Mondeo TDCI - flashing coil light, no turbo & limp home ... intermittently.

thorganby

I have not done this on your engine but I can't see how Wynns turbo cleaner can be anywhere as near effective for the reason explained well in the above video from about 1:20 minutes.

The Wynns Turbo cleaner spray is many more times the cost and their own instructions state that to clean a dirty turbo outlet side, it needs to be disassembled anyway:

https://www.wynns.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/28679_Turbo-Cleaner_EN.pdf

Note how Wynns then plug their fuel additives which will do nothing for your problem.

Expensive snake oil in comparison to getting the cleaner where it is actually required as per the above video method, which does work with very little time and effort and can easily be performed again simply by removing just one bolt.

The necessary tools required for this tried and tested method are not expensive and they can be used again for other jobs, whereas when a 200ml tin of cleaner is used, it's gone along with the silly money spent on it!  

JustAnotherSaver

That was my thinking also. If spraying cleaner direct on an area can also require a good scrub as well then passing a bit of smoke around the area, whether anything has been 'activated' or not would (in my mind at least) not do much if anything at all, even though they say otherwise. 
They have told me via email that you don't need to remove the turbo for it to clean the exhaust side. The fuel additive does that. 

Now I think even they would concede its "not as good as" removing and cleaning direct. I just wonder whether it would do anything at all, despite their claims and assurance. 

I'll get in touch with the mechanic I spoke to as I'd rather someone with knowledge and confidence had at it. 
If they're still fully booked out though then I'll have to be looking at a tap and die set myself and a test piece to work on before having a go at drilling the turbo. I know the job is simple to someone with the confidence of not breaking something but that's them. I'm not. 

Londoner_1

Ahh the memories come flooding back.
I bought a 2007 115 tdci back in 2010, an ex lease car, at 73k miles and got rid at 114k in 2014
These are the common problems encountered:
1) Pulley rattle, fixed under warranty but returned after 3 years.
2) Over cooling engine, (temp indicater shows less than 90c) fixed by replacing the oil cooler thermostat and sometimes the normal stat (twice in 4 years, was happening again in year 4 of ownership)
3) Chewed through 2 alternators, 1 battery.
4) Split booster pipe
5) P132b error started in year 3 as the coil light used to flash on startup  sometimes and when increasing speed, this meant turbo problems.
With all above and the yet famous injector and clutch/dmf issues yet to encounter it was time to get rid.
The car was given 2 oil changes per year inc new bosch fuel filter every year, but was relieved to see it go, and time to kiss goodbye to diesel cars.

My next car was a high mileage petrol mazda6 which was a million times better.

forgotmyname

Would that be the Mazda 6 that is also a Mondeo under the skin? 

MK3 developed with Mazda, think the 2L engine was a Mazda design. Nice chain driven, sensible choice why
do they keep changing though? Chains work and are reliable.

JustAnotherSaver

Yeah i must say, after this i'd think twice about a diesel again. In fact i likely wouldn't get one, especially since modern ones are fitted with DPF's ... or perhaps my issue is more turbo related than diesel related. Maybe i could encounter all this with a petrol turbo, who knows.

It also goes to show that MOT history means diddly squat. When looking for a car i'd been totally against cars that were flagging up oranges and reds on vehicle checks, even though my very own car had plenty oranges despite not costing me a thing in 12 years. The MOT history on this car looked good, as did the walkaround. Granted i didn't test drive it nearly enough but maybe the EML wouldn't have come on if i'd given it a good drive. We'll never know. The turbo issue didn't surface on the 1 hour drive home.

I've been against finance all my life. I've always seen it as paying more than you need to for something that you don't need (people wanting new or nearly new when old will suffice). Maybe my last car spoiled me by not going wrong in 12 years. Anyway, finance is something i'm now actually considering depending on how this goes. I know nothing about it so they will be questions for a later date.

"Chains work and are reliable". I only ever owned 1 car which was chain driven. A 1.2 Vauxhall Corsa - or rather my wife did. Sounded like a bloody tractor. Had the chain replaced. A week later the noise came back. Turned out it was normal with this engine. Fair enough it didn't fail but it was really noisy.

As i'm looking at finance, my thought for the next car is likely modern petrol where they get reasonable power out of a lowly engine size and give decent economy. I just wonder about how these little things fare long-term putting out such power. They may be perfectly fine for all i know. Just a concern i have.

thorganby said:

For the tap you could buy the 1st tap @ £2.04 along with the 2nd tap for another £2.04 but the full set with bottoming tap is only £4.86 delivered:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HAND-TAPS-HSS-METRIC-SETS-INDIVIDUAL-TAPER-PLUG-BOTTOMING-HAND-TAP-M3-M24/350859782830?

We're not talking bank breaking money here so i don't mind buying the set. I've had time to click links and take a look now that i'm on a desktop and not my phone (hate serious reading when i'm on my phone).

With these tap and die sets that i've seen, i've seen some sort of key like thing as part of the kit. Is this needed also or just what you linked to there and nothing else?

I'm asking now as i can see it coming to me having a bash myself so i may as well at least know exactly what i need while everything is somewhat fresh.

thorganby

JustAnotherSaver said:

thorganby said:

For the tap you could buy the 1st tap @ £2.04 along with the 2nd tap for another £2.04 but the full set with bottoming tap is only £4.86 delivered:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HAND-TAPS-HSS-METRIC-SETS-INDIVIDUAL-TAPER-PLUG-BOTTOMING-HAND-TAP-M3-M24/350859782830?

