Mondeo 1.8td stuff to fix

[sdp]

My mate's just picked up a really cheap Mondeo, does anyone have an idea on the following probs? He doesn't know anything about cars n I said I'll help tidy it up a bit.

* The exhaust manifold (or manifest as my mate says) is blowing - is this an easy enough thing to fix diy?

* Front and rear bumpers need replacing due to donk damage - rough cost?

* Oil is leaking from the top of the rocker cover - is this a symptom of something bad or is it just a case of sourcing a new cover from the scrappy?

* Are they supposed to be so horribly sluggish in first gear? I reckon my mini'd give it a good run for it's money up to 50 too

/Other than that it's not a bad car but I really cant see the appeal of diesels unless you're doing really really stupid amounts of mileage.

[Rave]

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I'll try to help anyway.

Originally posted by sdp
My mate's just picked up a really cheap Mondeo, does anyone have an idea on the following probs? He doesn't know anything about cars n I said I'll help tidy it up a bit.

* The exhaust manifold (or manifest as my mate says) is blowing - is this an easy enough thing to fix diy?

I think you can get metal tape stuff to fix exhausts, so a shonky repair using that should be easy enough. Not sure if that'd make it MOT worthy though. Actually replacing the exhaust header is generally a very fiddly and annoying job; the mounting studs have a nasty habit of getting stuck or breaking.

* Front and rear bumpers need replacing due to donk damage - rough cost?

Probably £100 for both from a breaker....but if the car's a shonker anyway why not save the money and spend it on beer?

* Oil is leaking from the top of the rocker cover - is this a symptom of something bad or is it just a case of sourcing a new cover from the scrappy?

Depends what the leak is caused by. Could be a hole, could just need a new gasket.

* Are they supposed to be so horribly sluggish in first gear? I reckon my mini'd give it a good run for it's money up to 50 too

/Other than that it's not a bad car but I really cant see the appeal of diesels unless you're doing really really stupid amounts of mileage.

Never driven one so I don't know how sluggish it's supposed to be. Having a hole in the header won't help though, especially if it's before the turbo.

I got a Peugeot 307 diesel as a hire car this year in Spain, and once I'd got used to it it was surprisingly nice to drive, with a lot of low down poke. FA at the top end of the rev range though, and the handling over bumps and round corners at high speed was a bit frightning The spanish aren't afraid of having a twisty motorway.

Rich :¬)

[Fox]

Bumpers for a Mondy are quite expensive as they've got some weird foamy stuff inside

[sdp]

Thanks