in this video i walk around under the mk3 mondeo and explain the main components that could fail your car on an mot test. Also i repair the bonnet lock assembly, replace a front wheel bearing and fix a seized handbrake calliper lever.
I’ve had a 2 litre tdci for 11 years, done over 155k miles and haven’t had any issues other than what you’ve covered in this video. Great cars and great video, keep up the good work!
The petrol ones are generally OK mechanically wise. The 4 pots do sometimes have ring issues as allan says. The very early ones had plastic mountings for the swirl flaps in the intake manifolds. They will eventually break and be ingested by the engine causing much damage. The 6 pots seem to have similar things with rings around 150k. THe diesels/TDCI's... where to start. A lot of this is from personal experiece. The lump itself is pretty reliable. Easily does 200K+ if looked after. Its all the external stuff that causes the issues. Don't bump start them as the pawl in the chain tensior is weak and you'll likey break it causing no chain tension at startup/idle as its tensioned with oil pressure. Very tempting to do if it won't start after a fuel filter change and the system drains back. No electric lift pump - the fuel pump is two in one - a lift and pressure. Self priming...my arse.... Hand prime the whole system and crack an injector feed pipe. It is a duplex chain tho. Diesels should be swapped to fully synth oil - part synth and the 12k service interval kills the turbos as the oil feed isn't that large - even 10k services they go. Fully synth and 10-12k service intervals seems to sort that. Actuators on the turbo's sometimes fail. Easy enough to replace and get 2nd hand. If the turbo vanes are sticking - use the Mr muscle oven cleaner method - never had to do that as mine is made to get hot. Crank pully dampers start to separate and rattle/warble. Put the Ford one on. The ones from motor factors genally just fall apart quite quickly. Change the belt as well when you do it as it'll likely be polished and carry on making a chirping noise. Bearings in the aux belt tensioner arrangement eventually get noisy. Most people just live with it until it gets really bad. Doing the overrun bearing mod to the alternator pully can help which the petrols have but the diesels don't. Biggest issue for the TDCI's is injectors. They are just crap. Even decent re-built units can fail after as little as 10K miles. And that leads to issues with MOT's as we now use the plated smoke value on the VIN plate rather than the fast/long test. Most MK3's never met the smoke values from the factory!!!! Fuel pumps do fail and fill the system with swarf which almost certainly knackers the injectors. Flashing glowplug usually means expense..... Rear subframe bushes go on the hatches. THere are two thermostats on the diesels. THe smaller one by the oil cooler is prone to failure and stick open. Easy enough to change. Power steer pump bolts to the water pump. If water pump seizes, it shears the spline drive off, usually shaggng the power steer pump as well. Racks are the same as the petrols but not that that problem with mine. Water pump plastic impeller sometimes sheds off. DMF's - anything from 60K upwards and they start to rattle. Rear wheel bearings - I'm on my 4th after 200k miles on one side on the back. Change the manual gearbox oil, especially on the 6 speed box every 50k. Usually helps reduce/remove the notchyness. Door rot - usually failed bonding inside the door. Fixed after about 04 build. Body is galvanised so shouldn't really rot. Rear arches eventually do start to go. But the MK3 is a joy to drive.
That's an interesting comment about the gearbox notchyness. Mine's always been a bit of a struggle to engage 1st gear - never just slips in easily, and over the past 12 years I just thought there was a knack to it!. I'll try changing the oil. Is it Ford branded oil you'd use? Thanks for the tip. Cheers. Vivian
In my box when I had it apart as I had a selector fork drop off a tiny piece of plastic, the synchro gears were certainly not the nicest made in the world which is probably why they don't always feel the best. MInes now for 220K miles on it and most of the roughness has just about gone. If the oil is slightly contanminated or breaking down slightly it makes the feel even worse. Its worth a try. The oil is a fully synthetic one. The 6 speed box is 1.9L when dry from memory and its a horrific price. Something over £20/litre from ford by now. Just make sure it meets the ford spec. The fill and drain are by the nearside drive shaft. Make sure you can get the fill hole bung out before you drain it. Fill level is until it starts to come out of the fill hole.
Fully agree, a very easy car to work on and everything you show i fixed on mine! Not difficult or expensive stuff if you can do it yourself but clearly very expensive if you can’t. Great video (as ever) 👍👍
A really excellent and useful video Alan - thanks for posting for us Mk3 owners. Both my Mk3s had exactly the problems you mentioned, namely coil springs and wheel bearings - but apart from that both cars have been perfect. My current one is a '55 plate 1.8 Duratec petrol with 93k miles and I can honestly say it drives and looks brand new. I will check out the brake pipes though - thanks for the tip. Wishing you and Monika and all the team at Steve's a very happy Christmas and keep the videos coming in 2022! Cheers. Vivian.
I Love when He Said “one of my favorite cars” Mine to Alan😍 I have it 11 years and counting Only “problem” that I have on my 2.0 tdci was crank shaft pulley,I would like to know what comes factory Dayco maybe 🤔.Another awesome videoThank you☺️
Really enjoyed this Alan. Reminiscent of working on a mk5 Cortina on my drive. Your absolutely correct about coil springs as well. And brake discs dont last as long either.
Great video, thanks. I had exactly this car 2004 2.0 petrol auto, drove it from 50k to 135k and had pretty much all the items you said. Also had engine mounts that got so soft the extra movement kept breaking the flexible exhaust coupling, changed it 3 times in 2 years before realising what was causing it to fail lol
Great video Alan and I wish you a Happy Christmas and a super New Year. Bless You All there.and thanks for still showing Mk3 's.I have a 2liter petrol 2006 November. with only 138000Kilometers.Good car still for a long time yet to come. PS,enjoyed my time at Mildenhall and Lakenheath .
I love your eulogy of the MK 3 as I have a Zetec estate 2L Duratec. I do love it. Yes, I have had broken front springs . NS at 5 year OS at 6 year. Little else. Alternator in 2021 at 77,000, it is a clutch affair. Spots on the sill. But I do look after it and it is only 78,000 from new.. MOT until next June. He said it was fine for years. You are a miracle worker for MK 3 owners. Keep going.
Great video. I've a 2004 2.0 Petrol Ghia 160,000 miles. No issues so far with broken springs. Did one rear wheel bearing at about 80,000 miles, but that wheel had the sized handbrake cable problem. I reckon the bearing failed because of the heat build up from sticking caliper. Watch out for water hoses perishing , they will feel soft and spongy. I've had to change several coil packs. Engine was just hesitating slightly on light throttle. Mind you last one has lasted better than the previous two. As you say a great car. I don't know what to replace it with. BTW just dealing with a front strut top failure today, but then its 18 years old
Hello Alan and Monica ! I’ve just found your glorious channel on my RU-vid suggestion page , shopped through several videos and made the decision ; subscribed 👍✌🏻. Yes , while admitting for the most part that the lovely and enchanting miss Monica has prompted my decision to subscribe , I’ll give credit to your acting entertaining skills and automotive knowledge was a factor as well . My favorite video of miss Monica was when she blasted you with the water cannon ( loved it ! 😎 ) . I will admit your antics , along with your diagnostic maintenance is entertaining since I am a diy’er myself . I’m across the pond ( New York ) but appreciating the tech equally . Will say that I appreciate the British tools and technology which has always done well for your needs . The Enfield rifle is just one of many examples of British know how and success , longevity wise . The jaguar and land rover are just two more of many . Looking forward to more , and of miss Monica as well , respectably. She’s always welcome . Bang on , crack on , good show 👍✌🏻 cheers !
I have had my 2002 1.8 petrol since 2007. Most of the issues like springs have happened to mine. Handbrake problem was due to the cable adjusted too tight not allowing the caliper to return. Overall very happy with it. Just changed reversing light switch. Regards Paul.
I had the same notchy steering rack on an early 08 plate mk4 estate while it was under warranty. Took it to the dealer and they seemed to know all about it. Apparently it was only a problem on RHD cars, and mostly estates. It had a new rack, oil resevoir and filter fitted. Glad it was done under warranty.
I've got a 56 plate mk3 I'm running about in. Bought it cheap, had to do a few bits - latest being drivers side rear wheel bearing and spring. Happy days. They're still good cars years after they were discontinued.
I have a mk 3 st tdci I can relate to all those things my next repair is a service new water pump and brake discs front and rear I have braided brake lines to change over and a new handbrake cable lol sounds like a right heap but like you say they are getting on now loved this video
Excellent video thanks. I have done a fiesta and this is a little more complicated, though straight forward to do, the tips on what to unbolt and in qhich order is very useful.
Door card vapor barrier seal. The sticky black sealant goes wrong over time and the vapor barrier lets water in to the footwells on a rainy day. Easy fix. The electric tailgate lock on the estates go always wrong. As you say, if you take care of them they will last forever. Sold 3 months ago my mk3 estate 2.0 duratec and i regret it. Bought the mk5 estate but these old bangers have something more than a new car.
Would be nice to see you do a video on the estate version, showing how the rear suspension is different. I have a ST Tdci estate and the original self levelling rear shocks have been swapped for normal shocks but the springs weren’t so it’s a bit soft and lower at the rear. Still drivable though.
Steering racks wear out because the power steering fluid should be flushed/changed every 40,000 but never gets done. You need red ATF fluid Mercon V spec. Use a liquid soap dispenser pump to empty the reservoir. Then take the bottom reservoir hose off, block the reservoir outlet flange with blue tack and bend the pipe into an empty 2L coke bottle, squished between the engine and radiator (or take out the drivers headlight and run the pipe through the headlight hole into the 2L coke bottle outside). Then with the front wheels jacked up and engine idling, turn lock to lock a few times to fill up the coke bottle and drain the system. Then reconnect the pipe and refill the system. Idle the engine and turn lock to lock, before checking and topping up again if necessary.
I've actually got a brand new rear wheel bearing and set of hand brake cables in my attic from where I had my mk3. Some bellend decided to hit the back end quite hard before I got round to fitting them. Drop links were always another thing to
Love what you say about getting the rear strut off if that bottom pinch bolt sticks. I need to to do that, as Ford dealer frightened themselves and refused to to do the job. Rear top mount needs changing I think.
Love the Mk3 Mondeo. I think they'll become pretty scarce quite soon, like the Mk1 & Mk2 already has. Too many get treated as just use-em, throw-em away but I'm hoping to get a tidy one and look after it.
Hi Alan, very helpful video as always. About the steering rack problem: isn't that a problem with friction in the steering shaft length compensator. Ford TSB 43/2001. I personally have solved the problem of notchy steering following information in the TSB.
Thanks for a goog review. But regarding the handbreaks - its not the cables thats that causes problems, its the leverarms on the calipers that gets stuck, the return spring is too weak or/and the bearing is ceased,. A known problem that Ford never fixed on the Mk3 !!!
Had two new front shock absorbers fitted to my mk4 08 plate 1.8diesel mondeo at 100k and both rear brake calipers changed, handbrake arm mechanism had seized on both.
All those jobs reminded me working on my missus Mk2 Focus LOL Grat video!!! :) It would be interesting to see how to press that bearing out with ABS in situ. Maybe in next video? Happy Xmas!
For the rear hub/bearing units you just tap on the edge of hub (after removing the 4 locating bolts) with a hammer and the whole bearing+hub unit pops out. Disconnect the ABS cable first though!
@@steve0680657 yeah mate, I've done the rear one.. they come with huband drilling the sheered bolt was time consuming but worth the effort.. I should have add I meant the front one.. mate pressed it out and in for me but they said it was tricky with abs sensor in place.. that was on my misses car, on mine the sensors actually came out no problem.
My dad still has it from new. 218k km, 2.0 TDCi 130 06' first registration, 05' December made. It is very solid car. Replaced liked Alan said rear left wheel bearing and 2 clutch set with DMFs front coils snapped, rear shocks went bad. Other stuff that went wrong is pretty common imo; thermostats, water pumps, handbrake seized, steering pump was refurbished, couple of brake sets all around. Though steering when standing still is pretty heavy, is that common on these?
This is like mondeo mk3 the movie... starring.... I had an intermission half way... :) mini pork pie break... excellent ....informative...... knowledgeable.. and thats just Moni... N x
Superb video production mate , but as these auto petrol cars get a few more years older ; the VED / car tax currently £30 p/m might count against them for folks on a tight budget
Had spring break on a low milage fusion years ago also on a vauxhall corsa, what i did notice was the poor quailty of the steel in both instances. The impurities in the metal were very obvious. Its no wonder they breaking. They are being made so badly …designed to break , shameful imo, never heard of springs breaking in 80’s and 90’s.
Definitely a great video. You're doing a fantastic job. However, I have a question about the lower ball joint for the front wheels: the haynes service book recommends to lower the subframe to undo the ball joint, and in your video you just apply a ply bar, who's right? I need to replace my strut on my mondeo and if possible I would prefer not to touch to the subframe.
I’ve read that by using a bar and levering the wishbone down could damage the back hydro-bush in the wishbone. I’ve never done one, but thought that maybe compressing the strut a couple of inches with a jack would give enough room to lever off without over stretching the bush 🤷♂️
Alan if you can grab a MK2 Mondeo and do a review of that just like this one...your viewing figures will double :) Are you planning to do another live chat soon, I think some of us miss them!
Hello Alan I’ve got one of those cars blowing air like crazy from the oil filling hole, what might be wrong? Pcv valve or worn engine? I’ve cleaned the pcv but still the same, don’t know if it’s faulty though, the car does burn some oil but not much yet.
Hi, you make very interesting and informative videos. I have Monde MK3 Duratec 1.8 and I have a problem. when the engine is warm, the vehicle does not start the first time, only the second. maybe you know what is the problem?
Hi there Mate u'r the most expert for nk3 mondeos that i know . My mk3 hase the floor mates wet the pasanger side and the driver side . I was told that maybe the inside silicon seald of dor may be crack and from the rain it came inside . But the other day it was dreaping a litle beat of water from downside in the midle of croscot . Do you have anny ideas ? Appreciated in advance
I have a mark 3 mondeo and the passenger rear spring as been replaced and it's passed it's mots but still knocks on that side under load if I drive on my own know knocks at all any suggestions
My mk4 Mondeo has the the same fault you describe on steering, lumpy and notched, clears when engine is warm and summer months. At 100,000 miles. Ah well more expense.
Alan howatt My 2009 ford galaxy 2.0 tdci. Has gained lumpy idle problem.the egr is blanked off. Ive change the fuel filter which made a tiny difference. Injectors are fine. Glowplugs are fine. So the car starts fine. Then about 5 secs after its started it runs lumpy for a short time. Then it runs totally fine. The problem started 2 months ago. When the temp was bit cold. I had 1 morning where the car cut out. But once started and hold revs it was fine. Any ideas. Ps im in Peterborough so very close.
Hi Alan, I forgot to remove the camshaft locking pin in a diesel 2.0L ford-PSA "french" engine... Ooops. I'm hoping that your theory is right, and the rocker arms are bent/broken and nothing else lol. We'll see... Cheers.
Any one on here no if you can get the O rings or the size of them.its the fuel pipes connection to the fuel filter as I think one is letting air as I've got air pubbles .on my mk4 2.2 d Mondeo any help would be helpful
Hi Alan,I can see that you are a specialist with Ford tdci engine so I would like to ask you for a favour and hope you could help me.My problem is that my car (X-Type with Ford engine) would start with really low rpms after turning the key and then slowly build up the revs up to the normal range,it would have rough idle at low rpms,it would stutter in higher gear around 2000rpms from time to time (more frequently),then the problem would worsen with time and affect the car even in 1st and 2nd gear that was close to the end as then it would hesitate to move up in the first ,finally giving up on Sunday.After it stopped moving ,it will now start and die right after few seconds .Any idea what could be wrong?I will really appreciate your help as my car is at my mechanic at the moment and he thinks it is a problem with the exhaust and I think it is fuel supply related ,I have a reconditioned high fuel pressure pump for quite a while waiting for the time it will be needed,just in case.Thank you in advance!
I do mine (1.8 petrol duratec) every 10,000 miles using Shell Helix Ultra professional 5w30 AF. The official interval is actually 12,500 miles for the duratec petrol, but I stick with 10,000 to avoid any excess wear.
