project Early Mondeo Saloon Saved From The Scrapman.

[bunglebus]

On 6/10/2020 at 5:42 PM, Slowsilver said:

Boiled linseed oil is your friend. 

I remembered you mentioning this so I bought some - it's amazing!

[egg]

@Slowsilver - nice in depth look at the Zetec engine here just uploaded, you might like to watch - as it has quite a good break down of cambelt change process

 

[sierraman]

Nice easy job those belts. 

[warren t claim]

7 hours ago, sierraman said:

Nice easy job those belts. 

Someone not a million miles away called Warren used to rent these out as taxis. One day to save money he decided to pick up the spanners and do a cambelt change himself to save money. All went well, the belt was changed and young Warren surveyed the two litre Zetec lump to bask in his mechanical ability. He hopped into the Mondeo and turned the key only to be greeted by it being locked solid. Yes, some dickhead had forgot to remove the camlock tool from the engine! Somewhat surprisingly the hardy Zetec engine survived the hamfisted bodgery.

[Slowsilver]

When I fixed the rusted handbrake ratchet, as detailed previously, which involves removal of the complete centre console, I didn't think to check if the warning light worked. After completely refitting the entire console some time ago I finally got round to testing this and, surprise, surprise, it didn't work. So the whole console had to come out again. Much easier the second time though as I knew what to do.
As expected the damp interior had caused the switch contacts to go rusty. The switch is a spring-loaded plunger with a steel washer riveted on to the end of it which runs up and down a plastic tube in the housing. When sprung upwards it (should) connect to the edges of two steel plates, one of which has a spade terminal for a wire on it and the other is earthed to the car via the switch mounting screw. When the handbrake lever is lowered the plunger is depressed (so depressed!) and the washer moves down away from the contacts and breaks the circuit, turning the warning light out. Why do they make electrical contacts from steel when they know it will go rusty, instead of copper or brass?
The contacts are hidden behind the washer inside the tube so it is impossible to get at them to clean them up. Online investigations show that the Mark 1 switch is different to all the later models, which are a different shape and appear to have two terminals Naturally they are also unobtainium. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained and the switch is scrap otherwise, so let's saw the head off the plunger to dismantle it. Now I can access the underside of the washer and the contact surfaces previously hidden by it. These were cleaned up using a very small grindstone on the Dremel then liberally coated in petroleum jelly to (hopefully) prevent any further corrosion.
Now I needed a replacement for the sawn-off plunger. A time-consuming hunt through my large collection of nuts and bolts eventually produced an M2.5 x 30mm bolt, which closely matched the size of the original plunger, and two matching nuts. The switch was reassembled and tested on the bench, then fitted back on the car, only to find that when the handbrake was released it just touched the head of the screw but didn't depress it enough to disconnect the contacts. This is now getting tedious!
Rechecking on the bench revealed that because the screw needed a nut on the end to secure it the plunger was sitting about 3mm lower than before. Bugger! Further hunting through the bolt and nut stash finally unearthed a slightly longer M2.5 x 35mm bolt, so the switch was dismantled again and the longer screw fitted. Back on the car and this time, yay, we have a working warning light.
This sort of job is very time-consuming and certainly would not be worth doing if the labour had to be paid for, but I find it challenging and rewarding to work out how to fix these types of things and then succeed in doing so, particularly if, like this one, it can also be done at no cost.
Now all I need to do is replace the centre console (again).
 

[greengartside]

I’ve spotted this K-plate 2.0i Ghia on Flickr.

That rocks my socks. A sad shame it’s ended up like this though. I think it’s been sat there at least 15 years so it’s probably OMG ROTEN underneath. Autoshite crowdfund save, anyone?

[spartacus]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182984178364

I wouldn't normally suggest that somebody gives in on fixing something like ABS, but the item above, or similar, would allow you to get an MOT, then you could drive it and it's may fix itself, or you just accept the ABS doesn't work.

[sierraman]

On the later ones you used to just prise the coin holder thing out and blast it with contact cleaner. 99% of the time this resumed service. 

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, greengartside said:

I’ve spotted this K-plate 2.0i Ghia on Flickr.

