Ford Courier: common faults & what to check

Which Ford Courier are you looking at?

4 generation variants documented. Pick the shape you recognise: the faults, the servicing and the timeline below all narrow to it. Free, no account needed.

Engine not documented

4 variants documented

1998–2007PE1998–2007PEEngine not documented for this generationEngine not documentedDocumented issues3 knownSee faults & what to checkKickTyres illustration, not a photograph.

2006–2012PJ2006–2012PJEngine not documented for this generationEngine not documentedDocumented issues0 knownSee faults & what to checkKickTyres illustration, not a photograph.

2011–2023PX2011–2023PXEngine not documented for this generationEngine not documentedDocumented issues0 knownSee faults & what to checkKickTyres illustration, not a photograph.

2022–nowP7032022–nowP703Engine not documented for this generationEngine not documentedDocumented issues0 knownSee faults & what to checkKickTyres illustration, not a photograph.

Now narrow it to the engine

A 1.8 and a 2.4 of the same car do not fail the same way, so the faults below narrow to the engine as well as the year. Free, no account needed.

Start your free check on this Ford Courier

No plate needed. You get the risk score, the buyer's checklist and the guided inspection for the exact car you picked above — not the whole nameplate.

The checks worth doing on a Ford Courier before you hand over any money. Every documented fault is listed below, each with its own page.

• Serious issue

  Get underneath with a torch and tap along the chassis rails with a screwdriver handle — sound steel rings, rotten steel thuds or gives.

  See why

  Chassis Rail and Cab Mount Corrosion on NZ Coastal Vehicles

  A working ute of this age in New Zealand has usually lived outdoors, often near the coast, and often on gravel or farm tracks that pack mud into the chassis rails. The rails rust from the inside out, so the outside can look sound while the section underneath has gone. The cab mounts and the rear of the chassis above the axle are the usual failure points, and a WoF inspector will fail structural corrosion in these areas outright. This is the single item most likely to end a Courier's life, and it is the one worth crawling underneath for.

  What you would notice

  • Flaking or bubbling along the chassis rails, especially behind the rear wheels
  • Rust staining or movement around the cab mounting points
  • A previous WoF advisory or failure noting corrosion
  • Fresh underseal or paint on an otherwise weathered chassis

  Typically $800–$6,000 to put right.

• Serious issue

  Arrive while the engine is stone cold and insist on being the one to start it.

  See why

  WL / WL-T 2.5 turbo-diesel cracked cylinder head (coolant into the cylinders)

  The 2.5 litre WL and WL-T diesel used in the PE, PG and PH Courier is known for cracking its cylinder head, typically around the pre-chamber and valve-seat area, and NZ and Australian owners of work-hardened utes report doing one roughly every 160,000 km. The crack lets coolant seep into a cylinder, so the header tank slowly empties with no puddle on the ground, the engine steams white on start-up and eventually overheats. Owners also report the multi-layer steel head gasket weeping as a matter of course on high-hour examples. There is no recall and no factory goodwill on a vehicle this old, so the buyer carries the whole bill, and a cracked head that is driven on will usually take the bottom end with it. Because the symptoms are gradual, a seller who tops up the coolant before you arrive can hide it for the length of a test drive.

  What you would notice

  • Coolant level keeps dropping with no visible leak or puddle under the ute
  • Thick white steam from the exhaust that does not clear once the engine is warm
  • Sweet coolant smell around the engine bay or from the exhaust after a run
  • Bubbling or gurgling in the coolant header tank with the engine idling
  • Creamy tan sludge on the underside of the oil filler cap
  • Temperature gauge creeping up on hills or when towing

  Typically $1,800–$3,500 to put right.

• Serious issue

  With the engine stone cold, take the radiator cap off and look at the coolant — clean and coloured is what you want; brown, oily or rusty is not.

  See why

  2.6 petrol overheating and head gasket failure at high kilometres

  The 2.6 petrol in these utes will run a very long time, but by now the cooling system is usually original-ish and tired, and an overheat is what finishes the head gasket. The pattern owners describe is a radiator that has quietly lost capacity, a thermostat or water pump nobody has touched, and then a hot day with a load on the back. Once the gasket goes, coolant gets into a cylinder or the oil and the head often needs skimming or replacing. On a ute worth what these are worth, that repair is a serious share of its value — so a temperature gauge that creeps up under load is the single most useful thing to watch for on the test drive.

