Hi,

after spending a shed load of money on my car (Skoda), i have decided to get shot of it, and after speaking with my mechanic best friend get a mondeo,

i am looking for about a 2004-5 model hopefully a ghia x 2ltr TDCI, but my buget is about £2000-£2500, so im into the 100,000 mile as least territory,

so my first (of many i guess) is

what do i look out for considering the mileage,

do these have ERG valves of DPFs, if so are they a cheap/easy fix

timing belt or chain

ect ect

any help would be great as i know nothing about motors

many thanks in advance, Neil

the mk3 mondy has three big problem points,

the egr valve can give problems but can be cleaned out or blanked off if its the euro three engine,

dual mass flywheels can also break up, cost to replace at a garage approx £650 upwards

Delphi injectors can loose there code or pack up altogeather, approx £120 fitted at garage each,

all mk3 tdci diesel mondeos are chain driven,

also the aux belt can vibrate requiring a new pully,tensioner and belt, kits are around £110 + fitting.

Yeah, I had to replace the entire aux drive system on mine. Pain of a job.

You'll also need to watch out for turbo issues - it has variable vanes which get clogged with carbon and stick, putting the car into limp mode. Dead handy if you happen to be overtaking a sunday-driver or lorry when it happens.

To add to that the VNT mech can coke up and the electronic actuator (if fitted) can play up

A Euro 4 EGR can also be blanked but the engine warning light may come on, the EGR contaminates the inlet manifold, which needs cleaning out often, a solid, stainless steel plate is recommended

The earlier TDDI is a much better car, it has the Bosch fuel injection, that is tough, reliable and can run on anything, the TDCI Delphi system is soft, and not designed for modern, low sulphor diesel

Hopefully by 100k all the problems will have been sorted, they are good cars when they are running well and a lot of car for the money

thanks for the replys guys, i have just been going through the forum reading up on modeo problems......

so if i get the car, how do i tell if its the euro 3 / 4 engine and is it a case of just fitting the ERG blanking plate, (saved in my Ebay watch list already) and thats it???

where/what is the AUX belt and how do i check it?

how do you check a turbo?

sorry if i sound stupid, but i am :(

hi guys, probably the first of many stupid questions, hopefully goona get a 2006 mondeo tdci zetec, nothing to amazing but im gonna really miss my heated seats, can the leather heated and cooled seats be retro fitted to my car??

cheers