That rocks my socks. A sad shame it’s ended up like this though. I think it’s been sat there at least 15 years so it’s probably OMG ROTEN underneath. Autoshite crowdfund save, anyone?

Surprised it’s not been banger raced yet. A 2.0 four door Mondeo that’s the dream for most banger racers!

[egg]

@greengartside that's a March registered car, do you know the build date please?

[greengartside]

6 hours ago, egg said:

@greengartside that's a March registered car, do you know the build date please?

1st February 1993.

[warren t claim]

So many memories! 

With regards to taxi usage, the Mk1 had the slight advantage over the Mk2 due to the fitment of a smaller stereo meaning the standard issue Tait two way radio would fit nicely under Ford unit in the handy cubby hole. This meant that we didn't have to drill holes into the drivers side of the centre console to mount a cage for the two way to fit into which also robbed driver's leg room. They were still a twat to wire in though due to the placement of any grommets on the bulkhead meaning pushing wires through to the battery was a nightmare. Obviously you heros would wire a permanent live from the fusebox but in real life sets were ripped out and launched at the taxi operator/owner at short notice meaning the necessity to hastily fit a new radio from the company down the road.

[warren t claim]

Now I'm certain that I've never mentioned this particular Mk1 Mondeo either on here or in my continued taxi tales on the dark wob because I've only just remembered it after 15 years or so. 

The thing is I can't even remember whether I owned, rented or long term borrowed this Mk1 but I do remember that it's the only Mondeo I actually managed to kill. All I remember is that it was a 5 door Mk1 2.0 si in a fetching shade of dark metallic grey. To be honest it didn't feel any quicker than the standard two litre LXs I had but the sports seats were nice and it did look good although for a sports model it didn't feel that much more sporty. IIRC I had my suspicions about the head gasket from day one and within a few weeks it dutifully shat itself in a posh part of Wirral. What the fuck I did with it I really don't know but even then I knew that it was a pretty rare beast and part of me wanted it to be saved and stored somewhere. That's high praise from me who rolled and set fire to a Mk2 Escort RS1800 when he was 18 without too many regrets at the time.

[sierraman]

Close ratio French spec box in the Mk1 2.0 Si. 

[406V6]

In case you haven't seen it already, some useful diagnostics here:

https://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php/Handbrake_And_ABS_Warning_Light_Troubleshooting#The_ABS_Light_Stays_On

[warren t claim]

12 hours ago, sierraman said:

Close ratio French spec box in the Mk1 2.0 Si. 

I don't recall it buzzing its tits off at motorway speeds? Or being any less economical either.

[Slowsilver]

Thought I ought to have a go at the paintwork on the roof before the weather gets worse.

Before:

Rubbed down with some 400 W&D and roughly masked up:

Used about 1 1/2 aerosol cans of lovely Cayman Blue.

After:

Didn't realise this had come out all potatocam until I uploaded it. Doesn't look too bad in the metal now. Hasn't covered too well in the centre at the back but at least it is now roughly all the same colour. Would benefit from a polish then some lacquer but it will do for now.
 

[beko1987]

Itll stop annoying surface rust on the roof over winter at least! 

Plus in my recent painting learnings a good coat of clear hides all sorts of evils... 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

if you're gonna clearcoat it use that 'ProXL' lacquer in a blue tin, its about £12-14 a can off ebay but is shits all over any other aerosol lacquer, its magic stuff

[Slowsilver]

Car went for MoT test this afternoon courtesy of @Six-cylinder. Because he is insured to drive it and it didn't need tax to drive to a pre-booked MoT this could actually be done legally. I know it needs a new set of tyres but didn't want to spend out on these untl I knew what else needed doing. The results were as follows:

 

