Ford Mondeo Titanium 2.5T Estate : Maybe Other Dailies
Discussion
So, the Mondeo. Not the first word of xcitement that comes to mind on this place 
.
But, for all the stick they get, I reckon they're a great bit of kit, especially with a fruity engine in them. This place is also strange with some people liking the everyman cars.
I've myself owned 2 super high milers as follows:
-'01 Mk3 2.0 Ghia X @ 378,000 miles
-'05 Mk3 3.0 Ghia X Estate LPG ; 113,000 to 262,000
At around 240,000, I gave my dad the Estate. I loved that car. It was a superb handler, a great cruiser and had such a way about it, even if it looked like a 2.0 TDCI model in Jewish Racing Gold. Despite giving it to my dad, I still used it quite a bit. However, like all things, they come to an end. In this case, it got rear ended, and the rest as they say is history.
My dad then bought a MkIV 2.5 Turbo Estate at 125,000 miles, which he drove about for 5 years, with me maintaining it for him in that time whenever possible. In that time, It's had:
-40,000 miles put on
-2 new top mounts
-Several tyres (3 sets up front IIRC)
-A set of brakes all round
-A rear caliper ; the left side always goes on these I've noticed.
-Lots of servicing.
-New DMF & Clutch at 169,000 miles
While I preferred the V6 Mk3s, I have liked these, and they do make more sense in many ways, with fuel economy being one of them. This one also has great features like Adaptive Cruise to keep you company on those long commutes.
So why am I yabbling on? 5 months ago, my mate was selling a poorly BMW E61 535d. My dad bought it, and I regretably turned it down; it's a great car. However, this did mean I picked up the 2.5T for £1,000, well below Shed money.
Do I have plans for it? If I am sensible, I'll just keep on maintaining it. But, these do respond well to a remap, and well, it does require some titivation now ; But even for a car that is rare, is it worth spending that cash on it? We shall see:
. But, for all the stick they get, I reckon they're a great bit of kit, especially with a fruity engine in them. This place is also strange with some people liking the everyman cars.
I've myself owned 2 super high milers as follows:
-'01 Mk3 2.0 Ghia X @ 378,000 miles
-'05 Mk3 3.0 Ghia X Estate LPG ; 113,000 to 262,000
At around 240,000, I gave my dad the Estate. I loved that car. It was a superb handler, a great cruiser and had such a way about it, even if it looked like a 2.0 TDCI model in Jewish Racing Gold. Despite giving it to my dad, I still used it quite a bit. However, like all things, they come to an end. In this case, it got rear ended, and the rest as they say is history.
My dad then bought a MkIV 2.5 Turbo Estate at 125,000 miles, which he drove about for 5 years, with me maintaining it for him in that time whenever possible. In that time, It's had:
-40,000 miles put on
-2 new top mounts
-Several tyres (3 sets up front IIRC)
-A set of brakes all round
-A rear caliper ; the left side always goes on these I've noticed.
-Lots of servicing.
-New DMF & Clutch at 169,000 miles
While I preferred the V6 Mk3s, I have liked these, and they do make more sense in many ways, with fuel economy being one of them. This one also has great features like Adaptive Cruise to keep you company on those long commutes.
So why am I yabbling on? 5 months ago, my mate was selling a poorly BMW E61 535d. My dad bought it, and I regretably turned it down; it's a great car. However, this did mean I picked up the 2.5T for £1,000, well below Shed money.
Do I have plans for it? If I am sensible, I'll just keep on maintaining it. But, these do respond well to a remap, and well, it does require some titivation now ; But even for a car that is rare, is it worth spending that cash on it? We shall see
:Make sure you check the Aux belt - the one with a 10 year replacement interval.
This belt let go on my 9 year old, 80,000 mile example and it must have caused the cambelt to jump one or more teeth. Resulting in all the valves hitting the pistons and me selling it for £500 spares or repair. Very very annoying.
This belt let go on my 9 year old, 80,000 mile example and it must have caused the cambelt to jump one or more teeth. Resulting in all the valves hitting the pistons and me selling it for £500 spares or repair. Very very annoying.
omniflow said:
Make sure you check the Aux belt - the one with a 10 year replacement interval.
This belt let go on my 9 year old, 80,000 mile example and it must have caused the cambelt to jump one or more teeth. Resulting in all the valves hitting the pistons and me selling it for £500 spares or repair. Very very annoying.
