AS Communal MK4&5 Mondeo Thread

[grogee]

Interloper here with Focus 2.0 TDCi. What do I have to look forward to in terms of engine issues (my PowerShit issues are documented in a separate thread).

I had a MK3 Mondeo 2.0 dizzle a while ago and it was reasonably well behaved but I did service the living daylights out of it. In fact the only thing I can remember was noisy aux belt caused by shagged crank pulley. Do the newer ones do this?

I'm assuming I have lots of DPF fun to look forward to. My route to work can involve a 20min stretch of motorway so I'm thinking if I do that once a week it might get the hint and do a regen.

 

[billy_bunter]

Took the car to Ford today and they cannot reset the BCM. So the car still thinks all doors, bonnet and tailgate are open all the time. Looks like I need a new BCM (£650 inc VAT) for the car and someone who knows their way around forscan to program it in.

[warren t claim]

31 minutes ago, billy_bunter said:

Took the car to Ford today and they cannot reset the BCM. So the car still thinks all doors, bonnet and tailgate are open all the time. Looks like I need a new BCM (£650 inc VAT) for the car and someone who knows their way around forscan to program it in.

Maybe they didn't try? 

[Cord Fourteener]

So I don't think there's anything wrong with the dpf and it's regen bits and bobs, and the radiator flaps look OK. I think its the boost control solenoid that's starting to very slowly loose the plot. Its mostly fine but very occasionally it will cause an error or errors that will turn the light on. 

I'm no expert but from what I understand if the turbo vanes and the boost control are popping codes is usually the boost control solenoid. 

[Cookiesouwest]

1 hour ago, Cord Fourteener said:

So I don't think there's anything wrong with the dpf and it's regen bits and bobs, and the radiator flaps look OK. I think its the boost control solenoid that's starting to very slowly loose the plot. Its mostly fine but very occasionally it will cause an error or errors that will turn the light on. 

I'm no expert but from what I understand if the turbo vanes and the boost control are popping codes is usually the boost control solenoid. 

Is replacing the solenoid an easy ish job?

[Dave_Q]

Check all the hoses first, generally a solenoid is either working or not.

If it was completely dead you would probably be in limp mode permanently.

If one or more vac hoses is leaking it could work some of the time but not others.

It could also be related to the failures to regen as I'm sure the turbo will be used to increase exhaust temperature to make it regen.

[wuvvum]

5 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Is replacing the solenoid an easy ish job?

Yep.  It's on top of the engine, held on by two bolts.

[Cord Fourteener]

6 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

Check all the hoses first, generally a solenoid is either working or not.

If it was completely dead you would probably be in limp mode permanently.

If one or more vac hoses is leaking it could work some of the time but not others.

It could also be related to the failures to regen as I'm sure the turbo will be used to increase exhaust temperature to make it regen.

The garage did a vacuum test and replaced a vacuum hose already, not sure if they might have missed one or another might be starting to get worse. 

[Dave_Q]

On a diesel the vaccuum comes from a pump as you have no throttle to generate it.

That pump typically goes to some sort of valve block which then distributes it to all the things that use it - turbo, EGR, swirl flaps if you have them, probably others.

The leak might not be on the turbo hose but it can give turbo control faults as it's all linked. I had a C8 with the 2.2HDI which I think is pretty similar to the Mondingo engine and I got some turbo control fault codes when the actual problem was a split diaphragm on the swirl flap actuator.

As hose is so cheap compared to other kinds of parts darts it's definitely worth checking all the vac hoses and replacing any that look suspect.

Your actuator might be worth replacing if it's cheap and easy but it might not make a difference.

[Cord Fourteener]

13 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

On a diesel the vaccuum comes from a pump as you have no throttle to generate it.

That pump typically goes to some sort of valve block which then distributes it to all the things that use it - turbo, EGR, swirl flaps if you have them, probably others.

The leak might not be on the turbo hose but it can give turbo control faults as it's all linked. I had a C8 with the 2.2HDI which I think is pretty similar to the Mondingo engine and I got some turbo control fault codes when the actual problem was a split diaphragm on the swirl flap actuator.

As hose is so cheap compared to other kinds of parts darts it's definitely worth checking all the vac hoses and replacing any that look suspect.

