Ford Mondeo 2.0 Litre Auto.

[thamestyres]

with those arb's dave you can "drift" the rear of the car.. should you so wish of course.. lol.. it is surprising how well the car handles when they are fitted... much more fun to drive.. regards ricky

[scoobyh123]

It certainly is Ricky - i've had the 26/21mm ARBs on my Sterling for some years now and also more recently upgraded the springs and shocks to those from a 98 Sterling which are the same rates (roughly) as the earlier Vitesse but without the 20mm drop.

Sticks to the road like smelly brown stuff on a blanket, handles much better and yes, i have managed to "wag the tail" a bit with them. Also helps reduce wheelspin as that needs one wheel to lift more than the other so reduced bodyroll counters that as well.

[zcar12]

I am glad to report complete success with my Mondeo. I found out today that to change the top strut bearings, it is not necessary to take the strut right off the car. With the spring compressors on and some military grade zip ties around the spring for safety reasons, there is just enough room to remove the strut bearings. ( Don;t try this at home, you can loose your fingers) What came out was not too bad at all, no rubber breakdown, although there was some wear and sloppiness present in the bearing. We decided that the true reason for the creaking was the mating joint between the spring mount and the bearing retainer, which is a plastic. So this was greased and the new bearings fitted.

On the other side, we decided not to change the bearings, since we had evidence from the bearing removed. Instead, we collapsed the spring again and sprayed grease between the spring mount and bearing retainer. With this done, we looked for the reason for the clonking noise which pointed us toward the the ARB links. It turned out that it was possible to get an extra half turn on the ARB/drop link nut on each side. This was the reason for the clonking noise.

The car now drives with no suspension noise and the steering does not creak. I found a very bumpy piece of road to try things out and there was no suspension noise knocking or creaking. I call this a good result and I am a happy bunny again. >

[scoobyh123]

Great news Nick, well done!

[zcar12]

Thanks Dave. I have a couple of questions for you:

My balls are missing!

I dismantled the old strut bearing, which came apart very easily. Inside was a circular row of ball bearings running in a groove, kept apart by a spacer. I counted the bearings and there were 20 balls, yet the spacer had 26 holes. There was plenty of grease in there so the bearings were not running dry.

So what happened to the 6 missing balls? Were they not there to start with? I cant see how they could have escaped. I did not drop them on the floor.

With regard to drop links: Are you sure that your Volvo ones were tight enough? My experience has been that the ARB/drop link nuts have to be VERY tight and not just tight. So tight in fact that the only way to replace the drop links is to cut the nut off.

[Alucard7002]

Don't think i've ever needed to change the back ones either, the back end of an 800 has a much easier time than the front as it has much less work to do, simply being a means of keeping the back end off the ground. Or, to paraphrase what someone else says about the rear end of an 800, it only exists to stop the car dragging its ar5e on the deck!

I believe that's my favorite description of Wrong Wheel Drive!

My 820 now behaves like an old 106/Saxo in the bends - lift off oversteer when you're REALLY trying.

Can't wait to get the 820 Turbo'd with the KV6 hybrid Torsen gearbox - that would really be a hoot to drive

Congrats on fixing the Mondeo Nick, should fly through the next MOT with all of that work.

[scoobyh123]

Thanks Dave. I have a couple of questions for you:

My balls are missing!

I dismantled the old strut bearing, which came apart very easily. Inside was a circular row of ball bearings running in a groove, kept apart by a spacer. I counted the bearings and there were 20 balls, yet the spacer had 26 holes. There was plenty of grease in there so the bearings were not running dry.

So what happened to the 6 missing balls? Were they not there to start with? I cant see how they could have escaped. I did not drop them on the floor.

With regard to drop links: Are you sure that your Volvo ones were tight enough? My experience has been that the ARB/drop link nuts have to be VERY tight and not just tight. So tight in fact that the only way to replace the drop links is to cut the nut off.

Your balls have obviously joined the ones from my Volvo Nick! There are none in mine at all!
However there aren't meant to be - it's a high grade engineering plastic and the top and bottom half are made to match each other and slide smoothly.

I have no idea where your balls have gone though, it's possible they were "lost" during assembly, also that there are only meant to be 20 with 6 empty spaces, usually equally spaced.

My drop links were definitely tight enough on the Volvo Nick, only meant to be about 40lb/ft and the air wrench i used has a maximum torque of 45lb/ft and they were check tightened after with a torque wrench to be on the safe side. Besides, being loose wouldn't explain the way the rubber disintegrated!

Don't think i've ever needed to change the back ones either, the back end of an 800 has a much easier time than the front as it has much less work to do, simply being a means of keeping the back end off the ground. Or, to paraphrase what someone else says about the rear end of an 800, it only exists to stop the car dragging its ar5e on the deck!

I believe that's my favorite description of Wrong Wheel Drive!

My 820 now behaves like an old 106/Saxo in the bends - lift off oversteer when you're REALLY trying.

Can't wait to get the 820 Turbo'd with the KV6 hybrid Torsen gearbox - that would really be a hoot to drive

Congrats on fixing the Mondeo Nick, should fly through the next MOT with all of that work.

I thought i was your description - when i wrote it i wasn't feeling my best so couldn't be sure.

My Sterling tends to do the same as that, usually if i come up to a bend i give the loud pedal a bit of a squeeze to make sure it goes where i aim it!

The 820 with turbo and Torsen should be good fun - especially at 60p/L of fuel!

[zcar12]

I have a question for those familiar with auto trans gearboxes.

My Mondeo uses the Ford C4DE transmission and it is filled via the dipstick tube. The dipstick has a hatched area and on it, it says, "Do not add in this area". Do I take this to mean that it is OK to run if the fluid is indeed in this area?

