Ford Mondeo Mk4, Front Shock Absorber Strut Top Bearing /Bush Replacement
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Ford Mondeo Mk4, Front Shock Absorber Strut Top Bearing /Bush Replacement.
How to replace and align a ford mondeo mk4 front suspension strut top mount assembly.
I bought a mk 4 mondeo titanium X last week where the previous owner hadn't aligned the marks up properly. The squeaking noise was unbearable. Thanks for the videos, especially this one, they're a great help! 👌
cheers
Paul Kilgour you have just answered the question to my car ive just replaced mine.
Its squeaking i guess its coming off again
What a great & clear instruction video!
Thanks, saved me from lots of stress and hopelessness.
Glad it helped!
Thanks mate... I'm doing both sides on my Mondeo mk4. along with new struts, springs, boots, track control arms, track rod ends... and anything else that I find when I tear it down.
As a very old Ford trained mechanic, I was trained in Cortina, Capri, Granada, escort, etc. This will be my first Mk4 Mondeo total front suspension, so I found this very helpful... Good man...
cheers jim, hope all goes well
Thanks for the video Alan. I have changed the strut bearing after watching your video. The biggest problem I had was with the ball joint. Needs a fair bit of muscle and a good method...
Nice work!
I found the strut top nut most difficult, gave the ball joint a few whacks with a big hammer and it popped loose with pressure from my foot. Someone told me it's the shock with a hammer that loosens it, trying to lever it to break the taper will get you nowhere
Excellent 'How to...'. 👍 One thing tho' ... Mole Grips...on the rod of strut that's being reused ?? 🤔
Can you believe that I bought an MK4 which had receantly the shock absorbers changed in the dealership and they put the bearing wrong ? Both of them. The tabs on the right were put facing the front of the car, and on the other side with them facing to the boot. You cannot imagine how disastrous the steering was, could not go strait whatever I did. Put them back the way you explained and everything is excellent. Thanks for these tutorial videos that you are doing. Maybe dealerships should take a look here also.
lol... yes when the top bearings are fitted in the wrong position they sit at the wrong angle they are intended to sit at and cause havoc with the steering and quite likely to fail very quickly as in the bearing casing breaking.cheers
A Good no nonsense video. Also applicable to the Volvo 2008-2012 range that share the Ford platform.
Im doing this exact job at the moment and thought id say something about the top mount. All data i can find is that the top mount doesnt align to centre all the way down. The top mount should be 6° off the tab. Left strut should be 6° to the right and the right strut 6° to the left. Correct me if i am wrong. This would result in both wheels with toe out slightly and will align straight when driving.
Good video. Anyone attempting in the future should know when he says to clean the threads above those 21mm nuts he really does mean it.
That vid has just made my next mondeo job so much easier. Excellent!
I'm about to do this on a Galaxy III, glad I found your video..... thanks so much for posting 👍
cheers ecoman, hope it goes well
Great video. I was looking for a video to show me this for my Ford Fusion top bearing replacement.
Nice clear videeo with out all the bull so many others add However your supplier is expensive as just bought one from FORD for £27.60 Cannot tdo it myself but watching video helps with garage on the labour times Took 1.5 hours and cost £145 which for a non mechanical person is fair for the security of knowing it was done correctly
Hi Alan, about the rusty bearings. My car has big problems with those strut bearings. 35.000 kilometers and they will have to be replaced. The second time I had to replace the strut bearings, I asked for and got the old strut bearings back, took them apart and guess what - rusty raceways and balls. I got new bearings, took them apart, wiped of the grease. Then I did apply salt water resistant grease (used on boats) and reassembled. The bearings were still fine 110.000 km later when I did replace the strut assembly due to a broken spring. I did regrease the new strut bearings - sure. Bad grease sells new parts....Good grease saves money...
so many parts are made cheaply and sub standard
Good video on the subject mate. Already dreading the job with the old spring compressors, but you got to do what you got to do. Might aswell swap out the passenger side axle because the boot is slowly leaking out the oil...
