Hi everyone,

I purchased a 2001 Ford Mondeo 1.8 Petrol LX (12 months MOT, 98k miles, lady owner) yesterday with the intentions of doing up and selling on but driving it about last night and today i've come to quite like the smooth comfy ride already and i'm considering keeping it. However there are a couple of queries;

1) When going over un-even roads, I seem to get a quiet knocking noise from the rear, like a loose spare wheel or something, so I secured that and checked the exhaust for excessive movement but seemed fine, could this be the rear axle bushes? If so, how much are they and how difficult are they to replace?

2) The oil cap on the engine doesnt seem to fit securely, even after the 'click' there is play in it, and when turning the engine off, you can hear a 'blu' sound, like you would hear if you didnt have the oil cap on at all. Also my reason for believing its this is after driving back I found a small amount of oil directly above its location on the bonnet. Just wondering if its a common issue or potentially something more serious?

3) I gave it a little bit on my journey home and it kicked out a fair bit of smoke, only when above 4k mind. The car didnt over heat, no signs of head gasket failure, was going to treat it to some engine flush but have seen something on here about an egr valve?

4) Finally, last night we had a major major down pour and went to the car this morning to find the passenger footwell a bit wet, popped out the glove box to try and trace it but couldnt find anything. The scuttle panel at the bottom of the windscreen seems to have a gap of about 5mm all the way across, and that's the only cause of it I can work out at the moment.

If these problems are quite simple and not costly, I think I will be keeping it. Any response would be much appreciated.

1. it could be the subframe bushes, a company called powerflex do uprated bushes which are easier to fit than standard but you still have to lower the subframe one side at a time - http://www.powerflex.co.uk/

2. the cap should be a tight fit, try another from you local scrappies

3. when you say smoke was this black smoke, blue smoke ?

4. the scuttle panel is a common cause of water ingress to the passenger footwell,it has to be removed to replace the pollen filter so most likly not been fitted back correctly

1. it could be the subframe bushes, a company called powerflex do uprated bushes which are easier to fit than standard but you still have to lower the subframe one side at a time - http://www.powerflex.co.uk/

2. the cap should be a tight fit, try another from you local scrappies

3. when you say smoke was this black smoke, blue smoke ?

4. the scuttle panel is a common cause of water ingress to the passenger footwell,it has to be removed to replace the pollen filter so most likly not been fitted back correctly

It's like a really light bluish grey smoke.

I will have a look at replacing all the other parts then.

Thanks for your help :)