agentkiwi

OK Great !  

 

Now ... i just sounded like a (bell end) getting all defensive lol 

No, you sounded like a bell end by saying bell end...haha, just kidding, thanks for sharing your knowledge!

pretty sure the crap i got off suzukisuper were 60,000km etc warranty too, he would have happily given me replacements for the broken one(same quality)

the 100% feedback doesn't mean much either as i would have given A+ feedback seeing they fit and arrived on time, you cant leave feedback after a certain amount of time. (i just had an electric antenna mast fail after only 2 weeks in the car, i hadn't got to fitting it soon enough to leave feedback... not a dangerous part though,)

 

HOWEVER: are the TRW balljoints as good as you can get? are the parts fitted to historic race cars safe at 200kmh? and what brand are they?

its hard justifying spending more than the car is worth on parts, but with how quick most of the cheap parts wear out you are better off with the good stuff especially if you run expensive tyres,(i had a balll joint wear out in 6 months/20,000km that had a 40,000km warranty and it wrecked 2 perfect tyres worth far more than the part  )i would fit TRW upper and lower ball joints, inner an9d outter tie rods and pitman arm and idler arm unless there is some better quality.  might cost $400 odd, but should last at least twice as long.

 

i wonder how good the ball joints are that are fitted to hotchkiss or global west types control arms? they are a different type of joint though(pressed in)

Fair point.

Eventually the ones who deal in crap, dangerous, inferior products are found out but usually it's too late for some of their customers which is shit & feedback is supposed to be an indicator of carachter but you're right, it isn't a magic bullet.

 

Sometimes it's our own fault that we try to save a few bucks but put ourselves & Families at risk by buying/using the cheapest whatever it is.

No-one can excuse someone for knowingly selling dangerous parts though eh and those sellers need to be seriously held accountable & dealt with.

I've dealt withthat seller before. Nrap. Pretty good to deal with & in fact I received WASP parts from them. 100% positive feedback over 29000 trades, lists his phone number and email.

Gives a 3yr 60000k warranty.......can't go wrong really mate.

 

I think it's the parts that 'suzukisuper' sells that are shocking.

I've got a set but haven't fitted them yet because I replaced the ball joints less than 5000km ago. They look & feel the goods, doubt they'll split like the rubber ones do. I'd say go for it.

Are you talking about the anodised aluminium trim on the outside of the window? Or the plastic trim on the inside?

If it's the former then it's a press fit & it should pop off by levering very carefully from one end.

I've got two.. :-)

Here's 1 of them

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ford-Falcon-XD-XE-XF-6cyl-T5-Bellhousing-/151406945364?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item23408ea454&_uhb=1

I used that black window sealant mastic because it stays fllexible & it's the right colour

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XD-XE-XF-Falcon-Door-Seals-PAIR-/301298779490?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4626ce8562&_uhb=1

 

I put these in my XF Pano front doors. Had to make a join but that was easy to glue & hide near the door hinge.

$80 a pair on evilbay + postage. AUD too so that's about $367kiwi lol.

 

Worth it though!

Did you get a washer bottle yet?

Haha yep, we have a Summmer. Average high temp of ~25 but if you're going to come over then, go to the Sth Island. Down south around Marlborough sounds and Southern Alps is some of the most beautiful scenery you'll ever see. Nth Island, places like Taupo where I live are also pretty stunning. Skip the beaches as Australia has that covered much better. It's gorgeous here today. -2 again last night & we'll see a lofty high of probably 12 today. I'll host you if you do get here.

 

Thanks for your advice on the repair. While it was a bitch to do, I'm glad I did. Much happier oil pump now.

 

Next weekend I'm going to drop the tranny pan & replace the fluid & filters. I'm pretty sure it's got non type F fluid in there now.

Stay tuned, could be another learning curve coming up!

My old XF Pano had a rusted out cover in the plenum. It's the one that opens / shuts with the recirc/fresh vent control.

 

If like Mr Polson says, that cover is stuck open or non existant that could be it.

Mine was the drivers side so I could snake my arm up past the steering column up under the dash & grab handfulls of rust, but passengers side access is a lot trickier.

This might be a long winded update but pay close attention if you ever intend to tackle something like this yourself as some of my frustration will be your godsend.