Your actuator might be worth replacing if it's cheap and easy but it might not make a difference.

Yes OK, that seems sensible, I'll check hoses for sure 👍 

[Cord Fourteener]

Unusually the hatchback is on top form, no lights on the dash this week, it seems. 

When it's on top form it's really good, and I drove it today and it's definitely much quicker at responding and giving lots of power than the estate. 

Given that the estate is working mechanically very well but is noticeably slower, the question is begged; has it been remapped in the past or is my estate missing something?

[warren t claim]

37 minutes ago, Cord Fourteener said:

Unusually the hatchback is on top form, no lights on the dash this week, it seems. 

When it's on top form it's really good, and I drove it today and it's definitely much quicker at responding and giving lots of power than the estate. 

Given that the estate is working mechanically very well but is noticeably slower, the question is begged; has it been remapped in the past or is my estate missing something?

If yours is the 2.0D fitted to the Mk1a I may be able to offer an educated reply.

Despite being the same engine, some were a lot more powerful and economical than others. My 09 plate 2.0 Ghia estate was markedly slower than my 57 plate 2.0 Zetec.  Both were within 20,000 miles of each other. The Zetec would put 134MPH on the (doubtlessly optimistic) speedo yet the Ghia was out of puff at 124MPH.

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, warren t claim said:

If yours is the 2.0D fitted to the Mk1a I may be able to offer an educated reply.

Despite being the same engine, some were a lot more powerful and economical than others. My 09 plate 2.0 Ghia estate was markedly slower than my 57 plate 2.0 Zetec.  Both were within 20,000 miles of each other. The Zetec would put 134MPH on the (doubtlessly optimistic) speedo yet the Ghia was out of puff at 124MPH.

I take that, it may be factory differences but they are both '08 of the same model year. The hatchback spools up quickly, the estate takes a breath or two then spools up and gives good power.

Actually the time from off power and demanding power to being on full boost is the same but the instant power during spool-up on the hatchback is more than the estate, to the point that between gear changes there's a moment of deceleration before boost comes in with the estate. 

In other words, when you ask for power you get more instantly in the hatchback which makes it feel more lively, whether or not the maximum amount of horses crammed under the bonnet is the same, that number being notoriously hard to judge by feels alone. Both are capable of accelerating up hills in high gears so the estate is not lacking power, it's just the way they respond instantly is very different. 

Does that make anything more clear or does that all make me sound like an illiterate buffoon? I'll take either. 

I think, as a present to myself, I might look into a remap for the estate as I feel it will bring out the best in the car. OK i might break stuff but I'm not a right foot heavy driver, I just like knowing there's instant torque if I want it. Again, blame the Passat for that. 

[Cord Fourteener]

In case anyone thinks I'm moaning, I'm not, it's an interesting  observation given the two cars are pretty much meant to be identical mechanically  of the same model year etc etc, only difference being the toys and the rear body shape. Both are doing their jobs well.

 

[warren t claim]

5 minutes ago, Cord Fourteener said:

In case anyone thinks I'm moaning, I'm not, it's an interesting  observation given the two cars are pretty much meant to be identical mechanically  of the same model year etc etc, only difference being the toys and the rear body shape. Both are doing their jobs well.

 

The Ghia felt like the Zetec did with a passenger in.

[Cord Fourteener]

6 hours ago, warren t claim said:

The Ghia felt like the Zetec did with a passenger in.

Yes could be that here i suppose

[sierraman]

Remap on a 100,000 mile 10 year old diesel...

 

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Remap on a 100,000 mile 10 year old diesel...

 

I know, but I'm needing a bit of clout every now and again... call me short sighted and foolish. 

Anyway I'm still chewing the idea, no commitment yet. 

[mat_the_cat]

14 hours ago, sierraman said:

Remap on a 100,000 mile 10 year old diesel...

Nearly double that!

[Fraz]

I remapped mine at 90k…

 

made a big difference. Cost £180. Was very happy. 

[junkyarddog]

Some of the mk4 taxi fleet that Alan Howatt looks after on you tube has over 400k on them,and most taxi drivers aren't exactly known for their mechanical sympathy. 

