Well,Ive had this motor for a wee while now,& all I can say about the mondeo mk3 130 is:Biggest pile of poo Ive ever owned!
Had a drive in another 2 mondeo's & CANNOT believe how bad these gearboxes are.Jesus FORD!!! Guy up the rd from me is selling his ST for a fraction of what he wanted for it originally,as he thinks the same thing. Asked him about his gearbox,& he said "yeah,they're not smooth at all eh,thats the main reason I'm getting shot of it.Comfy enough to drive but everything is just crap on em."
Cannot believe how many are on the roads as well.
If any Mondeo driver ever had a go in a VW,Audi,Merc,they'd die wi their feet up,the difference is shocking.My MK5 Golf,& passat(AND 406HDi!!),would drive like a dream compared to these.I'm amazed at just how bad they are. Steering on em is an issue regarding a lot o folk including me,having a slight pull to left/right,even after 4 wheel tracking etc done. Unbelieveably,even the manager at Arnold Clark in Dundee said theywere crap lol. At the time I thought "how can a ford dealer manager say that about his own company's make?" But he's right though.
Cant wait to get rid o this heap.Not a blemish on it too.Looks good but that is about the size of it.
So,in essence, anyone thinking of buying a Mondeo MK3 TDCi,my advice is DONT!! RUN like the wind in the other direction & never look back. Buy a Vauxhall or anything. But if you dont mind a notchy gearbox(especially when they're cold),slow as hell at low revs until the turbo kicks in, frozen rear brake callipers,subframe bushes that dont last long etc,DMF issues that cost a bloody fortune,then you'll love them.I wish I was told all this before I bought one