Must say I have only excellent service from Ford over many years. Maybe it have something to do with North Western Ford in Upington.
Have had my share of issues with Toyota, Mercedes and VW. Found Delta/GM or what ever they call them these days the worst
After owning Mercedes and VW products I came to the conclusion that the famous German Tech is somewhat of a myth.
One of my reasons for buying the Cruisers is that I can do all the stuff on them myself. Even decided to let go of the warranty on the 76. As it have no service plan I cannot see the need to pay a dealer to jaag kak aan nie.
Must say I have only excellent service from Ford over many years. Maybe it have something to do with North Western Ford in Upington.
Have had my share of issues with Toyota, Mercedes and VW. Found Delta/GM or what ever they call them these days the worst
After owning Mercedes and VW products I came to the conclusion that the famous German Tech is somewhat of a myth.
One of my reasons for buying the Cruisers is that I can do all the stuff on them myself. Even decided to let go of the warranty on the 76. As it have no service plan I cannot see the need to pay a dealer to jaag kak aan nie.
My woes with the overheating Essex was with North Western Ford in Upington ................... The dealer was fine, but FordSA was utterly useless in the negotiations.
I refuse to be POLITICALLY CORRECT to impress others - Deal with it
FLEX is UNDERRATED
Thys the biggest problem with the Cortina bakkie were its 2 core radiator. It was insufficient for the Northern Cape ambient temp.
Most Cortina bakkie owners upgraded to 3 core radiators which solved the overheating problem.
Also, the bakkie needed a 5th gear. Normal cruising at 120 and it was doing 4200 rpm.
I did the 3.32 diff and radiator conversion and it became one of the nicest bakkies of its time.
Grips - I agree re the radiator. The upgrade was done by the dealer before delivery, as part of the aircon fitment. It was a great bakkie to drive. I can still remember a trip from Upington to Maitland and back, just after the motor replacement, (exactly 1600 km) in 13 hours, which included (frequent) fuel stops and loading a 70kw electric motor in Maitland. The speedo was off the dial for most of the trip.
The motor was eventually replaced after a hissy fit by yours truly at the factory rep when the cylinder head gaskets blew for the 3rd time. At this stage the bakkie (the facelift one with the curved louvre slats) looked like a wreck after the rep made them cut open the grille slots with a hacksaw to improve airflow. The original block was inspected properly and they found that part of the sand plug used had collapsed during the casting process and blocked some of the coolant channels. Up to this point, everybody just accepted that the Northern Cape heat, my driving style and/or the aircon was the issue.
I refuse to be POLITICALLY CORRECT to impress others - Deal with it
FLEX is UNDERRATED
Thanks Thys yes there were some flawed heads as well. I still think the Black uprated engine with the rocker shaft heads were the best v6 engines.
Sold my v6 Courier DC 4X4 with well over 300k km without touching that engine.
................... The dealer was fine, but FordSA was utterly useless in the negotiations.