front wishbone bushes, rusty rear arches, check that the secondary throttle system works, oil leaks, drive shaft play, warped discs, check the emissions from the last MOT if available, plus all the usual checks.A few people also put the ST200 manifold and throttle body on for a few extra horses.
What are they like? One of the most underrated cars on the roads. The engine should be as smooth as silk, and pull like an electric motor. Handling is exceptionally good for a fairly large fwd motor.
Make sure the front tyres are wearing evenly, with particular attention to the inside walls of the tyres. That's the walls, not the running surface. Make sure all the switches work, including rear windows. Make sure the aircon runs cold. Check the secondary inlets are free by accelerating through 3500 rpm, there should be no noticeable power fall off at higher engine speeds.
Make sure the front tyres are wearing evenly, with particular attention to the inside walls of the tyres. That's the walls, not the running surface. Make sure all the switches work, including rear windows. Make sure the aircon runs cold. Check the secondary inlets are free by accelerating through 3500 rpm, there should be no noticeable power fall off at higher engine speeds.
There are plenty around, so if one doesn't feel right, walk away. They are cheap simply because second hand cars are ridiculously cheap. Everyone wants BMWs, Imprezas etc so this pushes down the price of everything else.
As I imagine you are on a budget, I would look into how much the insurance is on one of these. If you are under 30 the insurance may cost more than the car!
As I imagine you are on a budget, I would look into how much the insurance is on one of these. If you are under 30 the insurance may cost more than the car!
Why not have a look at www.fordmondeo.org? They have lots of V6 specific information there.
IIRC the weakest point in the car, apart from the norm of a car that age, will be the water pump. I believe these have a plastic impellar that degrades. Cooling water stops going through the system and, well you can probably guess the rest. A new water pump with a metal impellar can be had for reasonably monies.
All in it is a very underrated car.
Paul
IIRC the weakest point in the car, apart from the norm of a car that age, will be the water pump. I believe these have a plastic impellar that degrades. Cooling water stops going through the system and, well you can probably guess the rest. A new water pump with a metal impellar can be had for reasonably monies.
All in it is a very underrated car.
Paul
I have a v plate 1999 model owned mow for just over two years. Very good car bags of room and good performance to suit. As already said check the front bushes as these tend to wear out easily. Check the rear droplinks these also go . Changed all mine for the mot last year. Check that the secondaries open you can either drive the car and when you accelerate you should feel a surge at about 3500 rpm ish or if you look into manifold under the throttle body area you should see the arm moving when the car is revved if it doesn't do this the IMRC module has probably failed and will need replacing ford reatil at about £150 for the unit and again easy to fit but you can find them in greakers etc or ebay. service history a must check the air condtioning mine needed re gassing. Water pumps fail as said but replacement with metal impellor easy to source and a breeze to fit. Drivers side electric seat adjusters can fail. Apart from that engine and gearbox are very good providing looked after handling is very good for a bigish car fuel consumption not bad good on motorway as you would expect. A bargain car if you can pick up a well looked after one. try ford mondeo owners club too always some nice examples in the for sale section.
Hope this helps
Gad.
Hope this helps
Gad.
When test driving, do take the engine right up the rev range...
MEG is a good source of info, but all the above (waterpump is well known, but a very easy DIY fix, and the metal replacement cost alot less than the Ford one!!!!) Other basic faults have already been described. One to add though:
The bushes in the alternator are prone to wear, I missed (and so did the AA) the problem on my mk2 GhiaX V6 when on the testdrive, and it costs £200 to fix.
Charge light will come on at higher RPM. (In mine, only just below 6k, I only just missed it on the test drive)
MEG is a good source of info, but all the above (waterpump is well known, but a very easy DIY fix, and the metal replacement cost alot less than the Ford one!!!!) Other basic faults have already been described. One to add though:
The bushes in the alternator are prone to wear, I missed (and so did the AA) the problem on my mk2 GhiaX V6 when on the testdrive, and it costs £200 to fix.
Charge light will come on at higher RPM. (In mine, only just below 6k, I only just missed it on the test drive)
All the problems I had with our v6 have been mentioned but just wanted to add that the front wishbone bushes/balljoints went twice on ours over the 8 years we had it and the alternator went twice. The bushes and balljoint are fixed by replacing the whole wishbone but they're only about 15 quid a side. The job is not to bad at all though. The alternator is about 100-150 quid and it's a right git of a job so haggle. Check for the signs of HGF due to a failed water pump as that's a job and a half.
One other thing though is that the clutch is relatively expensive to change so if you can find one that's been done then great otherwise check for slippage, whining clutch bearing and stiff operation. We were quoted between 5-800 to get the clutch done.
One other thing though is that the clutch is relatively expensive to change so if you can find one that's been done then great otherwise check for slippage, whining clutch bearing and stiff operation. We were quoted between 5-800 to get the clutch done.
