wagoon

I have just wired my xe over christmas with msd 6al2. I have the same instructions as you and it does not say anything regarding a fuse. I also got on here and asked the fuse question and went the way Greg suggested, I used a blade type fuse in either a 10 or 15AMP capacity. I then fused the trigger wire going to the dizzy with a 2.5AMP fuse as that's what I had.

 

Judgetread has it right with the way to set the timing. I like to think of the 6al2 programmable as a retard box, you set your dizzy to highest timing you want then use the msd to pull timing out.

When I was looking at tko for a cleveland build a few years ago Mal wood was the best I could come up with. Didnt even matter that they are kind of close everything was sorted in house and they have been the people to see for a long time. Even when I was looking at 4L turbo setups before the clevo setups Mal Wood kept coming up as the people to see.

I dont think you could go wrong with Mal Wood and even if someone else had a cheaper quote you might find the bill would rise as they find extra things to charge for that they didnt allow for in the original quote.

Yeah for the time and cost of finding a decent used one then modifiying it I think the cost of the dellow one is justified. Although paying $165 for one through Ford isnt justified, that is a massive mark up but guess thats what their all about these days.

Bought the part from Dellow through ebay this morning before I left for work and just had confirmation its on its way already so will see it early next week.

Also, i'm assuming that if I fit Hydraulic Lifters, I would also be looking at a Hydraulic Camshaft?

Yeah mate you can't mix hydraulic and solid parts. So solid lifters only for solid camshaft but thing like valve springs are universal so to speak as they don't care what camshaft you have they only care the size of the camshaft as you have to match the valve spring to the cam size. Again this is very basic description but the thing that keeps getting repeated which is really important is everything must match each other otherwise you are just wasting your time and money.

With Hydraulic camshafts there are 2 types of lifters to choose from, 1 is standard hydraulic lifter which is for just about every hydraulic camshaft. The 2nd one is called anti pump up which is only needed for the higher end of the hydraulic camshaft range and to be using anti pump up lifters you need to be changing carby and ignition and revving the engine at lot more than standard.

 

Easiest way to decide on what camshaft you buy is:

Are you going to change carby to a bigger one?

Are you going to upgrade to a better ignition?

Are you putting extractor and bigger than standard exhaust on the car?

Is the car Auto or manual? This is important as you are limited more by an Auto than a manual before you have to start upgrading parts in the gearbox

What is the diff ratio of the car? This matters because as you can see on camshaft manufactures websites some camshafts require certain diff gearing to make the camshaft work best.

And the 2 most important questions are

What is the car to be used for?

How much money do you have to spend in the next 6 months on the car? And that's not what you want to spend but what do you actually have to spend on the car

The only way to get the rubber ones is to either find one at a wreckers or find someone that has a new one sitting around. Even rang the local clutch place which is pretty well known and they don't have anything, even he was surprised at what Ford was charging.

So the only real option is to try and find one somewhere and hope that it doesn't have a damaged fork or by the Dellow one. Considering if I have to find a used one first then get something machined to suit the arm, it will probably take that long that it will be holding up me starting/running my car. Plus it will probably still cost me at least $40-50 for a modified one(as no doubt wreckers know how much a new one costs so they will want big money for shit) once I get something machined to replace the rubber I might just by the dellow one and be done with it.

A very basic way to think of the numbers on the camshaft is look at the number in the @50thou.

For a crossflow:

Anything under 200 is pretty much the same as standard

From 200 to 210 is mild performance but still using all standard equipment

From 210 to 220 is moderate performance with the higher end of this group needing some performance parts installed with the camshaft.

From 220 up is still moderate performance but this will require changing of parts like diff gears, torque converters as well as performance parts like valve spring etc.

 

Now these are very basic guides and camshafts are quite complicated when it comes to lobe seperation angles and duration and lift and how it all works together. So if you go off the above list and choose the range that will give you the performance your after then you can ring a camshaft manufacturer and they will tell you what parts will be needed to go with the camshaft you choose.

