Ford Mondeo 99 Clutch Replacement

pugleon

Hi all

Brought my car in for its first service since I bought it two weeks ago. 70k service. It's a 1999 LX Mondeo. Everything seemed ok but they reckon the clutch is about to go. Probably right despite the fact they did nothing I asked and I wasnt happy with the service at all.

They also said the left suspension arm needed replacing. Guy tried to draw out what was wrong. Some sort of v-shaped part before the wheel. Said one of the two bearings had gone or was worn, something like that, does this sound right?

Anyways they're looking to charge me 650 euros for a replacement clutch. Now I know its a bit of a job on a mondeo because of the subframe. And the tracking has to be done after it, but that seems crazy money. Also looking for 224euro for a new suspension arm.

Makings of 800 euros when I just bought the car. Clutch was fine until today. Does anyone have any good experiences with clutch replacement in Dublin, at better pricing then South Dublin Ford in Tallaght who I'm not at all happy with?

Cheers!

mondeoman

This is how Ford test the clutch .

Chock the wheels and apply the parking brake.



Start the engine, depress the clutch pedal and engage fourth gear.

Run the engine at approximately 2000 rpm.

Release the clutch pedal slowly.

Does the engine stall when the clutch pedal is fully released?

Yes = OK

Clutch OK.

No = clutch slipping.

mine has 106.600 miles & still on original clutch.
the suspension part is probably a lower wishbone & is very common failure(in UK?) I've never had problems with them my self & i've been driving mondeo for the last 6 years.;)

BrianD3

That's bad luck when you've just got the car two weeks. Did you buy private or from a dealer with warranty? Even if you have a warranty they may try to tell you that you wore the cluth out yourself in the 2 weeks, that it's a wear and tear item etc.

I wouldn't be convinced that the clutch IS going though just because a garage told me. A lot of people working in garages are **** at diagnosing anything. I would have said that you would know about it if there was a problem with your clutch. For example it could slip when going up hills, it might bite very near the top of its travel, it might judder, it might make noise when you depress the pedal, car might be hard to get into gear etc. Did you get any of those symptoms.

pugleon

Cheers for the replys lads!

It konks out at those revs, first thing I tried. But the bite is pretty high so they may be onto something there. Not very hard to get into gear but theres a bit of judder in reverse so I have to nurse it half clutched when I'm reversing.

Probably right about the suspension arm too (any normal person would call it the wishbone yeah, I said the same thing to yer man at ford). It's not distroyed so could probably go another month of normal driving without any problems?

More worried about the prices and mechanics work not being up to scratch. Really hoping someone knows that miracle garage with a good price and good work on their mondeo clutch. Coz lets face it, not THAT big a job even on a Mondeo. 650 lids! Tallaght must be loaded these days!

pugleon

Oh yeah sorry, it was a private sale. Market rate and yer fella selling it had FSH from a ford garage. In great nick besides this clutch and wishbone lark

BrianD3

Send a PM to "crosstownk" with a link to this thread. He should be able to recommend a garage that will diagnose and fix the car for less than what Ford would charge.

crosstownk

PM with details sent...............

pugleon

Cheers!

I'll give em a bell monday, sorry I got me car serviced on a Friday. Whole weekend with bills on my mind now :P

Darragh29

Mondeo's have a CCSC (Clutch Concentric Slave Cylinder) that retail at about 130 Euro upwards depending on the one that is used, then you have the other two pieces of the clutch kit that cost about 130 Euro upwards depending on the size of the clutch. The labour for the job is high because the subframe has to come down and everything on it has to be disconnected & reconnected, power steering pump, suspension components, etc.

My advice to you is to ignore the advice they gave you, if the clutch is not slipping and there is no oil leaking from the bell housing and the pedal is not excessively hard, you don't have a problem. If the car is stalling on the handbrake test, you could easily get another year out of it, don't fix it if it ain't broke mate!

pugleon

I have seen parts cheaper in the UK, genuine ford ones. So I may by from there.

I gave SDP a call as you suggested but their prices were worse then Fords. Also had to call them back 6 or 7 times before I could get someone to give me an answer. Maybe they're too busy these days, maybe just not great to deal with I dont know...