Tips for keeping my mondeo going?

johnnyleitrim

We recently went from a 2 car family to 1. So now our sole car is a Ford Mondeo MK3 (2004) that has 105k miles on it. (Duratec 2.0l engine)

I'm wondering what a good service regime would be to keep it going for as long as possible, and other tips people may have to keep 100k+ cars in good shape?

Plus, if anyone has the haynes manual for the Mondeo MK3, is it worth getting?

I appreciate any advice

Ded_Zebra

I don't know of any ford specific things but if you keep it regularly serviced with good quality parts and fluids that meet the specifications that ford recommend then I doubt you'll have a problem:)
105,000miles over 9 years is small milage really. less than 12,000 a year.

trad

The guards have to run theirs to 300k km before they are considered for replacement.

Considering the abuse they get, your's should last a lifetime

johnnyleitrim

Thanks Guys.

In terms of the servicing, is there anything you would recommend I get done by professionals as opposed to DIY. I used to do all the oil changes on our other cars years ago, so it looks simple for the mondeo too. I'm wondering in terms of the fuel filter - is that DIY-able? I also changed spark plugs, I'm assuming it's roughly the same procedure. Is coolant change something best left to the garage?

Kencollins

Hi,

The wife had one of these up until very recently. The maintainance on them was really simple to do!

Oil change is very easy. You do need a hex thing though, as it is a paper insert instead of the replaceable one.

Air filter is a screw out job, again very easy!

The brakes are disks all round, so nothing too complicated! The back brakes need a rewind tool to screw in the pistons, I got my set for 20 euro on ebay.

If you want to change the brake fluid I would reccomend the "Gunson Easi-bleed" tool. Its a fantastic piece of kit and the standard caps fit the mondeo.

As far as I know the fuel filter on this car is on the driver side rear, just beside the fuel tank. The hoses have built in clips that you just wedge with a screwdriver to remove. There are no fiddly clamps or anyting like that so its a really simple job.

The drive belt is also really simple thanks to the automatic tensioner. A breaker bar and socket on the tensioner bolt is all that you need, then slip the old one off and the new one on! The tensioner on these cars is prone to failure though. Any slapping or tapping noises on these cars should be investigated. The tensioner pully becomes faulty and causes play in the belt. This will in turn damage the other pulleys, so watch out for it!

The spark plugs specified for the mondeo are long life platnum ones. As far as I remember they are good up to about 60k. They are a little bit expensive to replace but worth the money!

The haynes manual for this car is really good for the fiddley bits. It was a real help when I was changing the door lock on the passenger side.

If you have the right tools then you shouldn't really have much trouble. A good ratchet set, a power bar or two, some pliers and grips, decent screwdrivers, and a trolley jack and axle stands.

Kencollins

As for the spark plugs, its a real simple affair again! One out, one in. Just don't mix up the leads as i'm not sure they are marked in the mondeo.

A 3/8 inch torque wrench would be your friend here to get the right tightness, but the "contact + 90 degrees" would see you right too. Just screw in the plugs until you feel them making contact, then go another quarter turn.

The coolant is a simple change too. Ford have 10 year coolant in the car as standard, but if you cant tell if more has been added then you better replace it. There is a screw valve on the bottom right (as viewed from behind!) of the rad. Just open it and drain out. Make sure the resevoir cap is open though.

Then refill....start the engine and rev to 4000 for a few seconds...then refill again. Let the engine heat till operating temp is reached, then refill if the level drops once the radiator valve has opened!

johnnyleitrim

Thanks Kencollins, that's great information! Good to hear that the maintenance is easy on the Mondeo - it's one of the reason I bought it, but just never got around to it

mondeoman2

johnnyleitrim wrote: »

Thanks Kencollins, that's great information! Good to hear that the maintenance is easy on the Mondeo - it's one of the reason I bought it, but just never got around to it

These engines have a Timing Chain so no worries in that department;)