1996 Ford Mondeo ST 24v V6 2.5 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Replaced the air filter hose as the old one had a hole in it (made whistling sound when engine was cold).

Drivers seat frame is worn, making the seat wobbly.

Airbag warning light was flashing due to a loose wire under the drivers seat

front suspension bush needed replacing on the last service.

allways fancied one of these cars and managed to get this one for a good price. The car is brilliant to drive as it sticks to the road like glue, and the interior is well put together with all the extras you need for a comfortable drive. This car is happy to poodle around town at 30mph or down the motorway at silly speeds (if that's your thing) and the torque in the engine means it's a lazy mans car to drive. I am hoping to tow a caravan with mine soon (yes I know, bit sad and dosent quite go with the image) and don't foresee any problems,apart from the fuel consumption. Not a cheap car to run, but with a 2.5l V6 what do you expect anything else.

I am overall very happy with this car and it has put back a bit of enjoyment to driving a car again.

Hi I just brought an st24 p reg, 161k miles and I notice a little steam from the exhaust after a hard run, is this something to worry about (its only if I rag it and its only when I switch off the engine)

I'm new to this!

Cheers

Clive.

Hi.

The steam from the exhaust could be a combination of several things.

You may have a head gasket leak into the engine, id check the oil cap for yellowy mayo like substance (water mixing with oil) if that is the case this will need doing asap otherwise you will almost certainly suffer certain engine meltdown!

It may not be as drastic as this, I can't say I would check the above, plus your water level to check to see if it's going down.

Also if your piston rings are bust you'll be burning oil at high revs too.

Start it up then warm up, get someone to stand behind car and rev to around 6k quite hard and see if any blue smoke is emitted if so the that's your problem.

Cheers.

Jeb.

The oil looks spot on, I have checked that when I brought it, it drives fine, just if I drive it hard when I turn off the engine and get out and look at the exhaust there is a small amount of steam that comes out for a couple of seconds.

If its the rings, is that a hard problem to resolve, also does anyone know how to fit a water pump with metal impellor, I have got one, but not sure if I can fit it or if it needs a garage to do it.

Cheers

Clive.

Well if the oil looks OK, it may be your rings, this is an engine rebuild job and is not worth it in my opinion.

Fitting a water pump is easy remove water pump housing and the belt and it's just behind there, all you need really are a few tools and a haynes manual.

The steam sounds like it's not that serious really, id only start getting concerned if the water level is dropping all the time and your getting loss of performance whilst driving or any funny noises then you can be concerned.

Jeb.

To be honest I was expecting a lot more problems buying it with 160k on the clock!

The only thing annoying is when you start her up it takes a few seconds turning over before she goes. Not a big problem though and from cold it starts on the button.

That's normal with any performance car, I had a honda prelude 2.2 that did the same thing, nothing wrong at all, don't worry.