Ford Problems

Little is known about the Rockstone brand, so it's not possible to advise on their safety or potential life. There is no doubt, however, that you would be compromising somewhere, either in the performance, noise, ride comfort, or life. The best advice is to shop around for a known brand of tyre that still gives you a saving over the Goodyears.

The engine would run on bio-diesel, but if you swap you should service it and replace filters etc. after running a tank of bio through it. The bio-diesel will remove all the varnish that's built up in the fuel system and that will accumulate in the filters. It should be fine after doing that service, but I wouldn't advise doing it unless you can get bio-diesel wherever you go. It's not a good idea to be switching back and forth. A "Power Chip" is claimed to improve the economy, but you need to drive accordingly to achieve the claimed improvement. Most people don't get the economy benefits because they make use of the increase in power it also delivers.  Fitting a second reserve tank would be a good move, that way you can take advantage of price swings and buy when the fuel is cheapest; you can also buy in the major centres where the rice is usually lower than in remote areas and the quality more reliable. Transits are prone to turbo failure, so I would have the dealer check that before you go bush.

A random spark in the inlet manifold usually causes backfiring and the most common cause of that is a faulty spark plug lead. The mechanic would struggle to find it if it only happens occasionally, and when he’s not around. I would fit new spark leads, and make sure they are a good quality, even though you say you have fitted new ones.

There were a lot of diff problems with the BA/BF Falcon and Ford was replacing them with monotonous regularity. On cars with higher kays they would sometimes fit a diff they’d removed from another car and had checked, so don’t be surprised that it happened with your car. If the warranty period is not yet up you might get some help from Ford, although I very much doubt they would refund your money or even offer financial compensation. Have a diff specialist assess your car and advise on what they can do to fix it.

Check and adjust the park brake, they're notorious for causing a noise similar to that you are hearing.

A noise that goes away when you press the clutch pedal in is usually a sign that the thrust bearing is “gone”, but it’s unusual for that to happen at such low kays. Have it assessed by another dealer to get a second opinion, and of that supports your view that it’s too noisy take it back and demand it be fixed. That fix is likely to be a replacement gearbox. While you are in negotiation with your dealer, and with Ford itself, keep meticulous records of conversations and agreements for future reference if needed.

It's not unusual to hear of tyres wearing out at such low kays on heavy cars like the Falcon. Tyre specialists strongly recommend that you balance and rotate tyres every 6000 km or so on a car like the G6 to get decent tyre life.

We contacted Ford on your behalf and they have told us they are fast-tracking the part and it will be available within days. We also understand that the dealer will take the part from another car in stock to get yours going in the meantime. As for the insurance on the rental car I would present the dealer/Ford with the bill and ask them to take care of it. There is no reason that should be out of pocket.

We haven’t had any other reports like yours, perhaps that’s because yours is an unusual situation and not everyone has to back up an incline on a regular basis. You might have been better off with an auto trans in your situation.

That's possible, but you would have to hit the potholes very hard and very often, even with the low profile tyres to bend an axle, and I would have though you would have picked up by a wheel shake instead of a "clicking" noise. I would also have thought you would break a wheel before bending an axle.