+1 this advice. Was common on the S-max forums. Also check the AUX belt tensioner. At the mileage you are at, guessing cambelt has already been done at least once! All 3 belts do seem to fail early too - circa 80/90k and 8/9 years. Can't remember what the third belt runs but its less problematic than cambelt and aux belt 1. This belt let go on my 9 year old, 80,000 mile example and it must have caused the cambelt to jump one or more teeth. Resulting in all the valves hitting the pistons and me selling it for £500 spares or repair. Very very annoying.
Well, this got a better reception than I thought!
.
They're a great chassis a with a decent set of boots on. Along with a smooth, light and slick gear change, they go very well. The only downsides are the rubbish badge (unless you like something that can trace its history back to the Cortina), some plastics look cheap, albeit are very very long lived, and some 2.5T spares can be pricey ; the clutch and DMF are around the same money as they are in my M3.
In Hatch or saloon form, they are quieter than an estate inside, but that goes for any car. It seems like a nice successor to my W124. Sure it doesn't have the kudos quite the waftiness (that was an auto mind you), but it's certainly more sensible and a great chassis.
The W108 will fund a house purchase in time, but at least I won't be funding its fuel bill. It's a lovely thing to get around in .
The belt is on the list. The 3rd belt is a stretch belt on these, and it only goes onto the PAS pump and AC pump: The AC pump is driven off the main aux belt, which in turns drives the PAS belt . I had issues with stretch belts and fitment on my V6, but since I get some cash off Ford, I may well get all of the belts from them .
. The 535d to be fair was a going concern which was partially the reason I didn't buy it, but also, it's needed around £800 spent on it as it was a cheap 535d ; Exhaust manifold was cracked (I gave that to a mate to change; he found it fun...), new front discs and pads, and new rear tyres.
I've debated the remap alot on this car. But I do like how it does 30MPG average, with close to 40 on a run if I'm not too stupid. I'll have to research what other guys get out of theirs. With a fresh clutch though, you could argue I should do it.
My previous bikes were and still are:
-2012 Carrera TDF ; I've made this more of a tourer with mudguards, pannier etc. ; it's a town bike for me
-1993 Klein Pinnacle hardtail with 7spd Shimano XT running gear on flanged Impres FiR wheels
-2000 Cannondale F700 ; Headshok Fatty SL front fork (60 or 70mm travel IIRC), that's become Trigger's broom over time. It's always run Shimano 9Spd Gears but a while ago I fitted a Shadow XT rear mech, XTR flappy shifter hydraulic disc brakes, and a HollowTech SLX crank. Only the the wheels, forks and the stem are factory to how the bike came to me.
I sold the Cannondale to a mate who needed a bike for the UK, with his Trek going to Finland with him.
I always enjoyed different parts of the Cannondale and Klein. The F700 was always twitchy, and the Klein a little more relaxed; but the Klein just didn't have the travel up front for some modern trails these days and it is a museum piece.
The Bossnut is a big big leap from the Cannondale. I knew I would like it, but I never realised by how much it would be an improvement. Sure, the Cannondale felt fresh with all of the work I did, the geometry of the bike made it very twitch on slower stuff, really requiring you to keep your wits about you.
The Bossnut probably doesn't feel as agile as a result with the slacker geometry, but it is very accomplished off road and smoothens out all manner of terrain very well. It really helped me to enjoy biking again once more. The single cog up front takes some getting used to. Once you are, you do wonder why you didn't do this ages ago ; it gives greater clearance on the trails too as an added bonus.
That was part of the reason why I got the Mondeo ; it could take my bike for the road trips, and unlike the W124, be a little better on fuel.
So, a few things have happened since this last post but I shall update it in a while. For now, I have a holiday I need to pack for.
mholt1995 said:
Highly considering one of these at the tail end of next year albeit in hatch form in Titanium X trim as a successor to my Focus 
I would consider one .They're a great chassis a with a decent set of boots on. Along with a smooth, light and slick gear change, they go very well. The only downsides are the rubbish badge (unless you like something that can trace its history back to the Cortina
), some plastics look cheap, albeit are very very long lived, and some 2.5T spares can be pricey ; the clutch and DMF are around the same money as they are in my M3.In Hatch or saloon form, they are quieter than an estate inside
, but that goes for any car. It seems like a nice successor to my W124. Sure it doesn't have the kudos quite the waftiness (that was an auto mind you), but it's certainly more sensible and a great chassis.omniflow said:
Make sure you check the Aux belt - the one with a 10 year replacement interval.
