[david837465]

Thanks for all the input.

Mourati - I did think of the ACL. I have a contact at City Ford, Alexandria. He had his service people look at it and try to get Ford to change them under warranty. Ford refused so they refused. I also tried making a complaint through NSW Fair Trading. The reply from Ford was that they would not repair out of warranty, but even if it was within warranty, the shocks were considered a fair wear and tear item so they wouldn't do it anyway! I thought after that I'd have to go through the Tribunal to get anywhere and I don't have the time or money to take on Ford's lawyers. I have no doubt Ford would rather spend more on legal costs, than the replacement cost of the part, just so they dont set a precedent for having to replace these parts. Do you have any further hints or tips how to go about this? I would love to see Ford cough up for them! Thanks

Gtlegend - thanks for the offer. I'll keep it in mind. I'm still hopeful of a more reasonably priced alternative, although I haven't ordered the UK parts yet. In the meantime the VIN is WF0FXXWPCFGL45716. Thanks

Shepherd - I have the ambiente, and yes, it's self leveling, not adaptive or driver select. You're right about the size of these things, the mechanic mentioned they were huge! The service manager you spoke to is probably right to a certain extent, but if it is rare, why won't Ford just admit the occasional dud and just pay up? (I realise you can't answer that, just venting) It doesn't seem like a huge issue with them, but I've found several examples of the same problem browsing various forums, including Greenspeed3's.