When the car has been unused for a few days, one can start the engine and there will be a slight delay before I get some drive. This is with the fluid towards the bottom of the hatched area. I have been wary of adding more fluid since I have read the warning not to overfill the gearbox as this may lead to foaming of the fluid.

So my question boils down to; How full is full? If the fluid is say halfway up the hatched area, will this be OK?

[scoobyh123]

Errr, yeah, all of the above!

Joking aside Nick, it should tell you in the handbook or sometimes on the dipstick if it's a cold or hot measurement. In the hatched area should be fine to use, especially when the transmission is hot as the fluid will expand.
Also some cars require that you check them with the engine running, others don't - i'm not sure on the Mondeo so worthwhile checking.

If it's taking a while to build pressure up first thing it suggests the fluid is past its best although it may be a characteristic of the box or perhaps general wear and tear.

[zcar12]

Thanks Dave. By asking the question on here I seem to have clarified my thoughts. I think by Ford putting these words on the dipstick, it means it is OK as it is and not to add more fluid. Right at the top of the stick it says "Mercon" so there is no doubt about the fluid type. The fluid color looks red on the stick but put some in a jar and it looks black so next month, I will probably change it. Cash flow and all that! Now that I have fixed the clonks, creaking and stiffness in the steering, its a pleasure to drive. Also, the caster action on the steering has returned and it does not tend to wander or need constant correction. A friend told me that he thought his Mondeo Mk3 was the best car he ever had. Now that I have one myself, I can see why he thought that.

This Mondeo is still a work in progress as far as I am concerned. It was only today that I discovered how to lock the doors from inside the car. As long as the engine and gearbox are proved to be OK, I can fix most other things myself. I need to do a long run in it on a hot day to make sure it does not go into limp mode or lose all drive. As you will know, it is quite possible to spend plenty on an old car and then discover that it has a fault that was cleverly disguised by the seller. One can never keep up with all the strokes that are pulled! I hope experience has helped me to avoid the pitfalls but it can take a while before one knows that for sure.

Good to see the updates on the Dogmobile.

[scoobyh123]

You're welcome Nick - glad you confirmed it is Mercon fluid it needs (not murky as it seems to be now! ) as i was pretty sure that was the fluid.

This is an excellent ATF and as you can see, is rated for Mercon, Honda Z-1, Chrysler ATF3, 3+,4+, many Volvos needing 1161540/97341 which is very similar to JWS3309 aka the ATF for the JATCo box in the KV6 models and many other Japanese auto boxes :

http://www.carlube.co.uk/transmission-f ... sion-fluid

It's cheapest to buy an 4.5L tubs, usually for about £27 or thereabouts :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carlube-ATF-U ... SwA3dYTXfH

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carlube-ATF-U ... XQs6FRMgUi

You might want to buy one of these as well :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Transfer- ... SwzvlW-Z~H

Stick the pick up tube down your dipstick hole (warm gearbox, car positioned so the dipstick is the lowest possible point), direct the outlet hose into a suitable container, switch on, go and have a cup of tea, coffee or whatever, come back and wait the last few minutes for the last of the ATF to be removed then switch off, replenish the ATF with the same quantity as came out, check the level after circulating it for a few minutes, top up as necessary, tidy everything away and job done!

I found using a 5L empty screenwash tub as the "discharge" container allowed me to see the state of the fluid after removal, especially after it had settled! Immediate improvement in all aspects of the gearbox including performance and economy but particularly smoothness.
This method removes about half the total quantity so i usually do 3 of these changes about a month apart on a "new to me" vehicle then do one a year to effectively give me a complete fluid change over the course of 2 years. Doing it this way keeps the fluid fresher overall and introduces the thicker fluid more gently than doing a "flushing" change which is useful for older boxes with seals that aren't "factory fresh" and potentially wouldn't take the sudden increase in pressure from a flushing change.

[zcar12]

Thank you Dave, your recommendations were most welcome. I now have 4/1/2 litres of Carlube ATF-U on the way from carparts 4 less and have also ordered a transfer pump. Sounds like this is an easy way to do things for an old fart like me. I hate getting underneath cars now. I had originally planned to do half the fluid and gradually renew it over time. I was glad to hear that you had good results from Carlube ATF, I look forward to the same. The gearbox seems to work fine at the moment and has no flares or hard shifts. But the fluid is starting to look dirty to my eyes and a change now will hopefully lengthen the life of the box.

I will post again when I have a result. Thanks.

[scoobyh123]

You're welcome Nick - it's much easier using the pump than crawling underneath, especially for me.

If the ATF is looking dirty then it's a good time to change it! You should be able to use it in your PAS as well, similar thing suck the reservoir dry, refill with fresh, start car and rotate steering from lock to lock a few times slowly to get rid of air bubbles and top up. Do the same a week or two later and repeat until the fluid stays clean - it's amazing how much this improves your steering!

[zcar12]

I ordered 4.5 litres of Carlube AFT-U auto trans fluid from carparts for less online. What has been delivered today is Q3, which is a semi synthetic fluid and not full synthetic as ordered. So now I have to faff around getting it changed. No wonder my son thinks I get more like Victor Meldrew every day.

[scoobyh123]

It's unlike Euro Car Prats to make a mistake Nick but they should take it back as it's been incorrectly supplied.

Carpartsforless is their ebay ID in case you don't know, Q3 if memory serves is the same as Dexron III, given the fact Ford are pretty specific about Mercon and from what i remember of D III it's not compatible i wouldn't use it if i were you.

In fact i can't even find Q3 on their website or Carlube ATF-U just a complete new range i'm not familiar with!