I prepared fully to drop out my damaged sump and replace. I bought a new sump on trademe (ebay) from an 86 FE LTD 4.1 EFI. It turned up in good condition but I cleaned it out spotless and repainted it all set. I bought some red RTF gasket sealant and was ready to go.

I started 8am Saturday, following the manual everything went great for a while, drained the radiator, took off the shroud, removed the swaybar and rebushed, removed the through bolts, jacked up the engine, inserted the 50mm spacers, drained the oil, took out the sump bolts, dropped the sump then I hit problems.

There is no way in fiery hell that sump is coming out, not forwards not backwards not sideways. The LTD's must have a diferent crossmember or something but it is IMPOSSIBLE to remove ther sump by only lifting the engine 50mm.

After a LOT of swearing and f***ing around removing the bonnet, aircleaner, radiator and craneing the engine up another 100mm did it even look possible. Don't ask me how I got it that high without breaking something but I did and by twisting the sump sideways did I manage to get it out.

OK time for a smoke.

Next I managed to get the new sump in for a test fit.....f**k me!! The bolt holes don't line up! They do at 1 end but out by a whole hole at the other. The new sump won't work. I suppose I should have checked it against the gasket so lesson learned.

I had to panelbeat the old sump, clean it out, quick coat of black zinc spraypaint. Gasket it up, fit it.

I also had to repair the pick up as the dent in the sump pan had pushed the pickup upwards and the inlet was bent. I got that sorted and opened back up with the right tools and some patience

 

By this stage it's dark. Yep I've been here nearly 10 hours, so I downed tools & went home.

Next day got there at 9am, first look sees the half moons hanging half out the pan....F**K!!

Take it off start again, got it right this time.

Lowered the engine, put the car all back together which takes the best part of 4 hours. Strip one side of the bonnet hinge bolts in the process as well as splitting one of the tranny cooler lines near the radiator fitting. F***ing great! Retap the hinge holes, hose join a new rubber piece from the cooler to the hard lines. Get it all together, Start it up.....nothing. Loose Earth from the starter took another hour to work out.

So by 4pm Sunday I've got it running, NO LEAKS! F***ing amazing!

 

 

Drive home, have an hour long shower which still doesn't remove all of the grease and grime in my hair and everywhere else, collapse in a heap on the couch but i'm in bed by 7 and have to get up for work next day by 6.

What a relaxing weekend that was! NOT

 

The reason I needed to do this was because the pump made a rattling noise on start up due to the pickup being restricted. The oil pressure was pretty much erratic as well for the same reason.

On startup now there is no noise and the oil pressure goes straight to good and stays there so mission accomplished, no air hole near #5 or 6 for this engine for a while!

 

This weekend I've just spent washing the engine bay and underneath. Still no leaks so that's good.

In conclusion, if you have to replace your sump in the future, I highly recommend you remove the engine...no shit!

To just replace the gasket or the pick up or oil pump then yeah raising the engine 50mm will work but on the 84LTD you WILL NOT get the sump out.

 

The end.

 

Not the best quality pics & it doesn't say what it's made of but gives you an idea of how the mold is formed to create the tension mount & where to hit it to get it off

I don't think they're stainless, I could be wrong but I think they're anodized or chromed aluminium. Stainless wouldn't bend like they do. I know for a fact the rear window trim is ali.

Anyway, they're moulded with one edge that's a 'hook' and the other is the 'catch'

To install you place the hook over the top and press the bottom until the tension forces the moulded catch to mount itself.

To remove is the reverse & I found the easiest way was to use a thin wooden drift & hammer & to apply short sharp taps starting from one end until it just pops off. It's like a spring tension due to the shape & dimensions of the mold.

prying it just tends to bend things.

 

As for painting, it doesn't come with a clear coat, just black coat. I found satin black to be satisfactory.

You could clear coat it if you want but to me it's one thing that over time will discolour or chip off anyway & it's twice as much work.

 

Just my opinion

another quick question: when removing and installing bailey channel, does the window have to be out?

No, but it's heaps easier. You have to take the door cards off anyway to make sure it goes right to the bottom of the channel & to pop the windows out from there is piss easy. Just push the little plastic plugs out & maneuver the window out carefully.

I did it by myself but someone to hold the window while you f**k around would be even easier

 

You could actually do it with the windows in & door cards on but guaranteeing you've done a good job would be a gamble

Ok cheers, I'll give the shop a ring on Monday & tell them xe Bruce sent me

Cheers, how much?

