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SteveHobart

XF 250 Crossy issues

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Hi all! Now I have had an issue with my XF Falcon not idling correctly. I have been able to diagnose it to a crook camshaft after having a play with a dial guage (courtesy of EBay of course). So now I have a choice that I was hoping a 4.1 (EFI) guru could help me make.

 

I have spoken to Crow Cams and they have recommended a Street/Speedway Cam for me which cool. I have a Haynes (online) subscription to the XF Manual which states that the cam can be replaced with the engine in the car.

 

My question is twofold:

Firstly, for a relative novice, how hard is it to replace the cam in a 4.1 EFI and get it running again and....

 

I understand that you can replace the Valve Springs with the head in. Considering the cam has probably been dodgy for a while, would I be better off pulling the head while I’m at it and getting a valve grind etc etc before reinstalling the cam?

 

Any advice or tricks would be appreciated!

 

 

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It can be done in the car but it’s a pain. If you have air conditioning you will have to degas it as the camshaft comes out the front you’ll have to remove the condenser and radiator. Replace the lifters with the camshaft, this will be a lot easier to do with the head off.

Honestly, I would find the job easier and probably faster removing the whole engine and doing it on a stand. You might as well replace all the bottom end gaskets and also give it a quick hone if the bores are ok. That along with new rings and bearings means you’ll end up with a nice fresh engine

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Thanks for the tip. My biggest issue is that I’m not all that confident pulling the engine out myself and it’s expensive as anything to have someone do it for me (been quoted $1700 for removal and install).


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Agree. No easier engine to learn on. It's not that hard and if you take shots on your phone you'll have a colour workshop manual to reference from. 

 

If it has wiped a lobe (which is pretty common) you can bet the oil pump will be junk. The oil pump cops any metal dropped through the engine first. Yeah the filter will catch it after the pump has done its job, but you can bet the inside of the pump will look like a concrete mixer. 

 

Full gaskets sets are silly cheap. Borrow or buy an engine crane and have a crack. There are some good people on here who will help you through if you get stuck. 

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Agree 100%. It looks daunting, but, it's not that difficult. If you can swing spanners, then you can do an engine swap, head change, cam and lifters. Just be methodical in the way you approach it. Take photos, keep the bolts with the parts you remove, or wind them back in the holes they came out of. Put them in zip-lock bags and label them, or use cardboard as VB said. You will learn soooo much, and never be afraid to ask questions, anyone here will help.  Do it when you're in a good mood, play your fave tunes, DON"T drink alcohol, and you'll love the experience. 

 

Then you can say....." I built it myself "   :D

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Thanks for the encouragement Gents. Took the first steps today. Thought it would be easiest to eliminate the easy things first, so have removed the Intake, Plenum chamber and rocker cover. Have removed the rockers and checked the rods to ensure it’s not a bent rod (it’s not).
Some observations so far. It’s unnecessarily complex isn’t it, the Vacuum set up from the rocker cover. Took heaps of pics but much of it could be simplified.
The head (from the top) looks great, no buildup of gunk or anything else on the inside of the rocker cover or on the top of the head. I ran an oil flush through it before changing the oil and it seems to have done its job.
The prior owner had done a bit of work to it from time to time, fiddled with it a bit. However I’m not sure whether he put it back together well. About 1/2 the bolts on the rocker cover weren’t even finger tight. Maybe the issue is just a vacuum leak from the Rocker Cover?
The Charcol Canister line is full of oil. Must be a bit of blowby in the engine, maybe a complete strip and rebuild is on the cards?
I’ll keep going, planning to remove the head completely and get to the lifters next. Hopefully it’s just a dodgy lifter and not a cam lobe?



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crossflows seem to have an awesome ability to make the bolts loose on the rocker cover(i think it's caused by gaskets shrinking.. ) most people silastic the alloy rocker cover on without a gasket.. never leaks.. never creates a vaccuum issue. 

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I think it can be a case of heat creep too. The exhaust manifold bolts can back out of the alloy (especially with extractors) and inlet bolts on E-series have habit of going AWOL too. Sometimes harmonics can play a part as well. I swear that's what's happening on my clevo's sump bolts. They always work loose down the passenger side and make an oily mess everywhere.

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25 minutes ago, SteveHobart said:

emoji23.pngemoji23.pngemoji23.png Oh man! Ha ha I’m so tired can hardly read the screen! Lol Sorry! But it is a cool name! emoji23.pngemoji23.png


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you're not the first person, it's cool i think looks pretty close on the screen for me also, only i've met Chris and knew his name before seeing the POISON miss spell 

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Good to see more tassie guys joining up on here . 

Top place for info ,, top blokes ,," with a few loons thrown in for good measure " :wacko:

 

we need some pix of your project ,,

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