Self-servicing ST220?

Makhaira

Makhaira

Makhaira

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Lancashire, UK
Has anyone on here got any experience of servicing ST220s? Since it's not something that would be resold on, I'm wondering about the practicalities of carrying out servicing at home rather than having a garage do it, and save the £150+ each year.

Any thoughts/experiences?
 
I haven't got a Mondeo but if you are refering to filters, oil, sparks, belts then it can't be that hard. If you do it yourself then at least you know it has been done properly (such as the correct engine oil put in) rather than putting your car that you cherish in the hands of a muppet for £65 an hour.

Even if you do sell the car, the money (if any) lost is tiny compared to the amount saved by servicing the car yourself.

I have never really understood the point in FSH. Servicing yourself and keep receipts for the parts/fluids bought shows that you know about cars and have serviced it on time imo.
You won't get the dealer stamp in the book, so what? Who says the mechanic at the dealership isn't a moron?

EDIT: I am talking servicing generically, not about an ST220 in particular.
 
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Seems like the day for ST220 threads, from what I understand and been told by mechanics at Ford, is some things you can do yourself, spark plugs require some serious effort, for some reason that sticks in my head. Oil changes are straightforward, but you need to take the car's floor pan cover off, which has about 20 retaining clips so you'd probably need some help (and axle stands) for that.

I think it's more pain than it's worth for how relatively cheap Ford servicing is. I'm sure they are doing some "Value" servicing now, but I'm not convinced it's through enough.

edit: plus no stamps in the book, which will make private buyers walk and dealers you part-ex it with try to take you for a ride. But if you intend to run it into the ground it's probably worth doing yourself.

The service sheets are available on the Ford wiki.
 
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daveydave said:
I think it's more pain than it's worth for how relatively cheap Ford servicing is. I'm sure they are doing some "Value" servicing now, but I'm not convinced it's through enough.
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Most of the cost is in the labour though. An oil filter is normally under £10, so if they are being cheap on parts to save £5 here and there it really isn't worth it:p.
I would be annoyed if I paid someone £250 labour to change a clutch then found out they used a crap clutch that was £20 cheaper than the proper Ford part!
I do fully agree with you when you say what other stuff is being ignored to make it a 'value' service.
 
You have to remember that servicing is more than just oil, filter and spark plugs.

If you're happy in your ability to pick up on any other potential issues then go for it.
 
I'm aware that the sparks are meant to be a pain to get at (Haynes manual on its way). Axle stands I have access to, and I've no shortage of tools. It's the experience I lack.

What oil would you recommend for the ST220? This will be my first performance car, so I'd be happier in some respects knowing that it's been done right, with the right stuff by myself, than having a generic garage just treat it like any old set of wheels.

I can see myself asking for recommendations for a good garage for ST220 servicing in the Lancashire area soon...
 
MikeHiow said:
You have to remember that servicing is more than just oil, filter and spark plugs.

If you're happy in your ability to pick up on any other potential issues then go for it.
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It is, but if he drives it daily and goes through a Haynes manual is there much to go wrong? (Feel free to shoot me down if I am incorrect on this though!).
 
mglover070588 said:
Most of the cost is in the labour though. An oil filter is normally under £10, so if they are being cheap on parts to save £5 here and there it really isn't worth it
I would be annoyed if I paid someone £250 labour to change a clutch then found out they used a crap clutch that was £20 cheaper than the proper Ford part!
I do fully agree with you when you say what other stuff is being ignored to make it a 'value' service.
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This is why mine goes to Ford for it's yearly check up. I would normally stick a car of this age through an indi, but as this is a relatively rare 'beast' and I like the placebo comfort gained through giving it to Ford.

The servicing is very cheap at Ford and based on the service sheet is it mostly fluids for the ST.

However if it was a big job, again I would put it through Ford and supply the parts myself. Not for fear of them not being to the correct standard, just I can get them cheaper online myself :p
 
daveydave said:
However if it was a big job, again I would put it through Ford and supply the parts myself. Not for fear of them not being to the correct standard, just I can get them cheaper online myself :p
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I like your thinking there...I might get in touch with my local dealership and see what they charge, and if they're happy to fit parts supplied by me.

Thanks (again) dave :)
 
With the amount of support available these days through forums and owners clubs then the sky is the limit with what you want to do to your car, it just depends on how determined you are. It will require you to invest in some decent tools.

I started servicing my cars this year and have quite enjoyed getting my hands dirty, it's quite satisfying once you're finished.
 
The service kit comes in at over £70 without the oil - http://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/mondeo_st220_30v6_service_kit_2201.htm assuming you want to use oem service parts and not go down the ECP route. Servicing from Ford is very reasonable and whilst I am an advocate for servicing older cars, I wouldn't feel comfortable servicing an ST220 without prior experience. It'll also be a shame not to keep up the service history if it has been kept up so far, it also helps with resale.
 
Janesy B said:
The service kit comes in at over £70 without the oil - http://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/mondeo_st220_30v6_service_kit_2201.htm assuming you want to use oem service parts and not go down the ECP route. Servicing from Ford is very reasonable and whilst I am an advocate for servicing older cars, I wouldn't feel comfortable servicing an ST220 without prior experience. It'll also be a shame not to keep up the service history if it has been kept up so far, it also helps with resale.
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That is without 20% VAT (as of 4th Jan 2011 :(). Plus oil as you say.
Indeed it may be worth letting a garage handle it?

EDIT: That kit has a fuel filter. These only require changing every 5 or so years iirc (again talking generically, not about the ST220).
 
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daveydave said:
It's a bloody pain (and heavy) to get on jacks mainly because of the skirts and subframe!
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Bloody pain? Can't be that hard if you have some blocks of wood, or similar, to drive onto and a decent jack! It's no different to any other car surely?
 
There is no where to jack the Mondeo up at the front, other than the jacking points on the sills, due to the undertray. I can only imagine that the sideskirts make access to the sills a little difficult with a cheap trolley jack.
 
MikeHiow said:
There is no where to jack the Mondeo up at the front, other than the jacking points on the sills, due to the undertray. I can only imagine that the sideskirts make access to the sills a little difficult.
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Actually now I think of it, the parents had a Mondeo Titanium X 2.2tdci (2005 which was an ST aside from Recaros and the multispoke wheels). After a service it had white stress marks on the side skirts, which were quite obvious due to the car being black!
 
^^ How about a cheap pair of ramps?

Ignore me if I'm talking rubbish as I really don't know one end of a spanner from another :)
 
mglover070588 said:
Actually now I think of it, the parents had a Mondeo Titanium X 2.2tdci (2005 which was an ST aside from Recaros and the multispoke wheels). After a service it had white stress marks on the side skirts, which were quite obvious due to the car being black!
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I had the same issue with my VXR - the first time I experienced this issue was taking it to have a tyre changed, and I even said to the bloke - "Be careful, that sideskirt hangs low, its easy to catch with the arm of the jack".

Guess what he did? Ignored me and ripped the sideskirt off. Fortunately a VX order sticky pad and clip and it was fixed, but still.

If I ever had the wheels off, I avoided my proper jack (I'm not keen on relying on an unknown block of wood for a car like that), and simply used the scissor jack from the Yaris - it was a perfect fit being a 2 piece rather than a 4 piece diamond shaped jobbie.
 
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