Ask The Guide

This is a great example of when it’s necessary to go back to basics. Obviously, towing or running heavily loaded places greater strain on every single component of a car. And, of course, that includes the cooling system. So start with the obvious things like the correct grade of coolant and its level in the radiator.

Working back from there, check the radiator hoses for wear (worn hoses can 'suck in' under the load of the water pump, leading to reduced coolant flow. Are all the clamps tight and leak-free? What about the radiator itself? Is it blocked with gunk or is it flowing freely (you might need a radiator shop to check this and flush the unit)? Are the engine’s cooling fans working properly? Is all the factory shrouding for the fans present and in place? Moving further inside the engine, is the thermostat working properly and opening sufficiently to allow extra coolant to circulate as the engine gets hotter? Is the fan belt tight and driving the coolant pump properly?

Any one of these things can cause overheating, but it’s also where most mechanics will start looking for the problem. If that doesn’t turn up anything, you need to dig deeper and start looking at the condition of the engine, whether the ignition timing and fuel mixture are correct and even whether there’s a dragging brake or park-brake that could be loading things up to the point where they start to get hot.

This could be caused by a range of things, but it’s also worth noting that this model was subject to a recall back in 2017 for a problem very, very similar to the one you’re experiencing. The recall involved Rangers built between June 5 2015 to February 12, 2016, so a check of the build date on your vehicle is the first step. A Ford dealer will also be able to tell from the VIN number whether the car was affected by the recall and if it’s been fixed as a result.

The problem involved a retaining clip that held the gear-shift cables. In some Rangers, this clip or clamp was not tightened sufficiently, and could allow the cables to make contact with the vehicle’s driveshaft. Over time, this contact could damage the gear-shift cables as well as the actual driveshaft. Difficulty in changing gears was one of the tell-tale symptoms.

Beyond that possibility, you need to check the shifter mechanism (including the cables) and maybe even dig into the transmission itself if nothing is wrong externally.

The bottom line here is that even if the vehicle was incredibly cheap, you might find it’s a false economy once you have to start making repairs. Regardless of what make or model four-wheel-drive you’re looking at, the first thing to do is determine how it’s been used and how it’s been serviced. Check the service handbook for signs that correct maintenance has been performed, and try to gauge how much off-road work it’s done. Any example with mud tyres and a winch can be assumed to have led a hard life.

On a model-specific basis, this was not Nissan’s finest hour in turbo-diesel engines. The 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel is notorious for suffering stretched and failed timing chains. And repairing that could easily be more than the value of a 300,000km example. EGR (exhaust gas recirculation, part of the emissions-control equipment) coolers can also fail expensively. There are better choices, to be honest.

The reason your van feels like it’s revving hard is because it is. The demands of being potentially loaded up with gear and relatively low-tech 1.8-litre engine to push along a fairly unaerodynamic shape meant that Toyota deliberately geared the vehicle low to make sure the engine could stay within its comfort zone. The fact that you’re only dealing with 60kW of power only made the requirement for short overall gearing even more critical.

That said, the van should pull smoothly in fifth gear, provided you’re not shifting into fifth prematurely and making the engine labour. With electronic fuel-injection and a very simple mechanical layout, this engine shouldn’t throw up too many problems. Perhaps a decent tune-up is all it requires to be singing again. Don’t forget the basics like the fuel filter, spark plugs and the high-tension leads.

These range predictions are a classic case of only being as good as the information being fed into them. What the car does is look at the previous, say, 100km of driving that you’ve done. If that was on a highway, the computer will know that for the last 100km, average fuel consumption was, let’s say, 10 litres per 100km (to keep the maths simple). So, if you still have 20 litres in the tank (which the computer will also know) the computer will figure that you have 200km of range left.

But, if your next driving stint is in stop-start traffic, your fuel consumption might easily rise to 15 litres per 100km, at which point, those 20 remaining litres are only enough for 133km. The farther you drive at your new consumption rate of 15 litres per 100km, the more the computer will realise that the previous range estimation is suddenly wrong and it will move to fix that by constantly reducing the range readout until it matches your actual fuel consumption.

