any ST220 owners ?

[jackal]

hi chaps, got one of these, an estate

great car but i think mine feels a little baggier than i'd like or how i'd expect them to be as new (the car has done 60k miles)

do the bushes or dampers wear prematurely ?

and what mods do people do in the way of bushes/coilovers ?


finally, can you get away with better fluid + pads to make the brakes a bit firmer

Edited by jackal on Wednesday 21st September 21:05

[jackal]

Ok thanks

What would you say is wrong then if the car feels a bit sloppy and baggy ?

[anonymous-user]

Dunno what rear sub frame is like on the Estate but on the 4/5 door the bushes can certainly wear very quickly. Was a Mk3 bug bear..........

[jackal]

just been out in it again .... the dampers seem clonky or something is clonking a bit

its the sort of thing any regular owner would have gotten to use to by now but for me its not right and id like it better

will investigate further when i have some time

[Baryonyx]

A friend of mine who had one of these did report that his front end bushes wore very quickly because of the heavy engine at the front end.

[GaryST220]

Where did my post go?

Anyway...it's not impossible for your suspension to be worn at 60k, but in many cases I'd doubt it. The estates don't suffer from the rear subframe bush issue, and the rest of the suspension is very well made. I did however replace the front anti roll bar bushes at 80k because they looked worn.

[jackal]

thanks guys

I pumped the tyres up and went out in it again and a mate came with me who works for top gear and has been in more cars that you care to imngine

we both agreed that over bumps the dampers feel a bit tired and rough

also it does feel a bit loose and not as sharp as I remember or would have expected

I will get underneath it very soon and see whats going on

[anonymous-user]

Baryonyx said:

A friend of mine who had one of these did report that his front end bushes wore very quickly because of the heavy engine at the front end.

I've not heard of this TBH, on the ST24's yes, and to a much smaller degree on the ST200. The engine is no hevier than the diesel variant.

[jackal]

checked underneath

couldnt see any laking dampers .. in fact the car is very very clean underneath

the bushes all looked ok

there are lots of them at the rear on the dampares, subframe, lower wishbone and control arm ... the only thing I would say is that the leading bushes on the long subrframe seem very very loose axially (laterally) but then you would kind of expect that and they were about the same LHS vs. RHS

so really not sure ..... are there are geometry adjustments apart from front toe ?

[GaryST220]

Fully adjustable, you just need an alignment centre that know what they are doing.

[Zad]

So far as I know, the V6s are all-alloy engines, and not especially heavy. I know that on the mk.2 the drop links do tend to wear and sound clunky, so you might consider replacing those. Rear subframe Powerflex bushes don't cost much, but can be a pain to remove/fit.

[jackal]

looks like some of the noise is just the tailgate going up and down .....
are there some revised rubbers stoppers for the tailgate or something ?

[anonymous-user]

Not aware of any, lock adjustment required? Not accident damage signs I hope!

[Podie]

GaryST220 said:

Fully adjustable, you just need an alignment centre that know what they are doing.

Agreed... makes a massive difference when everything is pointing the right way.


Decent brake fluid and braided hoses should sort out the brakes, although you may want new discs and pads.

A common upgrade is to change the fronts for larger Focus ST calipers and disks (330mm instead of 300mm). Not cheap these days as people have worked this out as an upgrade path.

[GaryST220]

jackal said:

looks like some of the noise is just the tailgate going up and down .....
are there some revised rubbers stoppers for the tailgate or something ?

Awful isn't it! Don't worry, it can be fixed with a hex key of some sort - reposition the retaining arm appropriately and it'll be silent...not too tight mind, you'll struggle to open the boot.

[anonymous-user]

GaryST220 said:

jackal said:

looks like some of the noise is just the tailgate going up and down .....
are there some revised rubbers stoppers for the tailgate or something ?

Awful isn't it! Don't worry, it can be fixed with a hex key of some sort - reposition the retaining arm appropriately and it'll be silent...not too tight mind, you'll struggle to open the boot.

Thought you had a saloon too Gary? Mine is silent.

[GaryST220]

Dave_ST220 said:

Thought you had a saloon too Gary? Mine is silent.

I was referring to a friends estate