Between the MKIV Mondeo and MKII V70 the only big difference is that the strut assembly is attached to the wheel hub assembly with two big bolts on the back side. Kind of prefer it that way but this doesn't seem too bad either, probably needs an alignment after the job anyways.
My mechanic didn't do it properlywhen put new shocks and bearings in and it coased funny steering, thanks to your video I managed to find issue and fix it myself, thank you
hi,what of funny steering? i have some issues but i wanna know more from you
Your videos are excellent mate. Thanks!
Thank you very much for the great video.
It helped me a lot
Can you remove the pinch bolt and leave everything else in situ?
Thank you Alan for great videos. After replacing struts and springs my mk4 😊have lost stability, grip and is tracking. I notice new springs is somewhat longer than originals were as new. Any ideas? Or shoul I take it directly to control wheel alignment?
Hi Alan I have a what I can only described as marbles rolling around when I turn the steering wheel or rock the steering wheel only when the car is under power, when Parker no noise at all do you have any idea what it would be thank you
Great help, I did replace the shock absorbers for my mk4. Btw, I'd like to ask you that could we adjust camber and caster manually? Thanks Alan !
Damaging the strut rod instantly
Yes. I can’t believe he did that.
Why ?
@@konrad7598 clamping the pliers on the shock sealing surface will damage it. Now the strut seal will get damaged and leak.
Yeah I cringed and came straight to the comments to see if anyone else noticed too😂
The struts are tougher than the mole grips - no damage
Appreciate the channel, I enjoy watching and learning and I can only image the time and effort u put in. Thanks for sharing
Your videos are the best! Volvo P3 owner.
0:47 the hub nut/drive shaft bolt, does it have to be replaced? Haynes says 45 Nm of torque plus 80° rotation. Seems it stretches a lot when mounting.
great video. I've got the same problem and I'm looking at doing it myself. I don't have a spring compressor though, so have you got any helpful hints on how to do that at home?
Just spent £90 on kits for both sides, with new top bearings, rubber bumper, and damper dust covers from Ford for S-Max/Galaxy; they arrived branded SKF. If you want to save money for OEM quality you can buy the same pair of SKF top bearings elsewhere for £25.
Very informative! Its really nice and super handy you are making these videos, kudos for doing so mate its very aprecciated and super helpfull. I need to do this myself too but i have no shock vice thingy to compress the spring and i'm hesitant to do the job.
I was wondering how many of these have you already done since you have soooo many Mondeos at Steve's?
I really like the fact you explain how any particular issue affects the car and its performance beacuse i learned about issues my car has i wasnt avare it had. I was aware of the fact something was wrong but i had no idea where exactly to look and i was almost about to buy a whole shock absorber assembly for this.... In another words you saved me some money. Thanks!
Another of my problem with my 2007 S-Max 2.0 Tdci engine is that engine is jerking a bit at 1300-1600rpm in 3 or 4 gear while trying to hold a steady speed at 50 km/h, it stops if you add or release accelerator pedal. I took it to a shop, paid them to have a look, they didnt find an issue and suggested i replace the turbo, simply because of my statement that i noticed some boost drop at 2000 RPM in OBD graph on my phone while driving. Car also hesitates for a sec at the same time but pulls strongly onwards.
I have no idea on where to look for... could it be turbo boost & vacum solenoid/valve? I could manage to replace it myself if needed and its not that very expensive part. Is there a way to know/test the solenoid valve without multimeter or even disassembling the valve it self? Should i replace it?
I have a knock on the rear. Believe it could be the top mounts. Do I still need to compress the spring to get to it??
you need to support the lower suspension arm before you unbolt the shock absorber
Cheers Alan. I'll get a go this weekend. It's driving me insane with the banging
Is the job the same procedure on the Smax ?