This belt let go on my 9 year old, 80,000 mile example and it must have caused the cambelt to jump one or more teeth. Resulting in all the valves hitting the pistons and me selling it for £500 spares or repair. Very very annoying.
The auxiliary belt was changed in our black example at 160k, so I'll change this one at some point; there's no history of it being changed ; the cambelt was done at 88k back in 2013 from Volvo going by a sticker/paperwork on the car.This belt let go on my 9 year old, 80,000 mile example and it must have caused the cambelt to jump one or more teeth. Resulting in all the valves hitting the pistons and me selling it for £500 spares or repair. Very very annoying.
74merc said:
Nice W108! Is that yours too?
Yup, the W108 is mine indeed and for sale! It will be a sad day to see that being sold, but that's partly why I bought this Mondeo, besides me wanting it anyway ; it happened to fulfill a very ambitious criteria I had (less than £1k, spacious, comfortable, nice to drive and not too flashy, and swift with reasonable MPG). The W108 will fund a house purchase in time, but at least I won't be funding its fuel bill
. It's a lovely thing to get around in .Ninjacj said:
+1 this advice. Was common on the S-max forums. Also check the AUX belt tensioner. At the mileage you are at, guessing cambelt has already been done at least once! All 3 belts do seem to fail early too - circa 80/90k and 8/9 years. Can't remember what the third belt runs but its less problematic than cambelt and aux belt 1.
Yup, it's already had one cambelt.The belt is on the list
. The 3rd belt is a stretch belt on these, and it only goes onto the PAS pump and AC pump: The AC pump is driven off the main aux belt, which in turns drives the PAS belt . I had issues with stretch belts and fitment on my V6, but since I get some cash off Ford, I may well get all of the belts from them .Mr Tidy said:
Yes, that Merc looks great!
But your Mondeo looks like a real sleeper - and the bonus with a 2.5T over a V6 is that more grunt is just a map away.
Shame you missed out on the 535d, but given your car history it may be available the next time your dad changes his car.
Well, we will see in time But your Mondeo looks like a real sleeper - and the bonus with a 2.5T over a V6 is that more grunt is just a map away.
Shame you missed out on the 535d, but given your car history it may be available the next time your dad changes his car.
. The 535d to be fair was a going concern which was partially the reason I didn't buy it, but also, it's needed around £800 spent on it as it was a cheap 535d ; Exhaust manifold was cracked (I gave that to a mate to change; he found it fun...), new front discs and pads, and new rear tyres.I've debated the remap alot on this car. But I do like how it does 30MPG average, with close to 40 on a run if I'm not too stupid. I'll have to research what other guys get out of theirs. With a fresh clutch though, you could argue I should do it
.molineux1980 said:
As an aside, what do you think of the Calibre Bossnut?
My Specialized Enduro is getting a bit tired, and I really like the look of the Sentry.
Ah, you're not a Porsche 944 Turbo owner are you? If so, how goes it?My Specialized Enduro is getting a bit tired, and I really like the look of the Sentry.
My previous bikes were and still are:
-2012 Carrera TDF ; I've made this more of a tourer with mudguards, pannier etc. ; it's a town bike for me
-1993 Klein Pinnacle hardtail with 7spd Shimano XT running gear on flanged Impres FiR wheels
-2000 Cannondale F700 ; Headshok Fatty SL front fork (60 or 70mm travel IIRC), that's become Trigger's broom over time. It's always run Shimano 9Spd Gears but a while ago I fitted a Shadow XT rear mech, XTR flappy shifter hydraulic disc brakes, and a HollowTech SLX crank. Only the the wheels, forks and the stem are factory to how the bike came to me.
I sold the Cannondale to a mate who needed a bike for the UK, with his Trek going to Finland with him.
I always enjoyed different parts of the Cannondale and Klein. The F700 was always twitchy, and the Klein a little more relaxed; but the Klein just didn't have the travel up front for some modern trails these days and it is a museum piece.
The Bossnut is a big big leap from the Cannondale. I knew I would like it, but I never realised by how much it would be an improvement. Sure, the Cannondale felt fresh with all of the work I did, the geometry of the bike made it very twitch on slower stuff, really requiring you to keep your wits about you.
