Ford Puma Pricing and Specs

It doesn’t sound right, does it? While it’s possible for an engine to be perfect one minute and blown up the next, you’d expect some sort of warning that this was about to happen. Which begs the question of why didn’t the Ford mechanic spot that there was a problem.

Probably the best advice is to have the engine independently inspected to find out what broke or went wrong. From there, you can work out whether you were just unlucky, or the dealership missed something or somehow contributed to the engine’s demise.

For the record, these engines won’t tolerate being drained of oil for more than about ten minutes. Due to the design of the oil pump, leaving the engine drained for more than that length of time means the pump won’t work when the engine is restarted and the engine will blow up soon after. Plenty of mechanics have been caught out by this, but surely not a Ford dealership…

While many car-makers now profess that their automatic transmission no longer need regular fluid changes, many mechanics believe there’s no harm in doing so and, in fact, there are benefits in doing so. They include reduced wear over time and the removal of any contaminants that might cause problems. Also, if a transmission has ever reached high temperatures, the fluid should be replaced.

The thing to know is there are two types of fluid change. In the simplest, the transmission fluid is drained, the filter changed and new fluid added. Inevitably, some of the old fluid will remain in the torque converter and other components. But a more complete approach is what’s called a fluid flush where new fluid is pumped through the entire transmission, purging it of all the old fluid. The full flush method is best practice and shouldn’t cost a lot more.

As with any automatic transmission problem, the first thing to do is check the level of transmission fluid in the gearbox itself. These shouldn’t need top-ups, but if a leak occurs, they can lose enough fluid to play havoc with the gear selection and drive-transmission processes. Low fluid can cause a loss of drive in any gear, but could also contribute to a valve-body problem where the lack of fluid prevents the correct gear selection process. Low fluid can also mean the clutch-packs and bands can not exert enough pressure to get the car moving.

It's worth noting, though, that this particular transmission has a finite lifespan and a loss of third and fourth gears could be the first sign that the unit is worn out and requires either replacement or reconditioning. A transmission specialist should be your first port of all.