Well I'm no mechanic for sure, but I've done plenty of DIY spannery before, I'm not afraid to have a go, but I think I may pay someone to do some work on the V6, which has depressed me no end.

Oh well. What a pig.

I started the job of changing the alternator. I haven't got a warning light yet, but when the a/c is on it runs lumpy, and at night all the lights dim when the revs get high etc...

First hurdle is removing the auxilliary belt. It needs a 3/8" ratchet to loosen the tensioner. Theres probably a special Ford tool for the job because there isn't enough room between the inner wing and the tensioner to get the ratchet in. So short of undoing the engine mount and raising the engine, I decided to take an angle grinder to an old ratchet to trim it down to fit. Sucess!! Tom - 1, Mondeo - 0.

Get under the car, knowing full well the bolts for the alternator are very well hidden, but my god I didn't expect them to be that awkward. Put together every wobble extension I own, and a UV joint, and I don't have enough hands to manouver it all myself. Oh joy.

Whilst down there, I notice there is a splattering of grease on the alternator, and a bit of investigation reveals the inner CV boot has allowed some grease to go past the clip. So this needs taking off, cleaning and reseating. Oh joy.

Also notice that there is some evidence of an oil leak by way of some dirty sludge around one corner of the sump and the side of the block. Tracing this back and it seems its the seal for the PAS pump on the side of the block. More fun.

Think I may admit defeat on this one and take it to my friendly independant garage. I could do it myself in terms of I know exactly what I need to do, but I can't get the car high enough on the (gravel) drive to work comfortably, and its just stressing me out. I bought the car to save money, yet it seems this is going to be a considerable dent in the wallet

Bummer.

Whats that, a Ford that an **** to work on, surely not?????

If they'd just threaded the alternator bracket and put the bolts in from the other side, that would be a start.

Going to have a think about how I can get the car a bit higher to work on, not being beaten by a poxy Ford.

build yourself some makeshift ramps out of bricks then put some axel stands under incase the bricks move

I've got ramps, but can't use them as you need to take a wheel off to remove the driveshaft and to get the alternator out :(

Is the v6 a tight fit then?

Is the v6 a tight fit then?

Fairly...

But its not the size of the engine thats the main problem, its the ****wits at Ford who give no thought to how the vehicle might be maintained in the future

But its not the size of the engine thats the main problem, its the ****wits at Ford who give no thought to how the vehicle might be maintained in the future

That's often the problem these days. Of course, the whole engine assembly would be built out of the car .

Bet you wished you kept the Passat now ? Luckly the V6 in the Audi is the other way round in the bay so there's a little more space to play with.

I know what you mean about pig jobs though. Changing the thermostat on mine had me swearing a fair few times.

Whats that, a Ford that an **** to work on, surely not?????

No never

What happend to the Octavia vRS 2006 in red Tom, or wasn't that yours :confused:

What a pain Tom. :(

Oh, and that engine bay is a disgrace :P

Get the APC and 303 out

But its not the size of the engine thats the main problem, its the ****wits at Ford who give no thought to how the vehicle might be maintained in the future

I did say it was a PITA , i've done a couple , and its physically impossible to do it in the time Ford give you to do it :(

My old man (A fitter for the last 30 odd years) aquired a nearly new Fiesta 1.4 tdci recently. Being the cynical type, when it came to get some warranty work done for an oil leak and the service he marked the bits to make sure they changed them. When it came back they hadn't touched them. He then looked at changing it himself (Not one for making a fuss more just getting on with it my Dad) he just said "Sod that" as the job was so bad. This is a bloke who once stripped a Austin Metro auto box and managed to put it back together working.... (As some of you will know that's job requires balls of solid Tungsten, the patience of a saint, the knowledge of the Sages and experiance of the "Dark Arts")

He just went and sold the car and bought a 1972 MGB roadster.

Decron , i can agree there , i've a couple of oil leaks on the 1.4TDCI recently , another PITA job , the 1.6TDCI is even worse

plastic inlet manifolds moulded together with the rocker cover , ridiculous idea

Does sound stupid that

I've decided I'm going to take the plunge and order an inner CV boot kit, and strip the driveshaft off. Good opportunity to give the gearbox a fresh fill of oil too. As a bonus the alternator should be easy to remove with the suspension/driveshaft in bits.

Going to leave it for a couple of weeks though, not doing it in this weather.

Thinking about it, I can drive the car on to the ramps, and I'm going to buy a high lift trolley jack so I can remove the wheel when its on the ramp. Either that or just drive one side onto the ramp, and jack it up from the other side so its level.

Ho hum, all for another day.

On another matter, particularly aimed at our resident Ford (& other brands ) techies... is my diagnosis of a dodgy alternator/voltage regulator correct? Symptoms are when the revs get high the lights (including dash illumination) dim, when the a/c is put on the car drives really lumpy (almost like its missing).

Cheers!

Stop whinging... your the one who insisted on getting a mundano with a big engine :P

*sigh*.

Don't worry about it... it'll all come together in the end!

I mean suppose its to be expected on a nearly 10 year old car!

But good luck with it all... sounds like you're going to need it!

Cheers Phil!!

Feel a bit better today. I've been offered a nice empty double garage/workshop to work in, and I've arranged to borrow my neighbours Omega (V6!) should the need arise!

Bought myself a nice high jack from Machine Mart, 3T rated, extra-high lift for 4x4s. Goes under the Mondeo with 10mm to spare, and could probably roll the car over on full height!

Picked up the alternator, drive belt and inner CV boot kit too, £120 all in, so not too bad.

Now all I'm lacking in is time :(

nice to see your saving money over the payments on the octy.....

Is yours a 4x4 too tom? I've only ever seen 2 4x4 mondeos

Tom , the outer part of the driveshaft will split off from the inner section , just hit the inner joint and it will come off the splines by the centre bearing

the problem you will have is getting the outer joint out of the hub , they can be well rusted in, plus releasing the bottom ball joint can be a pig

I was planning to remove it complete with the intermediate shaft...

Where do I hit exactly?

Stop whinging... your the one who insisted on getting a mundano with a big engine :P

To save money :rofl:

Errr, so £120 in repairs is more expensive than a £200+ monthly repayment how? :P