New Mondeo Owner With Few Issues

[ianglanister]

Hello all recently got my mk3 mondeo as need a diesel with the mileage I do for work. It's a 2003 tdci now has 85k on the clock had 83 when I got it about 10 days ago. Loads of history and every old mot to back up the mileage.

On my first motorway journey I had a number of issues with it loosing power with a flashing glow plug light it went into limp mode and then eventually cut out but would restart straight away this mainly happened at cruising speeds. Seen a few things about the cam sensor and remember doing a mates for a similar thing so I've ordered a new one and will try that when it arrives any other ideas just in case?

Also on tick over there is a horrid rattling noise I think it's the aux belt tensioner and pulley I believe they are common problems? If you give it a very slight rev it stops anyone else had this issue?

Also I have just found cream in the top of my power steering fluid cap and ain't got a clue why it would be like that there is a kind of grinding noise when turning nothing excessive or loud but it's there.

Please don't give me bad news I do average of 700-1000 miles per week

Cheers

Ian

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[The Admiral]

Sorry to hear about your problems, did you buy it from a garage?

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[ianglanister]

No I got it off a local lad, I put my convertible up for sale to buy a diesel and got offered this in a deal and took it. It drives perfect just finding these problems now I've been using it every day and so much. Round town etc it's perfect just have these power issues cruising on the motorway. Hopefully it's just the sensor but if not looking into what else it could be. At the end of the month I will be replacing the fan belt, tensioner and crank pulley and hopefully that will sort the knocking on idle.

In regards to the cream in the steering cap I'm lost hopefully someone will have a good idea as to the cause if there is any usual places for water to get in

I love the mondeo first one and will have it for a while without a doubt but need it to be perfect all the time. hence wanting to sort these issues ASAP

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[FOCA]

Power steering pump/ etc -

The power steering pump is driven off a pulley off the end of the cam (offside of engine) it is bolted onto the waterpump that is mounted on the block

The waterpump is driven through a shaft from the power steering pump - there is a seal on this shaft - sometimes this fails, this can allow mixing between the power steering pump and waterpump - look for evidence of loss of water, and/or power steering fluid fluid dripping onto the starter motor (its under the pump(s)), or water/ fluid around the pump(s)

There are two different types of power steering fluid used on Fords they should not be mixed, previous owners/ garages mechanics may have adder the wrong type - this may account for the "cream"

If you pump the front tyres up nice and hard (41 PSI is recommended, i use 39) and have the car "creepimg" when you turn the wheel/ don't turn it when stationary (bad practice anyway) it can last for years - mine has been noisy for ages -

If you ever ger round to fixing it, i recommend you get a new power steering pump (about £100) waterpump (£40) and belt (£10) at the same time - i recon the noise is from the pump and the rack is expensive

Like all Mondeos, every single part of my car is "perfect"

even the power steering pump makes the "perfect" noise

I have owned my Mondeo a long time and really like it, it has had a lot of work/ modifications done it does not have an EGR, DPF, or DMF (or TDCI injectors to go wrong - it is still far from perfect - even when these cars 1st left the factory, they were not "perfect" - to get the car "perfect" is a little ambitious and would probably cost a lot of money (and require serious modifications - so some compromises may be nessesary

You could start by fitting an EGR blanking plate (solid, stainless steel) and cleaning out the inlet manifold,

An OBD fault code reader is a good investment - you can pick one up for under £20, make sure it has the Ford protocols and you may need an OBD1 one as your car is pre 2004

Another good investment is a Haynes manual, if you do not already have one, there are different ones for the Mondeo- make sure you get the right one

if you post a picture of your engine i can tell you what type it is (there are different types) my guess is its a 130 with VNT and front EGR

[ianglanister]

Thanks for the write up that must of took a long time and I highly appreciate it, by perfect I mean no issues or noises etc I know no car will ever be perfect especially an 11 year old mondeo just want to get to the bottom of the faults and fix them ASAP for my own peace of mind really. By perfect I just mean no known/major issues mine is the 130 with a front egr the only pictures I have at the minute of of the engine after a quick detail but will get some more ASAP

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[ianglanister]

Pics attached

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[FOCA]

It looks very clean!

its got the VNT (variable nozzle/ variable vane turbo) with the pnumatic turbo actuator - so should be a EURO3 engine so ok to blank the EGR with a solid blate with no problems (like the engine management light coming on)

When they are running nice they are good cars (or vice versa)

[ianglanister]

Thanks that was took after I gave it a quick detail lol. I will sort out blanking the egr probably at the end of the month. My new cam sensor got delivered today so I fitted it before driving back to Suffolk where I am now ready for shift tomorrow and the glow plug light still came on only the once when I was cruising at a constant 60-70 :( so looks like I need to invest in a diagnostic kit I have one that cost 15 off eBay but it won't read the mondeo :( hopefully nothing major but time will tell I've got a few days off at the end of the week so I will investigate further if I can and loom at the power steering fluid issue. Is the timing belt a big job on these? I've worked on my own cars for years and can do many jobs but never owned a mondeo

Thanks again for your help

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[FOCA]

There is no timing belt on the Mondeo (Mk3 diesel 2.0/2.2) there is a timing chain that can last the lifetime of the engine

The aux belt drives the alternator and the AC pump - it is a fairly difficult job for a competent DIY mechanic you may need a special tool / the belt is very close to the inner wing with next to no room to work

Its best to change the belt, idler pullys tensioner and crank pulley at the same time - you can get a gates kit online but some recon you are best with a genuine Ford crank pulley typical parts cost was £200, but is coming down now

in general the belt/ pulleys last about 50k, the X-type has a slightly different design with a different alternator pully - tha belt/etc lasts longer - (the Jag x-type is basically a badge- engineered mk3 Mondeo) - some owners have modified their alternator slightly to fit the jag - i just removed my AC pump and fitted a shorter belt - no rattling now

You need a code reader that has the Ford protocols and is OBD1 compatible - the F-super and a Bluefin hanset are the only ones i know for sure work (others are OBD11 not OBD1)

[ianglanister]

Thanks very much again I've found the special tool on eBay so will order one of them when I get the parts. Wasn't sure if it was a chain or belt at least don't need to worry about that then.

I've found the F Super on eBay but it says no compatability with windows 7 and 8 etc so may not work on my laptop will look into that. Thanks again very very much

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[ianglanister]

I have just found a kit that is compatable with my laptop thanks again :D

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[FOCA]

Hello again - No worries - As far as i know the F-super can be supplied with Windows 7 drivers (or downloaded) although many are only supplied with xp ones

Remember most OBD fault code readers only work with OBDII (OBD2) and not OBD1, the plug/ socket is the same but an OBD2 reader will not work with an OBD1 system (car) - not a lot of people know this (including a lot of Ford main dealers, many indipendant mechanics, etc etc) It must also have the Ford-specific protocols - thus why i can only recommend the F-super or Bluefin handset for OBD1 Fords (like yours)

F-super - compatible with OBD1 and with Windows7 drivers -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-F-SUPER-2-Interface-Scanner-USB-SCAN-TOOL-Injector-Programming-/181331159561?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a382dea09