I don't think a remap is going to suddenly make one go bang 🙄

Curious to find out though mind you.....😂

 

[Fraz]

It’s good for doing wheelies and burnouts 🤪

[sierraman]

I don’t know, to my mind increasing the power at this stage it’s just adding strain to already tired components, the clutch and flywheel, Turbo, injectors. I wouldn’t take much comfort from the people remapping it either, not that many actually know what they are doing, frequently when it turns to shit they’ll not be about. 

[Barry Cade]

4 hours ago, sierraman said:

I don’t know, to my mind increasing the power at this stage it’s just adding strain to already tired components, the clutch and flywheel, Turbo, injectors. I wouldn’t take much comfort from the people remapping it either, not that many actually know what they are doing, frequently when it turns to shit they’ll not be about. 

I've thought about a Bluefin on my Focus, just turned 100k.. I feel the same about remapping, and its already 163 BHP, but having driven a chipped one, it is tempting!

[Fraz]

I mean. There’s no getting round the fact that a remap will raise boost pressures, torque and BHP so undoubtedly there’s faster wear to some parts… 

 

However in my opinion 100k is literally nothing for a car, and there’s no way of producing any kind of figure as to how quickly things will die in comparison to non mapped cars.

 

As for who maps the cars I can tell you it does and it doesn’t make a difference. 
 

I’ve worked for companies who offer very expensive remapping services with a very reputable name. The person mapping couldn’t make his own fecking cup of tea but they can click a button and map a car. 
 

I looked around and looked at reviews and asked questions. The lad who mapped my mondeo (mobile) uses a very reputable tuner down south. He takes a copy of your standard map and mails it to him. The tuner then looks at the map, fires on an off the shelf remap and tweaks it to work better with your car. He then mails it back and on it goes to your car.  I had a minor issue afterwards which transpired to be my own fault when replacing the fuel filter. But the mapper was all over it, offering advice and help until I realised my stupid mistake. 
 

I would absolutely 100% use the guy again and assuming the cars healthy would map a car at any mileage. 

[Fraz]

Mines a 163bhp model mapped to an alleged 190bhp. Big difference. 

[sierraman]

I know I’ve mocked the petrol of these for being slow and thirsty but some of the prices asked for the diesels are beyond the pale. £1700 near me for a 253k ex taxi. Fuck that. 

The petrols seem to have done much much less miles and are relatively unwanted. Several hundred quid buys a lot of unleaded. I think I was lucky with mine 2 years ago, £1200 plus a DMF change (£700 ouch....) and it’s only on 105k. You’d be looking thick end of £2,500 to £3k on that now for one with the DMF and belt done. The 1.8 are cheap if you can stomach a day long wet belt change and shorter DMF life. 

[warren t claim]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:18 AM, sierraman said:

I know I’ve mocked the petrol of these for being slow and thirsty but some of the prices asked for the diesels are beyond the pale. £1700 near me for a 253k ex taxi. Fuck that. 

The petrols seem to have done much much less miles and are relatively unwanted. Several hundred quid buys a lot of unleaded. I think I was lucky with mine 2 years ago, £1200 plus a DMF change (£700 ouch....) and it’s only on 105k. You’d be looking thick end of £2,500 to £3k on that now for one with the DMF and belt done. The 1.8 are cheap if you can stomach a day long wet belt change and shorter DMF life. 

I've never noticed a ahorter DMF life with the 1.8 D. The five speeders take well to a solid conversion too.

[sierraman]

4 hours ago, warren t claim said:

I've never noticed a ahorter DMF life with the 1.8 D. The five speeders take well to a solid conversion too.

I’ve driven a 2.0 with an SMF, it was awful. I can’t imagine it’s worth fitting a SMF on a Mondeo Mk4 these days, I mean how longs a DMF last? 100,000? 140,000? That’ll see 99% of them out. 

[Dead_E23]

I have two Mondeos with 2.0 Duratec petrol engines and they don't give much trouble at all. Even though the fuel economy is a bit shit, I don't do enough miles for that to be a big problem.  Not having a DPF or DMF to worry about makes up for it too.

The mk3 feels livelier than the mk4, but it has a different inlet manifold and isn't ULEZ compliant.