It works the other way, too, and a change from suburban driving to highway work will see the computer hustle to reflect the current consumption and will actually start to increase the range estimation until it all starts to average out again.

This, of course, is the case assuming all the sensors and computers are accurate, and any false or misleading piece of information fed to the computer will also lead to wildly inaccurate range estimates.

The rules in QLD are based around pre- and post-2010 vehicles. Since the car you’re looking at is a post-2010 model, for it to be legal for a P-plate driver under the age of 25, the vehicle can not have eight or more cylinders, have a power-to-weight ratio of greater than 130kW per tonne or have a modified engine that would otherwise need to be inspected and certified by the authorities.

Fundamentally, this means that most Lancers should be fine while turbocharged variants such as Ralliart and Evo models are not legal for P-Platers to drive. However, many state governments are continually refining these rules, ruling cars in and out. So check with the authorities before handing over money for a car you may not be allowed to drive.

It sounds very much like you’re on the right track in thinking that the problem is diesel finding its way into the sump and increasing the level of the sump’s contents. This is a reasonably common problem (and not limited to LDV vehicles by any means) and occurs when the vehicle attempts to force a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) regeneration. To achieve this, the computer instructs the fuel system to inject extra fuel (diesel) into the engine to try to get everything hot enough to perform the regeneration. And sometimes, some of that extra diesel gets past the piston rings and into the sump.

The problem, of course, is that a mix of diesel and oil is not going to lubricate the engine as effectively as oil on its own. So, you’re running the risk of engine damage by having this situation continuing to occur.

If the dealer won’t play ball, go over their head and talk directly to LDV Australia’s customer service department. This is an obvious warranty issue and LDV is legally obliged to address it.

Potentially, this can be fixed by a specialist, but in reality, it’s probably going to be cheaper and simpler to fit a better stereo head unit and pick up a few modern features like Bluetooth and smart-phone connectivity. These units are relatively inexpensive to buy and there’s lots of choice out there. Consider upgrading the car’s speakers at the same time for an even better listening experience.

This is a strange one. If you had a post-2015 Ranger, the suspicion would be that the electric power-steering was playing silly games and turning the wheel to the left randomly. (Electric power-steering with the ability to move the wheel without driver input is the technology that has made driver aids such as lane-keeping assistance and self-parking possible.) If there’s a fault with the electric motor, the computer that controls it or the sensors that tell the system what’s what, then you can have a problem like this occur.

But Rangers built prior to this date had conventional hydraulic power-steering which, without driver input, should not be able to turn the steering at all. Except yours does.

Probably the most important piece of advice is not to drive the vehicle any farther until the problem is fixed. Obviously, having a steering system with a mind of its own is a potential source of disaster.

The actual problem could be do with the valving that controls the steering rack (and its power assistance) and a pressure imbalance between the right-hand and left-hand side of the steering rack could potentially cause this sort of problem. The valve that controls the speed-sensitive aspect of the steering is a likely culprit here as a faulty one can lead to uneven pressures within the steering rack.

If you want to be proactive, check that the power-steering fluid in the pump (under the bonnet) is at the correct level. Then, start the car with the transmission in Park and turn the steering wheel from full right to full left lock a couple of time. This should purge any air from the hydraulic fluid and restore balance to the system. But really, this is a potentially very serious problem and needs to be checked by a specialist.

When a whole bunch of electrical and convenience items go on the blink all at once, the prime suspect is the vehicle’s body computer. This computer controls all the functions you’ve mentioned as well as plenty more including the entertainment and climate-control systems, the powered seats (if fitted) and even things like the seatbelt warning lights and buzzers.

An auto electrician is your best bet at this point, and chances are they’ll have seen this exact problem on similar models. Ultimately, you’ll probably need to replace the body computer, but you can try this trick first. Disconnect the car’s battery and leave it disconnected overnight. Next morning, hook it back up and see if the various functions have returned. Disconnecting the battery will sometimes force a reset to the factory settings and will return the body computer to normal service. It’s not a guarantee, but definitely worth a shot since it costs nothing to do.