My Jan 2006 registered Mondeo TDCI 130 needs a new clutch at 38,000 and unless examination shows a fault it will cost me £576 despite there still be
3+ months of warranty to run. This is ridiculous at the age of 62 with 40 years of driving many different cars I have never had clutch problems in my cars before. Methinks I was right during most of those years to avoid Ford!Peter
Our TDCI 130 has 130,000 miles and has the original clutch.....
Methinks at the age of 62 you are probably unaware you are riding the clutch and buggering it up.
Bad sign giving us your age. Just like all the oldies who always tell you their age in the first sentence they utter. Watch that one :-)
Seriously though, nowt wrong with Ford's, well old one's anyway. I was not going to change my 1990 Sierra for a late 90's Mondeo for £400-£600 but decided not to bother because of the price of a new clutch. Decided to stick with the old Sierra and spend a couple of hundred quid on welding and blasting some old oil underneth to slow the inevitable Sierra rot. To be honest, I'm scared stiff of running a more modern car on a show-string. Having said all this, I've never had a cluth wear out on me since driving an old Austin A35 which was my first car in 1976. Had loads of Cortina's, Mini's and other Leyland crap, Escorts and Sierra's and never had a clutch wear out on me. I've had cables go, but at least you can still drive it home like that.
Mark
Oi! I'm 62!
My Focus is coming up to 100K, and just like every other vehicle I have owned since 1962 has never needed the clutch replaced.
Chris
No offence meant, it was a TIC response to the original poster, but it probably is true, if it has only done 38k then it is likely someone has been slipping the clutch, boy racing, or riding the clutch pedal. Things I notice that my own father does more often the older he gets!
Oh, none taken. I'm aware as I'm ageing that I will probably need to adapt my driving.
The reason older drivers tend to slip the clutch more is probably because they can't hear so well.
It's also possible the OP's car has a dual mass flywheel, and that may be failing.
Chris
Almost certainly that. Mine just has at 110,000 miles.
BTW, I'm older than the OP and have never had to replace a clutch for wear in my life. Once, a Renault clutch got an internal breakage and needed replacing, but it wasn't anywhere near worn out. I think his problem with the Ford is just one of things that can happen to anybody. I don't believe Fords have a reputation for cluch failure.
Rob Graham
Stick to automatic if you can't manage a manual in your advancing years. Most older people ride the clutch or use it as a foot rest so it goes a lot faster. Probably nothing wrong with the car.
Out of curiousity what sort of milage have posters had clutches changed at?
When I got the Corsa it had 55k on it and I changed the clutch around 60k due to a shagged release bearing/being in there at the time, I have since done 150k more in it on the same (sachs) clutch.
My van has 136k on it and is on the first clutch AFAIK.
Whilst, my fathers Escroat managed 199k before requiring a new clutch, but that was due to some sort of catastrophic failure resulting in no drive.
I'm was expecting the Corsa and Van to need treatment soon, especially given that they do lug weight around most of the time.
Tom
.
Have you owned the car from new? A lot of TDCi Mondeos have been daily rental cars or short term lease cars for the first 12,000 miles or so of their life, and will have been driven accordingly.
What are the symptoms of the clutch failure. Slipping or total failure?
Peter
Complete and sudden non disengagement of the clutch would usually be the release system rather than the clutch. IIUC the DMF problem starts with shaking and clonking and develops over time.
There was a problem on some fords with the clutch master seals reversing,
Many/most cars nowadays never have the clutch changed from showroom to crusher. The clutch is far more bullet proof than old ones and far more difficult to replace.
There is little point in changing down to slow the car in 99 percent of cases, I was taught to use the brakes rather than change down 35 years ago, so the advice had changed even before that !! Block changing is the way to go. Have you taken any advanced driving courses? It is well worth doing and enjoyable too.
Mrcheerful
Mine is on 110,000...
--=20 Conor
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't=20 looking good either. - Scott Adams
Only ever changed one clutch and that was on a car I bought where it was already slipping. As it was a MK1 ashtray, I bought it at a knock down price knowing it was a 30 minute job to change the clutch.
An example of the mileages: VW Passat - 190,000 BMW 525 E34? 210,000 Capri 2L Laser - 101,000 MK3 Mondy TDCi 112,000
I agree with the thing about the slipping. My grandad had to wear surgical shoes thanks to being marched from Dunkirk to Poland in WW2 and went through a clutch every year.
Fords don't have a reputation for clutch failure. The TDCi Mondeo can have a slightly sharp clutch action which I suspect could lead to someone slipping the clutch more than necessary on gearchanges and prematurely knackering the clutch.
I ran a hire car fleet which had more than a few TDCi Mondeos and don't remember ever having to get the clutch replaced on one - despite them being driven mainly by reps and other car-abusers.
I have only changed clutches twice, both at around 80-100k miles, both on FWD VWs over 10 years old, with a good few miles done by previous owners.
Nedavno Mrcheerful napisa:
I always change down to slow the car. So I am doing it the wrong way...
When I think about it, you are right, I should use brakes more, it is easier to replace brake pads than clutch. I guess I'll need to change my driving style.
The number of people there must be who slow down using gears "to save the brakes" frightens me. Have they never thought what they're doing to the clutch?
Rob Graham
Block changing is the way to
What's that?
Rob Graham
Nedavno robgraham napisa:
"Some drivers have a habit of always changing through the gears one-by-one, from 1st through to 5th and from 5th through to 1st. This habit has stuck with some older drivers from when they originally learned to drive many years ago. Today, in a normal car and for everyday on-road driving, it is not generally good practice to use the gears in this way. We can change down the gears in blocks ( 5th to 2nd or 4th to 2nd. etc), we can equally change up in blocks (2nd to 4th or
3rd to 5th). The block change from 3rd to 5th is particularly useful when accessing a dual carriageway from the slip road to build sufficient speed up..."MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.