I have found several names for this part but here is a link for what it looks like

http://dellowconversions.com.au/product/ford-falcon-cable-clutch-fork-arm-insulator-hook-2/

I have rang Ford and the genuine part is obsolete but they said their is an aftermarket part for $165, and he basically described the dellow part. I have rang the local parts stores with no luck and even at a stretch the local wreckers they dont have any manual falcon.

So has anyone bought one of these things lately from somewhere other than dellows or ford? And how much did you pay? There is one on ebay but again it looks like the dellow on and its the same price $95.

If your after camshaft guru's give one of the camshaft manufactures a call and chat to them.

But as a amateur internet mechanic I do agree with Greg, it depends on what you want from the car. Everybody always want the most power out of their engine, but you need to be honest in what the car is actually going to be used for. No point buying a camshaft thats going to need 10 grand spent on the rest of the engine, or having a massive lumpy cam with stupid rough idle if your driving to work everyday through stop start traffic.

The cost of modifiy will grow pretty damn quick when you start changing things for performance as other things need to be upgraded to match otherwise its not worth doing it in the first place.

Start a competition on guessing the HP OR KW of this engine,i reckon 280 REAR WHEEL KW

As proved by sly at summernats dyno comp, drag cars dont make good dyno cars due to their setup. Luckily this engine is being put on an engine dyno so it will be accurate flywheel horsepower.

So my prediction for the flywheel hp is farkkk meeee!!!!!@ stupid rpm and it will make exactly a fuckload ft lb of torque. And yes I stand by my predictions and I will even lay money on the line Im that confident in my predictions

That's very bad form that it's not just one part that failed be several. And while the service was good that they are sending you out replacements how is it possible that a seller can still sell an expensive product while they know it's bad. All the known defective parts should have been withdrawn from sale and replaced with product from a good manufacturer that makes better product.

That's the problem with major businesses these days, they care more about profit than customers and it's only when a large majority of customers have an issue they are forced into admitting that the product has an issue. They don't care that the first few hundred odd customers that had this problem have lost their money and rare spares would have blamed the owner for incorrect install and refused a refund blah blah blah. It's only the next few hundred customers that have the same problem with their parts that benefit from the bad luck of the first few hundred customers cause the company can't risk that a thousand of their customers get bad/defective products.

 

I have just removed tie rods from my 300,000km xe sedan that look brand new compared to those "new" ones(the old tie rods had small cut's or the retaining ring had let go there was zero rubber boot deterioration like in Dave's pics) . Now the ones on my car clearly aren't the originals but they are have done many thousands of km's not many hundreds of km's. I have also just had replaced split sway bar link pin bushes on my xe sedan which were nolathane brand, they were less than 10,000km's old but the car has been sitting for almost 5 years with more than 70% of that time on car stands with no wheels on, plus nolethane are known for splitting as they are very hard.

Can I make a suggestion, measure the cc of the piston and measure the cc of the combustion chamber on the head. That way you can know exactly what the compression ratio is. Just like any engine setup knowing the compression ratio helps to get the setup just right. Not saying you will have to change anything or spend big money but might as well know what you have to work with while the engine is apart. Checking CR costs little to no money and just a bit of your time.

Dam these cross flow threads....thinking I need one now.

Less thinking more doing. Owning a crossflow is not about an intellegent decision, it an spiritual enlighten moment of glory. Plus they are a bloody good engine that run forever.

See my previous statment about my wagon 200ci engine using 1 litre of oil/5000km service. The engine is running as good as ever, just need to check oil and make sure it doesnt get low on oil thats it. I look at it in a positive light though, my exhaust wont rust from the inside out due to the amount of oil being pumped through the exhaust.

I have my every day driver wagon with a 200ci crossflow that drinks/eats/chews 1 litre of oil /5000kms. I have my solid roller crossflow in my sedan that after 5 years will hopefully be running within a month or 6. I have a spare running 250 from a wrecked ute that is to replace the 200ci in my wagon when it drinks more oil than fuel.  I have the original engine out of my sedan that required 2 bottles of chemiweld to seal up the head gasket/warped after the original owner ran the engine dry.

