Ford Problems

BOTH are decent cars, but there are known problems with the diff and the oil cooler on autos, and I have recently heard of a problem with the spark plugs during a regular service on a V8. It seems they are susceptible to breaking while being removed. One owner lost his car for 11 days while the dealer worked out how to remove the six spark plugs that broke while being removed during a scheduled service.

YOU'D expect to get 10 to 12 litres/100km on average, so your fuel use is high. The car has done low kilometres, so it's not engine wear. Check the peripherals -- filters, plugs, coils, injectors -- and have a mechanic check for diagnostic codes that might give you some clues.

IF YOU have the service records, you have a case. Ford must honour its warranty, even if the car hasn't been serviced by a dealer. As long as you've had it serviced according to the book -- and have the records to prove it -- you have case for a claim. You can always go to Consumer Affairs Victoria for advice.

OUR tyre specialists recommend you try Michelin's new XM1-plus, which is available in the size you require. They tell me it's a much quieter tyre and there's no loss of grip or ride quality.

THE short answer is there is no simple way of checking. Pre-unleaded cars had a larger fuel filler, and to avoid owners accidentally filling their cars with leaded a smaller fuel filler neck was used on unleaded cars, which mated with the smaller nozzle at the servo. Though the alloy head had a valve-seat insert, it might not be sufficiently hardened to cop the pounding from unleaded fuel. I also doubt Ford would have changed the valves to the hardened ones needed for unleaded fuel. All this suggests you shouldn't run the car on unleaded without an additive.

THERE shouldn't be any problem in running your car on ethanol-blend petrol, as long as you understand it is still an unleaded petrol and needs the same sort of valve protection it needs on unleaded. The ethanol blends we are seeing are low in ethanol and there's generally no problem with them. It's only when you get to quite high blends that you could encounter problems. In terms of increasing fuel consumption, I don't know of any additive that will increase your fuel consumption on standard unleaded petrol.

KEEP up the pressure on Ford. The perforation warranty may well expire by the time the rust eats through the sheet-metal so it needs to be addressed now. If you can't get a satisfactory response from the company, seek legal action.

YOURS is a common experience. It's one thing to have problems with a car, but it's something else to have the company argue about fixing them. Maintain the rage. Keep up the pressure to have the car brought up to the condition you expect.

PERHAPS a reader has this information. It would seem they replace the front bucket seats with a bench, but that would involve moving the automatic transmission shifter from the floor to the steering column.

SIX months isn't a long wait for a special order car such as yours and I would agree with you ABS and EBD are worth the wait.