waderobertson

Trying to replace leaking selector seal, how do I get the bloody nut off? Think I read a post way back that said the nut requires a special tool or a simple hack I'm unaware of? Cheers.

Yup that's exactly what I've done mate, a dab of locktite just for good measure. Got a good tighten on the thread, to the point when I nip it up the gear will shift. I ended up with 3 spring washers and the nut just flush with end of the thread.

Split the nut to find the middle 1/3 of the thread on the selector shaft is munched... hence the spinning and going nowhere! Fuck it all. Will try and clean it up a bit with thread file and bang a couple lock washers on there. Just dropped the engine and trans back in yesterday so really don't want to replace the shaft.

https://imgur.com/a/OK4MIGk Just trying to get this nut off... might be threaded because its turning but going nowhere.

Sounds like you've already asked and answered the 1st real question - Do I want to change what I've got? Next question is what quality do you want? Cheaper options will do a job but it's the old adage about getting what you pay for. I went for high spec because I knew I wanted to push the boat out. The short body Koni shock fits both low and super low so I knew I was only buying them once whether I changed my mind on the spring front in the future Then you get to your question above If you have the $ then spend it, if not then buy what you can afford and accept them for what they are and how they perform.

Hi @cisco I've posted some stuff in this thread mate: I run super low springs front and rear with short body konis. Wheels are 17 inch and with the tyres on them they have the same diameter/ circumference as the stock/ original wheel and tyres that were on the XF. It looks the ducks nuts but @deankdx is 100% on the money wrt ride quality and handling. If I had my time again I would go for low springs and 18inch wheel to fill the guard out - it'd just make life easier all round... no cutting bump stops (not by much anyway), no potential ball joint binding, no rear suspension arm contacting axle under compression. My springs are made in NZ and lows are about 30mm lower than standard with super lows being 45-50mm lower than standard. Springs do tend to settle too, I reckon my fronts had 7-10mm guard clearance when I put them in and are right on the guard now. Like I say, it looks the ducks nut but it wont be long till I take the manufacturer up on their offer to reset the springs up to 15-20mm once they've settled. Hope that helps.

Having a shit of a time tracking down a pulley for a water pump that isn't the viscous hub clutch fan version. Has anyone: Modified the clutch fan version to suit? or Robbed a pulley off another engine that fits? i.e. XD or XE? or Got a line on a new aftermarket option? I've tried Proflow in NZ but no reply. Also tried Rare spares and online auto parts (where I got the pump) to no avail! Cheers, Wade.

Thanks @Thom the search continues...

Hey @deankdx I'm running the non-viscous version of the water pump for the rebuild. It's already installed. My existing donk (and the donor) has the clutch fan version of the water pump despite running an electric fan. It made sense in my mind to avoid the fan thread poking out the front of the pulley, and of course now I have 2 pulleys that don't fit the water pump I thought there might be another obvious option that people knew about e.g. perhaps all small block ford pulleys fit and so I might widen the search? Thanks for those contacts. I've got a lead here in NZ but if it doesn't land I'll get hold of those ones.

Has anyone got a round 9 inch air filter on the 34 ADM carby? I'm trying to hunt down a black air filter, which they do for the likes of the Holley 350 & 500 but no bueno for the Weber. Redline do a chrome option https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/REDLINE-AIR-FILTER-9-X-55mm-SUIT-WEBER-ADM-XE-XF-FALCON-16-22-/152454690051 and I guess powder coating black would be an option... I'll touch base with a few suppliers but wondered if anyone here had been down the same path.

This may end up being the option I think...

Hey team, About to fork out for a set of the below for the wagon. They only do a 10" and 8" option for the V51s. Naturally I want to go as wide as possible on the rear, which (for me) means 275. I'm keen for a stance like the below with a 25-30mm rake and some guard clearance at the rear. Photo credit to ford muscle cars instagram account. I used an online calculator to see what I had to play with (look at the 'new' figures) when running a 275x35 on the 17x10 rim (0 offset): I made up this highly engineered and precise measuring tool, which uses the diameter above, 275 tyre width at 0 offset and used it to test inner and outer clearance. Result was a 6mm clearance to the top of the outer guard which includes a someone 'organically' rolled lip (aka rough as guts) and a 20mm clearance to the closest point of the inner guard. Inclination is to run with a 6mm offset to gain a little more clearance to the outer guard, and about 50mm of suspension travel before guard rub becomes an issue. I'll be running 17x8 on the front with 235 and 0 offset, which don't seem to present any issues with a lowered but otherwise standard suspension set up.