 

I use to have an entire spare engine which included a 86DA block that was pulled from an XF wagon that I wrecked many moons ago for the cylinder head to replace the fucked cylinder head on my sedan. Someone needed the 86DA block for an e series crank conversion so I am left with the rest of the engine.

 

So that make 2 running  250ci crossflow engines (if you give me a month or 6 to get my roller cam crossflow running) 1 used 250ci engine in apparent running condition, 1 250ci engine with a fucked head and 1 complete 250ci engine less engine block. And finally one 200ci engine that likes to drink oil like it is beer.

 

Yep I'm a crossflow addict and proud of it. The other day I had a thought of turning my XE wagon with a fucked body into a sedan delivery like an XP, the first and only engine I thought to power it was a crossflow.

Auto??

If anybody is going to look for an EA alternator be aware that they come in a couple of different Amp ratings 85amp is the highest standard one I believe. The top mounting point is in a different location (not offset like a crossflow to engine side) so top mount will need likely need modifying but from the measurements available the lower mounts are the same distance apart as an x series.

Still need to confirm but I may have my electricity woes sorted. Helping someone out and in turn they are checking for a high output factory alternator for me and if they have one it's mine. I will look into using a digital time delay (as shown by hendrixhc in the time delay -RC circuit thread) when the thermo's starts to help no over draw the system.

The size of the pulley on the EA alternator is actually a couple of mm's bigger than my current standard one. I don't have measurements for the RPC or tuff stuff pulleys but if you look at the size of the aftermarket pulley's compared to the EA pulley they look pretty much the same (even look at pulley to external fan size ratio).

 

Also due to the type of racing I will be doing the time spent at high rpm will be low, I'm thinking that I probably won't need to resize the pulley larger and will stay with factory original size. Since I haven't changed camshaft size I don't see any reason for me to believe that the rev limit Jason had on the engine won't be to far from what I will have which was around 6200 if I remember correctly.

 

At the moment the rebuilt 100amp EA alternator is looking pretty good as I can just plug and play with the wiring and I already have to make a new top mount anyway. The EA is cheaper than getting my 50A one rebuilt to 75-80A and it will most likely require the least amount of modification to work compared to the aftermarket ones. There are the other original ford options but they still require me to buy the alternator either second hand and could fail or reco'd which cost the same or more than the EA one. Then the other ford alternators will still likely need work like change pulleys, different wiring and maybe lower mounts modified. Still looking for a decent x series in at least 85 amp but that's not turning up much.

What would that extra 30mm allow you to do over getting the right offset rim on the current setup? Only ask as I don't know which way would be better.

Your right that its a lot of work for not much gain and it can't be easily changed back but getting offset rim that would allow the bigger tyre to fit would change the track width of your car also making it technically illegal. But rims are a lot easier to change back and you could always carry the different offset rims to the track so you don't have issues.

Also found this nice black alternator although I have no details on it, although I have sent an enquiry off about it http://www.tuffstuffperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=8170/category_id=279/mode=prod/prd8170.htm 

It lists as a 100Amp small case 1 wire alternator, it's available here is oz so you don't have to order direct from the states

This one is from Rocket industries it's a Racing Power Company brand 100amp alternator apparently made as direct fit for crossflow one wire with external reg, but its F@&KING chrome only http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RPC-Chrome-Alternator-100A-suit-Ford-1965-1986-V6-V8-RPCR3903-/262048295024

 

Is this the brand you have Hendrixhc?  Anyone know if the quality of this brand is any good?