Why did you go back to original?

I can get this one for $350 delivered

Thanks for the heads up.

What exactly would I have to trim? The radiator or the support panel mounts. If the latter I won't buy it.

Where did you get yours? & how much?

Earthing the alloy one would be easy enough

Hi guys, quick question.

Who knows if 1 of these aluminum radiators will fit straight into my FD.

 

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=748167552

 

The original 1 sprung a pinhole leak near the outlet at the top & I've had it braised but the guy said it could be a matter of time before another 1 pops up so I want to be proactive & replace it.

The original core is 550 x 440 x 32 & the 1 im looking at is 650 x 450 x50.

I measured for the length & depth, will be fine. Will the width be an issue with the fan? I measured & it looks like I'll have 7mm clearance but does anyone know for sure?

Thanks & cheers.

Does yours have a sunroof?

The obvious drains on passenger side are plenum & sunroof if fitted.

Leaking front windscreen or door seals?

Put the hose in the plenum only and check if water appears, if not then it's probably the windscreen seal.

BINGO! posts 7 & 8

That's good you found it. Hopefully it's just the seal & nothing nastier!! Like rust.

I finished this conversion yesterday. Overall, it's not that hard to do. It does make a difference & wont wear out the bush anymore.

 

A couple of things;

The bronze bush is 18mm deep, the bearing is 12. We machined out the bush down 14mm so that the bearing sits 2mm below the top surface. The bush wears out near this surface so that gap will reduce stress on the bearing. I press fitted the bearing after heating the top very gently. 2-3 taps with a bit of 1&1/4" round bar & a hammer to get it in.

The photos above from sparky dave illustrate this well.

 

The steering box can be a bit fiddly to get in & out. A hoist & or a helping hand would be ideal!

Make sure you cap all of the lines & holes in the box or the fluid goes everywhere including on your exhaust which smokes when hot making you shit yourself thinking the car is on fire!!

 

Pitman arm is much easier to get off with the box out of the car. Puller & a little heat, it pings off.

 

That's about it folks. I'm glad I did this & thanks for all the assistance & advice!

Haha...good read ando.

I think I'll elevate the sump repair up the priority list....just because.

I finished the roller top conversion on the steering box today. New pitman, idler & tie rods. Didn't have time for the ball joints but they really are an issue that's not an issue.

So now I need something to do!

Cheers to all!

 

P.S have you ever been to NZ? High temp of 8 today, -2 overnight. That's the main reason I use 15w40.

Funny you should say that actually. I seem to be forever chasing issues that aren't really issues but I can't help it. It's the only way I ever learn how something works or is fixed. Most of the time about half way through I seriously wish I hadn't started it but it's too late by then I have to finish it.

My philosophy is: if it's better than it was before then I'm happy.

Another thought I've had is; after I bought the car I noticed the sump is dented. Its a long flat dent from about half way along the pan all the way to the back. It's pushed the pan up about 15-20mm in the deepest part near the rear of the sump down to 5mm in the middle. Basically like if you drove up a big concrete kerb and bottomed out on it.

This could be affecting the oil pump & or pickup?

I have a sump gasket set so I guess I'll have to take the pan off, press it straight & check/clean the pickup.

I'm not that keen to take the engine out to do it so I'll try the raising the engine 50mm as the manual explains & get it out that way.

Think I'll have to find a pit or hoist before I attempt that though

I don't think it's anything terminal. The engine has 130k on it. I bought it at 106k. Ive changed the oil & filter every 5k since, always use Valvoline engine armour 15w40.

I used to have a noisy lifter so I put 500mls of product in the oil & the lifter hasn't made a noise since. I changed the oil about 2k later & it was blacker than it normally is which I expected. Then I added some moreys oil stabiliser to the next change. I've also been using moreys upper cylinder lube/cleaner in the fuel for a while.

just lately I've noticed the oil pressure guage drops from just over half way to about a third under acceleration until it's warm then it goes back to the correct position after that.

The other noise is a bit like pinging, maybe it is, maybe the timing chain is a bit worn.

I'm not worried about it as it only does it under foot to the floor conditions & I don't do that often. More just curious what it could be.

is it worth having a mechanic give it a tune & or recurve the distributor?

 

Thanks for the info so far guys