  What you would notice

  • Temperature gauge climbing on hills or with a load
  • Coolant level dropping with nothing on the ground
  • Creamy sludge under the oil filler cap
  • White smoke and a sweet smell from the exhaust once warm
  • Bubbles in the radiator or header tank with the engine running

  Typically $1,500–$3,500 to put right.

• Serious issue

  Look along the rear axle from behind the vehicle — the wheels should sit square in the arches, with equal gaps.

  See why

  Rear Leaf Spring Centre-Bolt Shear Under Load

  The rear leaf pack is held in alignment by a single centre bolt through the middle of the stack. On a ute that has spent its life carrying weight — and a crew cab usually has — that bolt fatigues and eventually shears. When it goes, the leaves slide out of line and the axle shifts, so the car crabs, the rear tyres scrub, and in the worst case the axle moves far enough to contact the body. It is a cheap part that does a serious job, and it is easy to check from underneath.

  What you would notice

  • The vehicle tracks slightly sideways, or the steering sits off-centre on a straight road
  • Uneven or feathered wear across the rear tyres
  • A clunk from the rear over bumps or when moving off
  • Visible misalignment between the axle and the leaf pack

  Typically $300–$900 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Do a long test drive that includes at least ten minutes at open-road speed in fifth gear, because that is the gear that gives itself away.

  See why

  Five-speed manual gearbox bearing failure (fifth gear and input shaft)

  The five-speed manual behind the 2.5 turbo-diesel Courier and its Mazda Bravo twin is a known weak point once the ute has done serious work, with the fifth-gear and input-shaft bearings the usual casualties. NZ and Australian owners report boxes going noisy or failing outright somewhere past about 150,000 km, and worn boxes commonly jump out of fifth on the overrun. The demand is obvious in the parts trade: NZ and Australian rebuilders stock a dedicated bearing kit for this exact gearbox and sell reconditioned units off the shelf. Left alone, a whining bearing eventually breaks up and puts metal through the box, which turns a bearing kit into a full rebuild or a replacement gearbox. It is easy to miss on a short test drive because the noise only shows up in one or two gears at steady throttle.

  What you would notice

  • Whine or rumble that changes with road speed in fifth gear but goes quiet in neutral
  • Gearbox jumping out of fifth gear on a trailing throttle downhill
  • Rumbling with the clutch pedal up and the gearbox in neutral, engine idling
  • Notchy or baulky change into second and third when cold
  • Rattle or growl that disappears the moment you press the clutch pedal

  Typically $1,400–$3,200 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Open the bonnet after a decent drive and look along the top of the engine where the injectors enter the head — a weeping seal leaves a dark wet trail.

  See why

  WL 2.5D Injector Seat O-Ring External Fuel Leak

  The WL 2.5 diesel seals each injector into the head with a small O-ring. The rings harden with age and heat and start to weep, so diesel escapes past the injector and runs down the back of the engine. It rarely stops the car, which is why it is usually left: the owner smells fuel, tops up slightly more often, and carries on. Left alone the leak washes oil off the block, soaks the loom and becomes a fire risk near a hot turbo. The parts are inexpensive; the labour is the cost, and doing all four at once is far cheaper than doing them one at a time.

  What you would notice

  • Diesel smell around the engine bay after a run
  • Wet, dirty film down the back of the engine or on the bulkhead
  • A faint tick or puff from the top of the engine when cold
  • Fuel use creeping up with no change in driving

  Typically $400–$1,200 to put right.

Ford Courier service schedule

What falls due, and at what distance, for each generation of the Ford Courier. These are the model’s intervals — the car’s own service book is the only thing that can tell you what has actually been done to it.

What these repairs cost on other cars

Some of the Ford Courier’s documented faults are repairs other models share. Each page lists the documented NZ cost for every model it affects.

• Cambelt Replacement Cost
• Diesel Injector Replacement Cost
• Head Gasket Repair Cost

Other Ford models