The Bossnut probably doesn't feel as agile as a result with the slacker geometry, but it is very accomplished off road and smoothens out all manner of terrain very well. It really helped me to enjoy biking again once more
. The single cog up front takes some getting used to. Once you are, you do wonder why you didn't do this ages ago ; it gives greater clearance on the trails too as an added bonus.That was part of the reason why I got the Mondeo ; it could take my bike for the road trips, and unlike the W124, be a little better on fuel.
So, a few things have happened since this last post but I shall update it in a while. For now, I have a holiday I need to pack for
.stevemcs said:
I'm looking at potential replacements for my 2.2 TDCi esate, i keep looking at these (and everything else in between ...) but the 2.5 is very rare in estate form.
They do turn up but you will be in for a wait.Ford IIRC only made 1000 of these as saloon, hatchbacks and estates. Not because they were a limited edition, but mainly as no-one bought them! But then try buying a non-sporty petrol car from 2008 until 2014. It's not easy
. Diesels are available left right and centre.I thought my mate was overpaying for a 2008 estate similar to mine 2 years ago on 55k ; it was up for £5.5k. To me, even at a dealer, it was a £4k car absolute tops and that was me being generous! But the car sold two days later! It does seem they hold their cash.
I sold the 2.5T saloon on 180k for £1.4k to a mate, and was surprised that it had more interest than I thought. I felt it would have zero and I'd be getting 3 figure offers
.The handy think about petrols from this age, and it was a driver in me buying this Mondeo, is that they will not be hit by emissions zones costs (yet!) in a number of cities. In Germany, petrols beyond Euro 1 can go into the cities as well.
Have I been doing something with this? Well, not a lot!
I recently have been trying to retrofit a factory bluetooth module in. Being that my car is an early build, that's made things trickier! But I shall persevere. Or though in a modern CarPlay unit into it.
The other thing? Well, it seems a Mondeo can indeed drift in certain circumstances and it can do it surprisingly well! It was great to attend the PH Sunday Service at Thruxton!
Other jobs for now include:
-Finishing off the Bluetooth rewiring
-Sort a couple of rattles inside (one I made and know how to fix it; I'm waiting on the correct screw to turn up to affix the BT module correctly; Thanks Ford for not stocking this)
-Clean it out inside! It badly needs up!
-Change the auxiliary belts. One is getting a little noisy and I don't think they've been changed on this.
But it's been earning its keep, doing almost 2000 miles a month at the moment!
Edited by SebringMan on Monday 23 December 10:29
I've just stumbled across this thread, but can't really pass by without writing a comment as I too have a 2.5T estate.
Mines on a 57 plate, but has 208,000 miles racked up! How many is yours on now?
I noticed yours has had a new clutch and DMF, did you do this yourself? Mine needs both too, thinking of doing it myself in spring.
I'm also tempted by the Bluetooth module upgrade, but I'm currently using an aux cable to my phone which works pretty well.
Finally, the aux belts aren't too bad, one has a tensioner and is quite easy. The other is a stretch belt, I've had to change mine twice and it's a bit of a faff but isn't too bad. Worth doing as they can take out the cambelt if they go.
Matt
Mines on a 57 plate, but has 208,000 miles racked up! How many is yours on now?
I noticed yours has had a new clutch and DMF, did you do this yourself? Mine needs both too, thinking of doing it myself in spring.
I'm also tempted by the Bluetooth module upgrade, but I'm currently using an aux cable to my phone which works pretty well.
Finally, the aux belts aren't too bad, one has a tensioner and is quite easy. The other is a stretch belt, I've had to change mine twice and it's a bit of a faff but isn't too bad. Worth doing as they can take out the cambelt if they go.
Matt
Aloha!
As for a bit of a history, mine is now on 178,000 miles.
I didn’t do them myself, mainly as I don’t have long term access for a two poster. I know from its design and previous assistance on a Mondeo Mk3 that it is a subframe off job, thus the engine will need supporting. The parts however are not cheap. IIRC a slave cylinder, clutch and DMF are £700-800 on their own. Not bad, but not great when the Mk3 was cheaper here. But I guess it’s the cost of rarity.
I’m sure it will be different when it is done, but I am beginning to wonder if I should have put a CarPlay headunit in and gone from the combined Nav/Climate control to a normal setup. The modules are not as cheap as they used to be as people have cottoned onto what they can do.
Great to hear about the aux belts. I’ve changed the main one on a 2.5T saloon we had in the family, but not the stretch belt. I plan to get a tool to do that one. Cambelt is on the list too.
The black 2.5T we had received the cambelt at 125k on the dot. This car had a cambelt done at 93,000 miles in 2013. So it will be due one shortly depending on who you talk to. Ford specify the 125k/10 year interval with many saying to change them at 60k.
As for a bit of a history, mine is now on 178,000 miles.
I didn’t do them myself, mainly as I don’t have long term access for a two poster. I know from its design and previous assistance on a Mondeo Mk3 that it is a subframe off job, thus the engine will need supporting. The parts however are not cheap. IIRC a slave cylinder, clutch and DMF are £700-800 on their own. Not bad, but not great when the Mk3 was cheaper here. But I guess it’s the cost of rarity
.I’m sure it will be different when it is done, but I am beginning to wonder if I should have put a CarPlay headunit in and gone from the combined Nav/Climate control to a normal setup. The modules are not as cheap as they used to be as people have cottoned onto what they can do.
Great to hear about the aux belts. I’ve changed the main one on a 2.5T saloon we had in the family, but not the stretch belt. I plan to get a tool to do that one. Cambelt is on the list too.
The black 2.5T we had received the cambelt at 125k on the dot. This car had a cambelt done at 93,000 miles in 2013. So it will be due one shortly depending on who you talk to. Ford specify the 125k/10 year interval with many saying to change them at 60k.
Hello!
Glad to see a good number of miles! I'm hoping mine will go for plenty more.
I know the flywheel and clutch aren't cheap but I don't mind too much - the car has been reliable. I agree, the subframe does need removing.
The cambelt was last done on mine at 146k, so I'm over the 60k if that is the interval to use! Mine will most likely get done next year at the same time as the flywheel/clutch.
I like the idea of a new head unit if I didn't do the Bluetooth module, but I like the fact the buttons on the steering wheel can control the radio etc, and the satnav comes up between the dials. Knowing me, I'll probably just carry on with my current method!
Glad to see a good number of miles! I'm hoping mine will go for plenty more.
I know the flywheel and clutch aren't cheap but I don't mind too much - the car has been reliable. I agree, the subframe does need removing.
The cambelt was last done on mine at 146k, so I'm over the 60k if that is the interval to use! Mine will most likely get done next year at the same time as the flywheel/clutch.
I like the idea of a new head unit if I didn't do the Bluetooth module, but I like the fact the buttons on the steering wheel can control the radio etc, and the satnav comes up between the dials. Knowing me, I'll probably just carry on with my current method!
I know the feeling. Quite a few plans but cash and time and hassle can get the better of us .
Reading the other "1 car a month" thread, I thought I'd share what this car has had done to it over the time, as I ended up going through the archives to get a picture for that car. This will be brief however!
January 2015/16 : Oil changes
May 2016: New Yuasa Battery fitted
November 2016 ; 1 year after ownership : New rear pads:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNUWm_zAHCW/?utm_sourc...
March 2017 : Full service : Focus RS Spark Plugs fitted : All genuine parts
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjK_HggZkc/?utm_sourc...
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjLVE3gSZt/?utm_sourc...
January 2018 ; Oil change
March 2018 : New PAS pump and CHF fluid flush done after a whining pump. Maybe that is the right kind of whine to live with:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgWXxJ4F-fO/?utm_sourc...
June 2018 : New Clutch, slave cylinder and DMF
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkejs4RHR9O/?utm_sourc...
October 2018 : Michelin Cross Climate + tyres fitted up front
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpnWWcajppa/?utm_sourc...
January 2019 : New discs and pads all round
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsujjQXHUyU/?utm_sourc...
May 2019 : Oil and filter change
October 2019 : Oil and Filter change (an accident!) & new wheel bolts; the front wheel bolts came loose!
.Reading the other "1 car a month" thread, I thought I'd share what this car has had done to it over the time, as I ended up going through the archives to get a picture for that car. This will be brief however!
January 2015/16 : Oil changes
May 2016: New Yuasa Battery fitted
November 2016 ; 1 year after ownership : New rear pads:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNUWm_zAHCW/?utm_sourc...
March 2017 : Full service : Focus RS Spark Plugs fitted : All genuine parts
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjK_HggZkc/?utm_sourc...
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjLVE3gSZt/?utm_sourc...
January 2018 ; Oil change
March 2018 : New PAS pump and CHF fluid flush done after a whining pump. Maybe that is the right kind of whine to live with:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgWXxJ4F-fO/?utm_sourc...
