PhilMeUp

Find the guy that owns the place. Move this up to the top of the hierarchy. If insured then make a claim. If not insured then get the most expensive quote possible and go serve a summons. I another couple of days then stop holding back on keeping the business name quiet. Not putting wheel nuts back on is quite a stuff-up.

Manifold nuts: Looks like a 14mm ring spanner is the way to go. My manifold nuts were already rounded off, so that make it difficult. A 6-sided ring spanner would have helped. If I have to do it again then I'll put new nuts on. Tow bar: Yep, take photos. Document it all. Then other people can see what's involved. Door handles: Don't know about any differences from BA to BF. Photos that might be useful: and

Did Ford regularly use 30mm centre bearings on Turbos and XR8s?

The two pulleys that get noisy are easy enough to replace. Photo guide (search on here for BA8A617A if the link doesn't work): You also need to replace that missing coil cover bolt. If any water goes on top of that coil cover then it will go straight through that hole and into one of the spark plug recesses. Resulting in coil cover, etc, having to come off to get the water out. Car will run on 5 cylinders if water gets down there.

Take the car to Hardy Spicer in Welshpool. They'll figure it out, and you can buy the replacement centre bearing while you're there. Or, just take the tail shaft there.

Build threads are extremely useful. The info about the items and techniques used, the better. Build threads show people real world use of things, instead of just seeing marketing blurb everywhere else. The threads that cover adding performance stuff show people what some of the options are. My two FPV Tornado threads ended up mostly covering basic maintenance stuff. I've taken sh*tloads of photos, and posted what I've done, why I've done it, etc. Build threads with photos teach people stuff. Spread the knowledge, etc. It's also not just about how much interest there is at the time - people will find those threads for years afterwards through Google searches. I'm always searching for stuff, and half the time my own photos appear in the results.

Sounds like it would have used the original LS1 intake and catalytic converter, which would then not require any emissions testing (ie factory parts).

We are photo sluts (well, I am). Feed us.

If any of: - intake manifold (ie throttle body onward) - dump pipe - catalytic converter - tuning change/changes from the factory standard/specifications then the car is required to go through an emissions test. Apparently here in WA it's a 5-gas test, instead of a full emissions test. I have no idea what the difference is, except that a 5-gas test is easier to pass than a full emissions test (that's what DOT told me). The intake manifold, dump pipe and cat converter are easy to spot. Tuning can't be seen, so that one's easy to get away with (hence Tocchi's car not requiring testing). Ask around in Perth about emissions tests and you'll get fed crap from almost everyone. Very frustrating. I left the car with a place on Monday morning that does emissions testing and has HP Tuners. To get through an emissions test easily with a Late model camira or Falcon, HP Tuners is part of the solution. I didn't hear back from the place today, so I'll go see them tomorrow and check for an update. But, getting a Falcon through an emissions test appears to be much, much easier than people make it out to be.

Yep. Repco Welshpool is the cheapest for Pentrite Pro Gear 80-140 diff oil.

Enjoy it while it lasts. There is a remote, although unlikely, possibility that some day I might actually wander off and get a life. This is also part of the whole transition in the taxi world from Falcons to Toyotas. Stuffed if I'm gonna spend the next few years developing the same knowledge about friggin' Toyotas. Screw that. Nah, I'd send the place broke. "Lemme see... our normal price is $49, but I can do it for trade at $40... but if you look up item 8539485937 on eBay you'll find it for $36... there's one on Gumtree for $31... or, get it from the US for $24... but it's also on Aliexpress.com for $11..." However, my list of Gumtree searches that I check every day is currently down to 10 (a record low). Chopped it down from 15 the other day. I still can't find a scissor hoist in Perth for $2,000, though. Some day... I have failed in getting a certain Tornado through a dodgy inspection with an illegal plenum intake. It's now in for emissions testing, but that's another story (ie it can be done). PS: Did you realise that you can actually get Aprilia SXV550 indicators off Aliexpress for as low as $US17.84 a pair? Pfftt... trade cards are for common people. It is amazing just how much cheaper some places get when you mention taxi. I still can't get decent pricing out of ATAP though (ie DBA rotors and Hawk pads).