Anyone searching for this in the future, it is the same fotlr the s max but on the s max you also have to undo and move one windscreen wiper arm and the wiper motor to get to the top strut screws.
I did one of these shocks today, but I forgot to slide the bump stop onto the bearing. The bump stop is still inside behind the boot like yours was, will it be okay seen as it is still there on the shock?
When you turn the steering Wheel, with damaged shock absorber Stut, do you hear the sound in the car and/or on the shock absorbers?
I have the following problem: when my 2.2l diesel is cold, you cant hear anything, but after a while, when you drove a bit, the turning of the steering wheel sounds like metal rubbing on semi wet gum. The mechanic, i speak to told me, it could be the dhock absorber stut or the wishbone dampeners.
Hi Alan, Is there much that needs replacing with the 'bush' part (metal bit) or would just the new bearing (plastic bit) be ok?
Any reason why you take the whole strut out rather than just the shock? Haven't had to do this on my one yet
hi... good question...its now just the way i prefer to do the job...i find the shock absorber is sunk into the hub quite deeply which means pushing the lower arm down a long way or removing the lower ball joint anyway and separating the hub on the car but these taxis have been around too many steam cleaners and the 15mm bolt holding shock to hub tends to get seized so for the extra trouble thats how i do it now lol
The lower arm does not go low enough to clear the hub from the strut anyway. Guess you could compress the spring while it is still in the turret, its only about a inch you need to gain.
@@darkwaterblue I've only done the Focus which separates quite easily. I'll have to dig out the Ford manual and see what it reckons
@@alan4x what you say makes sense, but is it not a good idea to try to remove that bolt connecting the shock absorber to the hub assembly first and if it comes loose ok then you can remove the strut from the car without the hub attached. It would surely make it easier to refit the strut if the weight of the hub assembly was not still attached to it.
Nothing like a good piece of hickory 👍
Good Video, but
NEVER DO THAT!!!! @4:35
Please use a cranked box wrench and Allen key!
Did this man grip the strut with grips .please say I didn't see that .
With these pliers, you injure the stem of the shock absorber and create a precondition for flow through the sealing ring. Am i wrong?
those shock absorber shaft is case hardened steel..the pliers won't leave a scratch...if you ever get an old shock absorber..clamp some pliers onto the shaft and try to damage the shaft...then you can answer your own question and know the answer for sure, thanks,
@@alan4x Thank you for the answer!
@@alan4x Any scratch will damage seal
I have seen scratches and wear marks on the shafts from dirt. They are not as dent resistant as you think.
Doesn’t matter as long as you’re replacing with a new absorber
In my volvo s40 II I only unscrewed stabilizer link, half axle bolt , schock holding bolt (15mm) and 3 bolts on top. Not make a sense to dissambly it all.
why did you change hub as well? the shock bearing is the main wear part I think... or?
Thanks for all the videos but a Vice grips on the strut 2" above the seal. You've just killed the shock. The whole purpose of the plastic gator is to prevent damage to the polished surface of the ram and in turn the seal keeping oil and pressure in the shock.
thanks for pointing that out lol....yeah not the best practise but i will say those strut rams are some hard metal and even vice grips would struggle to mark the shaft.....the thing is i put the grips on every shock i do in the same place and never had a problem.... it is too much aggravation to try and hold the ram from the top where it should be held and undo the 18mm nut..so i go for the easier option, i will carry on putting grips there but yes, probably best to put the grips higher up lol, thanks..good comment
Fold some cardboard in jaws first, that normally makes sure damper rod remains unscathed.
Gary Brown I used an 18mm off set ring (imperial equivalent because I've no metric off set rings) with an Alan key. If I was using a vice grip I'd likely grab it up at near the bolt. If that part goes through the seal you've just done a General Lee and written off the car anyway😊
@@alan4x I was about to point out the same thing...Anyway, if you put vice grips on there, do it at the top of the shaft because that part never goes inside and if it gets damaged, then no problem, at least thats how I do it. The top also tends to be corroded because of the bump stop there collecting moisture around it.