June 2018 : New Clutch, slave cylinder and DMF
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkejs4RHR9O/?utm_sourc...
October 2018 : Michelin Cross Climate + tyres fitted up front
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpnWWcajppa/?utm_sourc...
January 2019 : New discs and pads all round
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsujjQXHUyU/?utm_sourc...
May 2019 : Oil and filter change
October 2019 : Oil and Filter change (an accident!) & new wheel bolts; the front wheel bolts came loose!
It's fair to say a few things have changed on this car with the introduction of the lockdown. Quite a few of these things had been on the agenda for quite some time, but life and work got in the way. While I am still working, a week's worth of shutdown at work allowed me to make progress with getting the car great.
These parts include:
-Replacing the bent door
-Wiring in the bluetooth module.
These sounds like quick things eh? I should have done them! But I have my reasons. The door is something I have put off for quite some time. One reason is I was looking for a door in Thunder Grey, a colour in Mondeos almost as rare as this model! The few doors I saw come up for sale were not much better than mind and £100! More than I really want to spend on a car that cost me £1,000, but we all know how it goes with these cars anyway.
Eventually, a door came up locally from Ford Spares in Birmingham, in the right colour for £80. It had a couple of very minor chips in places but it was otherwise straight. No gouges or serious dents in the door thankfully. The downside? It came with literally no parts attached to it! The only thing left in the door was the wiring harness, that's it! Because of the door having less bits on it than a scantily clad lady of the night, that was the second reason for me putting the job off. I had visions of breaking clips, struggling with window regulators, door locks, you name it. However, 2 weeks ago, I decided to tackle the door, slowly and methodically.
The door may not look bashed in the pictures but it will soon become apparent that it was near uneconomical to repair:
Still not apparent? That's fair. it will soon be obvious.
My top tip for not marking screw caps when they are removed. Use a pick or a spark plug gap tool in this case to remove them without marking them. I could have got new ones but that's a little tricky at this time.
In truth, the door wasn't as bad to remove the accessories from as I anticipated. The window regulator and motor assembly all came out in one and very easily. The window removal also was OK. I managed to not make the doorcard either which was a big bonus.
Silly I know, but I removed 10 years worth of grime from the window, now that I had the chance.
What was a surprise was that the wiring harnesses are graded in the doors ; They both look to be the same grade going by the part no. but the suffix (KKK vs. KKL (don't snigger you lot!)) indicates they are both for the same car, but that the L is a later revision of the same part; This seems true as the door is 6 months younger than my car. Thus, I fitted the harness that came with the new door.
One issue was the door alignment. It was closing, but not as well as the original door. After tweaking the door hinge on the A-Pillar itself, this had the door alignment being spot on. It's a shame it came to this, since adjusting the door is quite a fiddly process with all of the trim in the car, and one set of the bolts being blind. But hope and courage got me through this one.
After mopping the door down with a DA, it could be considered done! The colour match with the rear door could be better but it's not too bad at all. I've seen worse leaving bodyshops to be fair.
There is an update for the Bluetooth audio arriving, but for now, here is what I had to make and encounter:
These parts include:
-Replacing the bent door
-Wiring in the bluetooth module.
These sounds like quick things eh? I should have done them! But I have my reasons. The door is something I have put off for quite some time. One reason is I was looking for a door in Thunder Grey, a colour in Mondeos almost as rare as this model! The few doors I saw come up for sale were not much better than mind and £100! More than I really want to spend on a car that cost me £1,000, but we all know how it goes with these cars anyway
.Eventually, a door came up locally from Ford Spares in Birmingham, in the right colour for £80. It had a couple of very minor chips in places but it was otherwise straight. No gouges or serious dents in the door thankfully. The downside? It came with literally no parts attached to it! The only thing left in the door was the wiring harness, that's it! Because of the door having less bits on it than a scantily clad lady of the night, that was the second reason for me putting the job off. I had visions of breaking clips, struggling with window regulators, door locks, you name it. However, 2 weeks ago, I decided to tackle the door, slowly and methodically.
The door may not look bashed in the pictures but it will soon become apparent that it was near uneconomical to repair:
Still not apparent? That's fair. it will soon be obvious.
My top tip for not marking screw caps when they are removed. Use a pick or a spark plug gap tool in this case to remove them without marking them. I could have got new ones but that's a little tricky at this time
.In truth, the door wasn't as bad to remove the accessories from as I anticipated. The window regulator and motor assembly all came out in one and very easily. The window removal also was OK. I managed to not make the doorcard either which was a big bonus.