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FORD-BA-BF-FALCON-ICC-UNIT-/131791359975?hash=item1eaf608fe7:g:qSMAAOSw14xXFJ4n

Yep, that's a negative, as covered. I could never figure out why Ford didn't start making all their wheels Brembo compatible back in the early 2000s, when they started putting Brembo calipers on FPVs. The BA XR8 rim (which clears Brembo calipers) looks like this: That one's actually an aftermarket copy, the genuine Ford one has slightly shorter indent lines on the outside of the spokes. There are also genuine and aftermarket FPV rims. The genuine ones will have the FPV logo on the inside, on one of the spokes. I've heard of aftermarket ones also having the logo, but haven't seen it in person. If you need to trust the with carrying a fair bit of weight then focus on finding genuine ones. Without changing wheels, the option to look at is the beefier PBR caliper, commonly known as the C5 or C6 caliper. PBR originally made it for the 1997-2002 Corvette. In 2002 Ford started putting it on the FPVs, and made it an option on the Xr6 Turbo and XR8. Expensive Daewoo also used the same caliper on some of the mid-2000s Commodores and HSVs. When my girlfriend was using a set of those calipers on a Falcon we used Hawk Performance ceramic pads (like I do on my taxi Brembos). The part number is HB247Z.575. http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hb247z575 They look very similar to the standard PBR calipers. Look for the single indentation on the top, vs the two indentations on the standard PBR caliper. Although still a two piston caliper, it's a better caliper than the standard one. And the disc rotors are 325mm x 32mm, instead of the standard 298mm x 28mm. The larger 322mm setup (ie BF XR6T and XR8) is the same caliper but with different mounting brackets. Which also means the same 28mm thickness. The extra 4mm thickness on the C5/C6 caliper helps to handle more heat and prevent disc warping. They're rare and hard to find. There are actually two sets for sale in Perth right now, one on FaceBook and one on Gumtree. They came in three colours, depending on which car they came on: FPV from the factory: blue, with an FPV logo Ford option, from the factory: black, with a Ford logo. Was sold at the time as the "BA Premium Brake Option". Sold directly from PBR: red, with a PBR logo Regardless of the colour, they're the same caliper. The ones that Holden/HSV used were also the same, but with different mounting brackets. I could never figure out why they weren't fitted to police cars. NSW police use Brembo calipers on the front, whereas the rest of the country uses standard PBR front calipers that heat-fade easily. Go and ask a cop about doing high-speed stuff in a Late model camira or Falcon...

Why the bloody hell would anyone bother dating when there are car forums everywhere? The more I learn about women the more I love my car/motorbike, etc, etc.

The 4-piston and 6-piston calipers both require the same space behind the wheels. If a wheel clears the 4-piston caliper then it will also clear the 6-piston caliper. Post a photo of your wheels here and we'll be able to confirm whether or not they'll clear Brembo calipers.