@@alan4x
I insert that new non slip rubber material between the jaws of the mole grips, not only does it stop the teeth damaging the ram, but because it's so grippy, you don't even have to put the grips on very tightly.
This guy is brilliant! Tells it the way it’s easy to understand, thanks pal! 👍🏻
Nice one again Alan 👍🏻
Noooooooooooooooiooo. I had to unlike the video. Never put grips where the rod will travel. That’s a new damper straight away. Should of put it at the top where the rod will never travel
I was wincing watching him do it
I bet he was absolutely devastated about you removing you're like mate, hope Alan recovered OK from it
Does the alignment marks on this car apply to a Focus Mk2 front suspension ? I actually have a Volvo C70 II but this has the same suspension set-up as a Mk2 Focus !
Is this the same procedure for the mk 3 Mondeo? are the components the same? Very informative
I was refitting a entire shock absorber at school, I was saying to my teachers 'Could i have some help' He said no i can do it myself i was annoyed because i knew i could do it with one person but it's much easier with 2.
Well Alan, your great at making the videos, shame you couldn't answer me questions......
what question
changed front suspension struts top bearing and bush together with shock absorbers related to steering wheel wooble on high speed and weird turning on low speed,but the result is the same...wheel perfect balanced....i dont know what else to do
Hi! This is the same shocks on a volvo v70 08-16.
I have had new front shockers on my mk4 mondeo but there was a squeaking noise I took it back to the garage they said the mounts need replacing. Charged me another £90 on top of the £180 I paid originally. Should these have been changed when the shocks were fitted...or at least checked? I would appreciate the advise. Great video as usual.
the top mounts are removed in order to change the shocks so should have been checked, well that's if they knew what to look for
Once had a knock near the left front wheel... First I thought its a strut bearing, but turned out to be a lower control arm bushing... :D
Hello Alan, could you write please how long it shoud take to replace that bearing on one side?
Love the simple clear videos. Could I ask have you had to replace a cylinder head temp sensor on your mk4?
lol, i try to think simple....do you know what...never ever have i replaced a mk4 mondeo temp sensor.....let me know what engine you have and i will locate it as i have two different peugeot 2litre diesel engines on the floor
It's a 1.8 tdci 125 diesel. Wasn't it's the cylinder head temp sensor... reading on the subject seems there is a coolant temp sensor and a cylinder head temp sensor... n your vids are informative When working on a car...
Hello Alan, I have a mk4 with ivdc suspension, do you think I could change it to a normal one?
Many thanks
Informative vid, but I don't understand why you are removing the entire assembly. Why not just remove the bolt for the damper on the hub then pull the entire hub assembly down with a bar and drag out the damper and springassembly
I tried that. Could not get the hub low enough
Spot on m8 good video
Hi Allan great video just need a bit of help my car failed it s mot due to the off side front strut bracket no longer works and fouls on the wheel which has caused groves can't find the part of code
i am not exactly sure what you are talking about..do you mean the anti roll bar drop link❓
Does the rack mount and bearing from the mk4 fit the mk5?
No they are totally different
@@alan4xwhat exactly is different? I can't find the information. visually they are very similar
Thank you so much pal!
I’m having trouble breaking the second tapered ball joint any ideas?
I'm replacing shocks, springs and top mounts on my mk4, which way up do the springs go?
Yikes - not the best place to put the mole grips
Not sure why anyone would do that but explanation here at 9 mins ua-cam.com/video/31HetAGE6v0/v-deo.html
Any dents will damage the oil seals and leak. If it were a new replacements the warranty is voided if you have dents on the struts. The top strut nut has a place for a hex key to hold the rod to remove 5.45
Nice video Alan.
One other thing that could be related, when I roll along the m/w and ad and release accelerator pedal i get sligh bang under the car towards gearbox/driveshaft near side.
