Rich

It seems that everytime I try to split one of these I end up buggering the rubber around it. When I was working on the car yesterday I managed to split the rubber on the lower arm ball joint. I only fitted it last week!! I've got one of those fork shaped splitters and it doesn't matter how careful I am or how many rags I put around the rubber it splits. So am I doing it wrong or should I be using a different tool? What other splitters can you get? And can you get new rubbers for the ball joints, save me forking out another 20quid on a new arm?

sorry to here your g/box has gone now m8.mondeos there a never ending headache.but we love,em dearly It's a pain, especially as I'm going on holiday in 4 weeks and need the car to get there. Means I gotta get the gearbox done now along with everything else I had planned for the next couple of weeks! Still once it's done it shouldn't need doing again for as long as I have the car (touch wood!)...

Well as you know looks like I need a new gearbox now but I WON'T let this car defeat me!

Yep alot of work but I'd rather do it all now and hopefully not worry about it again! I'n enjoying getting me hands dirty anyway Tired! Nah, when you work nights you learn to go without sleep!!!

I won't pretend I understood all of that as I didn't but I got the gist of it... I used the mounts I took off mine on the other shocks/springs. Now they would've done 163K miles and I'm not sure if they're actually worn or not. As I think that noise was caused from the nut being loose. Do you think I should get 2 new mounts or ones from a low milage car? I keep referring to it as pulling, it is actually drifting slightly and tramlining but that's due to the tyes as you've said previously. Me rear ones will need replacing soon so I will make sure the place I order them from send a pair with the outer bands on opposite sides. If they ask why I'll point them in this direction! I'm going to replace a couple of more things on the car before I get the geo done again... As I'm getting new shocks I want some new springs so may lower it 30mm. The rear anti roll bar bushes will be replaced with poly ones and maybe the fronts if there's a way to get the bolts out without lowering the subframe? The drop links have been done and I will replace the lower arm bushes with poly ones next time they need doing as these seem to wear very quickly. Also I need that CV joint changed before I have the geo done. Hopefully when that lot is done I won't have any problems for a while!!

Tony will be able to relate to this more than anyone I think... If you remember that noise I asked you to listen to before xmas I think I've found what was causing it. I've just realised that the noise I'm getting at the moment due to this damaged shock and the way the top plate is sitting on the spring, is the same. At the time me tyres were almost on the limit and I then got new ones fitted and the noise disappeared! Now when I changed these shocks and springs over the nut that holds the cap on the spring and the nut on top of the little rubber cap in the engine bay weren't very tight at all. So when I got me original geo done, assuming these nuts weren't tight and they were allowing some very slight movement in the cap/spring could this have upset the settings as soon as I drove the car again. During the fine tune I think the toe was out quite abit on the same side. I am also still getting some drifting/pulling. And how do you explain the noise going when I changed the tyres? Would the extra tread have meant the position of the strut would have changed or it was putting more pressure on the spring as the tread is deeper? Edit - Also I forgot to mention that after the new front tyres were fitted the steering wheel was at a slight angle.

Good price, he'd get alot more breaking it though...

My car is a constant headache mate!! Thanks for the offer scorps but I'll pass as I need to get the car sorted by Saturday as got alot of driving to do Sunday So I'm just gonna get 2 new front shocks and put me old springs on for now. The shocks are the same though for the TD and V6 so I'd only need springs if I change them again as me rear shocks are ok. I wouldn't be happy using that damaged spring with the new shocks and I'm thinking of lowering it slightly now anyway, which brings me to another question... Could I just lower the front 40mm and leave the rear springs as standard? Me brother has done this on his pug 106 but obviously the mondeo TD is alot bigger and heavier. I've always got people in the rear and a heavy boot load when I go away and I'm fairly certain the tyres will catch on the arch lip if I lower the rear.

I've spent the weekend and today changing me front shocks and springs to V6 ones, used not new. These are the same as TD ones except the springs are slightly shorter and firmer. Had grief with the pinch bolts, spent god knows how long drilling them out! Anyway, I fitted one side ok and did the other one today. Now I noticed when I put the top cap on that the nut doesn't sit flush on it, it does one side but not the other. Also noticed that the very end of the spring had broken at an angle, but the whole spring was there, it was more like a chip. I had to change the cap for another one as it was also broken. Before I took it apart I noticed that the spring wasn't actually sitting in the recess part of the cap, it was on the opposite side. So my theory is that maybe when they were used by the previous owner they had hit a pothole or something which has caused this, plus bent either the piston or thread on top of it in the process, hence the position of the nut. I had to fit it as I needed the car for work and it went on ok apart from one thing. I couldn't do the top nut that goes on the rubber cover up as much as the other side. Driving to work I noticed a vibration, quite bad at times coming from the front. It doesn't do it all the time and is worse on uneven roads and when accelerating. If you are coasting, for example downhill, it disappears. The vibration is similar to when a wheel has lost a balancing weight but I had checked these and none are missing. I did pull both driveshafts out fitting them and one of the bearings fell off but I put them back in ok and I thought that if they weren't then everything would not of locked back together ok. I also noticed that the CV joint on the same side is wearing, felt like it was sticking. So my question is could the shock be causing this as there will obviously be some very small movement in it where that nut isn't sitting flush on the cap? Or could it be causing a strain on the CV joint that I suspect to be wearing? I also emailed the person I bought them from who didn't know about the damage. They have informed me that when they had them on the car, they ate a pair of tyres in less than 5K miles. However, they assumed it was their lower arm bushes as they were all knackered. I've decided to scrap using the V6 shocks/springs now as I can't be bothered to try drilling the rear bolts if they snap so am getting new shocks and springs the weekend for the fronts as I've only recently had new tyres put on. Cheers

That's not good!

