Hi all,

I've just bought a 2004 (04 plate) Mondeo Zetec-S TDCi 130 6spd. The car has done 69,000 miles and I have a question regarding the temperature gauge.

When I test drove the car initially for about 20 minutes the temperature gauge didn't move at all. On the advice of one of the forum posts here I performed the dashboard gauge test (hold trip computer reset button in when turning ignition on). The gauges all did their "swoop" correctly (including the temperature gauge) and from then on the temperature gauge stayed exactly in the middle.

I've noticed that the temperature gauge often takes up to half an hour of driving to reach the middle of the gauge and it will often then sink to the colder end of the gauge if the car is being driven more slowly etc.

According to the dashboard computer I'm averaging 36.9mpg and an estimate range of a full tank of diesel is 530 miles. 36.9mpg seems a bit rubbish for a 2 litre diesel. Is it?

FYI, it has been cold lately (the car has mostly registered between -2 and 4 degrees centigrade outside).

I've heard other stories regarding the temperature sensors needing replacing. Is this where I should look next?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Adam

 

Sounds a bit like a thermostat jammed open.
Check the radiator on cold start. Does it warm up slowly right after starting the engine?

 

Mine is 115 version and 50mpg 650 per tank !

 

The TDCI has a pair of thermostats the regular water thermostat and what's called the 'oil cooler' thermostat. Both affect the water temps, and ideally you need to replace both at the same time.

It's definitely wise to replace both, and also to get them from Ford (many owners have had issues with non OE thermostats).

The TDCi will always be sluggish to warm up (diesels are more thermally efficient than petrols, so waste less heat) but 30 mins is taking the piss.

I would be very surprised if swapping the 'stats didn't dramatically improve your warm up times.

Around 40mpg is fair game for a TDCI if you drive it fairly enthusiastically. Ignore the in car mpg-ometer though, as they overestimate by as much as 5mpg.

 

Wow! Thank you all for the rapid and very knowledgable replies!

I left work and drove for about 15 minutes through assorted town-like traffic (stop/start, a short burst but no motorway) and pulled over. The temp gauge is still about 1mm below the lowest mark (60 degrees) and the radiator (assuming like most radiators is at the front of tge engine and has a fan mounted behind it(!)) is lukewarm at best.

DanW, I'll get those two 'stats replaced as a matter of course I think as they sound like a bit of a weak spot.

Many thanks again all for the responses and help, I'll update this once the 'stats are replaced.

Adam

 

It's not uncommon for the TDCi to only warm up when it's 'under load, i.e when you're going uphill or accelerating swiftly. I live on a hill and the needle barely budges until I go up a big hill on the way to work. And drops down a touch if I coast downhill.

Swap the 'stats, chuck some new coolant in and also consider a new fuel filter as that's a very wise move if you've recently purchased a diesel Mondeo.

 

make sure you do a motorway run at least 2 x a month just to give it a good run find that without this the mpg get lower and lower i gone from 55mpg motorway to 35-40 mpg on the mondeo gauge

 

wow, i have a 53 plate 130ps mondeo too with exactly the same temp gauge problem, mine tends to work when its been moving for a bit.

as for the trip clock mine is showing 38.9mpg and ive worked it out with how much diesel to how many miles and it works out pretty much spot on (38.6mpg according to my calculations), many people have told me that the in car gauge misreads but mine seems to work spot on.

 

I sit next to the Op at work and he will defo give it a blast a few times a month lol.

Ade get them stats changed over - give me a shout when you in next and we can pop over to local ford stealer for the bits

 

Just noticed this thread and i am going to look at 1 of these tomorrow

It's a high miler as ex company car but has had clutch and injectors in the past etc

Are these diesels good for high mileage if looked after? this 1 is on 160k and has stacks of receipts i am told

Also realistically what miles to a tank is likely with around town driving and how much are they to fill up? i have a 1.8 petrol mondy right now and £75 only gets around 320 miles which is no good for me

Thanks
Marc

 

Hi all,

Quick update.

Having owned the car for about a month and covering about 1500 miles I finally took it into a main dealer to have the following done:

• Major service (I actually booked a minor but that's another story) which included oil change, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter & pollen filter
• Water thermostat replacement
• "Oil cooler" thermostat replacement

The temperature gauge now begins moving within about 5 minutes of regular driving and reaches the middle of the gauge (normal reading) within about 10 to 15 minutes.


