Marks XG 28 Posted July 19, 2022 G’day peeps I’ve tried to glean as much info from here and mr.google but still not 100% clear. Can I keep the 4 speed auto in my 96 XG ute if I end up transplanting a barra? She’s on the column and happy for it to stay like that, also is there a preference for an FG over a BF engine regarding the trans/ecu etc? cheers Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thom 6,650 Posted July 21, 2022 G’day peeps I’ve tried to glean as much info from here and mr.google but still not 100% clear. Can I keep the 4 speed auto in my 96 XG ute if I end up transplanting a barra? She’s on the column and happy for it to stay like that, also is there a preference for an FG over a BF engine regarding the trans/ecu etc? cheers MarkBtr autos were still available in fg, so putting behind a barra isn't a problem, it gets tricky because the barra btr's are slightly different to e series and au btr's, all barra btr's use a cable shifter and the floor shift variants only have shift positions p,r,n,d mechanically and 3,2,1 are selected electronically via the "tiptronic" shifter, factory column shift btr's do still have park to 1st mechanically selectable but unless its from a ba ute it won't have a speed sensor in the gearbox (ba utes were the only ones from ba to fgx that didn't come standard with abs so they had a speedo transducer in the gearbox, abs equipped cars used the wheel speed sensors instead, the speed sensor is needed to drive your speedo and tell the ecu how fast you are going so it can control shifting in the trans)Your original btr will bolt up to a barra with a barra to btr bellhousing swapped onto it, you would have to convert your shift linkage fo cable though, if you wanted to use your original shifter linkage you would need an au column shift bellhousing, the one thing I am uncertain on is if the earlier btr will talk to the barra ecu As far as the engines go, ba/bf barras are simpler to bolt in than an fg engine, series 2 ba or bf being slightly better than ba series 1 as series 1 only controls the cams as a pair whereas the later engrave fully independent cam control, fg engines are a little more powerful but you have to swap the sump and oil pick up to a ba/bf unit and drill the block for the dip stick to go in the correct location Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marks XG 28 Posted July 21, 2022 38 minutes ago, Thom said: Btr autos were still available in fg, so putting behind a barra isn't a problem, it gets tricky because the barra btr's are slightly different to e series and au btr's, all barra btr's use a cable shifter and the floor shift variants only have shift positions p,r,n,d mechanically and 3,2,1 are selected electronically via the "tiptronic" shifter, factory column shift btr's do still have park to 1st mechanically selectable but unless its from a ba ute it won't have a speed sensor in the gearbox (ba utes were the only ones from ba to fgx that didn't come standard with abs so they had a speedo transducer in the gearbox, abs equipped cars used the wheel speed sensors instead, the speed sensor is needed to drive your speedo and tell the ecu how fast you are going so it can control shifting in the trans) Your original btr will bolt up to a barra with a barra to btr bellhousing swapped onto it, you would have to convert your shift linkage fo cable though, if you wanted to use your original shifter linkage you would need an au column shift bellhousing, the one thing I am uncertain on is if the earlier btr will talk to the barra ecu As far as the engines go, ba/bf barras are simpler to bolt in than an fg engine, series 2 ba or bf being slightly better than ba series 1 as series 1 only controls the cams as a pair whereas the later engrave fully independent cam control, fg engines are a little more powerful but you have to swap the sump and oil pick up to a ba/bf unit and drill the block for the dip stick to go in the correct location Hey Thom thanks for the response, I’m currently talking to a guy about buying his BF barra with btr attached as well as ecu. It comes with an FG sump and pickup for better clearance I believe. Ive messaged Bill Hooten about a harness, slowly educating myself on these as I’m a newbie to Fords. Thanks again 1 Thom reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thom 6,650 Posted July 21, 2022 Hey Thom thanks for the response, I’m currently talking to a guy about buying his BF barra with btr attached as well as ecu. It comes with an FG sump and pickup for better clearance I believe. Ive messaged Bill Hooten about a harness, slowly educating myself on these as I’m a newbie to Fords. Thanks again Pretty sure the fg sump won't fit the xg, fg's have a rear sump, earlier engines have a front sump, I wouldn't be surprised if the fg sump hits your drag link, an au/ba/bf will hit the sway bar in an xg, but there are 3 solutions to this, make spacers for the sway bar to move it out of the way, aftermarket sway bar that clears the alloy sump (I think whiteline make one) or you could modify the front of the sump to clear 1 1 deankxf and Marks XG reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,287 Posted July 21, 2022 41 minutes ago, Thom said: aftermarket sway bar that clears the alloy sump (I think whiteline make one) Tuff Mounts make one, think it was about $400 last year(mate bought one to fit AU engine in XG) in this package with mounts for engine https://www.tuffmounts.com.au/product/conversion-kits/tuff-mounts-barra-conversion-kit-into-xa-xf-ford-falcon/ 1 1 Marks XG and Thom reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gregaust 319 Posted July 22, 2022 The issue with swapping BTR , up to AU the solenoids earth through the case . BA on the wiring harness is different and all gearbox earths return to ECU Just something to be aware of when you are setting up which computer to use . Harnesses can be swapped although there can be differences where the plug fits the main case 1 Thom reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marks XG 28 Posted July 22, 2022 10 minutes ago, gregaust said: The issue with swapping BTR , up to AU the solenoids earth through the case . BA on the wiring harness is different and all gearbox earths return to ECU Just something to be aware of when you are setting up which computer to use . Harnesses can be swapped although there can be differences where the plug fits the main case At the moment I have the xg auto that is in the ute and I’m picking up a BF barra and auto tomorrow so I’ll have those two to chose from. As long as I can keep my column shift when going barra I’ll be happy. From what I can make out I’ll use the XG btr but use the BF btr bellhousing to bolt to the barra. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gregaust 319 Posted July 23, 2022 That should work fine 1 Marks XG reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thom 6,650 Posted July 23, 2022 At the moment I have the xg auto that is in the ute and I’m picking up a BF barra and auto tomorrow so I’ll have those two to chose from. As long as I can keep my column shift when going barra I’ll be happy. From what I can make out I’ll use the XG btr but use the BF btr bellhousing to bolt to the barra.With the bf bellhousing you will lose your column shift linkage mount, to keep the xg column shift setup you will need an au column shift bellhousing 1 Marks XG reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites