cisco

That settles it. Out it comes. I know I can do that.

I am not liking the idea of being under the car and working on it with the engine and gearbox suspended above me. If it comes to the point of having to take the gearbox out it is not a whole lot more to take the engine out completely. Thanks for the feed back fellas. I thought there might be somebody on the forum who had done it recently and describe exactly how it is done. At the moment it is not a drastic leak so I will keep driving it until I get everything in place to pull it out. With the engine out I can lay it over on the exhaust side or upside down and make sure I get it right this time. Can't get genuine sump gasket kits and ole mate tells me these Chinese made ones are just not as accurately made. That sounds familiar!!!! Thanks again. I'll do a vid of the job and post it.

I have an engine hoist, trolley jack and stands. I am thinking though that it will not be possible to get the shallow part of the sump past the oil pick up. Spoke with my Ford expert today and he thinks he has done it in the past. He has done plenty of V8 sump removals. The problem is that the rubber U pieces are made too long and you get a bit of a crimp in them. He said he always has to cut them, take a bit out then glue it back together. I remember when I was putting it on having trouble with it. You can't just cut some off the ends as they have a shaped foot. Starting to look like an engine out job. : -(

And after watching that vid I am sure you don't want to. I know I don't.

I have a leaking rear main seal in my 84DA block (XF series therefore a lip seal). It was brand new when I put the engine in my XE 9 months ago. I spoke with my go to Ford expert and he asked me where I got it. Repco I said and he said I should have gone genuine Ford and he has lost count of how many he has replaced. Maybe you should go genuine Ford with the rope seal. I am going to replace mine with genuine but if it leaks again I am going to refurb my original engine and put that back in the car. That will make it a matching number car again. I have had a few XDs and XEs and never had a rear seal leak on any of them.

Has since had a 4 speed single rail fitted with a black console and a Saas wooden gear knob.

The mechanical pumps are very repairable. Pull it off and check the lever for wear then try with a mirror and torch to see if the cam is OK. If all good Repco should have a diaphragm kit for it. The hard part will be getting the fuel pipe from pump to carby.

Saw this on local gumtree this morning. Nine inch diff complete. May be of interest to somebody. https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/south-bingera/engine-engine-parts-transmission/1000hp-ford-9-diff/1298860068

I do subscribe to the notion " If you are passionate about it, only spend first class on it." So off to see Scotty at Repco and give him the list.

That looks just about right to me. I have a set of Kings super lows that I had in the car some years ago but I had issues with speed bumps and had to shorten the front mud flaps. The debate is still going on in my mind. What waderobertson said above ( 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.) is hitting a chord with me. I guess the main question is:- Do I want to spend the money and do the work?

Thanks for the prompt replies fellas. All helpful. @deankdx, you have covered all the options there. It seems regardless of height these cars still handle well if the suspension is not soft. @SPArKy_Dave. The country pack XF looks good. Pardon the pun, ready to SPRING into action and take on the world. I don't think my current springs are quite that high but close. The blue fairmont looks a bit sag arse and the ESP looks just about right, slightly lower in the front probably because it has a cleveland in it. I have said in another thread that I think the XE/Fs are better balanced with the 250 crossflow. I have driven a couple of V8 XEs and found them all too ready to cut the rear end loose. First up I am going to go through the suspension and replace whatever it needs. Lower control arm bushes a definite. The upper control arms came out of an EF or EL and are defiitely better built than the earlier ones. Front springs are genuine Ford, driver side has white stripe with a grey?? stripe, passenger side has a single mauve stripe. Shockers are Monroe GT Gas. Rear springs are red, Pedders???? and shockers are KYB Excel-G. The ride is quite firm with hardly any rebound in shock absorbtion. There is a klunk in the rear in tight turns. Possibly Watts Link bushes? Maybe I should just do bushes and leave the rest alone. The pic is how it sits currently. Furhter comments welcome. Cheers.

Hello the "Brains Trust". I have a late 84 XE Fairmont to which I recently fitted a blueprinted, fully balanced and mild cammed XF 4.1L engine and a 4 speed single rail gearbox from an XD. All is going fine but we always want to go better don't we?? I have located a 5 speed gearbox in an XF that will come with everything including flywheel, tail shaft, clutch cable and transmission hump for $450 which seems quite reasonable. Am awaiting confirmation that it is the alloy box as fitted behind 4.1L engines and not the cast iron box fitted behind 3.3L engines. I am assuming that if it is the alloy box, it will bolt straight in to my XE. Will that be the case or does anyone know of anything that will have to be modified? The only thing I can think of is that the engine to shifter distance may not be the same neccesitating some modification to the console. The diff I have is a drum brake 2.77. I believe this is the same ratio as fitted to the XFs but they had disc brakes. Thanks in advance.

You are right about the super lows. Had them in before, took em out, put in genuine Ford country pac. Looks and rides good on polished snow flakes an Bstone ecopias. Don't push em in the wet!! Again, thanks for replies, I am sticking with the way it is. Too much work for my old bones.

I am thinking that the only 5% change in ratio makes all the difference. If I go with the T5 it will only be worth it if I go the whole hog and put the 2.92 rear end in. Extra benefits will be LSD and disc brakes. If I was to do that I would also fit the full lowered King springs I have and buy a set of Bilstein shocks which would bring the car to mechanical ESP specs and make a very cruisy XE. Wot think ye??

Had a 4 speed XE years ago that I changed from 3.32?? I think to a 2.77 which was brilliant. Hiway at 100k revving 2250 just into the power band, no need to change down for overtakes and damned good economy.

Thanks for the feedback fellas. Seems like no real advantage unless I put the 2.92 diff in as well. That makes it an epic task so I think I will can the idea.

The pedal boxes are the same manual or auto. You only need another pedal.......................I think.

As dean says "if you can find them". The last wrecker in Brisbane that I asked about xd e f parts said they had not seen any of them in their yard for 10 years. Remember too that you will need to change the speedo sender cog as well. Rocking horse poop or hen's teeth???? I believe the only straight swap will be from an EA. From EB on I think you will have issues with trailing arm bush widths and changing from yoke to flange connection to the diff. I could be wrong so check it. I had an XE Spac manual with a 3.25 drum brake rear that I changed to a 2.77 LSD disc rear from an XF auto Fairmont. It was a really good combo. Needed a tad more clutch slip taking off in first but from there on perfect. At 100 kmh on the highway it was at the start of the power band about 2300 rpm and you didn't even think about 3rd gear for overtaking. Just pull out and power on and the economy was great. Have recently repowered my 84 XE Fairmont with a blueprinted and balanced 250 Xflow and put a single rail 4 speed behind it. The rear is 2.66 with drums and I am sticking with it. Take off is fine, accelleration through the gears more than adequate and top gear has plenty of grunt. Economy is 13.4 l/100k with a Weber carb. With an XF fitting a V8 is not a legal option. If you are chasing better accelleration you do have the diff ratio option or upping engine horsepower. Turbo or you may be able to put a Barra in. My poliucy with Xd e & fs is to stick within the options they had when new. Best of luck and have fun. Cheers.

Yes. Some of the cheaper kits miss most of what needs to be replaced. Also +1 for partsden. I used to get the "Fuel Miser" kits of which you would have a lot of extra parts that you did not need. Recently I have fitted the full kit from partsden and there is a marked improvement especially with cold start and idle. Overall I find the 34 ADM carburettor very satisfactory requiring minimal adjustments. Fitting a major kit every 5 years gives these engines a marked rejuvenation.