We're not talking bank breaking money here so i don't mind buying the set. I've had time to click links and take a look now that i'm on a desktop and not my phone (hate serious reading when i'm on my phone).

With these tap and die sets that i've seen, i've seen some sort of key like thing as part of the kit. Is this needed also or just what you linked to there and nothing else?

I'm asking now as i can see it coming to me having a bash myself so i may as well at least know exactly what i need while everything is somewhat fresh.

Yes you will need a tap wrench which I did forget about. I have an old school tap wrench like this that I've had for years:
https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/qWcAAOSwgQ9Vo7my/s-l225.webp

Nowadays T handle wrenches with a ratchet seem more common:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T-Handle-Tap-Wrench-M3-to-M8-Ratchet-Tap-and-Die-T-Bar-Reversible-TZ-TP115/124365787250?

For this one simple job you don't really need the full set of three taps and you could buy a simple set like this including a tap wrench but remember you would still need to buy the corresponding 6.8mm drill for the M8 tap:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6Pc-HEAVY-DUTY-CHUCK-TAP-WRENCH-T-HANDLE-BITS-SET-M5-M6-M7-M8-M10-STEEL/321499220364?

There are many options to choose from for little money and I'm sure that you are dying to sort out the turbo problem for yourself.

JustAnotherSaver

Ideally, yes. For cost and satisfaction. 
What puts me off is - I know me and my history of finding a way to damage something from nothing. It makes me reluctant from the outset and doubt myself throughout. 

But the fact the job SOUNDS simple to me - drill and then slowly corkscrew kind of thing is why I'm thinking of having a bash as time goes on. 
 

forgotmyname

JustAnotherSaver said:

Yeah i must say, after this i'd think twice about a diesel again. In fact i likely wouldn't get one, especially since modern ones are fitted with DPF's ... or perhaps my issue is more turbo related than diesel related. Maybe i could encounter all this with a petrol turbo, who knows.

MK3 2L petrol Mondeo is the pick for reliability but they can chew through the fuel.  The 1.8L petrol has enough of its own issues.

Nothing wrong with a MK3 diesel, you just bought a dog of one.  Plenty of reliable ones out there. Nephew has my last one and
does over 100 miles a day in it with no issues in the last 2 years except  new tyres.

Sold several and the new owners taking them to over 200k miles, one did over 60k (230k total) in 2 years without as much as
an oil change. 

You bought what I would call the neglected shed. I would have run away from that one, never mind walk away.

JustAnotherSaver

forgotmyname said:

MK3 2L petrol Mondeo is the pick for reliability but they can chew through the fuel.  The 1.8L petrol has enough of its own issues.

Nothing wrong with a MK3 diesel, you just bought a dog of one.  Plenty of reliable ones out there. Nephew has my last one and
does over 100 miles a day in it with no issues in the last 2 years except  new tyres.

Sold several and the new owners taking them to over 200k miles, one did over 60k (230k total) in 2 years without as much as
an oil change. 

You bought what I would call the neglected shed. I would have run away from that one, never mind walk away.

Easy saying afterwards. It had a fair bit of paperwork although granted not FSH (although most don't on a 14 year old car and many FSH claims actually translate as some paperwork). I hold my hands up with the test drive. A longer one would've possibly thrown up the EGR (or at least the EML).

I suppose all of this applies to any car. My last car was faultless in 12 years but I've known of people have the same car and have trouble.

Like you say, the 2L petrol would be too much for me in my situation. I got the diesel as i've moved further away from work than when i bought my last car.

We've had the 1.8 petrol MK3 Mondeo in the family before. It drank oil for fun to the point we kept in 25ltr drums. Someone else will have had a reliable 1.8 i'm sure.

I do mean to ask though - this issue i'm experiencing, is it diesel specific or turbo specific? I'm looking ahead at the moment and if this can't get resolved then it's possible that i may entertain the finance route. DPFs are out so that puts me on petrol. For what i'd be wanting in terms of balancing performance and economy along with outright cost it looks like i'd be looking at one of these 1.0-1.4 turbos that appear surprisingly nippy for what they are. My last car was a 1.8 MK4 Astra which was satisfactory in terms of 0-60 (apparently 8.5 seconds) and say 30-70, 50-80. I wouldn't really be wanting to go much/any slower than that. My wife's is a 1.6 MK5 Astra and i've driven her 1.6 MK4 Golf and 1.2 Corsa C and i wouldn't like to have any of them as a daily drive - too gutless, especially the Golf, though the Astra is a nice smooth drive.

Just wondering about turbos or whether N/A would be more suitable. Reliability is just about top priority to me as i don't have the know-how to do diagnose & repair myself really.

forgotmyname

Petrol turbo's can suffer from heat soak.  Maybe not as bad as the old days where they recommended leaving
the engine running for several minutes after a run to allow the turbo to cool and prevent oil cooking in the
oil galleries.  But it can still be a problem, the issue with a lot of smaller capacity turbo engines is that if you
want the performance they claim it drinks the fuel.

My 2L engine may use more fuel around town but on a run it used less fuel than my sisters 1.6 engine. I
have had over 60mpg from the MK3 2L diesel.  57mpg average over a full tank on longer journeys.

Good cars and will do 300k miles plus if properly serviced and not neglected.