Edited by dern on Tuesday 11th March 19:54
I have a '99 V6 Ghia X...
Agree with all the above, except I wouldn't necessarily ignore cars with a non-functioning IMRC (that's the control unit that opens up the last 8 valves above 3,500rpm-ish), or with wishbone bushes/balljoint wear.
The IMRC is pretty easy to fix yourself with the help of some online guides, if you have any electronics/welding experience... Otherwise around £120 to replace.
The wishbones go so often (if cheap replacements are used) that they'd be likely to go soon even if they were fine on the test drive.
As for the water pump, yep make sure the head gasket is fine as it can be a big problem on (IIRC) pre-1999 cars. The pumps had weak plastic impellers which broke and stopped the flow of coolant. The solution is to buy a replacement with metal blades (about £45 and easy enough DIY job).
As far as I can remember, at some point in 1998/1999 Ford started fitting tougher plastic impellers - although these are still not perfect.
Unless you're looking to pay top money for an immaculate one, set aside £200-£300 for sorting any of the above (very) common problems, and make sure that the headgasket in the car has not suffered any failures and the car does not overheat or make worrying noises.
ETA: Yep, that's the other thing... Make sure the clutch has plenty of life. Not a cheap job!
Agree with all the above, except I wouldn't necessarily ignore cars with a non-functioning IMRC (that's the control unit that opens up the last 8 valves above 3,500rpm-ish), or with wishbone bushes/balljoint wear.
The IMRC is pretty easy to fix yourself with the help of some online guides, if you have any electronics/welding experience... Otherwise around £120 to replace.
The wishbones go so often (if cheap replacements are used) that they'd be likely to go soon even if they were fine on the test drive.
As for the water pump, yep make sure the head gasket is fine as it can be a big problem on (IIRC) pre-1999 cars. The pumps had weak plastic impellers which broke and stopped the flow of coolant. The solution is to buy a replacement with metal blades (about £45 and easy enough DIY job).
As far as I can remember, at some point in 1998/1999 Ford started fitting tougher plastic impellers - although these are still not perfect.
Unless you're looking to pay top money for an immaculate one, set aside £200-£300 for sorting any of the above (very) common problems, and make sure that the headgasket in the car has not suffered any failures and the car does not overheat or make worrying noises.
ETA: Yep, that's the other thing... Make sure the clutch has plenty of life. Not a cheap job!
Edited by rasputin on Wednesday 12th March 14:42
I also have a '99 Ghia X V6 estate. It was down on power when I bought it, and kept blowing the EGR pipes off under load. This turned out to be caused by internal exhaust corrosion, which was blocking airflow. Once the exhaust was replaced, the car ran great. This seems to be quite rare - I had to figure it out myself as nobody on the MEG had any ideas.
The plugs are a pain to replace (the back 3 notably), and it is rumoured that Ford often don't bother replacing these awkward ones. I replaced all 6 when I got my car, and the rear plugs were in far worse shape than the fronts.
By all accounts I really should get something more up to date for my daily driver, but the Mondeo still ticks all the boxes. Oh and these engines sound great if you replace the airbox with a cone filter (at the expense of some heat-soak).
The plugs are a pain to replace (the back 3 notably), and it is rumoured that Ford often don't bother replacing these awkward ones. I replaced all 6 when I got my car, and the rear plugs were in far worse shape than the fronts.
By all accounts I really should get something more up to date for my daily driver, but the Mondeo still ticks all the boxes. Oh and these engines sound great if you replace the airbox with a cone filter (at the expense of some heat-soak).
i had a 97 black one for a couple of years. Theyre an excellent car , very smooth. Mine had 120k on it and selling it was a nightmare because of the miles even though it had fsh and there wasnt a rattle or squeak out of it! I bought a st200 after it and the extra 30bhp and all round look of the 200 makes a hell of a difference IMO. 2 very good cars though and never had any problems whatsoever except wear + tear issues. Moral of the story is - st24 good car but if you have the extra dosh get a st200 its a better car!
Edited by daphantom on Sunday 30th March 20:39
clonmult said:
I'm considering getting an ST24 - this thread has come at just the right time.
Only question to add to this - what sort of economy can you get out of one of these?
Also mulling over a Vectra V6, okay not quite as good a chassis, but the engine should be similarly smooth.
On motorway runs I get 32-34 out of the ST200, but these days it lives on the B-roads doing the run to the station, which means round town I usually see 25mpg.Only question to add to this - what sort of economy can you get out of one of these?
Also mulling over a Vectra V6, okay not quite as good a chassis, but the engine should be similarly smooth.
Podie said:
clonmult said:
Thats not bad at all - I'm getting around 30mpg out of my 318iS, so to have a faster/bigger car and be able to get similar returns is great.
What's the budget..? If you can stretch to an ST200 then I would.Gassing Station | Ford | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff