RE: Ford Mondeo ST TDCI | Shed of the Week
Discussion
greenarrow said:
Considering how many Fords are sold in the UK its interesting how infrequently we get a Ford as a SOTW, especially a Mondeo; can't recall the last time one was featured. Strange really as from my experience this generation of Ford makes for one of the best sheds.
That could be why they don't get sold that often at shed money. 
greenarrow said:
For shed money I would probably prefer a 2 litre petrol as far less to go wrong, but you can't get an ST with that engine. .
You could get a Zetec S. Stick the ST wheels on and it'd be basically the same - the ST TDCI doesn't have the "sports" suspension that the ST220 has. Relic of a bygone era now the MK3 Mondeo, they sort of look fairly sharp compared to the later ones, now you dont see them so often. I had a 1.8 LX for a bit, a much better car than anticipated in every way, but I sold it and bought a Fiat Coupe Turbo that looked immaculate and only had 40k on but was screwed, watching the oil pressure dwindle in traffic made me want my dependable Mondeo back that wasn't as fast but wasn't broken and handled far better than the Fiat.
Great shed for the money - worth the risk if you go in with your eyes open.
Most of the issues already mentioned I had in the year I owned one. Bought one as a cheap commuter hack - mine was 8 years old at the time and had done 90K. I took it to 110K in a year, but it developed the clogged injectors issue (normally losing power when on the M62 at night), terrible rattles from the crankshaft pully, creaking suspension etc Good thing is the other consumables that I went through like exhaust, brake pads, tyres are incredibly cheap. Regular got >50mpg on the 400 mile round trip I did weekly. Seat and driving position near perfect - very comfortable for a 4 hour drive.
Most of the issues already mentioned I had in the year I owned one. Bought one as a cheap commuter hack - mine was 8 years old at the time and had done 90K. I took it to 110K in a year, but it developed the clogged injectors issue (normally losing power when on the M62 at night), terrible rattles from the crankshaft pully, creaking suspension etc Good thing is the other consumables that I went through like exhaust, brake pads, tyres are incredibly cheap. Regular got >50mpg on the 400 mile round trip I did weekly. Seat and driving position near perfect - very comfortable for a 4 hour drive.
Now here's a subject I know a little about having owned a diesel ST (spoiler alert, it's not really an ST, just wears the badge of one) and currently own a ST220 for coming up for 10years now.
The diesel version is just such a different vehicle to its petrol brethren, the heavy engine causes the front end to understeer and the power band is something that i could never get to grips with. The final straw for me was never ending problems with the EGR valve, although as the EGR sits on the top of the engine and its just 4 bolts to get it off, it was an easy fix. I sold it on and then after a short time spent in a Volvo V50 T5, I scratched the itch that was an St220.
Bought a 2006 performance blue hatchback which had 23k miles on it and had been very well looked after, however did have 4 previous owners. I have taken it up to 65k now where it currently sits. I just adore this car, 10years in and touch wood the only issue was a collapsed breather hose which caused it to go into limp mode. Oodles of torque, it will sit happily in 4th at 20mph and then will touch 100 without changing gear.
Being a post 2005 model, the only downside is the tax band - its in the high band, so pushing north of somewhere around £550 a year, but I will keep on paying it as the old girl just brings so much pleasure to me. It has now firmly moved into being part of the family, having carted kids and the dog around for years, with trips to the SW and France under it's belt, I just couldn't get rid of it.
Plus with no ST Mondeo being produced after this one, what could I swap it for? Yes, I know the newer Mondeo has more BHP with a 2.0 engine, but it just looks so Meh!
The diesel version is just such a different vehicle to its petrol brethren, the heavy engine causes the front end to understeer and the power band is something that i could never get to grips with. The final straw for me was never ending problems with the EGR valve, although as the EGR sits on the top of the engine and its just 4 bolts to get it off, it was an easy fix. I sold it on and then after a short time spent in a Volvo V50 T5, I scratched the itch that was an St220.
Bought a 2006 performance blue hatchback which had 23k miles on it and had been very well looked after, however did have 4 previous owners. I have taken it up to 65k now where it currently sits. I just adore this car, 10years in and touch wood the only issue was a collapsed breather hose which caused it to go into limp mode. Oodles of torque, it will sit happily in 4th at 20mph and then will touch 100 without changing gear.
Being a post 2005 model, the only downside is the tax band - its in the high band, so pushing north of somewhere around £550 a year, but I will keep on paying it as the old girl just brings so much pleasure to me. It has now firmly moved into being part of the family, having carted kids and the dog around for years, with trips to the SW and France under it's belt, I just couldn't get rid of it.
Plus with no ST Mondeo being produced after this one, what could I swap it for? Yes, I know the newer Mondeo has more BHP with a 2.0 engine, but it just looks so Meh!
J4CKO said:
Relic of a bygone era now the MK3 Mondeo, they sort of look fairly sharp compared to the later ones, now you dont see them so often. I had a 1.8 LX for a bit, a much better car than anticipated in every way, but I sold it and bought a Fiat Coupe Turbo that looked immaculate and only had 40k on but was screwed, watching the oil pressure dwindle in traffic made me want my dependable Mondeo back that wasn't as fast but wasn't broken and handled far better than the Fiat.
I always thought the mk3's interior, especially in higher trim levels, had a quality almost "Germanic" look and feel to it. They got the chassis so right, too, like the mk1 Focus.Daggle74 said:
Now here's a subject I know a little about having owned a diesel ST (spoiler alert, it's not really an ST, just wears the badge of one) and currently own a ST220 for coming up for 10years now.
The diesel version is just such a different vehicle to its petrol brethren, the heavy engine causes the front end to understeer and the power band is something that i could never get to grips with. The final straw for me was never ending problems with the EGR valve, although as the EGR sits on the top of the engine and its just 4 bolts to get it off, it was an easy fix. I sold it on and then after a short time spent in a Volvo V50 T5, I scratched the itch that was an St220.
Bought a 2006 performance blue hatchback which had 23k miles on it and had been very well looked after, however did have 4 previous owners. I have taken it up to 65k now where it currently sits. I just adore this car, 10years in and touch wood the only issue was a collapsed breather hose which caused it to go into limp mode. Oodles of torque, it will sit happily in 4th at 20mph and then will touch 100 without changing gear.
Being a post 2005 model, the only downside is the tax band - its in the high band, so pushing north of somewhere around £550 a year, but I will keep on paying it as the old girl just brings so much pleasure to me. It has now firmly moved into being part of the family, having carted kids and the dog around for years, with trips to the SW and France under it's belt, I just couldn't get rid of it.
Plus with no ST Mondeo being produced after this one, what could I swap it for? Yes, I know the newer Mondeo has more BHP with a 2.0 engine, but it just looks so Meh!
I replaced my ST220 with a mk4 Titanium X Sport 2.0 Ecoboost. It feels like the ST220's spiritual successor even though I miss the engine noise and the seats. The diesel version is just such a different vehicle to its petrol brethren, the heavy engine causes the front end to understeer and the power band is something that i could never get to grips with. The final straw for me was never ending problems with the EGR valve, although as the EGR sits on the top of the engine and its just 4 bolts to get it off, it was an easy fix. I sold it on and then after a short time spent in a Volvo V50 T5, I scratched the itch that was an St220.
Bought a 2006 performance blue hatchback which had 23k miles on it and had been very well looked after, however did have 4 previous owners. I have taken it up to 65k now where it currently sits. I just adore this car, 10years in and touch wood the only issue was a collapsed breather hose which caused it to go into limp mode. Oodles of torque, it will sit happily in 4th at 20mph and then will touch 100 without changing gear.
Being a post 2005 model, the only downside is the tax band - its in the high band, so pushing north of somewhere around £550 a year, but I will keep on paying it as the old girl just brings so much pleasure to me. It has now firmly moved into being part of the family, having carted kids and the dog around for years, with trips to the SW and France under it's belt, I just couldn't get rid of it.
Plus with no ST Mondeo being produced after this one, what could I swap it for? Yes, I know the newer Mondeo has more BHP with a 2.0 engine, but it just looks so Meh!
I used the Haber the 2 litre version of that engine. It was ok, if a bit rough.
I had it chipped/remapped and that really transformed it. It reved much more easily and it pulled so much better and higher up the rev counter.
Made it a very different car, performance wise.
It was a cracking car, for what it was.
I had it chipped/remapped and that really transformed it. It reved much more easily and it pulled so much better and higher up the rev counter.
Made it a very different car, performance wise.
It was a cracking car, for what it was.
nipsips said:
The best thing Ford ever did was shelve the ‘Puma’ TDCi engine as fitted to the MK3 Mondeo and replace it in the MK4 with a PSA sourced engine.
These things were dire. Sounded like a Transit. Fuel pumps, rails, injectors were all common. Head gaskets and timing chains were a regular occurrence. Clutches and DMF’s and if you were really unlucky the gearbox as well. That’s without the usual MK3 Mondeo usual issues with the rear subframe bushes, rear calipers, bonnet locks where you have to smash the grill out to open the bonnet etc etc.
Save your money and invest in a MK4 2.0 Titanium X. Much better car and nearly as quick.
Sounds like a transit because it is basically the same engine! These things were dire. Sounded like a Transit. Fuel pumps, rails, injectors were all common. Head gaskets and timing chains were a regular occurrence. Clutches and DMF’s and if you were really unlucky the gearbox as well. That’s without the usual MK3 Mondeo usual issues with the rear subframe bushes, rear calipers, bonnet locks where you have to smash the grill out to open the bonnet etc etc.
Save your money and invest in a MK4 2.0 Titanium X. Much better car and nearly as quick.
Drove one of these as a works car and did some decent mileage in one. Absolutely loved it for some reason I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Nice drive. Cavernous boot. Felt weirdly high quality where you wouldn’t expect it in a Ford. Gear changes were regular (and nice) with the derv that wasn’t worth revving past about 2500rpm. Nice shed!
Lovely car, but you'd be brave to take on a Puma TDCi engine in my experience, unless you were prepared to throw it away as soon as it starts acting up.
DMFs crap themselves for fun (first sign is usually the starter playing up as the swarf from the DMF clogs it up), injectors forget their codes, injection pumps disintegrate. In the context of an £1,100 car, none of these will be cheap to sort.
The Mondeo itself is a great car though. My dad had a delay on a lease car delivery a couple of years ago, and picked up a 1.8 LX hatch for the £75 that one of his colleagues had been bid by the scrappie to collect and weigh in. It had six months MOT on it, and a nasty oil leak, but drove OK. The oil leak was caused by a rusted through oil filter (clearly had been well maintained
) so cost a fiver to fix, and went on to run it for 2 months doing nothing to it but putting fuel in. Utterly reliable, and although gutless as hell, was pleasant to drive. Weighed it in himself when he'd finished with it, and got his £75 back. Free motoring.
What struck me about it was that it looked so sorry for itself. Every panel was scratched, dented or both, the interior was tatty, and it had clearly had no love from anyone for many many years. How long does an oil filter have to be installed before it rusts through? But the car still felt tight, smooth and remarkably sharp to drive. And in two months of daily use, it didn't so much as misfire.
A looked-after one would make a near perfect car for carefree running about.
DMFs crap themselves for fun (first sign is usually the starter playing up as the swarf from the DMF clogs it up), injectors forget their codes, injection pumps disintegrate. In the context of an £1,100 car, none of these will be cheap to sort.
The Mondeo itself is a great car though. My dad had a delay on a lease car delivery a couple of years ago, and picked up a 1.8 LX hatch for the £75 that one of his colleagues had been bid by the scrappie to collect and weigh in. It had six months MOT on it, and a nasty oil leak, but drove OK. The oil leak was caused by a rusted through oil filter (clearly had been well maintained
) so cost a fiver to fix, and went on to run it for 2 months doing nothing to it but putting fuel in. Utterly reliable, and although gutless as hell, was pleasant to drive. Weighed it in himself when he'd finished with it, and got his £75 back. Free motoring.What struck me about it was that it looked so sorry for itself. Every panel was scratched, dented or both, the interior was tatty, and it had clearly had no love from anyone for many many years. How long does an oil filter have to be installed before it rusts through? But the car still felt tight, smooth and remarkably sharp to drive. And in two months of daily use, it didn't so much as misfire.
A looked-after one would make a near perfect car for carefree running about.
Funnily enough there are 4 of these near the small estate where I live
I say ‘of these’, the one around me are all hatchbacks but all the tdci engines versions, one black, 3 blue.
Two of them seem to be driven around at high speed by low-level drug dealers, and I’m guessing they’re chipped as they don’t half get a lick on (enough to recently leave a marked police car, an Astra estate iirc, floundering)
I was given one of these to drive for a day whilst my wife’s vRS was being used as a template for a company on Mansfield that makes clip-on window blinds, and was quite impressed to be honest, seemed very solidly built and had a reasonable turn of pace (although nothing like SWMBO’s remapped vRS)
Find a decently maintained one, and the question is ‘why not?’, cheap and able to carry a decent load
A consideration for cheap wheels for when I buy our (hopefully) forthcoming place in the south of Spain..
I say ‘of these’, the one around me are all hatchbacks but all the tdci engines versions, one black, 3 blue.
Two of them seem to be driven around at high speed by low-level drug dealers, and I’m guessing they’re chipped as they don’t half get a lick on (enough to recently leave a marked police car, an Astra estate iirc, floundering)
I was given one of these to drive for a day whilst my wife’s vRS was being used as a template for a company on Mansfield that makes clip-on window blinds, and was quite impressed to be honest, seemed very solidly built and had a reasonable turn of pace (although nothing like SWMBO’s remapped vRS)
Find a decently maintained one, and the question is ‘why not?’, cheap and able to carry a decent load
A consideration for cheap wheels for when I buy our (hopefully) forthcoming place in the south of Spain..
Roboticarm said:
Never driven the st but did drive a same shape 1.8lx a number of times when they were new including s few trips for Yorkshire to wales, lovely car and very comfortable but that 1.8 petrol had about 3 bhp and 2 lb ft of torque.
I had a 1.8LX(as a shed) to run alongside my 200SX because that used to drink fuel like it was going out of fashion. You describing the 1.8 as having 3 bhp and 2 In ft of torque is spot on! 
A few years later I had a V6 Ghia X(as a shed) to run alongside my Cerbera. That was much more like it for me, and I really enjoyed the 3 years I had with that Mondeo.
My 1st post, but been around for a while, ST TDCI Estate was the best car I have owned. I bought a 2006/7 run out top spec car in Panther Black. Bought at 98K, run it to just short of 200K. Fine handling, well made and swift. average mpg, 49 -51 mpg, had a gentle remap for 90k of my 100K, pulled well and highly capable. Did numerous house clearances, fencing and Timber purchases with it. Huge load area,
I was determined to nurse it to 200K, but over it's last 2 months a string of issues including water pump, power steering pump, thermostat and clutch just made it uneconomic to continue. A sad day when it went.
No injector issues what so ever. One warning, rear shocks are of the self levelling variety and MOT failure on mine. OEM/after market replacements circa £350/£400 each. Alternatives to rear shocks I sorted towards the end with Eibach Bilstein combination but was never quite the car again. Interior and bodywork immaculate even at it's sad end.
I was determined to nurse it to 200K, but over it's last 2 months a string of issues including water pump, power steering pump, thermostat and clutch just made it uneconomic to continue. A sad day when it went.
No injector issues what so ever. One warning, rear shocks are of the self levelling variety and MOT failure on mine. OEM/after market replacements circa £350/£400 each. Alternatives to rear shocks I sorted towards the end with Eibach Bilstein combination but was never quite the car again. Interior and bodywork immaculate even at it's sad end.
Loved mine. Had it for about 4 years and 90k. It may not have had the ST220 abilities, but it was still a really good car to drive. I had gone in to buy a mk2 focus, but far preferred the Mondeo’s steering, and thought it rolled less and gripped better to boot.
The article mentions digital radio; I don’t believe that’s true. Mine had a Sony 6 cd head unit, which was decent enough for a standard fit at the time. I did have the (optional in the diesel) recaros, which were fantastic.
I had two EGR valve failures, they seem to be a consumable in that car. I traded on a little over 90k miles, luckily before any DMF, injector or clutch issues. Overall, I still believe it to be one of the better all rounders I’ve owned.
The article mentions digital radio; I don’t believe that’s true. Mine had a Sony 6 cd head unit, which was decent enough for a standard fit at the time. I did have the (optional in the diesel) recaros, which were fantastic.
I had two EGR valve failures, they seem to be a consumable in that car. I traded on a little over 90k miles, luckily before any DMF, injector or clutch issues. Overall, I still believe it to be one of the better all rounders I’ve owned.
nipsips said:
The best thing Ford ever did was shelve the ‘Puma’ TDCi engine as fitted to the MK3 Mondeo and replace it in the MK4 with a PSA sourced engine.
agreed. I had a Mk3 2.0 130 and then a Mk4 2.0 140. The "140" was vastly better and drove and performed much better than it should have done. On the autobahn the difference was substantial for a supposed 10bhp increase. Otherwise, the Mk3 Mondeo was a great car, though.
Edited by MC Bodge on Friday 11th December 11:31
and it's treated my very well in this time! I still maintain that the Mk3 Mondeo is a very under-rated car and the ST is fab, although not with a tractor engine, obviously.
I spent the last eighteen months living with a 3.0V6 Ghia X hatchback - basically an ST with more wood, softer suspension and 23bhp less. It was a truly fabulous thing that cost pennies to run and surprised more than a handful of cars at the traffic lights.
Ironically, the worst bit of the ownership was trying to sell it, which took me nearly 5 months. It quickly became apparent that anyone who wants a 3.0V6 Mondeo only wants the ST, and anyone who just wants a Mk3 Mondeo, doesn't want a 3.0 engine under the bonnet.
I spent the last eighteen months living with a 3.0V6 Ghia X hatchback - basically an ST with more wood, softer suspension and 23bhp less. It was a truly fabulous thing that cost pennies to run and surprised more than a handful of cars at the traffic lights.
Ironically, the worst bit of the ownership was trying to sell it, which took me nearly 5 months. It quickly became apparent that anyone who wants a 3.0V6 Mondeo only wants the ST, and anyone who just wants a Mk3 Mondeo, doesn't want a 3.0 engine under the bonnet.
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