Ford Transit Review, For Sale, Colours, Specs & Models in Australia

Ford Transit Q&As

Check out real-world situations relating to the Ford Transit here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• Am I able to tow a car behind my Ford Transit motor-home?

  The crucial number here is the towing capacity of the Transit. This model ranged form 2000kg to 2750kg (depending on body and wheelbase) so a Daihatsu car shouldn't take you anywhere near that limit. That, of course, is if you flat-tow the Daihatsu behind the motor-home. If, however, you tow the car on a trailer, then you might (depending on the trailer's size and construction) find you're getting close to that limit in some circumstances.

  The other problems will be the same ones faced by anybody who tows a decent sized load; wear and tear on the mechanical components and the sheer cost of fuel, particularly diesel.

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• Does the 2003 Ford Transit have a timing chain or cam belt?

  The model you've nominated has a timing chain, which, in theory, should be good for the life of the engine. However, that's not always the case, and some specialists recommend changing the timing chain at intervals of 200,000km. That is still a pretty decent innings for a hard-working vehicle like a Transit and is longer than the change interval for most engines with toothed rubber timing belts.

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• 2017 Ford Transit minibus cutting out when moving out of junctions

  You’ve gone down the right path by having the vehicle scanned first, and even though no fault codes were revealed, that doesn’t mean it was a waste of time. In some cases, a mechanic experienced in a particular make and model will know that a fault with no code is caused by a specific part or piece of software. LS1 Holden V8s, for instance can experience a misfire with no code showing up. In that case, an experienced LS1 mechanic will go straight to the spark plugs as the cause.

  So the best advice is to find a Ford Transit specialist as this problem has almost certainly occurred before to somebody else. Be aware, too, that Transits built between September 2014 and January 2015 were subject to a recall to replace a batch of faulty fuel injectors which were causing the precise symptoms you’ve noted. Ford believed the problem was solved for vehicles built after January 2015 (including yours) but it’s worth checking since it was a big enough problem for Ford Australia to issue a fleet-wide recall.

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• Can I install a Toyota three-litre diesel in a Ford Transit?

  Probably not, and since this would be a classic back-yard conversion, we don't know of any documented proof or a set of instructions for how to do it.

  The bigger question, of course, is why you'd want to try to perform such a transplant. It might be different if the Transit itself was not available with a diesel engine option, but it has been for many years. So why try to adapt a Toyota engine? Buy a diesel Transit and save yourself a lifetime of hassles.

  Seriously, aside from the big issues of making a foreign engine physically fit in a van's compromised engine bay, you'd also have the detail problems of running cables and electrics. Then there's the question of making the engine talk to the rest of the car in an electronic sense, which involves everything from the engine-control computer to making sure the dashboard functions properly. And do you use the Transit gearbox, or instal the whole Toyota driveline? Even then, fi you manage to achieve all this, you'd have to convince the registration authorities that the thing was fit to drive on the road.

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