Ford Problems

CONTACT Ford Customer Assistance for a plausible explanation. There is clearly something wrong with either the wheels or the caps themselves that is causing them to fall off.

IT COULD be one of a number of things, but it is most likely the pressure control solenoid in the valve body, experts at AW Automatics say.

GENERALLY, LPG cars are just as safe as long as the LPG system is correctly installed and maintained. Dedicated gas Falcons are developed by Ford and the systems are well designed and safe.

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.

GET an auto electrician to go through the electrical system. I'd be most suspicious of the electronic control module for the body. They often go on the fritz.

LPG specialists recommend running your car on petrol for 10km once every week or two. That's to run petrol through the fuel pump to prevent the seals drying out.

I would have someone look at the fuel injectors, and think about having them cleaned. It could be a blocked or partly blocked injector, it sounds much like a problem I had a few months ago and that was fixed by cleaning the injectors.

VICTORIAN Autogas Supplies is developing a sequential gas injection system for the F250 and expects to have it available in six to eight weeks. Ph: 1800 620 945 for more details.

YOU would recoup the cost of installation in 18 months to two years, which makes it worthwhile, particularly if you plan to keep the ute for a few years.

IT IS taking so long that you would have to suspect that they don't know the cause of the problem, or that it might require a radical solution, such as replacing the car. You should vigorously pursue Ford for answers, and maybe think about having them give you a new car if the answers aren't forthcoming.