Mondeo 2.5T died on motorway

EvilRob

EvilRob

EvilRob

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I was joining the M40 from the M25 on Saturday night. Tried to apply power and nothing happened. I turned the radio off and heard a rattling sound and immediately pulled over.

Smoke (possibly steam, but it smelt like burning) started coming up through my bonnet for 2-3 mins, then stopped.

Got the car recovered - no coolant left in the reservoir and the dipstick showed the oil level was way overfilled, so looks like coolant got into it. It wasn't white/creamy though.

Car is now at Ford who are going to have a look at it in the next day or so, but any ideas? I just got the cambelt and tensioner done and a couple of seals replaced a couple of weeks ago, any chance it could be related?

It's a 2007 Mk4 Mondeo 2.5T Titanium X, 78k miles.

Feeling pretty down at the moment as I think there is a good chance the engine is a gonner. I was thinking of changing the car in the next couple of years, but I loved it. Also bad timing as wife and I are currently saving on a deposit for a bigger house.


Ugh :(
 
Dav4 said:
That sucks hopefully u get it sorted.
Does it sound like the dreaded cracked engine liners that can occur on the 2.5T in the Mondeo and the ST Focus. I'm sure it loses coolant when the liners crack which can result in needing a new engine. Google it There's plenty of threads on the ST sites which also applies to your engine.
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I'm preparing myself for the worst - I wonder how much I can get a 2nd hand engine for.

Any ideas if services like this are a good idea?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FOCU...819622?hash=item41824ae126:g:qowAAOxycmBS-iGh
 
So, heard back from Ford. They are saying it may be the head gasket. Cylinders are not compressing properly, and a couple of them are very down.

Next step would be to strip the engine and send it (the cylinders?) for testing, at a cost of £1k to strip the engine and put it back together again - before even fixing anything.

It was difficult to properly ingest what he was saying - so asked for a written report and will post back if any of the above doesn't make sense.

Thinking of just getting it recovered straight to the engine rebuilder I linked to above (about 50 miles away) rather than go any further with Ford, because I can easily imagine spending more than the value of the car by the time it's fixed.
 
Third Opinion said:
New engine is the most prudent choice either Ford approved recon or second hand. Otherwise you will be spending the fitting cost out just to find out what is wrong with yours before any repairs. Plus and hidden damage that might appear a few thousand miles on.

Got my fingers burnt badly about 10 years ago. A new engine would have saved me about 50% in the long term.
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Is there such a thing as a Ford approved recon?? I will ask the dealer about it tomorrow.
 
Dav4 said:
Do u have a good indie garage u trust that can look at it or do the work op?
I think I might put my ST Focus up for sale soon as it's always in the back of my mind about cracked liners and potential replacement engines that cost thousands etc. It's just an unnecessary potential headache with the 2.5T
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No, I don't and really wish I did... In Manchester if anyone knows a trustworthy garage who could deal with this sort of thing!
 
rallyfan1986 said:
I'd speak to dreamscience and see what they recommend.

Chances are it is just the odd one or two problems that have been reported on the ST forums and they've done 100's of them with no problems at all
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I just called them and they said they don't really work on the 2.5T anymore :eek:
 
Yeah, I was pretty surprised given the focus of their website...
Apparently they "still have a couple of bits lying around". The main guy was in the workshop so they asked me to call back, but not sure if it's worth it.

I'll give bdperformance a go.
 
This is pretty hard work. Spoke to Gary at Collins Performance who was extremely helpful and said they could sort it out but also said they charge top whack (£1.5k just for engine out and back in again).

Gave me the number of one of their dealers to get in touch with who apparently works on the 2.5Ts all the time and should be able to sort it out a little bit more reasonably. Couldn't get hold of him for now.

Otherwise, he said BD Performance in Wrexham usually have a bunch of 2.5Ts around and should be able to sort it out
 
Dav4 said:
Have Ford got back to you yet over the problem? it might not be the cracked liners if they havent diagnosed it fully.
also ring Riverside racing. Your not that far away if your the Manchster area
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No - all Ford has done is test engine compression, which is low, and say that to investigate further it'll cost £510 to remove/inspect/test the cylinder head and components. That doesn't include putting it back again, by the way!

Got it booked in for Monday 6th now with Gary at Daz Autos who works on the 2.5Ts a lot and is hopefully going to get me sorted. He's going to strip it down and have a look what the damage is and either fix it (he rebuilds them too) or if terrible fit a 2nd hand one.
 
Five_Star said:
I was going to suggest Gary and Collins, surprised it hadn't been mentioned sooner.

They do excellent work but yes expensive, very thorough. If you fancied a RS swap that's who I'd have do the work
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To be fair it's a 9 year old Mondeo...I love it but I had to consider whether it was even worth getting it repaired considering how much it's worth. It needs discs doing soon and clutch probably at some point but I'm hoping this work will give it another 2-3 years of life and take me up to 120-130k miles or so.
 
helpimcrap said:
Have they compression tested it because they say it's down?

Is it down enough that it could just be the head gasket and nothing more serious?
If it just the head gasket that a days labour and a gasket price.
Last time I did a head gasket it took about 2hours from start to end but I imagine modern cars are a lot trickier.
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There's a chance it could just be the head gasket. Ford said it could be that. Will know when it's been taken apart. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
 
So, finally looked at by the independent today. Head gasket gone, but he also suggested I have a look about for a 2nd hand replacement cylinder head rather than trying to get it tested/skimmed. Apparently not sure whether it can be skimmed enough.

So far I'm thinking could be better, could be worse. Any idea of good places other than Ebay to find a replacement cylinder head for the 2.5T? There doesn't seem to be much on there.
 
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of partsgateway - hope they will come up with more than Ebay.

Regarding warranty, yes, I would consider it in future - but, self insuring probably averages out over the long term. This is my first major mechanical failure on a car. But really beside the point now, isn't it?

Vince - I get your point, but really, I'd just like the car to last another couple of years and I'm willing to take a small gamble on how to achieve that. Hopefully skimming the head will be feeasible and hopefully it won't cost £1700 :) Will probably know more tomorrow.
 
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So, another update (this process is taking a while...).

He has had his mate (http://www.engine-specialists.co.uk - Impulse Developments) in to look at the engine block. It's 3 thousandths out, so would not be awful with a good head on it, but difficult to know how long it'd last.

Anyway, I'd like to keep the car for a couple more years so decided to have the engine out and get the block re-machined. Plus 2nd hand head with a small reskim (original is like a banana apparently). Plus new head gasket and a whole host of other smaller items (I will get invoices so I know exactly what's been done/replaced). £1700 and should be "like new" according to Gary.

So, not amazing, but as long as he does a good job, it'll be worth it. Engine is hopefully out and off to Impulse Developments today. Just looking forward to getting the car back now!
 
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