Sounds good to me. I've been reading loads on here, still quite a bit I don't fully understand though. Maybe if it was written/explained in layman's terms it would be more beneficial to those users who have limited knowledge on the subject(s).

I hate people who do that, don't take much to straighten the wheels up does it!!

Do you need the compressor? Well I haven't been able to source any top hats and I need to replace one at the front and rear, plus a mounting plate. I was thinking it might be easier if I just get meself some and then swap them over when I fit them. Will most likely do it on a Sunday as I'll be getting help with the pinch bolts, don't trust meself with them!! Cheers, everytime I do a job meself it gives me that little bit more confidence to try something else. This is the first car I've worked on meself!

Yep, just the suspension to sort out now, I got the shocks and springs the other day

Well seeing that it was a nice day I thought I'd try changing this. Was very easy compare to how I thought it would be. Half hour taking it out and the same putting the recon one in. Been driving all afternoon and not had any more problems Just for reference, the battery when fully charged lasted about 20 miles when driving with just the headlights on. I thought this was pretty good...

That's scary, if I saw one of my tyres like that I'd get it changed asap. I wonder how many people would actually ignore it though!

I would only use it to get me home or to a garage. I'm not one of these people who drives around for weeks with the spare on! I suppose it would be the same for people with 18's or 19's, not very practical carry a spare in that size!

So if I had to use it I should do no more than say 40/50mph on it? A different size wheel would be better put on the rear as well, is this right?

Bought meself a new spare wheel and tyre on ebay. Brand new continental tyre for only a fiver! The tyres I have on the car are 205/50 R16. Now I was going to get a 14" spare but have gone for a 15" with a tyre size of 205/55. Now as there's only minimal difference between the overall size of the 2 different sizes could I use this spare normally with the others? Obviously wouldn't do silly speeds but I wouldn't have to be as cautious as I would with a 14" wheel would I? Also how much would a garage normally charge to dispose of me old tyre so I can take the rim down the tip? I know it's a quid when you get them to change the tyre but I can see them charging more!

Had a play about today tightening the belt and also the positive terminal on the battery as I felt it weren't tight enough. I have different symptoms now... Idle - 14V Up to 4K revs - 14V Under load - 12.3V The more electrics I switch on, the more the voltage drops. It does increase slightly to about 12.5V when doing over 2.5K revs. I'm starting to suspect the regulator now but we shall see when I get this recon one and can swap the part over. If I don't get any joy it's time to change the alternator.

First place I phoned doesn't test them, but they gave me the number for someone else who's local and told him the problem. As I've ruled out the brushes, AA tested the battery which is ok, and as you said the wiring is ok as it's charging when cold it has to be the alternator. If it was the voltage regulator then I should see a change in voltage on the meter when it is charging, which I don't. I haven't checked the tension of the belt yet but I think it's ok. Just hope it comes tomorrow now and then got the aggro of fitting it. Think I need some breaker bars though to get the bolts off from what I've read, which I don't have If the battery is fully charged and providing it's not raining so I don't need to use wipers etc how far would the car get me before the battery dies? As for work, I don't work Thursday or Friday night so it's not too bad. Just a pain if I have to get the bus in next week, 10 minute drive compared to an hour and 15 minutes via public transport, including the walking!!

I ain't got a clue what it does mate! I don't think the brushes were the source of the problem, just a coincidence they were worn. Checked the voltage earlier when the engine was cold - Battery - 12.9V Idle - 12.9V Revs up to 4K - 14V 4K Revs under load - 14V Once the engine warmed up I got 12.9V all the time. I suspected this was more of a problem when the car has warmed up the other day. Work is only 5 miles away and takes 10 minutes to get there. Therefore the car has only just warmed up when I arrive. Last night the light didn't come on until after about 15 minutes when the engine was warm again. Left the car running for 15 minutes again earlier and the light stayed on once the engine had warmed up. I've found an electrician close to me, gonna give them a ring, but does this give any more clues as to what the problem is?

Yeah I'm hoping Saturday but knowing the Royal Mail it will be Monday the earliest. To fit it it's a bolt underneath, one on top and one on the side, plus 3 wires. Only problem is I have a fuel fired heater and the pipe runs across the top. I think this will need moving to get the alternator out. I will see what happens tomorrow first and whether I can find a local auto electrician. Thanks

Fairy liquid as in mixed with water or neat, is this wise on something electrical though? How about WD40, or would that be too greasy? I'll try and check the voltage on the alternator tomorrow then, if the cables on the voltmeter will reach that far! I won't have the engine running then when I check this I've already asked Tony and he doesn't know of anyone. I do know someone very good in Essex when I was living at me folks, they can find any problem straight away, but some how I don't think the car will make the 60 mile trip there!! Thanks

There is no oil on the actual alternator, just the wiring. The oil filter is underneath it so can't be that. I think it may have come from a hose connected to the intercooler. What should be used to clean oil off wiring, is carb cleaner ok? There is a test point on the alternator via the voltage regulator, but would the engine need to be on to do this? Only reason I ask is that the intercooler sits above, so has to be removed to put the volt reader on. Will this be ok to do as long as the car isn't driven with it? Yours sounds like it was a nightmare mate!