XFute-1JZsoarer

Haha, glad I'm not the only one using a 5" tacho and shift light. I like the way the wiring has been run through the column shift mounting, I was swapping to a XG column in my XF so I had a blank column, but now I'm thinking I might just chuck the XG wheel on it and set it up like yours nos2. Nice job on it mate!

From what I've found, you just need to use the mounting bracket along with the cluster. I can't vouch for it myself, but it has been done a few times that I've seen.

It is really easy, toughest part of the job I found, was getting the screws on the leading edge under the windscreen. I used a 450mm long Phillips head screwdriver to pull them out with the windscreen in place. Just make sure you pull all the bolts out because the little plastic tabs that hold it to the shell will break very easily. I haven't got to installing mine yet, haven't had the time. I'll get around to it soon with a bit of luck.

That's exactly it, Polson helped me out with this info when I pulled mine out, he certainly knows what he's talking about. I recommend taking his info anyday! I should have some pics for you to check out sometime during the day...

Lol, that should work well mate. I'll finish the repair to the vent and start putting the dash in tomorrow mate, that way you can get stuck in. I'll put it up on this thread as it looks as though it'll help out a few others. It's the least I can do, considering all the help I've got from this forum myself... Jay.

If it's a XF or earlier you can probably rig the ignition up to start it (run a wire from battery positive to the coil positive, then arc the starter motor with a screwdriver to kick it over) put the column back in after you pull the dash and use the key to unlock the steering and you should be right. If it's a XG or XH, you'll be shit outta luck mate... It's a simple job to get it out, why not leave it where it lives on the street and pull the dash out? All the vents stay connected to the heater box, so they can stay in with it, but it might pay to pull the box out, so you can check the passenger vent also. I'll be putting the dash in over the next day or 2, so just check my thread for the installation process if you'd like. I've already swapped the heater box to the XG one, but that's an easier job to do than the dash in my opinion.

Took me 20-30 minutes to pull the whole dash and column out, was really easy for a 1st time doing it. Putting it back in may be a little trickier though. I'm about to start bolting a XG dash into my XF, so I'll keep you posted on how I go if you'd like. I'm using rust converter and steel reinforced epoxy putty to repair the hole, as my welder is on the fritz and I wanted it done now. I used the putty on the floor where a couple of pinholes had formed, I took a hammer to it 20mins later and it had set like a weld! Awesome stuff to use and very easy to work with. Just gotta work fast with it because it hardens in minutes...

I'd say it's most certainly the plenum, my XF ute was the same, and when you looked in through the top of the plenum, you couldn't see any rust at all. But when I took the dash and steering column out, I found that the issue was around the drivers side vent... As you can see, some knuckle head just filled it full of silicon instead of actually fixing it properly. But I have only had this and some rust pitting on the floor from the water getting in, other than that there's no rust anywhere else, so been pretty lucky still. Hope this is some help. Jay.

Thanks Jack, that's a pretty detailed installation post you put up, great help mate. I'm using the Bosch dizzy that was in the motor, as it only has 168,000km on it and looks to be in good condition still. The previous owner pulled it out to put it in another motor and gave up when it became apparent that he didn't know what he was doing. So he put it back in the hole to plug the hole up, but never installed it properly. I might put an order in for a new Bosch dizzy to keep as a spare if this one claps out, should be easy to swap over once I've put one in myself. Appreciate you taking the time to help mate. Thanks heaps. Jay.

Thanks guys, I knew about putting the ECU into timing mode to set it, and putting it at TDC on the compression stroke, but the manual goes on about scribing a mark on the dizzy housing and block so you know where it sits in the block. But the TFI will only fit in a certain position without hitting anything else, so I guess I can copy the positioning off another motor. I wasn't sure if pointing the rotor at number 1 spark lead was still the right way to set it, but sounds to be the same thing as the start/finish method. Awesome help as always guys, cheers

Hey guys, do all the 4L dizzys sit in roughly the same position, as my motor had the dizzy pulled before I bought it, so I'm starting from scratch. The manual only tells you how to pull and install the same dizzy, not what to do when you install a new one. I know I need to turn the crank to TDC on the compression stroke, but I'm not sure what mark to put the rotor button on (start/finish). And if the TFI module sits in the same general position when you drop the dizzy in the hole. Hope I explained that right. Thanks in advance. Jay.

Yep, just like the one in the previous post mate.

Hey guys, I'm hoping this is my final problem I need to post up about this damn conversion! I put the XG base mounts in the ute, and got the gearbox bolted in, only to find that the 4L alternator now fouls up on the front support rail. I can only see 2 solutions, 1st idea I'm not keen on and the 2nd I'm not so sure of... I was thinking about notching the rail to clear the alternator, but I don't want to cop any hassles with getting it mod plated with it like that. The 2nd was lowering the T5 crossmember 5mm with washers between the floor and the crossmember, apparantly this will give me around 10mm at the front. Would either idea be ok, im just trying to keep it all as factory looking as possible to help pass inspection. Appreciate any help as always. Thanks guys. Jay.

Well I got the new belt on, was rather easy to fit. Good thing I only got a 875mm belt, as the old 895mm must have been a bit stretched, so there's only about 10mm before I run out of adjustment. It doesn't fix the problem completely, but it does clear the support. I ended up notching the support for adequate clearance for the engine rocking, but the amount I took out was very minimal. With the bit I cut out, I turned it around and put it back to make it look neater than a open hole. As you can see the belt pulls the alternator up so it just sits above the rail now. And this pic shows how much adjustment is left on the bracket, 870mm (25mm shorter) belt would be cutting it pretty close. So there you have it, that's basically my fix to the alternator problem, still need to fill in around the sides of the plate I put in, but you guys should get the idea.

