Front Suspension
The front suspension consists of two strut and spring assemblies and a tubular sub-frame, attached to which are the lower arms and the stabilizer bar.
The lower arm is of a pressed steel, fabricated construction which is attached to the sub-frame by bolts through horizontal and vertical bushings.
The lower arm also carries a ball joint that attaches the lower arm to the wheel knuckle. Each wheel knuckle mounts the halfshaft in a double deep groove ball bearing which is secured on both sides by a snap ring.
The wheel knuckle also mounts to the strut and tie-rod end.
The hubs are retained using nuts, which are a laminated design of self-locking nut that produces a high clamping force when tightened. The perimeter sub-frame is a tubular frame that constitutes a sturdy front axle geometry. sub-frame is bolted in four places to the floor pan through rubber insulators that provide additional stability.
The sub-frame carries the lower arms, the stabilizer bar, the radiator mounts, the air conditioning accumulator (if equipped), the power steering gear and the front and rear support insulators.
The stabilizer bar is 20 mm in diameter and consists of a transverse bar with two ball jointed connecting links.
The strut and spring assembly is supported at its upper mounting by a rubber insulator fitted to the strut top mount. a coil spring is located between two seats on the strut. A plastic shield is fitted around the piston rod to prevent dirt and water ingress. A rubber bump stop is also fitted to protect the strut at its fully compressed condition.
Rear Suspension (4, 5 door)
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Hub and bearing assembly
The Mondeo 4 and 5 door rear suspension has a quadralink design. This is basically two horizontal, pressed steel, lateral arms each side of the vehicle, attached to a pressed steel crossmember at the inner pivots and cast iron knuckle assemblies at the outer pivots. The lateral arms control the toe change of the rear wheels.
The third link of the quadralink system is a tie-bar which connects the knuckle assembly to a forward body-mounted bracket. The tie-bar reacts to braking forces.
The fourth link is a strut mounted on top of the wheel knuckle assembly. The strut is a damper, spring, spring seat and bump stop combination on top of which sits a rubber insulator mounted in a tower in the wheel arch. The strut controls the camber and reacts to braking torque.
The tie-bar and lateral arms connect via rubber bushes, the strut is solid mounted to the knuckle assembly. The rear lateral arm joint is mounted to the crossmember and allows toe adjustment by rotation of a cam bolt.
The system has additional roll control by use of a stabilizer bar, connected between the crossmember and the front lower arms.
A hub and bearing assembly runs on the wheel spindle and locates on the brake drum or disc, and the wheel.
The Mondeo rear suspension gives independent rear wheels and good rear end directional stability. The toe and camber change throughout the suspension movement is minimal.
Rear Suspension (Wagon - Vehicles built up to 12/1997)
The Mondeo wagon rear suspension has an SLA (short and long arm) design. The arms are sub-assembled to a fabricated crossmember that is bolted to the underbody. Each side incorporates three lateral arms, one upper that is a forging and two lower that are steel pressings.
The other ends of the arms are attached to a cast wheel knuckle assembly with a fully trailing arm (tie bar) connecting between the knuckle assembly and a forward mounted body bracket. The tie bar is a flat plate designed to deflect with suspension movement but provide torque reaction and anti-lift braking.
Also connected between the wheel knuckle and the crossmember is a shock absorber or, on self levelling vehicles, a special unit to avoid large attitude changes with varying payload.
A coil spring is connected between the lower arm and the crossmember to support the vehicle.
The lower arm connection to the crossmember joint allows toe adjustment by rotation of a cam bolt.
The system has additional roll control by use of a stabilizer bar, connected between the crossmember and the lower arms.
The complete system forms a module, the arms, springs and shock absorbers being assembled to the fabricated crossmember that is directly mounted to the underbody.
The modular underfloor design gives the benefit of completely unobstructed lateral loadspace inside the vehicle.
The system gives independent suspension of the rear wheels and includes good camber and toe control.