Wheels: All FPV rims clear Brembos. The only Ford rim that clears is the BA XR8 18". None of the Ford 19" rims clear Brembo calipers. There's a bunch of discussion about wheels that clear Brembo calipers here: http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11310061 Rear calipers: The Brembo 4-piston calipers that have been used on Falcons & FPVs are all the same 4-piston caliper. For rear Brembo calipers, there used to be a problem with brake knock-off, where the pads got pushed back in by the axles moving around. I've had Brembo rear calipers on two different station wagon taxis. In 500,000km I haven't had a single problem. I pulled some rear Brembo calipers apart a while ago and found that Brembo is now putting springs in behind the pistons to keep them pushed out. It's the front brakes that do all the work. Sure, grab 4-piston rears if you can find them, but don't get too stressed about it. You can put on the PBR 328mm stuff easily enough. Brake pads: I use the Hawk Performance ceramic pads because they are the least dustiest. They're also the most expensive, but I've been buying mine out of the US when I buy other stuff (ie so that freight doesn't get too expensive). Project Mu pads are popular on here, and much cheaper than the Hawks. Call Matt at Race Brakes Sydney when it comes time to buy some pads. The standard Brembo pads are extremely dusty. This. Check your rims before buying Brembo. Replacing the wheels is a pain in the arse, and one of the extra hassles and costs of going Brembo. $2500 would be a good deal for front and rear 4-piston Brembo calipers, but not for just fronts and PBR rears. This listing is better. They're FG brackets, but they'll still fit on a BA/BF. The front calipers haven't had the clear laquer burned off, which is common on the front 4-piston calipers. And it looks like there's a set of front DBA4000 T3 disc rotors there. That's a pretty good package deal. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ford-Falcon-FG-Brembo-Brakes-FPV-XR6-Turbo-/141965487711?hash=item210dcd6e5f:g:FQMAAOSwiylXC4Dg I've had rear Brembos on a wagon (ie same back end as a ute) for a while without any problems. And they get used - the front ones look like sh*t these days (clear lacquer gone). I'm going to be putting 4-piston rears on a ute soon and will see how they go. If there's dramas then I'll have to drop back to a PBR 328mm setup. FPV had rear Brembo calipers as an option on the BA Tornado but not on the BF.

The 6-piston calipers are much less common than the 4-piston ones, and are usually much more expensive to buy. If you can find a 6-piston pair of calipers for a good price then grab them immediately. If not, then find a 4-piston set and put them on. The general braking is better, but mainly it's braking where there's a lot of heat where the Brembos make a massive difference (ie higher speed stuff).

I didn't get a chance to measure them when I was messing around with some 6-piston calipers a while ago. ie I've still got the new BF ones here that will be going on my green Tornado once it's licenced. The problem is getting the pistons out to measure them. The mid-2000s Mercedes AMG and the recent Lexus IS-F both use the same brake pad - I use Hawk Performance ceramic pads. Part number is HB616Z.607. http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hb616z607 There might be some useful info here somewhere: http://www.lpiracing.com/Brembo-Caliper-Guide-c9150.htm There's also some info on the Zeckhausen web site: https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=82 For replacement seals and dust boots, the Brembo stuff is expensive... even in the US. StopTech is an aftermarket manufacturer, and their stuff is much cheaper. Some info that I made a note of before I put the 6-piston calipers on my taxi: Front LH Caliper: LHF Ford or FPV part no: BAFT 2B119 A 20A00420, Casting no: 20.A001.01 1A On mine: White sticker on the side: 20A00410 White sticker on the bottom: 8026 2B119 AB Casting on caliper: 20.A001.01 1A Casting on mounting bracket: 20.A002.03 Front RH Caliper: RHF Ford or FPV part no: BAFT 2B118 A 20A00420, Casting no: 20.A001.02 1A On mine: White sticker on side: 20A00420 White sticker on bottom: 8026 2B118 AB Casting on caliper: 20.A001.02 1A Casting on mounting bracket: 20.A002.04 Looks like the 2008-2014 Lexus IS-F (ie same brake pad) uses 30/34/38mm pistons. https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=20_1620_1355_1356 However, it looks like the 2008-2011 AMG C63 uses 34/36/38mm pistons. https://www.zeckhausen.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=146_419_4131_4132