Nothing terminal. Bit disappointed about not being able to do the emissions test because the noise wasn't there previously. Started it up this morning and left it ticking over to warm it up. Initially it was fine but after about five minutes the noise started. Using my stethoscope I could tell it was coming from the cambelt area but it was too late to do anything about it. The noise got progressively louder on the way to the MoT and even more so on the way home. But we got it home again and nothing broke. It sounds like a dry bearing so I suspect it is probably either the water pump or the cam belt tensioner pulley. I was intending to replace the cam belt anyway once it had an MoT but it looks like I need to investigate this before I run it any more.
The front wishbone bushes appear to be available on ebay for £notmuch and don't look too bad to do according to the HBOL. Anyone know otherwise?
Not sure about front brake fluctuation. Apparently the brake effort is even on both sides but the pedal pulsates. Warped disc? So maybe new discs and pads anyway. Or maybe something to do with the ABS (I hope not).
If I can do all these jobs successfully I will then replace all four tyres and resubmit it.
The trouble now is that the weather is getting colder and I don't work too well in the cold. Even in a heated garage the car, its parts and the tools are all so cold that my hands give up after about 10 minutes.
So do I grin and bear it, leave it festering in the drive for six months until the weather gets warmer or move it on?
 

 

[sierraman]

Bottom arms are dead easy on these. The gearbox side bolt won’t come out unless you drop the subframe a bit, what I’d do is twat it out, cut the top of the bolt off and reinstall the bolt upwards so the nyloc nut is on the top. Avoid at all costs disturbing the subframe bolts, very likely at that age the captive nuts will shear so you’ll be cutting holes in the floor to lock the loose nut. 

Avoid the really cheap arms they won’t last a year. 

Oil leak will probably be the pressure sensor on the back of the engine. 

Timing belt noise will be the top idler on the belt, drive it for much longer and it will chuck the belt off. The belt itself rarely fails, it’s a nice thick belt, the tensioner seizes 99% of the time. Not a difficult job to do, you’ll just need the locking tool to slot in the camshafts and the correct pin to hold the crank web. Use a windy gun and you’ll not need to fuck about taking the starter motor out. Belt kit is probably £40-60. 

 

[hairnet]

wang some brakes on it - wont hurt

 

[Andyrew]

Id guess the brakes fluctuation will be from the pads having stuck to the discs. 

Might be able to clean them up with some abrasives. 

 

 

[egg]

Not too bad!

Cambelt kit still available if needed.

When my lower front arms were changed, it went bolt upwards and mechanic wisely (as noted) left the sub-frame alone (although it will have to be dropped one day on mine for the clutch).

As Sierraman says, probably the idler - but it could be the water pump, my GLX had a very noisy pump and threw the Aux belt with @RobT behind me in his old 626. 

My Mondeo's emissions are always a bit close to the mark, so maybe give it an Italian tune up before it goes in again.

[Six-cylinder]

My treat for today was to drive the Mondeo and I like it a lot.

I was also chauffeured in the Maxi, to make it an interesting day before we are down to essential journeys only from tomorrow.

[Minimad5]

Since the car doesn't owe you much, is it worth paying someone to do the jobs you can't / won't be able to do ?

After the MOT snag list you're guaranteed a Pass, so you can then enjoy wafting about in all the Ghia Glory 😎

[sutty2006]

Not a bad result there! 

[beko1987]

Can't help but think an afternoon sliding it gently around the fod once all issues have been fixed will be a great way to fix the little foibles. 

I'm game for a spannering session at yours oneekend if it's a weekend I haven't got the kids, if it wasn't illegal (and piss all actual help as I couldn't get close enough to help with anything involving 2 people...) 

Guess you could put it in the garage to do the belt nose first. Wang a heater in there for the day, 2 pointing at your hands... (probably cost as much in electric as just farming it out). Tyres are tyres, can't imagine average 3.5 star rated death rings being too much and your done! 

Wishbone though, gah. Lots of being on the floor involved there... 

[beko1987]

37 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

My treat for today was to drive Mondeo and I like it a lot.

I was also chauffeured in the Maxi, to make it an interesting day before we are down to essential journeys only from tomorrow.

I can see a mondeo suiting you. I guess their not cheap disposable cars as they once were, their either utterly fucked m8 or £££. Nice mid 90s 2.0i auto would suit you down to the ground 

[egg]

No rust alerts, so very much worth saving now, even 2 years ago might have been different. But only 1000 on the road now (they sold 394,000 in the UK I think originally!)