service intervals

Most people do it every 10K or yearly. I do mine every 5K or yearly. But I only do the oil change as I have already got an aftermaket airfilter. It is the oil change which is the most importiant part about these engines. It pays to look after them well with regular oil changes.
 
The service indicator (spanner icon) in the overhead display will light every 4,800 miles (7,700km).

Really? I'm pretty sure on the UK cars it's every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever happens first. Are the Aussie cars calibrated differently, perhaps because of the different climate?
 
I downloaded the manual from a UK site. The US manual I later downloaded has the same information. I didn't get a manual when I bought the car.

When I bought the car it was lit, but I knew they'd just done a service on it (was watching them do it while I waited for delivery), so I reset the indicator. The next service was 7,700km later. Almost due for it's 2nd service.

I can confirm that the climate control system shown in both manuals does not match the Aussie Cougars. The manual has a temp dial, mode dial, and fan speed dial. The Aussie Cougars have only a fan dial, and a red button/blue button to set the climate control temp. The position of these are in different places too.
 
'Standard' UK service interval is definately 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever is the sooner, with a 'Major' service due every 3 years or 30,000 miles.
 
Cheers guys, Iv noticed that Halfords do a fully synthetic 5w30 oil which complies with the Ford specification, im guessing thats the one to go for.
 
Some of us have found at various times that the genuine Ford oil is the same as or cheaper than Halfwits stuff. It's certainly what I always used and I never paid a premium for it because I was constantly skint all through Cougar ownership (not entirely due to Cougars though)!

Do you have a copy of the Owner's Manual? Don't skimp on fuel filters and pollen filters when due. Lastly, and I know this will be refuted by lots of people who have had them fitted for 2 months and 300 miles with "no problems", but if you really must waste a fortune on an aftermarket airfilter, then avoid any type that needs oiling. These were ok for old fashioned carburreted cars, but modern fuel injected cars all have heated wire element air temperature and mass flow sensors. Using oily filters gradually coats the element in oil droplets, which are baked on. This insulates the heated wire element and gradually degrades the performance of the sensors, causing power loss and/or poor fuel consumption. It's a gradual degradation though, so you won't notice a sudden worsening but it is certain to happen.

Just spend the £40 a K&N panel filter costs and buy 40,000 miles/4 years worth of dry paper filters IMHO!
 
Sounds like you have downloaded the US manual K10wN mate,(that UK site has only US spec manuals) ;) the UK spec (for those with A/C, ie.all V6's) is a similer set up to yours, two dials, one controls direction, other fan speed, middle part is for temperature control using a digital display.

anyway back on the topic at hand, the service light comes on after 10,000 miles
 
Sounds like you have downloaded the US manual K10wN mate,(that UK site has only US spec manuals) ;) the UK spec (for those with A/C, ie.all V6's) is a similer set up to yours, two dials, one controls direction, other fan speed, middle part is for temperature control using a digital display.

anyway back on the topic at hand, the service light comes on after 10,000 miles

Matt, don't you know anything about cougars? They ALL have A/C :rolleyes:
 
Sounds like you have downloaded the US manual K10wN mate,(that UK site has only US spec manuals) ;) the UK spec (for those with A/C, ie.all V6's) is a similer set up to yours, two dials, one controls direction, other fan speed, middle part is for temperature control using a digital display.

anyway back on the topic at hand, the service light comes on after 10,000 miles

....Or every 12 months, as I do less than 3000 miles in mine per year and my service light comes on every 12 months. So as someone else has already mentioned it's either 10k miles or 12 months, which ever comes first. In my case it's the 12 month annual.

I know this can get very confusing.....can't it Matt???..........who mentioned that Matt has a C2...didn't know he had a C2 LOL!!!!!
 
I meant to say 12 months also. If you check out both those links they take you to sites with only US spec manuals, is what I meant. Yes I have a C2, I didn't know all cats had a/c I thought the pump was bigger than a Zetec engine :oops:
 
spark plugs every 60k or 5 years and use ford only plugs
does matt have a c2? i didn't know that................................................................................................