Saturday, 16th April, 2016 I’ve always known that the nuts that attach the turbo to the exhaust manifold are loose. I had a go at tightening them last year, but didn’t have the right spanner for the job. I’ve been driving the car around Perth regularly, and the noise that it makes has been irritating (ie like a blown manifold gasket). I’ve been procrastinating for ages, but tonight I figured I’d have another go. This is also covered in Section 303-04b of the Falcon BA Service Manual PDF that can be found around the place. The front of the car. I can get the licence plates remade in a matching colour, but I keep changing cars too often. I originally got them for a red car that I had a few years ago. After finally getting rid of the old taxi motor a few weeks ago I have been enjoying not having the extra weight in the car when driving. The engine bay, before removing anything. I was surprised to see a bit of gunk around the power steering pump area. The car has covered 11,000km since I bought it, and I’ve washed the engine bay several times during that time. Whenever the bonnet is up on a BA or BF Falcon, it’s always worth checking that the power steering pump hose isn’t leaking. There is an o-ring that can fail, resulting in power steering fluid leaking down on to the alternator. This eventually wrecks the alternator. I started by removing the two pipes. I used a cordless drill and 7mm socket on the hose clamps. The rear heat shield lifts out easily enough, but the front one takes a bit of wrestling. It eventually came out through the front. The turbo area, with the piping and heat shields removed. Here you can see just how loose the nuts were that attach the turbo to the exhaust manifold. I’m using ratchet spanners for everything these days instead of normal ring spanners. However, there isn’t room to fit a ratchet spanner in to tighten the nuts. The top two nuts for the turbo and exhaust manifold. Again, you can see how loose the one is on the right (ie near the front of the car). For the upper rear one I managed to get the 14mm ring spanner over the nut and tighten it. You can also see that the two nuts are partly rounded off. That’s a problem. For the upper front one I used a large flat-blade screwdriver to push the ring spanner over the nut. I managed to tighten three of the four nuts. I couldn’t access the front lower one. Getting a ring spanner to fit over the rounded nuts was difficult. Someone before me has stuffed them up by using an open-end spanner on them. If I have to do this again then I’ll put new nuts on. Then it was time to put the heat shields back on. Being my usual clumsy self, I dropped one of the small bolts. Luckily, it fell through to the floor, instead of getting caught in the engine bay somewhere. I used a Craftright Magnetic Pick Up Tool from Bunnings to retrieve it easily (Bunnings item number 5810235, currently $8.98). Some time ago I bought a flexible extension but haven’t used it, even once. Tonight it was actually useful - I used it and a cordless drill to put the upper manifold bolts back in quicker and easier than using a ratchet. Once the manifold bolts were all back in I tightened them to Ford’s specified 27Nm. Now that the $US to $A exchange isn’t so great I’m glad that I splurged on things such as this Snap-On TECH3FR100 digital torque wrench back with it was close to a 1:1 ratio. It vibrates as it approaches the torque setting and then beeps when it reaches the required torque. When putting one of the pipes back on I broke one of the hose clamps. I got around that by using a heavy duty zip tie, which I will cut off and replace with a new hose clamp another time. When I put the heat shields and manifold bolts back in place I also forgot the bracket for lifting the engine out. I didn’t want to waste the zip tie that I had just put on the other end of the pipe, but managed to remove the two bolts at the back and put the bracket back in place easily enough. Everything back in one piece. I then reversed the car down the driveway so that I could clean that front corner area around the power steering pump. I used CT14 for that. The gunk cleaned off easily enough, and I took the car for a test drive. It was running much quieter, and got back the power that I’d been losing from the air leak between the turbo and exhaust manifold.