The fuel economy (according to the computer) now averages between 39 and 44 mpg.


Thank you for everybody's assistance with this, but alas, I need some more help so please read on...

 

9am: Drove the car the 30 mile / 1 hour journey to the dealership near my work. All fine in terms of driveability...

14:30: Advised the job is complete (including eye-watering bill)

17:30: Here goes....

• Collected the car from the main dealer. Hopped in, checked it was in neutral before starting the engine (like all people should! )
• Gearstick feels like a spoon stuck in jelly. I've no idea if it's in neutral or not tbh but decided it must be.
• Started engine (after it cranking for 4/5 seconds)
• Put car into 1st gear and somehow selected reverse instead (reverse is push the stick hard left and then forwards as I'm sure you guys know). Anyway, 1st gear (for want of a better description) seems to have "moved" slightly.

So I tried the other gears once I'd rediscovered 1st gear. 2nd and 3rd are relatively easy once you've found 1st. 4th is a bit tough to get into and seems as though it was more to the left in position than it used to be. 5th is a bit stiff and 6th is like pulling a spoon through tar. Selecting 6th actually feels like I'm trying to move the gearstick through the plastic surround/centre console.

I went back in and spoke to the Service Manager as all the techs had gone home. I spoke with them again today and although they're happy to have the car back in on Monday for a check their simple response was, quote, "It's not anything we've done as the service doesn't do anything with the gearbox. We'll have a look on Monday but if we don't find anything we'll probably have to strip the gearbox and we'll need your authorisation to do that."

I really get the impression these guys couldn't give a toss. Does anybody have any thoughts on what this issue may be or things I should ask?

Sorry for the long post!

Many thanks,

Adam

 

Like fuck will they have to strip the gearbox. It's almost certainly a linkage issue.

Your first mistake was taking it to a main dealer.

Does it do it all the time, or just when it's cold?

I'd get them to check the linkage as long as they agree to do it for free - you drove the car in there fine, and now it's not. Failing that I'd take it to a reliable independent who will fix rather than just replace.

In the mean time pop the gearlever gaiter off (squeeze the sides and it should pop out easily) and have a look while you're changing gears - make sure the white plastic bits are well greased up and just check that it all looks as it should. It is possible to adjust the linkage at the gearbox end, and it's easy to do it too far and 'loose' a couple of gears, so I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself.

 

I did warn him

 

Dan, you're a legend mate. At the very least your reply has made me laugh aloud, plus alleviated some of the pain in my wallet and arse from this whole fricken adventure.

Yup...I foolishly thought that by taking the car to the official place entrusted, and indeed appointed, by its manufacturer that I would receive a stirling service from its band of highly trained, courteous and caring staff.... I feel so dirty, used and cheated!

Anyway, back to the info...
The problem occurs whether the car is hot or cold if that helps. Earlier Captain Charisma (he heads up the dealership's "service" department) did mention that they would check the linkages on Monday before returning to his "we may have to strip the box" routine.

It's a shame, as the bloke who mans the Parts Department is polite, knowledgeable and very organised. Shame that whenever I deal with the two guys on the service team I can't help but hear "Thunder and Blazes" in the back of my head!!!!

I'll try the idea you mentioned. Thank you very much again for your help. This is one of the most helpful car forums I've used!

 

Ha, glad to be of service.

It's potentially good news that it does it hot or cold, as many internal issues change with temperature, whereas linkage issues are there regardless of temp.

The problem with main dealers is that they'll always replace rather than repair as it's quicker than doing a proper diagnosis, easier, and much, much more profitable.

I was told by one dealer (who I only went to for a diagnosis, not actual work) insisted that the turbo needed replacing, and that they could do it for a mere £1200 plus VAT!!!! Turned out the turbo was mint, and it was the injectors that were kaput.

Good luck with your dealer, and don't dare let them near the gearbox internals. I'd also consider getting them to tell you what it is, then take the car to get it fixed elsewhere.

 

dan w is the man when it comes to mondeo's, he's helped me out in the past, a good man
sorry to hear aout your troubles

 

i removed my gearstick gaiter recently and did not put it back together correctly and had a similar problem, after putting back together again with white plastic peice in correct possition and the spring the right way up it was ok again

 

i have mondeo st tdci and the outside temperature light comes on and the gauge tells me its anything down to -9 outside regardless of weather conditions, has only started doing this since the battery has been disconnected, could anyone help me on this please

 

Hi all,

Happy days!

The Mondeo is back, and with a fully working (and very smooth!) gearbox again!

A strange one this. I pulled the gaiter up on Friday night and had a good look around beneath. All visually seemed good enough, although the black plastic "ball joint" on the end of the gear lever could have debatably needed more grease (a thick pink "gloop") on it. No obstructions from what I saw but the gear changes were still as described above.

A fair bit down in this cavern was a red light on the end of a power adapter (looked like one of those 12v ones you stick in the fag lighter socket). Didn't think anything of it so arranged for a mate of a mate to look at it today in his garage.

Turned out that this power adapter was the other end of the Tom Tom (other SatNavs are available! ) lead that pokes out of the dashboard and had been there since I bought the car.

The lead from the power adapter had somehow got loose and was restricting the gear linkages at the gearbox end.

Anyway, about a half hour later and a tenner for some beers and it was fixed. Nice one to R4N S S for putting me onto his mate Geoff (GL Autos in Iver) who took time out from building superfast Cossies to fix my Mondeo!

Tonnes of kudos and thanks to Dan at Fast Ford too who has really helped me out on this, not to mention invaluable help from other members of the forum.

And a big fat moonie to SMC Ford of Datchet for being an incompetent and uncaring bunch of pricks! Sorry but that had to be mentioned. I don't know if the problem happened whilst the car was in the care of Ford but it is rather a coincidence. No way of proving it either way but what I can prove is the attitude and competence of their service dept has been disgusting! The car will never be going back there!

Back to the good news: Tomorrow it's being remapped by Remaps UK (using a Vizeo map). I'll let you all know how it goes!

Thanks again all!

 

Haha, awesome, and not a little unexpected news there!

Let us know how you get on with the remap!! I'm constantly tempted to do mine, I just don't want to hasten the clutch's demise!

 

Geoff aint been building superfast cossie - just looking at them half built

 

Hi all,

Moving on from my last post, Remaps UK sent one of their reps to remap the Mondeo. It was done by Flash Remapping (www.flashremapping.co.uk) and was a Viezu performance remap taking the car to approx 160bhp and a bit shy of 300lb/ft.

A very good mobile job was done which took about an hour and a half and cost around £300. Drove the car afterwards and it was a fair bit quicker. When the rest of the car is working it's a HELL of a lot quicker! Read on!

If you are going to have a remap done I would definitely advise you get silicon hoses fitted to the turbo system to replace the total tat that Ford fitted as standard (6 hoses if you don't do the one from airbox to turbo). Pretty sure the extra performance helped shred a number of the hoses. Now I've had the silicon hoses from Forge Motorsport fitted the difference in performance from the remap is seriously noticable. The car (for its meagre spec of 2.0TDCi) goes like the clappers!

The pipes were fitted (along with new rear anti-roll bar bits) by Shayne from Alverstone Autos in Worthing. Top service and a good price btw.

All in all Dan, I would definitely get the remap done, but make sure the pipework is also upgraded. I am also now expecting the DMF and clutch to disintegrate at some point as it's already knocking on idle occasionally and the extra torque is likely to trash it. Ah well, it's worth it for the extra thump the car gives. It actually puts a smile on my face!


For those who enjoy a story, please read on for more!

--------------
So here's what happened to cause the pipe replacement, which was nothing to do with Remaps UK or Flash Remapping I may add.

The car seemed slightly quicker for a month or so, but then felt occasionally hesitant, or frankly slow! After a few long trips and another month I began to see the smoke!

The pipe between the intercooler and the EGR valve had split, so me and a mate jury rigged it using self-amalgamating tape (good stuff that!) and all was well for a little while longer until the hesitancy again. The extra oomph from the remap had helped split some already badly made standard rubber turbo system pipework.

New silicon hoses by Forge Motorsport (supplied by the extremely helpful Scott Shipley from Prodigy Motorsport) and bingo! Job done! Jesus it goes now!

Cheers!

Adam

 

sold a 115bhp one last month 36mpg around town and 46 on motorway getting around 50 mils to £10,my galaxy will get 62 miles to £10,both diesels