Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - Suspension bushes

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Mon 10 Sep 2007 15:33
Suspension bushes - Round The Bend
I've just had my 2002 Mondeo successfully passing the MOT. The garage has advised that the "rear crossmember bushes are starting to perish" but it passed the MOT as the deterioration "was not resulting in excessive movement".

Would appreciate if you could advise what I should be looking for (as a driver - not a mechanic) to detect any further deterioration and how much the job should cost to put things right when the time comes. I seem to reacall HJ advising that Ford have a tool for this job which considerably reduces the cost/time.

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Mon 10 Sep 2007 15:47
Mondeo Suspension bushes - Saltrampen
When you start to hear rear end knocking or getting general rear instability the it is time to replace them.
The tool you speak of removes the old bush allowing a new one to be glued in and left to set overnight. Labour costs probably similar or slightly more (2 - 3 hours? But do not know for sure) but parts costs must be less (less than £100 rather than £300+ ?). Hopefully someone can give you more precise figures. I assume the rear subframe must still be dropped, but not replaced.

Many mondeo owners insist on replacement with poly bushes which are supposed to last much longer ( see previous posts on this site about thsi subject if you do a search).
A local Ford dealer says the modifications on the mondeo in 2005 were supposed to have addressed this issue on newer cars.

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Mon 10 Sep 2007 16:38
Mondeo Suspension bushes - cheddar
My Mondeo needed the bushes doing at 3.5 years / 100k miles, it drove well though I noticed an occasional knocking, at the time the dealer solution was a new subframe at a cost of a few hundred quid fitted, I bought a set of Powerflex poly bushes, fitted them myself and had it laser aligned, total cost about £110, parts and alignment. Now 121k, all is fine.

Ford dealers now offer a bush replacement kit which is more cost effective than a new subframe however this requires the new bushes to be bonded into the subframe, thus they need the car overnight, where as the Powerflex bushes are retained by a lip on the bush and by a washer once bolted in place, perhaps a better design.
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Sun 23 Sep 2007 12:55
Suspension bushes - Monaghan
Mine needed replacing at 3yrs 4mths (102,000 miles). Job done at local Ford Rapid Fit, cost £195 plus £25 to realign tracking, total £220 using non-Ford parts. Using Ford parts would have been an extra £130.
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