Both rear calipers on my MK3 07 plate started leaking brake fluid out of the handbrake mechanism, both rear hubs went aswell, along with all the other faults i had with, one of the most unreliable cars i owned 😂
I have a 2006 Mk3 petrol. Bought it for £1200 as a run about for work only covered 62k miles. I was wondering have you ever come across problems with the heaters? The heater blower unit is only blowing out hot air even when temperature is set to the lowest setting. I replaced the original heater control unit as when I bought the car the original control unit was burnt out. Plus the fascia was damaged and glued together with black silicone. Just wanted a heads up on what could cause the warm air problem before I start digging into things. Cheers
I think there might be an electrical resistor up behind the glove box that can fail. Or on some models the cabin temperature sensor is up under the lower dash plastic beneath the steering wheel.
@@steve0680657 thanks I’ll try and get a look at it. I have tried a few things with it but to no avail the heater control unit was replaced as original unit was blown. So I’d dare say there was an underlying issue with the heater blower. Checked fuses etc at start but all checked out fine Thanks for your suggestion
@@iainmccracken21 also it can be Engine coolant too low: Top up when cold to the Max line. If it'd red colour you need G12 / AF12 / G12+ / AF12+ coolant, mannol are cheap on eBay. Engine thermostat worn out: you'll know because the temperature gauge won't Reach halfway, or will take AGES to reach hallway. I recommend MAHLE thermostats as they were factory fitted.
Just wondered if I could pick your brain......have 2010 140hp tdci s max. Power steering has just gone. Dash says power steering fault,.battery light came on at the same time and battery died just as I got home. Belt is ok and I took it off to see if anything has seized. Put belt back on and did a fluid flush. Car ok for about 30 seconds then I get kick back on the steering then no steering again and battery light back on. Tensioner seems fine and don't think the belt is slipping. Wondered if you'd ever come across anything similar on the MK4 Mondeo?
This one will too. Both the 1.8 and 2.0 duratec petrol's have the cat bolted onto the exhaust manifold. Alan was actually pointing to the first silencer box.
@@rimmersbryggeri interesting. I've not driven a mk1 or 2, but I'm chuffed with my mk3. Best unique feature is the low washer fluid warning, even today not many cars offer that! Although with its measly 2.5 litre tank you're always topping the dang thing up.
May I message you regarding air found in fuel line ford smax 2.0 tdci 2007 causing it to cut out. Thanks Dallas I'm in the body trade.. Just want to know where to start looking for the entry of air.. Around the system. Thanks email or whats app will be great.. Have video of non starting cranking over
Hi Alan got a quick question Mk3 Mondeo rough idle throttle body and Idle control valve have been cleaned my only guess it spark plugs need replacing since if you Rev the car the rpms will hold at about 2k before returning to 1.3k high idle it’s also lacking power by a lot and guessing the car is running on 3 since coil pack was replaced as well ordered some spark plugs for it just wandering if you have any idea what it could be and if you know what I’m on about otherwise my channel involves some videos of standstill revs which you can here the rpms not going doing causing the exhaust to pop slightly any suggestions or recommendations will be useful
hi, is the car misfiring when you rev the engine..but i would definitely check the rubber hose that goes from the pcv valve to the inlet manifold which are common for splitting and sucking in air causing high idle and all kinds of running problems
@@alan4x hi Alan thanks for your reply the car does misfire and is burning a lot more fuel than usual And it lacks power when trying to accelerate all engine fluids are at correct levels too
@@alan4x when possible I will check the hose is it the vacuum pipe the runs to the swirl flaps Plus I did originally check the hose disconnected it for a minute on idle seeing if it would change the rpm but nothing happened I’ll double check it when I fit the spark plugs I’ll let you know if it fixes it or not
@@BensAutos its not the hose that operates the swirl flaps.....it is a thick rubber s shaped hose that goes from the bottom of the inlet manifold to the crankcase breather valve on the engine block ...if it is split and sucking in air you will need to remove the inlet manifold to change it...or at least unbolt the manifold and pull it forward which is easier with the radiator fans removed
WTF ! No mention of the wishbones ? They were an annual thing on my MK1 & 2 Mondeo. In fact if you took an early Mondeo for an MOT without new wishbones then it would probably get a fail
