Ford Problems

YOU have been treated shabbily by the dealer and by Ford. You should not have to pay for the work the dealer has to do to remove the broken plugs. His mechanic broke them; he should have to pay to fix them. It is a problem with the three-valve V8 engine, and there are many thousands of reports of the problem with the engine in the US. I can understand your frustration.

GREAT. The Escort is a fun car and great to learn about mechanics and driving. They're easy to work on, there are many parts available and they make a good little club competition car. However, it's old and won't have the modern safety features, but I would say go for it.

LPG specialists Australian LPG Warehouse tell me they can convert the turbo with virtually no loss of power and torque. The kit suits the standard factory engine and is capable of staying on LPG all the way to full throttle. It costs about $4200 installed.

I WOULD persist with Ford. It seems they've ordered the parts to fix it, though it's disappointing they aren't here on hand in this country and you have to wait so long for them. Let them fix it. If that doesn't work, consider taking legal action. In the meantime, keep detailed records of everything that happens, including phone calls with dealers, Ford and whoever else you talk to on this matter.

BUYING used is not going to cost you as much as buying new, but you need to know about cars or have the help of someone who does. Otherwise, buy new and get the security of a warranty. The new car will also be safer. Generally they have more safety features built into them and will probably use less fuel than an older car. Look at the Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Tiida, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Getz and VW Polo.

WE HAVE received several reports of rusty Territories since we published the first letter and it seems some are being repaired and others not. Let us know how you get on.

YOU really should decide if you want performance or economy. If you want economy, go for a Corolla, Civic, 323 or Pulsar. You will find they have pretty good performance anyway.

THE diff is a regular problem. Ford was replacing diffs under warranty with new ones, then replacing them with rebuilt units in cars out of warranty. Try Ford again and press to have your diff replaced. Like you, I reckon Ford should come to the party when there are known problems.

FORD uses old technology on its E-Gas engine, claiming that's all its customers are prepared to pay for. It's cheap, but not necessarily nasty. Being old technology, it's prone to the old LPG issues of backfiring, stalking, stumbling and idling roughly, but kept maintained it does a good job. It's a dedicated LPG system so there's only one tank, but the spare wheel is mounted on the floor of the boot, reducing the space. Performance is down on the petrol compared to the petrol engine; the gas engine in the new FG has 156 kW and the petrol 195 so you can imagine the E-Gas car doesn't go as hard as its petrol cousin.

THE front diff seals are a regular issue with the Territory, but I haven't heard of a problem with the oil pan seal. It is odd that it can't be fixed with a new seal, so it's worth looking at other possibilities. I would doubt that it's a pinhole in the block. The only thing you can do is to pressure Ford until they do something about it.