[Jim Eddie]

I put the motor through the MOT on Monday , 4 new tyres, apart from that OK , however as an advisory they said the clutch would need replacing in the future.
Now its not slipping , they say its difficult to ge into 1st and reverse , seems ok to  me but maybe I'm used to it. I asked them to quote to replace the clutch , they quoted £750 !!!!!!! that seems a bit excessive to me. Its a 2004 Mondeo Mistral petrol 1798cc.

What do you guys think ?

 

Jim   

[Rob Brownfield]

For me to replace the clutch on my landy was 7 hours labour and £120 for parts....and if you are paying £60+ an hour for a garage to do it..well..it soon adds up...but i have to say, thats seems excessive. Thats why I do these things myself

Where did you get it mot'd? not at somewhere like Kwik Fit by amy chance? A lot of these fast fit places put advisories on clutches or steering components because they are hard to check by the general punter...who panics and gets the work done.

See what a main dealer is asking for the job, and then a small, local garage..then that should give you an idea of how much you might have to spend. Sometimes, main dealers work out cheaper as they operate a menu pricing structure so if something is hard to remove you are not paying for a grubby 17 year old apprentice who is wrestling with a seized bbolt

[Jim Eddie]

Rob

Thanks , that was the main dealer , I'll get a price from a smaller independant see how it compares.

 

Jim

[Dave Mundie]

Jim where you based
 i know a guy in oldmeldrum or a guy out in fishie.

Dave

[Jim Eddie]

Dave

Im in Peterhead.

Cheers

Jim

[Ross]

To start with, getting into 1st and reverse usually mean syncro mesh (although reverse is usually paired with 5th, depends where reverse is, up near 5th or by 1st) (Still a gearbox out and dismantle job, more extreme than a clutch change). That said, it MAY be the clutch springs (the face plate) have split and making a mess in there.

750, is that with the clutch? If so, that's an awesome deal! My first ever clutch cost me the guts of 1k, my second on my evo was almost 2k! 

It's about 10-12 hours labour, so say 150-200 for the kit and the rest on fitting...works out at a usual 40-60 quid hourly rate!

I put the motor through the MOT on Monday , 4 new tyres, apart from that OK , however as an advisory they said the clutch would need replacing in the future.
Now its not slipping , they say its difficult to ge into 1st and reverse , seems ok to  me but maybe I'm used to it. I asked them to quote to replace the clutch , they quoted £750 !!!!!!! that seems a bit excessive to me. Its a 2004 Mondeo Mistral petrol 1798cc.

What do you guys think ?

 

Jim   

[Rob Brownfield]

Ross..its a mondeo..not a highly specialised rally car

Jedi..just done a search and it appears its a known problem on newer Mondeos..with some clutches going at 25k!!!! ..whilst others quote figures of 120,000 miles and still going strong. Most folk on the forums seem to quote £500-£600 from a main dealer depending on where in the contry they are..hmmm Ford only have a 6 month warrenty on clutches.

However...as I thought, it may just be a case of adjusting the clutch....

Buy a landy!!! Much cheaper

[Ross]

I can't see how adjusting the clutch will make a difference especially with a hydrolic system (You can only really change the pedal height).

My first clutch was on a 1.6 Civic

Joys of living out in the sticks Certainly not a cheap job up here (Always the same, cheap engurland and royal rip of Scotland)

(The evo I expected a huge bill, always the same with jap cars )

[Rob Brownfield]

I can't see how adjusting the clutch will make a difference especially with a hydrolic system (You can only really change the pedal height).

I dont understand much about Fords..lol..but some of the posts on the likes of Honest John say you can adjust the clutch..I have no idea how on one of them there Euro boxes..

I had a civic coupe that gave me some jip with the clutch..went to Carden motors (Honda specialist) and they diagnosed a broken clutch spring...they phoned Honda and I got a new clutch...for free..including all labour That car was 6 years old and well out of warrenty..great service

[Hamish Young]

Jim - has the brake and clutch fluid been changed at all Do check..... whilst I'm not saying it is the definative answer (especially if the Mondeo has a reputation in this respect) getting the brake and clutch fluid changed and the system bled properly you may notice a significant difference although I appreciate you didn't notice a problem so much yourself.

Whilst all hydraulic clutches are pretty much self adjusting by design (no manual adjustment per se) changing out the fluid can make an appreciable difference.

Worth changing the gearbox oil as well - all of this is soooo much cheaper than having a clutch done - which is a pig of a job even on a Landy 

However, these changes only skirt the issue if the clutch is indeed on the way out 

[Dave Mundie]

Jim i'd go and see Mike Bain of Feterangus (fishie). Take the broch road out of mintlaw past the bull ring crossroads, along the straight you'll see road to fishie on your left take it, you'll arrive at a sharp left bend his road is straight in front of you on (right) he's very good used him all the time when i stayed in strichen.

Cant remember how much exactly now but i think itwas around the £250 mark for him to fit a new clutch to my berlingo van about 4-5 years ago.

Dave

[gunner100]

Hi Jim,

Sorry to hear about your potential problem. I always select my service garage on the following criteria -

1) is the boss over 50 years of age.

2) is he self employed

3) does he have a teenage apprentice who could have got a part in the film "Deliverance"

4) does he have an Alsatian dog

5) are the garage premises an asbestos hut situated on agricultural land

6) does he only deal in cash

If the answers to the above are all in the affirmative, you have found your mechanic.

Hope it is not too expensive,

Lyall

[ANDREW BEBBINGTON]

I have a escort and use the station garage in mintlaw or sometimes the central garge in longside both reasonable and much cheaper than the ford garage (and fit some of lyalls criteria) although the cenral garage is in the process of being taken over by new owners this week,
andrew

[Jim Eddie]

Thanks guys

[Rob Brownfield]

Hi Jim,

Sorry to hear about your potential problem. I always select my service garage on the following criteria -

1) is the boss over 50 years of age.

2) is he self employed

3) does he have a teenage apprentice who could have got a part in the film "Deliverance"

4) does he have an Alsatian dog

5) are the garage premises an asbestos hut situated on agricultural land

6) does he only deal in cash

If the answers to the above are all in the affirmative, you have found your mechanic.

Hope it is not too expensive,

Lyall

Love it!!!! Soooo true!! You don't get mechanics anymore, you get fitters who replace broken units, not repair broken parts. 

I use a chap who is an ex bush mechanic and Landy restorer. I had problems with my V8 idling way to fast and the main Landy dealer charged me £400 and it came back the same...I then went to an independent landy garage who charged me a further £120..still the same.
This old chap turned up (in a fully restored 1970 Series Landy) warmed up the engine, took out a screwdriver and fixed it within 30 seconds!!!  He then spent 2 hours tinkering and checking and charged me £40..and he had come from Elgin! I like folk that know their way around an engine rather than a parts list