Mondeo in storage for approx 18 mths - what do I need to do to get it up and running?

In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Richard Salters decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Fresh petrol, charge the battery, check tyre pressures.

Book in for MOT, making sure you get them to note reg.

Take to National Tyres [1](or similar), pay them £30 to change the oil.

Take to MOT station, see what it fails on.

If it passes, tax and use daily.

If it fails on nothing major, fix, tax, use daily.

If it's knackered, sell on Ebay, not mentioning that it's knackered.

You do. Usually thats on a working car and doing basics like oil, filters and plugs. If you don't even know where to put oil in an engine do you think its a wise idea to be tinkering with safety critical components such as the brakes?

Many colleges do an evening class in vehicle maintenance/mechanics. Its worthwhile doing it.

I grew up in a family so poor that we all inhabited one room in winter and egg and chips was a common meal - poverty is a great motivator. Also I have always had a strong mechanical aptitude and took apart anything with screws in when I was young - they didn't always go back together though. That meant that when it came to figuring out how cars worked, all I needed was a Haynes book of lies, a 99p socket set and a days free time.

i.e. what would be the best way for me to learn to do

Evening course.

Haynes manual although if you're not sure at what part you're looking at and its importance in the scheme of things then it isn't going to make that much difference. Many important bits are hidden under covers and away from view.

It won't. A Haynes tells you that you need to do X,Y and Z in that order. It doesn't tell you specifically how to do everything associated to achieve X for example.

A natural progression from building my first bicycle, from parts rescued from the local tip when I was about 7 or 8. Built a few more and sold them at a nearby auction house. Then on to a rusty m/cycle I was given because the owner simply wanted to get rid of it. Managed to get that running, but I was too young to drive it on the road, so I drove it up and down the garden for a while. A few times I pushed it round to a friends house, whose father had grazing rights on a nearby field. That was fun. Eventually sold it to buy another better non-runner, which I managed to get going. Got myself a licence, tax and insurance, and over the following years went through a succession of m/bikes, until I got my first car when I was about 24. Have had little to do with garages ever since. The few occasions I have used them, were enough to put me off for life. Mike.

Yes, I'd forgotten that: there's bound to be any number of "microsteps" that won't be documented. Sigh ...

OK, you've convinced me that with my present (lack of) knowledge there's only a very lmited amount I can do. Basically I've decided that some sort of beginner class is what's needed for myself, combined with a good bit of tinkering (of the non-destructive sort) in order to familiarise myself with things.

Which logically brings me to this question: can anyone here please suggest a *good* and *honest* garage from *personal* experience? I'm based in Merton, London. But anywhere in London would be fine - so long as they're good at what they do and charge a fair price. If, for whatever reason, you don't want to publicly name a garage please email me at BCUSK [.at] YAHOO.COM

Thanks for all your responses.

Its a shame that kids nowadays are bought everything new or, in the case of cars, new enough so nothing needs doing on it to make it usable. They're missing out on alot.

Richard Salters ( snipped-for-privacy@hereplease.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Ask locally. It's a Mondeo, not something exotic. It's bog standard bread'n'butter stuff to any half-decent spannerchimp.

Might have a problem finding someone interested in doing the clutch if its seized though.

National tyres won't do zetec engines (they stock the wrong grade oil!). Better going to a Ford Rapid fit.

My local branch do, costs an extra fiver though....

I'm well aware of all that.

Nevertheless I'd still be grateful if any of the people here can suggest some good and trustworthy garages - anywhere in the London area.

Why would that be?

Conor ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

If it's that bad, throw the damn thing away and buy a decent one. Like I said, it's not as if it's something exotic.

It involves dropping the front subframe out to get access and then having to align the subframe when refitting. It is a real pain in the arse job to do and many garages aren't interested. That's why you see alot of good examples with slipping/shagged clutches on E-Bay going for £50.

Proof that every profession develops its own jargon and not just doctors.

I'll remember that for when I graduate. If a patient comes to me with a particularly difficult condition I'll politely explain that he's too much trouble to bother with :) I wonder what the GMC qould make of that? Hmmm ... No wonder garages and mechanics seem to have such a bad reputation among the general public.

The car in question is a T-reg and was bought for nearly £3000 three years ago. Are you saying that the presence of this problem would reduce its value to that degree?

Er - which bit of the above is jargon?

Subframe is the name for a bit of a car - same as steering wheel, brake lever, bumper. Would you say those were jargon? Are 'femur' or 'optic nerve' jargon, or are they merely labels?

Dropping - once you know what a subframe is, this is obvious. When you drop something, it goes generally moves to a lower position using gravity. This is what you have to do to the subframe to get it out of the way. Obviously it is desirable that this doesn't happen while one is driving along, so the manufacturers have thoughtfully provided bolts and similar fittings to enable it to stay attached the majority of the time. I think it is a reasonable implication that one has to deal with these in an appropriate fashion in order to enable the subframe to move to a lower position. Therefore 'dropped' is a reasonable description for the entire process.

Align when refitting - Presumably you'll be looking at fractures at some point in your medical career. Do you just tape them up any old how, or do you line them up and put in a cast such that they set in a reasonable approximation to their original shape? (ok, I know of plenty of examples of the former, but ideally I think we would agree that you try to do the latter). The same applies to car parts - they need putting in the right place. With some parts, eg suspension, this needs to be quite accurate. Unfortunately the bits don't necessarily go back together exactly as they came apart (just like bodies), so after you've put it all back together, you may need to adjust various bits to make sure everything is pointed the right way again.

clive

Richard Salters ( snipped-for-privacy@hereplease.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Just because they aren't words you've come across before in your very limited mechanical experience doesn't make them "jargon"...

The engine and gearbox are attached to a construction called a "subframe". If you saw one, it'd be fairly obvious why. To change the clutch, you need to remove the whole subframe from the bottom of the car (hence "drop"). When it's put back in, it needs to be adjusted to the absolute correct position (hence "align") - and we're talking special tools and millimetre accuracy - else the damn thing will be abysmal to drive. The position of the subframe on the shell is adjustable to allow for manufacturing tolerances.

None of this faffing is necessary on most cars, but on a Mondeo, it is.

More jargon there...

First, just because it cost £3000 three years ago doesn't mean it's worth that now. It's now worth about half that in full working order. A £1000 bill for a clutch is viable. Just.

On an older Mondeo, worth £3-400 in top order, that self-same £1000 bill renders the car scrap.

Your analogy to a patient falls down here, as it's not usually possible for a patient to cut their losses if their body starts to need work and part- exchange it for a newer, better one...

On an everyday car like an aging Mondeo, it's basic economics.