Hi,
I have a 1997 Mondeo Mk2 Ghia. Recently, I have noticed a squeaking noise. The noise ONLY happens when the key is put in the ignition and TURNED ON. It does not happen at any other time. Once the engine is running, the car moves approx 10 feet and the squeak happens. You can take the car on a 120 mile journey and never hear the noise again. It only happens when you start the car up. There is nothing wrong with the clutch as it was replaced 800 miles ago along with the hydraulic actuautor.
I have taken it to my local garage and he states that he has never heard of this problem. He actually sat on the engine whilst I drove it around the back of his yard. He stated that the noise was high up under the bonnet and not down below near the gearbox, clutch etc. By the way, prior to my mechanic opening his own garage, he was a Ford main dealer mechanic for 20 years. He said that the problem could be with the Servo vacuum? or ABS pump although he did state that he has never heard of this problem in his 20 years whilst working for Ford.
Going back to the squeak, if I turn the car on and drive it 10 feet the squeak will happen, if I stop turn off the engine, restart and go a further 10 feet the squeak will re-appear.
I have checked the hoses going into the servo and they are fine.
If anyone has any insight into this problem I would really be grateful if you could respond.
Regards
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ABS does self-test on start-up and again on \'drive-away\'. On many vehicles you can hear a brief \'whirr\' as the pump self-tests as you set off. I would therefore suspect that it is related to your ABS pump.
Remove the pump fuse or relay and drive the car its 10 feet. If it silent then you have localised the problem.
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Aprilia,
I removed the fuse and drove the car, there was no squeak. Simple diagnostics as removing a fuse and testing really are simple if you realise to do it!!!
Thanks anyway, just off to find where I can get the part from.
Adios
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Good luck with this one. I too have a 1997 Mondeo Ghia which some time ago emited a mysterious squawk (a bit raunchier than a squeak!) under the bonnet as described. Over a period of time it worsened and it wasn't until the brakes started behaving badly that we realised it was a problem with the ABS controller. Despite the fact that one of the front brakes spasmodically failed to come on and then sometimes bind, there was no indication of a fault from the ABS warning light. I posted the story earlier in the year. The problem was only cured by replacing the ABS unit.
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Waino,
What parts are to be replaced, what is it actually called. The manual states that the whole abs unit should be replaced, but is this correct?
Regards
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Sorry about the delay, I forgot to recheck the thread. My bill just refers to the 'ABS unit' - it is a fairly hefty chunk of about 6ins cubic dimensions. It was also pretty difficult to access in the car. Despite efforts to obtain a reconditioned unit, this was not possible which ties in with what the manual is saying. Apparently there are several different manufacturers involved in supplying these units to Ford and it was not possible to find a cheaper route than going to a Ford spares dealer (i.e. to be sure that we got the correct one). I'm not sure if I mentioned before, but the cost was £718 for the unit + bits and £140 for labour - all + vat! The guy who fixed it is absolutely honest, reliable and independent. It was a difficult decision - would it be worth it? The car was unusable but too good to scrap, and certainly couldn't be sold. It is now running fine and, without doubt, the failing unit was the cause of the problem.
Incidentally, the squawking started about 2 years before the brakes went haywire!
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