Will it be a shaft or gearbox mount or perhaps engine mount. Video about this problem would be much appreciated.
Thanks man👍
more than likely the rear lower gearbox mount that stops the engine swaying to and fro when you accelerate and decelerate
@@alan4x that's what I thought.
Thank you mate👍
I thought those strut mount bearing balls are too big, but they are the size of the bike bar bearing, i cant believe what i just saw. The size of the bike bearing bar.
Nice one, heres a suggestion to help us budding amateur enthusiasts, could you think of handy scale of how difficult this stuff is because you make it look very simple! Perhaps something like a scale of How many pints you need to drink to even consider doing the job...
hi, thats an interesting question, i might just do that in future vids...but don't expect it to be very sensible lol......i will say jobs like this one ...taking it apart is the hard part...cleaning the rusty threads etc..having the right tools and not missing your target when swinging a hammer helps..also, using the proper spring compressor as those cheap ones i would not use on these springs, but any questions, just ask, thanks for your comment
I think most of these jobs is about having the space and the right tools. I would love too work there with Alan. The worst thing is trying to tackle these jobs on a driveway. You need to have some mechanical skills which some people just don't have these days
I have the same car but it has a factory sports suspension that I cannot stand far too hard, does any one knows if its just a case if getting new springs fitted to make it a softer ride or it it more complicated.
good info !
Had to watch this to see what the garage I took my car to did wrong - I’m 99% sure the knock/rattle I have is down to either the wishbone ball joint not being put back correctly and/or the turreted rubber ring you take from the old top mount and put on the new not being put back correctly. I might just have to do it myself this time…
if the top mount is not fitted in the correct position it will cause a knock and also the new mount/beraring will break up not before long
@@alan4xfound that the rubber insulator hasn’t been refitted at all..
Otherwise Alan. Thanks for all the how to's
Brilliant!
Alan what make of clutch and flywheel do you recommend for the mk4 mondeo
hi, we normally use LUK clutches...
Any one know if the difference between the standard suspension and the sports is it just the shorter springs or is there other things different.
Hi Alan. Maybe a silly question but is it always necessary to remove the whole strut complete with hub?....I was thinking you could just undo the 2 bolts clamping the bottom of the shock? Cheers.
on these cars the strut slides into the hub quite a way so removing it from the hub in the car is difficult...i just find it a lot quicker with this design to just remove the whole lot
@@alan4x I can see where you're coming from. I treated myself to a laser tools 6396 this week and boy what a great piece of kit. Separating and installing the lower arm really is child's play now and although I haven't tried it for this yet, itv also pulls the strut out of the hub too but I've heard the arm doesn't drop quite low enough to lift the strut out of the hub. Maybe need to compress the spring in situ to get the extra 25mm needed?...Need to do that job yet to comment. The tool isn't cheap but took me just 27mins to complete the job of replacing the lower arm ball joint boot including all prep and jacking.......and I didn't loose any knuckles lol.
Keep up the vids btw, love watching. Still can't face changing my clutch yet....
Ssssoo much to dismantle!!! Atb
Does the bottom of the strut not just seperate from the hub ?
yes it does but because the shock slides into the hub you would have to bend the lower arm down too far to get it out... i just find it easier with this setup to remove hub and shock together
Aye nee worries , was just curious thats all 👍
if you do that as minute 04:40, soon you will need a new shock absorber.
Like the videos Alan! Out of interest what air gun are you using? Looks pretty good and I’m looking for recommendations
hi that is a 3/4 drive which i used for buses some years back as i broke my cp 1/2 inch air gun...it is a bit heavy for cars but its all i have ....its a minefield to buy a good air gun but cp has always been a good brand
Quick question Alan, does the Tracking need to be done after this?
not normally no
@@alan4x Cheers mate, just wanted to double check. I've just had both front strut top mounts replaced under warranty. When I questioned about the tracking they said it doesn't need to be done.