Silly I know, but I removed 10 years worth of grime from the window, now that I had the chance.
What was a surprise was that the wiring harnesses are graded in the doors ; They both look to be the same grade going by the part no. but the suffix (KKK vs. KKL (don't snigger you lot!)) indicates they are both for the same car, but that the L is a later revision of the same part; This seems true as the door is 6 months younger than my car. Thus, I fitted the harness that came with the new door.
One issue was the door alignment. It was closing, but not as well as the original door. After tweaking the door hinge on the A-Pillar itself, this had the door alignment being spot on. It's a shame it came to this, since adjusting the door is quite a fiddly process with all of the trim in the car, and one set of the bolts being blind. But hope and courage got me through this one.
After mopping the door down with a DA, it could be considered done! The colour match with the rear door could be better but it's not too bad at all. I've seen worse leaving bodyshops to be fair.
There is an update for the Bluetooth audio arriving, but for now, here is what I had to make and encounter:
The Bluetooth box upgrade was done regarding the wiring.
Eventually, I tidied up the wiring and put it back into place.
What then greeted mine upon tidying the car up was giving an older car some new tricks. Having the factory Bluetooth setup really is a nice-to-have in this.
So I finally had the car playing music! Wahey! However, it was a mixed blessing. I still didn't have a working calling system. Part of the issue was that I was unknowlingly lacking a microphone. 30 minutes on eBay had me bag a late revision microphone ; it seems all of them will work.
When I came to plug it in? Nothing. Not a sound.
Further digging found out that I needed a microphone loop wire to make the setup work. Ford used around 4 variations of this, some for the 8 pin like I have and later 16 pin items.
The 8 pins are very rare as Ford partly carried over part of the MkIII wiring in the early MkIVs like mine, despite mine having the Blaupunkt NX SatNav option.
As a result, the link wires are tricky to get. Ford wanted £40 for a loop of wire (yes, really!), and I struggled with the breakers. Some think they all use the same loop of wire ; they don't ; it changes depending on the spec of the headunit the car left the factory with. Again, the NX Sat Nav wasn't a common option early on, so I soon admitted defeat and went to Ford. I know! However, I could no longer get the wire. Great!
The nice things with forums is that you can find out what combination of wiring you need to do as well as spurious parts. So i went and got a loop connector for a Focus for the grand total of £8. A little more pallatable.
With this connectors wiring reconfigured it was time to have the moment of truth. Would the wiring work?
In short, yes it did! Finally, I had a later car's factory bluetooth in the car with Bluetooth audio working.
There was one thing to do next however. The auxiliary belts. I wasn't banking on this job being quite so awkward!
Eventually, I tidied up the wiring and put it back into place.
What then greeted mine upon tidying the car up was giving an older car some new tricks. Having the factory Bluetooth setup really is a nice-to-have in this.
So I finally had the car playing music! Wahey! However, it was a mixed blessing. I still didn't have a working calling system. Part of the issue was that I was unknowlingly lacking a microphone. 30 minutes on eBay had me bag a late revision microphone ; it seems all of them will work.
When I came to plug it in? Nothing. Not a sound.
Further digging found out that I needed a microphone loop wire to make the setup work. Ford used around 4 variations of this, some for the 8 pin like I have and later 16 pin items.
The 8 pins are very rare as Ford partly carried over part of the MkIII wiring in the early MkIVs like mine, despite mine having the Blaupunkt NX SatNav option.
As a result, the link wires are tricky to get. Ford wanted £40 for a loop of wire (yes, really!), and I struggled with the breakers. Some think they all use the same loop of wire ; they don't ; it changes depending on the spec of the headunit the car left the factory with. Again, the NX Sat Nav wasn't a common option early on, so I soon admitted defeat and went to Ford. I know! However, I could no longer get the wire. Great!
The nice things with forums is that you can find out what combination of wiring you need to do as well as spurious parts. So i went and got a loop connector for a Focus for the grand total of £8. A little more pallatable.
With this connectors wiring reconfigured it was time to have the moment of truth. Would the wiring work?
In short, yes it did! Finally, I had a later car's factory bluetooth in the car with Bluetooth audio working
.There was one thing to do next however. The auxiliary belts. I wasn't banking on this job being quite so awkward!
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