Ford Problems

There are a lot of variables here. One person’s idea of fully restored can vary enormously from somebody else’s. Is the car in mint, factory condition, or in good driving condition? Is it modified in any way? Is it a weird or undesirable colour? Does it have competition history? These are all things that will make a huge difference to the asking price.

Classic cars will make better money if they’re in standard form and with all the desirable options fitted, including a manual (versus automatic) transmission. But even then, the post-Covid market for such things is pretty volatile and even something like another Trump tariff announcement (affecting superannuation values) could send prices tumbling.

However, as a (very) ball-park figure, a good condition, unmolested Capri V6 GT from 1972 should start the bidding around $50,000 or $60,000.

Ford’s EcoBoost engines have a bit of a track record with blown head gaskets thanks to the fundamental design of the crankcase where it meets the cylinder head. Given the relatively high turbo-boost pressure some of these engines use to produce their impressive performance, the head gasket can fail.

But it’s also fair to say that this engine design has also seen its share of overheating problems, blown turbochargers and coolant leaks (often into the cylinders). With that in mind, don’t bother guessing what the problem is, allow a mechanic to inspect the engine and give you a professional opinion based on facts.

The news here isn’t great, and this model Laser had just a single airbag (for the driver) in any of the forms sold in Australia at the time. So, even though the Laser represented a fairly dependable package and is now a very cheap second-hand car to buy, it can’t really be recommended for younger drivers on the basis of that limited safety package.

Even anti-lock brakes didn’t become an option for the Laser until the April 2001 facelift, at which point a passenger’s front airbag became optional in the entry-level LXi and standard on other variants. So the later version is a much safer car all round provided the original owner ticked the boxes for ABS and the second airbag.

There was a recall for a batch of manual-transmission Rangers built between 2015 and 2016 which had a poorly installed clip on the gearshift cable on the production line. Your car is from an earlier batch, but it’s not inconceivable that the problem is the same one.

The cable clip in question could allow the cable that operates the gear changes to make contact with the car’s driveshaft. At that point, gear-changing could become difficult or even impossible, which sounds pretty much like your symptoms. Check with a Ford dealer to see if your vehicle was covered by this recall.

It doesn’t take much of a leak to allow enough rainwater into a car to wet the carpets. Given your car is a 2018 model, I’d be surprised if the rubber seals have deteriorated to any great extent. The best bet is to open the doors and hatch and have a close look at the surface of the seals. If there’s a nick or a cut in the rubber, you’ve probably found the problem. But also look for a twig or other piece of rubbish that could be stuck to the rubber and be forming a gap for the water to enter.

If the front floors were wet, the advice would also be to check the drain hose for the air-conditioner, but if it’s the rear floors, it’s almost certainly rainwater. Don’t forget the obvious stuff like a window that looks closed but is actually open a fraction.

Some Ford Ranger owners have reported that the hoses that carry coolant to the engine’s EGR valve have failed, allowing coolant to escape. This is one of the more common ways for this engine to lose coolant.

The problem with no warning showing up on the dashboard has more to do with physics. The warning light is triggered by the temperature of the coolant it’s submerged in. If the engine loses enough coolant, the sensor is suddenly not contacting the hot water and it ceases to give a reading or, therefore, trigger a warning. This is not a Ford Ranger thing, but a common problem faced by car owners over many decades.

This transmission has a finite lifespan and when they die, they sometimes just stop working as yours appears to have done. An automatic specialist will know the telltale signs of this and should be able to diagnose the problem.

But don’t give up hope; you might find the problem is simply a low fluid level in the transmission. Low fluid can certainly provide the symptoms you’re seeing. However, if that’s the case, then you’re chasing a leak, because these transmissions are a sealed system and shouldn’t need periodic topping up.

The symptoms here point to a stuck flasher relay. This is the electrical component that not only powers the indicator lights, but makes them flash (and produces the steady clicking sound you hear when the indicators are on). The contacts in these units can become stuck at which point the lights can become stuck on.

Why does it still happen when the ignition is off? Because the flasher relay is powered up even when the ignition is not. That’s so you can have the emergency hazard-warning lights flashing even though the vehicle is locked and the keys in your pocket. A new flasher relay unit should fix it.