 

Edit: From what I can find Racing Power Company sell all chinese made stuff but there is very limited info on actual products, even the website has nothing on it but dead ends. Unless I can find some good reviews of the products I think I will steer clear of this one. Interesting to note though that this brand is carried by a lot of the big name aftermarket parts companies here is oz including

This EA 100 Amp falcon one maybe an option as well not sure. Measurements of the body provided look pretty close to my original 50A. Might be hard to find a genuine one now though http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/EA-Ford-6-Cylinder-3-9L-3-2L-12V-100-Amp-Upgrade-Bosch-Alternator-FREE-Meter-/130848926081

 

Edit: I contacted the ebay seller in the link for this alternator and I asked specifically if the alternator he remanufactured was a genuine ford/bosch removed from an EA his response was that it was genuine bosch so not quite sure if it's a newer bosch or an original ford one. He did say they get 106amps out of them and he was happy to include a plug to suit plug and play with my wiring harness (carby crossflow). All this for $180 including post is looking very tempting. The seller is listed as being in Allenby Gardens in SA under the name starter motors alternators australia

Thank you everyone for the input it really really helps.

 

Tufe did you have to change the bearing when changing the pulley or was it literally pull the serpentine pulley and put on the v belt pulley? Spacing the alternator is no real drama as I have to make up a new adjuster top bracket anyway to suit the offset pulley on the harmonic balancer.

 

 

I don't have the part number sorry but I can say it shit the internal reg the very first day and I had to fit a Bosch unit which cost $50 bringing it up to the same cost as a Bosch unit I tried to avoid paying extra for LOL. What a dumb ass ay.

 

The big pulley stops the belt coming off @ RPM.Drops charge rate but I have never had a Issue.

Not stupid at all dude, I would expect a brand new item to be up to the task that's why you buy brand new. Looks like I will need to look for a bigger pulley.

 

 

Ando the first guy I went to is suppose to be the bloke to see locally about rebuilding and modifying alternators, the first and only thing he did was reach for the bosch book. As for the new stuff well yeah that's why I am really unsure going new because of others experience and my love of all things brand new. I would much rather a checked over genuine ford one, either x series or e series.

 

 

Greg the problem is finding a decent old usable alternator that people don't want 11ty million dollars for because its "rare" and "V8 size". But there is a heap of info here to work with so I should be able to get something sorted.

All my knowledge about the glorious crossflow and a lot of specific mechanical knowledge have come from the kind people of this site. You will definitely learn a lot here and by knowing exactly what you want from the car and how much your going to spend is the only place to start.

Thanks BBS for the clarification. Yeah I have been reading around about modifying the internals but the details are very vague with no specifics. Just not sure I want to go buying a good/new alternator that I have to pull apart (I dont have a bearing puller so more expense on top)to see if the mod works.

 

Sly you wouldnt happen to have a part number for the alternator? Whats the advantage with putting the bigger diameter pulley on?

So went to the auto sparky on the way home today ( 2 actually). First sparky only wanted to order in a OEX brand 120A universal alternator and see if the pulley off the front of my alternator would fit, well I thought that plan stank so I moved on. The second place which I have used before said that they would have to look into bigger than a 60A (listed as XF apparently) as that's all they had listed as a direct replacement for an XE crossflow. Said something about they could see if a late 80's early 90's falcon 80ishAmp alternator with a V belt would fit but they would have to do research before they committed which is fair enough. Then got onto rebuilding my standard 50A (stuffed as causes voltage spikes) bosch alternator and for up to $200 they would give my a new looking rebuilt alternator with approx 75-80Amp rating although he was none committal on the Amp rating of the finished alternator as they would be using spares they had upstairs.

So got home and doing a search around and found a over a dozen places advertising a Bosch BXF1250A  which is suppose to fit XE crossflow etc. Problem is none of them list the power output as the same, places are advertising it as having either 55A or 60A or 85A for the exact same part number.  Has anyone actually bought an alternator with part number BXF1250A and can you tell me the actual Amp rating of it is?

 

Next question is what higher amp rated alternator are people using? I'm looking for preferable 100+A but 85A might do at a stretch if I time delay my thermos to reduce the load on the alternator. And I don't really won't chrome as it would be the only thing in the bay with chrome on it and would look very much out of place.