Silly question alert: Jacking up a Mondeo

Ian · 25 Apr 2006 at 15:35

Rather annoyingly, the windscreen washer hose has come loose from the bottle/tank so its all spilling out of the bottom when i try to use it.

Whats the best way to get the front of the car up on axle stands so i can work on it safely? The washer bottle is on the left side of the engine bay, right at the bottom. So could i just jack up one side then whack an axle stand underneath, or is that a bad idea?

Cheers
Ian

Dup · 25 Apr 2006 at 15:42

The manual should detail where to jack the car, which should be the same for the other side too.

To be safe I'd put a stand on each side. One stand will be a recipie for disaster I would have thought.

Sagalout · 25 Apr 2006 at 16:30

unless you need to remove the wheels for access I'd just use ramps to be honest.

[TW]Fox · 25 Apr 2006 at 17:36

If you can't use ramps..

Jack the car up using the supplied jack in the boot - it fixes onto dedicated jacking points. You can find these jacking points by removing the covers on the sideskirts. It clips on, and jacks up.

Then find somewhere solid for an axle stand.

PeterNem · 25 Apr 2006 at 18:38

Is it a Mk2?

If so, I was able to reconnect the hose on mine when this happened without lifting the car at all. It's a little awkward to do as there isn't much room to get at it and it'll involve a bit of a stretch, but it can be done.

neil-ste · 25 Apr 2006 at 19:09

If it's a mk2 then all you need to do is remove the front part of the wheel arch liner, which is only held on by one screw IIRC. Take that off and you'llhave immediate access to the washer bottle hose. I imagine it will have just come apart at its rubber joint. I did the job on my dads mondeo no more than 2 weeks ago and it really is easy, it should take you longer to get the car jacked up than to sort the hose out.

S@njay · 25 Apr 2006 at 19:13

I did the same this to my dads mondeo last weekend, i had to jack the car up, take the wheel off and take 4 screws off to take the inner wheel arch liner to one side.

The i zip tied the hoses on so they wont come off again.

Oh and since this is a silly question post....

How can you tell if you have air in the radiator system? And whats the method of getting air out of the system?

Ian · 25 Apr 2006 at 20:19

aha nice. hadnt contemplated gaining access through the wheel liner. will give that a bash over the weekend.

cheers all

energy · 25 Apr 2006 at 21:00

I dont know about the mk2 but for the mk1 you dont need to lift or remove anything at all - just stick your head near the ground and peer up, just ahead of the front offside wheel - you will see the base of the washer bottle along with the related plumbing.

PeterNem · 25 Apr 2006 at 21:09

energy said:
I dont know about the mk2 but for the mk1 you dont need to lift or remove anything at all - just stick your head near the ground and peer up, just ahead of the front offside wheel - you will see the base of the washer bottle along with the related plumbing.

That's what I was getting at

You put it a bit better than me!