Well I got the belt this morning, not quite the size I was going for, this one is only 20mm shorter instead of the 30mm I was aiming for. It was either the 20mm or a 40mm shorter belt they had in stock so I'll throw it on shortly and see how it goes...

You reckon 30mm is too short mate?Because I had about 40-50mm of adjustment left on the bracket before I pulled the alternator out, and 5-10mm doesn't seem like it'll be enough to give me some decent clearance, if any at all... The local Repco fellas are a pretty good bunch here (kinda have to be when there's 2 auto parts stores in such a little town), I reckon they'd let me exchange the belt (if it won't fit) to another more suitable one. I might try get the belt this arvo, but I'm going for a 1.5 hour drive (3 hours there and back) to go get the last couple of bits out of my XG today. So I'll finally have everything I need to finish the conversion. If I manage to grab it today, I'll post up pics of the results tonight.

Had a look at belts today, the alternator, waterpump and crank belt on the XG 4L is a Bosch 3PK895, so 895mm long. I found that Bosch also make a 3PK865 (30mm shorter), so I'm going to grab one as soon as I can and give it a shot. I'll post how it goes, as it might be a neater solution for others that wind up in the same position. Thanks for the help with it fellas.

Nah, not the fan mate. It's similar to the pic on the previous page, the bottom screw that holds the casing together rubs up against the rail, so I was thinking of heating and shaping the bit where it touches. But I think a new (shorter) belt might give me better clearance and look neater in the process, as there's around 40-50mm of adjustment left on the bracket before it can't go inwards any further, so I think I will take advantage of it. Maybe even a combination of the 2 ideas will do the trick without cutting anything.

Damn that looks neatly done nos2

Thanks for the tip Bear351c, I'll try that tomorrow... That pic you pinched off the thread Steve put up is what I'm actually trying to avoid doing. It isn't a very neat solution in my opinion. The shorter belt sounds like the best way to go I reckon. As I think 20mm shorter will do the job nicely. On my engine it appears the alternator belt goes to the crank and waterpump pulleys. So looks like I'll need to figure out a different belt to yours xm-221. Thanks heaps for the info guys, been a awesome help as always. Greatly appreciated as always. Jay.

Thanks xm-221, I did suggest a shorter belt in my last post. Lol. So it worked alright? Do you remember what the belt was that you used by any chance? Thanks for the info mate.

Thanks Steve, great info as always mate! I actually referred back to your thread lastnight and noticed your engine uses a different belt/pulley setup to mine, that allows the alternator to sit more vertically than the EA-ED and XG motors do. I checked out the link you put up, but the way they cut that rail was a bit too full on for my liking. Want to try keep it as neat and factory looking as possible... Maybe I can heat up the steel with my little pen torch where it hits the rail and try shape that section enough to clear it. It's got to be the neatest solution next to swapping the belt setup completely to the later one (if that's even possible). Another solution might be to find a slightly shorter belt so I can get tension on the belt before it gets close to the rail. It's fustrating because I'm getting fairly close to firing it up now that I understand the wiring better and the motor and T5 box are all bolted up properly... HBWC, I had XF mounts in previously, they are a major no go with the drop down manifolds, and actually sit lower than the XG mounts. Passenger side mount sits much higher to lean the manifold away from the tower, and drivers side is also a mm or 2 higher than the XF mounts. Outback Jack, I'm already using complete XG mounts, top and bottom, and this is the issue I now face. Mounts are not going to change anything at this point, the engine is in the best possible position, other than the alternator problem, it sits exactly as it should. The difference between my XF and a XG is just the XG front rail, it looks like Ford completely redesigned it for the 4 litre engines. It strangely appears that the later EF-EL engines are actually more suitable to do this conversion than the motor and associated parts out of the XG that followed the XF. Other than the XG swaybar, fuel tank and (possibly) wiring looms, the rest of the swap should be done using the later EF-EL motors with the XF engine mounts in place. Thanks for the suggestions anyway guys. Always appreciated. Jay.

That's the way I've gone, more power, more torque, better economy, less emissions and smoother running.

And I got the J3 chip loaded up with the XR6 maps so I can throw on a tickford head when I find one for a good price, and it was already a factory 5 speed so it has the manual ECU with it already. Jason from TI performance reckons it will run a bit leaner with a touch more timing with the XR tune on the standard motor. It's only a stage 1 chip though, so no tuning options. But being as cheap as they are, I'll just sell the one I got when I go stepping up to a better motor and get the stage 3 chip. Thinking of building a turbo motor on the side, and just running it with a XR6 setup while I build it, that way I have plenty of time to build it properly without actually pulling the ute off the road to do it.

Hey guys, I'm currently back at the wiring looms again and I'm sort of baffled as to how I should route the XG looms in my XF ute? If I was the one that stripped the XG in the 1st place it wouldn't be an issue. But because I bought it and had the seller strip it for me so I didn't have to drag another car home, I'm kinda at a loss for info on some things. I've got a pretty fair idea of what plugs into what, but I'd like to put the looms in as they were done from the factory, I'm guessing it'll make working on them easier if I can keep it setup as the factory intended. Does anyone have any engine bay pics of the XG, minus the engine? Would make this a whole lot easier for me if I can get some good pics. Cheers guys. Jay.