THE advantage of LPG is that you need only one tank, so you get around problems such as having to relocate the spare wheel, but you are relying on having LPG wherever you go. That's not a huge problem because about almost half of the servos in most areas have LPG. But if you want to take a trip around Australia, I would prefer the option of both fuels.

TRANSMISSION specialist John De Sensi of Gear-Matics says he hasn't heard of your problem. He says the main issue with the Falcon auto is it's not well enough cooled and this leads to problems at 150,000-190,000km. The auto oil pan is too small and doesn't contain enough oil, which leads to the oil overheating. The best solution is to fit an oil cooler, which adds to the volume of oil available for cooling. The other problem is that the tiny brass oil cooler in the radiator breaks down and flakes of brass pass through the system and clog the filters in the transmission. This also causes overheated oil. One possible cause of your problem is a high idle speed. To check this you need to see a Ford specialist and have them run their diagnostic program over the engine.

THUMPING in Ford autos is usually caused by the S5 solenoid, Geoff Clay of CPA Automatics says, though it's unusual to get it at such low mileage. The problem is usually seen as a flare-bump while upshifting. It can happen on one-two shifts as well as higher shifts. Geoff says it's worth having the transmission serviced, even though manufacturers do not recommend servicing as much as they once did.