Wednesday, 23rd March, 2016 In June last year the engine in my taxi started making major bottom end noises. Although the car had done a bit under 500,000km, it was very unusual for a Barra motor to expire. With Falcon wrecks, the one thing that doesn’t sell is the motor. Taxi workshops have stacks of them. So, I wasn’t too happy that my motor had expired. I spent $1,000 on getting a replacement low km engine fitted at a workshop, but had them put the old one in the back of my ute. I have no experience with engine internals, so I figured I’d find someone that would supervise me taking it apart and then help to identify what failed, and why. This didn’t eventuate. I ran an advert on Gumtree for a while and got various responses, but no-one actually came through. As I’d had enough of having this extra weight in the back of the car I figured I’d pull the sump off and have a look. It took me a bit of mucking around to get the sump off. That’s where the crowbar came in handy - if the sump wouldn’t come loose then it meant that I’d missed a bolt on the sump. There were a couple at the flywheel end that I didn’t initially see. I set aside the old coils and oil filler cap (bottom right of photo). I keep stuff like this as spares for my taxis. Those were the original coils - almost 500,000km on them. I found that I had to replace the spark plugs every 12-18 months, but never had to replace the coils. Even the rubbers on those coils were still in reasonably good condition. Once the sump was off I had to remove another cover so that I could see the crankshaft. You can see in the middle of the crank shaft where it was scored. The journal is well scored (ie scratched), but the other two in the photo (ie on the left) are ok. On this cover one of the bolts was different to the others (ie in the middle). I have no idea why. Anyone? Once I’d concluded that the motor was doomed to die no matter what I did, I left it in pieces and knocked off for the night. That was the useful part of doing this in the back of the ute - once I’d finished I could just go to a scrap metal place and get rid of the engine block. The next day I rang some scrap metal yards. Rather than the usual SIMS Metal, I tried to find a smaller, locally owned one. I drove the Tornado to one place and watched nervously as the old engine block was removed from the back of the ute. He was perfectly precise, and within seconds the old engine was gone. Although I don’t know much about the internals of an engine, it was obvious why it was making a bottom end knocking sound. One of the bearing shells had worn through until it broke into two pieces, and the other shell was also worn to paper thin. These two bearing shells were on the crank journal that was worn. There were score marks on the inside of each shell. The end of each shell had been worn thin, and metal pushed out to the side. The other shells were ok. They’ve corroded since they were removed on left on my desk for the last month.

(Note: These are photos from last year, which I forgot to post.) Monday, 16th November, 2015 Time for an oil change. For oil changes I normally use wheel ramps but this time I used a trolley jack and axle stands. I can’t remember why (I’m writing this months later, but I was probably checking the brake pads). When I first got the Tornado home there was grime everywhere underneath the engine, which I then cleaned thoroughly with my pressure washer. I was pretty miffed to see that there was an ongoing leak in the sump area. This is common with BF Falcons, and to replace the sump gasket involves removing that large cross member near the top of the photo. Because of this, replacing the sump gasket is at least half a day on a hoist, which isn’t going to happen. I later took the car to a taxi mechanic, who loosened the bolts and forced some sealant in between the sump and engine block, before tightening up the sump bolts. Although engine oil is weeping out and on to the bottom of the sump, no oil was actually dropping down on to the ground. On Falcons I use Motorcraft FL-820S filters. For loosening and tightening the Motorcraft oil filters I use an Ampro T70411 Oil Filter Wrench, which is 93mm in diameter and has 36 flutes. You see it on the end of the oil filter. It has a hole in it for a 3/8” ratchet, but I use a 3/8” to 1/4” adaptor and then use a 1/4” drive ratchet with it. I left it to drain for a while, before climbing back under to put the new oil filter on. For removing oil filters I use a disposable glove to insulate a bit between the hot oil filter (ie after running the engine for a while) and my finger tips. The spout on the drain pan makes it easy to pour the old oil into bottles. After removing the old oil filter the sealing ring stayed behind. I’ve been caught out by this before, and now know to check before putting the new oil filter on. The FPV F6 engines have a small oil cooler that goes between the oil filter and engine block. The new oil filter in place. I always seem to spill oil when doing an oil change, and really made a mess of it this time. I poured the old oil into old oil bottles. Whenever I’ve got a bunch of full oil bottles I take them to a nearby council waste transfer station, where I pour the old oil into a tank there and keep the bottles to use again. I’m using Gulf Western Syn-X 3000 these days, which is a semi-synthetic oil. I had a look around the engine bay and made sure that everything was in order before calling it a night.

Thursday, 18th June, 2015 (Note: These are photos from last year, which I forgot to post.) Nothing special here - just a few photos taken on a rainy night. The FPV dashboard at night. The blue lighting looks good.