Nope they're still on the website mate. They didn't actually acknowledge the manufacturing flaws, just apologized and stumped up the refund.

An update on this. Restocountry refunded my purchase price and I've just today ordered a set of the open tracker roller spring perches from the US. Once I fit them and the LCA bush then the front end is done burger! Until the budget allows for wedged ball joints and a beefy sway bar... maybe.

When I was removing front hubs, stubs and calipers to redo suspension rubbers and ball joints a wee ball bearing dropped out of the passenger side caliper when I removed the brake line. No ball bearing in the drivers side caliper and no mention of them in my workshop manual so I pulled the brake lines off another set of front calipers I have in the shed to do a little applied learning... no ball bearings in either of the front calipers. Yeah, nah?

So it looks like I have two issues. @SPArKy_Dave you were right, the after market spring doesn't have the small straight 'tail' and is about 15-20mm short of the tab. @Kiwi-E you were also right re: fit (obviously) and it's the spring saddle that's the issue. As you can see from the photos below neither the original or aftermarket spring align with the the saddle, in fact they're not even close when you remove the rubbers. These are from Restocountry (ex AUS) so I'll be in touch with them. Original vs new spring saddle - note new saddle is about 4-5mm shorter in width New vs old spring in original saddle - despite the new one being short of the tab both fit well with no rocking. New vs old spring in new saddle - no possible way to make either work. So it appears I'm on the hunt for another new set of saddles and I'll be off to the suspension shop to yack to them too. Can anyone confirm if the Kings has the wee straight bit that these are missing? The springs are the same price as Kings and are from a well known/ reputable outfit here in Christchurch so I'll be interested to hear their thoughts. Also, mindful of the thread hi-jack so happy if someone wants to bounce this over to my build thread!

Thanks for that @SPArKy_Dave good to know

I'm gonna need some help deciphering that code @slydog

Copy that, both sides clearly marked and on the correct side. Looking at the drivers side saddle the tab is definitely doing it's own thing when compared to the passenger side and how it comes off the saddle itself. If i turn the spring so the cut end is flush with the tab there's a gap so suspect the tab has had a whack or shoddy manufacturing.

Yeah that was an absolute ass to line up on that side, passenger side is ok. Its like the tab is not quite on the right angle... as simple as a little gentle persuation perhaps?

Just replaced all front end bushes (sway bar and linkages, control arms and castor rod), tie rods, springs, saddles and shocks in the XF. 86 XF 6 Cylinder Cobra Super Low Springs (40-50mm lower than std) Koni short body shocks (821742SP4) 17x8 rims with 235/45s bump stops cut to 22mm with about the same clearance to control arm. A couple of pics showing why she handled like it was driving on marbles... springs are the same, the one on the left has had a 40mm haircut... and the resulting bump stop which was pumped right through to the head of the mount screw. Shocks were shortened KYBs. Cut open the ball joint rubber and there's definitely sign of the ball joint tapping out. She's a couple of weeks from being back on the road so we'll see how she goes. Not really happy with the ball joint angle, and expect springs to settle given they're new, so might look to invest in some of those flash harry ball joints down the track.

No she's after market mate... 'regal peacock green' its called. Not the manliest of names but I'm happy with it!!!

Hey gerg, +6mm for the back and 0 for the front mate. I'll take some pics of clearances if you want? Cheers.

A few pics of the wheels on the wagon. 10x17 6mm offset. I've ended up with a little more guard clearance that I had expected so as it sits there's about 50mm of travel before guard rub becomes an issue. I'll slap a full tank of gas and some weight in the back and road test it is see how it goes... maybe a small spacer in the back might be in order, hopefully not as I'm happy with stance. (note: the current tyres are 275x40 slicks while I wait for 4 weeks for the actual tyres to arrive from over the puddle.) 8x17 235x45 are spot on for fronts. I still don't know what I've got in the way of front and rear springs but given the overall diameter of the wheels are the same as standard I reckon it's been dropped about 40-50mm. Hopefully this is useful for anyone that might be getting mixed messages about running 10inch wheels on an otherwise standard setup, I know I did!

Did you end up pulling the trigger on this mate?