Rich

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!

Ok here's the problem... Last Friday me battery light started coming on and off every few minutes. Car was starting/running fine etc. On Saturday the light stayed on constantly. Checked the voltage Sunday and it was at 12V when the engine was on and under load so obviously not charging. Had to use the car locally and the battery had obviously drained so much that I lost the rev counter, speedo, lights etc. Eventually the car died and the AA had to come out. He tested the battery said that was fine, only 6 months old anyway. Said it was the alternator. On another forum someone suggested the brushes so I went to delphi and ordered a new one. Fitted that yesterday, started it up and it was fine. Voltage reading was 14V when the car was running. Went to work and came home and the light never came on. Went out tonight (was doing alot of stopping/starting) and the light came on when I was waiting at a junction. Went off for a few minutes and then stayed on again til I turned the engine off. Gonna check the voltage in the morning to see what voltage it's putting out and if it's still charging. Could this be the actual alternator itself though, voltage regulator or maybe the belt? I have a recon alternator on the way but probably won't get it til monday next week. I know there's a few members on here around my area and was wondering if any of you know any good auto electrians that are mobile? I don't wanna drive it too far and cos I work nights on a Trading Estate I can't be without a car! Also forgot to mention that when I check the alternator I found alot of oil over the connections. I cleaned most of it off but could this have caused damage to the wiring? Cheers

Tony, what is meant by 'start compound', I haven't heard of this before? So how do you find out which compound should be used for which vehicles?

I think I understood most of that. What you say about the steering feeling lighter at low or high speed in the wet has been happening to me. I guess most of the 'problems' I think I have are down to the wider tyre. I can feel the road more and the car seems to pull in the direction of the bumps/dips etc. My front tyres are on 29/30 psi at the moment. I did put them on 33psi just to see what the difference was. They tramlined badly and I got lots of over-steer, so much in fact that I personally felt the car was dangerous to drive as everytime I accelerated/braked the car would try to veer across the road. So I dropped the pressure straight away and they were fine again. I was amazed that such a small difference could have such a big impact. BTW this was in the wet when I tried the higher pressure, in dry conditions they felt fine. Thanks for the explanation Tony

Yeah I'll wait for Tony or someone to give their view. Thinking about it that does make sense though...

At speed or whilst stationary? They *should* feel heavier theoretically as there is more rubber, hence more weight... (unless you have reduced your profile, then I haven't a clue how they interact!) While stationary. I've gone from 195/60/15 to 205/50/16. So if I notice the steering is slightly heavier with this small increase, what about changing to 18's or even 19's. Would the steering feel even heavier? Or as the width increases but the height decreases does this mean that roughly the same amount of rubber is used to make the tyres?

I think the design must have changed for the MK3. Monkeyra what's your view on reverting the bolt?

Just wondering if the width of the tyres can affect how heavy the steering feels? I have gone from 195 to 205 and mine feels slightly heavier, although I can't remember if it was any lighter with the 195!

It's an X reg, MK2 though not a 3. As yours is a TDCI I'd imagine it's a MK3. I don't think this is an issue on the newer mondeos, I've never seen it mentioned on MEG anyway. I replaced mine (the O/S) as the ball joint was knackered where the rubber had split. When I first got the car I had both replaced as the bushes were worn and the arms were knocking badly.

I thought that photo was from mine as it was around the same time you did the geo for me. I've been very conscious of it since you mentioned it but as it's been ok so far I didn't want to start messing with it. Especially with the problems I'd have lowering the subframe if I attempted it meself. If the bolt was mig'd (this is a type of welding isn't it?) or a proper nylock was used are you saying it would ok to revert the bolt, or there would at least be minimal chance of it failing?

Well the bolt on mine has been reverted (not by me). I didn't even realise until Tony pointed it out during my geo. It had been fitted about 14 months beforehand. It's now been like this for 19 months and I've had no problems. Lower arm is a pattern part as well and I'm surprised it's lasted this long anyway! There seems to be a lot of dispute about this on the MEG forum and some people think it's fine like this, whereas others will put the bolt in the correct way. As Tony says the price puts people off! I'm sure the lower arm bolts are reverted on some makes of cars out of the factory though? However, you could argue about the subframe bolts as these are put in upside down. I had a scary moment last year when my subframe became loose on the M25 while doing 70mph, I could feel I was losing control of the steering as the frame was moving If I'd crashed that could've been nasty! One bolt had come undone and then seized in the nut, plus the other bolts were only hand tight and not torqued up. I suspect this could be down to a clutch change by the previous owner! When me lower arm does need changing I will be making sure the bolt is put in correctly, especially as I have the little one in the car. I think I will be calling on Tony to advise me on this as lowering my subframe will be a pain cos of the problem I had. There is no longer a captive nut there as the bolt sheared when trying to remove it, so the nut and rest of the bolt had to come out from the floor. If the subframe is dropped and I have a new captive nut put/welded on, do you think this will will cost much more? I would obviously prep the area first. Sorry for the long post!