Если пользоваться обычными стяжками пружины, При разжимании пружины, могут метки уйти на опорном подшипнике, будьте внимательны.у меня в гараже нет таких приспособ,
If you use the usual spring fasteners, When uncoupling the spring, labels can go on the support bearing, be careful. I have no such adapters in the garage,
That's a translation for you all.
sorry but I did not ht why drive shaft..control arm etc have to be disconnected??
4:40 Rip the hydro system?
What are the common symptoms of a bad top bearing / bush ?
Makes like a clunking noise when you turn the steering wheel
Coz the spring can't move freely so it's almost twanging
Thanks
i love it.... your good....
Thank you so much
Another brilliant in depth video 👍
My mk 4 will need new shocks soon I'm guessing I can get the bearings changed at the same time ? Cheers
you can ..it would make sense but they not cheap
I did 4 shocks and springs on a mk5.5 escort back in 2000. It was around £12 per shock and just over £10 per spring motorcraft from the main dealer. Those were the days i bought the anti rolebar (£52) but gave up trying to fit it. Could not figure out how a length of metal with so many sharp bends could fit over the steering rack and behind the engine. Ford had it done in 20mins and charged me an hours labour around £60
Just replaced the struts and bearings on my Mk4 2.0 dsl. €134 for the two struts from Ford. I got Febi the bearings for €30 from the local motor factors.
thanks for details
When I brake, or accelerated fast, I hear a clunk from my suspension... Do you think this would might be my issue?
I'm having the same sound a slight clunk when braking and acceleration. Did you manage to find the issue?
Your problem sounds like a front lower suspension arm balljoint.
Just did both sides on one yesterday they were ROUGHHH
it's unbelievable that such a "professional" as you put a pair of pliers on the chrome telescopic sliding rod. this is how you can destroy a good factory shock absorber. bravo
why dont you come out from behind your keyboard and clamp some grips to the case hardened shocker rod and see if you can even mark it..but you wont will you...just stay behind your keyboard and have mummy clean your mess up
@@alan4x when i was 17 years old i also did it. I know and learned from it. You should too...I can see you cant handle critism. Then you are angry with me and cry like a little child. Holw old are you pro?
I have an issue. When I break my whole steering wheel starts to wobble. I had this issue long time ago already. I guessed it was the break disks and that they could be bent. I had to change them anyways, so I did. It seemed like it helped for a while but actually the vibration on the steering wheel came back shortly after. Now time has passed and the steering wheel is moving left and right quite a lot when I break. Lately I had to change my tie rods and I changed the tie rod ends too. Thought maybe it will fix my wobbling steering wheel. Nope.. still there. While I had the tie rod ends disconected I noticed that my (right side of the car) of the shock absorber(the whole assembly with the breakdisks and the hinge bearing) . The whole thing seems to be kind of soft and it doesnt seem as stisf as the other side. It seems it has play somewhere, when I turn it left and right. Can this part of the car cause heavy steering wheel movement while breaking?
Why did he remove the strut with the hub?? Why not just remove the strut?
its easier to remove the whole leg rather than try to separate the shock from the hub
It's never as easy at it looks.
mine is like a knocking sound over uneven road very annoying nsf
sounds like shock knocking...was common on the mk4 mondeo
@@alan4x if this is the case would it be new shock absorber? Mine are electric adaptive suspension which are expensive if that's the case I'll just buy all new and do away with the adaptive system.
@@damoblake6000 i would check the rest of the suspension first like anti roll bar ball joints etc but if you can't find anything wrong then i would go for a new shock absorber
Grips plier damage absorber, but its good for you, month or two, and replace absorbers...
That's shocking 😆
52.67 woooow O.O
Проще было амортизатор вытащить из поворотного кулака.
Taankiouprofeseure
❤
Way to much work Just to remove the strut,there's no need to remove the whole hub.