Mk3 Mondeopossible Worn Clutch - Or Not?

[deckmonkey]

Hi

I'm a some-time lurker and finally got round to signing up. I've had the Mondeo for about 8 or 9 months now after needing a car quickly after my old VW Bora sharpened it's cams and smashed its way through the followers. I parted with 2400 quid for a 53 plate Mk3 2.0 Duratec petrol in Zetec trim with crazy amounts of upgrades (auto xenons, climate, cruise, heated seats all round, the 6 CD Sony system etc) because I wanted something cheap which would do me for a year or two. Mostly it's grand and eventually I'd like to get a Bluefin for it, although there are one or two things slightly worrying me.

First is an erratic idle and a tendency when cold for the revs to go up to 2 or 2 1/2 thousand when I drop the clutch as I come to a stop. They die right back to idle once I'm stationary. I'm going to clean the idle control valve to see if it helps and see if I can see any splits in the PCV breather pipe (hope not because no doubt I'll get reamed for labour costs to remove the manifold to replace it! I'm not good at this sort of stuff myself). I also know the rear subframe bushes are cracked and I plan to have a set of Powerflex poly bushes put in to replace them before MOT time.

What worries me most though is that the clutch biting point is very high which makes smooth gear changes hard (especially so for my mrs, which makes me wince a bit). The car had 73k on it when I bought it and has 78k or so on it now. However it has a towbar fitted and I'm wondering if someone has worn it out by towing. In addition, if when driving (motorway speeds show this up the most but can happen at low speed too) I let off the gas then go back on it, unless I'm am super careful I hear a metallic clink from the front of the car somewhere. It's not really loud and not a grating noise or anything obviously nasty. I took it to one garage and they said they couldn't hear it and that may be true as it's not always there. What I'm thinking though is if the clutch is worn, could it be the DMF? Also, if I change the clutch and there's no sign of DMF problems is it worth leaving it alone or just changing it anyway? I'm aware that that lot and the slave cylinder is likely to set me back 6-700 quid.

Anyway, any and all advice greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[btmaldon]

Cleaning or replacing the ICV may help with the idle issue but this normally is playing up when the car is trying to stall. It could be the throttle position sensor.

The clunking could be anything. Probably just the engine and gearbox moving backwards and forwards on the mounts when you decelerate and the accelerate again causing a knock somewhere.

That sort of mileage the clutch should be OK but like you say if it has done a lot of towing it may be on its way out. However how long is the bite point? Is it still fairly sharp? If its not slipping and you can select gears OK I would be tempted to leave it.

[deckmonkey]

It's pretty high - I'd say at around 70% of the travel upwards, but there is no slippage and to be fair I had slippage a few times on my old car and it was still going when the cams ate the engine. It's sharp enough, now I come to think about it, there's been no suggestion that it's going to fail imminently (although I know that's no guarantee, but still) and there's no problem engaging any gears. I guess it's better to get the maximum life from it. Just hope it doesn't die on holiday or anything like that!

I did wonder about the clink being something like that. I initially wondered if it might be the drive shafts but I figured that wouldn't make a loud enough clink to hear but if it did then it would be more noticeable and serious. I guess I should just stop worrying so much!

I have heard a few people suggest the TPS so maybe I'll take the plunge and try to test the TPS for myself (found an article on the Ford Wiki that looks like it's a simple enough job to test and replace if needs be). At least that's a cheap enough job for now! Once that's sorted and the subframe bushes have been changed to Powerflex I guess I'll just have to keep putting aside dosh for the inevitable day that I do have to Shell out for a new clutch and DMF.

Cheers for the advice!

[deckmonkey]

Just as an addendum - I've had a look at the cost of a replacement TPS just in case. On Fleabay I can get one for 13 quid with a 2 year warranty or a Pierburg one for 86 quid. That's quite a price differential! Is there really any difference between the two? It's just a potentiometer as far as I can see so surely it can be that much.

[jeebowhite]

That is quite a difference, however I would call Ford and ask there price, see which one it comes closer to. Its like another member found before, things like head gaskets being sold for over £80 and they could be bought easily for £20.

[deckmonkey]

Thanks for that, I'll give the local main stealer a tinkle this weekend and see what they come up with in price. I did see an allegedly OE part on eBay which was also about 80 quid. Never quite sure what to think!

[jeebowhite]

I think for the price of 13 quid, its worth a gamble on the cheap one, then f not get the higher cost one?