Consumers At Fault
In Some Engine Failures

Reader Response • Chris of Chesapeake

Just once I would like to see a little sensible advice to all those weary Ford owners, The reason the head gaskets are leaking, just like the radiators, waterpumps, heater cores and every other part that is subject to antifreeze is ... CORROSION.

This often translates to lack of maintenance. If these owners would open their owner's manual, they would find out that the factory demands coolant be changed every 2-3 years. Lack of caring for your vehicle does not give you the right to throw a fit when your engine blows up on you.

Ford may be guilty of many things but I can count on one hand the number of customers' cars that have needed engine or cooling system work who had actually changed the coolant on a regular schedule. The innards of such ill-maintained vehicles look just like you would expect -- and that is not Ford's fault, it is the owner's.

I have always been a consumers advocate. When I was growing up my parents got hurt so many times that it is one of the reasons I started down the path to becoming a mechanic. I tear my hair at when I see some of the things that GM, Ford & Chrysler do. All too often the aftermarket has to pick up the slack, or way too many years later when there are very few of the ailing vehicles on the road, the manufacturer comes out with the "fix" they could have made available years earlier.

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