Uh Oh!.. Who said mondeos are reliable?

gareth.e

gareth.e

gareth.e

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My parents gave me a ring earlier to very breifly say something like 'limpin home, the bottom of the engines gone.. something has gone... Cars broken... byee'

Que me ':confused: your still driving the car? if its repairable it won't be now..' why didn't you cut the engine at the very first realisation somethings not right??'

'we are driving it back now.. murrmerr murmerr murmerr, back soon byee'

(The car is a 54 plate mk3 1.8 mondeo)



So anyway, they arrive back home, I speak to my dad who sais they pulled over and spoke to a mechanic who from what I understand by what my dad said that it's the crankshaft bearings, and he said will probably need a new short block...

I'm sure the damage has been done. And to me that basically means a lot more than just some bearings but infact a new engine :p

I started the engine and could hear a loud rattely knocking sound, sounds like theres stuff moving about when you give it a few revs. I think I'm going strip the engine down a bit and have a look at the wear on the bearing, and see if there is other visible damage..

Regardless it looks like I will be embarking on a new project with my dad.. We are thinking of buying a brand new zetec engine for about £500 (as risking getting a duff one just to save a few hundred and not getting new parts seems silly) and a cheapy engine hoist of ebay(something along the lines of this)

Now I haven't done anything like this before and will be a big project for me.. (looking foward to it :D) Should be straight fowards though really - Old engine out.. New engine in. ;) Most I've done mechanically is basic servicing, (oil, filters, spark plugs, cambelt change) a themostat issue and wobbely steering wheel issue..

On a side note camshaft bearings don't just go like that surely.. Someones done something to it in it's past surely, wether it be some starvation or some other form of engine abuse??

I have read about mk3 mondeos eating their inlet manifolds, could the mechanic be wrong?
 
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I was about to say £500 for an engine? Unless it's remanufactured.

BMW diesel ones are around 8-10k.
 
[TW]Fox;12410045 said:
What use is a Zetec engine - your parents car has a Duratec engine. The Mk3 never had a Zetec.
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:rolleyes: I was merely giving an example.. The zetec was infact renamed to duratec and there seems to be confusion over it..

Here are the 1.8 engines wiki lists as being in the mk3:

* 1.8 L (1798 cc) Zetec I4, 110 PS (108 hp/81 kW) and 122 ft·lbf (165 N·m) (1.8)
* 1.8 L (1798 cc) Zetec I4, 125 PS (123 hp/92 kW) and 125 ft·lbf (170 N·m) (1.8)
* 1.8 L (1798 cc) Duratec SCi I4, 131 PS (129 hp/96 kW) and 129 ft·lbf (175 N·m) (1.8 SCi)
 
Shove your rolleyes up your ****, I assumed that you were under the impression any old Zetec would slot right in. You'll need the same engine that came out if you want it to be as simpler job as possible.

The 1.8 Duratec is not simply a renamed Zetec at all. Zetec engines have cambelts whereas the 1.8 Duratec in the Mk3 is chain driven. They are different engines. Zetec engines are very cheap because they are everywhere - Duratec's are a tad harder to find which will mean the price will differ.
 
[TW]Fox;12410119 said:
Shove your rolleyes up your ****, I assumed that you were under the impression any old Zetec would slot right in. You'll need the same engine that came out if you want it to be as simpler job as possible.

The 1.8 Duratec is not simply a renamed Zetec at all. Zetec engines have cambelts whereas the 1.8 Duratec in the Mk3 is chain driven. They are different engines. Zetec engines are very cheap because they are everywhere - Duratec's are a tad harder to find which will mean the price will differ.
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I'm sorry I gave you that impression, I still refer to it as Zetec as it's got a zetec badge on the back.. I don't understand ford as they stuck the old name on the back and didnt just revise the engine at all.. I do realise the engines are completly different.

I'm not going to source the engine from ebay (I thought I mentioned it but I didnt) we have a family friend who deals in ford parts who thinks they could get one new for approx £500, so we will have to wait and see..

I think putting a link to a focus engine was a mistake :p just wanted to give an idea.. :o
 
i dunno a friend swapped engines in his focus 1.6 when that died (low/no oil:/) with just he help of his girlfriends dad who happened to have an engine hoist or whatever its called.

and he knows less about cars than me. i would have thought its a case of, undo all piping etc, prep the crane, remove motor mounts, lift out, hoist new engine in, re attach all pipework?

its a bit of hard graft but surely can be done in a day by a couple of hard working peoples.
 
Zetec and Duratec should be a direct swap, as I understand it from the classic Ford boys anyway. Different engines, same mountings.

Dead bottom end bearings will be a nasty knocking noise from inside the engine. This would have happened either through premature failure or if they ran dry from a dead oil pump or no oil.

Assuming the engine electrics are the same on the engine you've got as on the car it should be a matter of take it apart, label where every wire or connector went and put it back in the same place when you re-assemble. Good luck!

Edit: £500 sounds quite reasonable for a second hand Ford 4.
 
Jonny69 said:
Zetec and Duratec should be a direct swap, as I understand it from the classic Ford boys anyway. Different engines, same mountings.
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The bellhousing bolt pattern is different though; the Zetec uses the original Ford pattern shared by almost all the 4 cylinder engines including crossflow, pinto etc. The Duratec uses a Mazda bolt pattern.
 
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