(Note: These are photos from last year, which I forgot to post.) Monday, 8th June, 2015 When I originally bought the Tornado the driver’s door handle was hanging loose from the door trim. This also meant that the car wouldn’t pass a licencing inspection, so I bought a very well used door trim from a taxi wreck at a wrecking yard. The handle itself wasn’t in great condition, so I’ve been looking around ever since for a door trim with a suitable handle. I’ve come up blank, so figured I might as well transfer the ex-taxi door handle over to the FPV trim. Here’s the original FPV door trim, which has been sitting inside the house for months. The ex-taxi door trim that has been on the door since I got the car licenced. Not the prettiest thing around. I started by removing the ex-taxi door trim from the door. The inside of the ex-taxi door trim. I need to remove the window switch first. The door handle is attached to the door trim with melted plastic, but attaches to the actual door in two places for when the driver pulls the door shut. In the bottom of the photo is where one of the screws goes through and into the door. At the other end of the door handle, this is the other point that gets attached to the door with a screw. The inside of the door trim. There’s not much to it - just a few bits of plastic stuck together. The door handle is attached to the door trim with a series of plastic stalks, with plastic melted on the end of each stalk. I used a Dremel and cutting disc to cut away the end of each stalk. After I had cut off the end of one of the plastic stalks. After cutting off most of the end, I had to grind the stalk down a bit more so that it could come away from the door trim. A photo showing how I was using the Dremel to cut away the end of each connecting plastic stalk. After I had cut away the ends of the two stalks at the upper end of the door handle. That end of the door handle was now disconnected from the door trim. Cutting off the ends of the plastic stalks at the lower end of the door handle. It didn’t take long to remove the door handle from the door trim. I used a Dremel 4000, but the plastic was easy to cut through. It would be possible to use a normal drill and small cutting disc to do this. Or, a drill and large drill bit to grind away the end of the plastic stalk. I transferred the mirror adjuster switch from the ex-taxi door trim to the FPV one. Although the door handle had completely broken loose from the door trim, there were still bits of plastic stalk left in the FPV trim. I used the Dremel to cut those away. Some plastic bits pushed out easily without tools. The plastic ends that didn’t come loose easily were removed with needle-nose pliers. The door handle in place on the FPV door trim. On the door handle, the ends of some of the plastic stalks were too wide to fit into the holes in the FPV door trim. I used the cutting disc to grind away the outer edges of some of the stalks. The upper end of the door handle. You can see on the plastic stalk on the right where I’ve ground away the outer edges of that stalk. The upper end of the handle in place. The plastic stalks have lined up with the holes as they should. I then used some screws and washers to attach the door handle to the door trim. Another one of the plastic stalks. Each stalk is hollow, which meant that I just just screw the screws in. Putting the two screws in at the upper end of the door handle. I put a washer on each screw. The interior side of the upper end of the door handle. It attached well. Then it was time to attach the lower end of the door handle. I used one screw to attach it, but wasn’t confident with using screws on the other two stalks. Instead, I drilled holes through the door trim and used a couple of small diameter bolts and lock nuts. As with the upper end of the door handle, I used washers to ensure that nothing would pull through the door trim later. The interior side of the lower end of the door handle. You can see where I drilled the two holes. The bolt ends will be hidden by the plastic that will clip in place later. The completed job, with a total of three screws and two bolts attaching the handle to the door trim. The completed door trim, ready to go back into the ute. Finally, time to put the FPV door trim on the door of my FPV ute. The completed job, with the old ex-taxi door trim. The inside of the old ex-taxi door trim before I threw it in the bin. As you can see, they’re not difficult to dismantle. There are three sections - the top green one, the middle white one and the main grey section. Any of these can be mixed and matched with other door trims easily enough. The ute, back in one piece. And, finally with the original FPV door trim instead the very well used ex-taxi one.

That was in a taxi, in early 2009. 3:30am on a Wednesday night. That AU had 1.1 million km on it, and apart from the ball joint that let go that night it drove well. I had four male passengers in the car when that ball joint let go at 85km/h. I remember looking at the speedo and holding that steering wheel as firmly as I could. When the speedo got below 60 I was relieved, as I figured that below that speed we were't at risk of flipping over (ie if the car drifted to one side and hit a kerb). When the car stopped we all got out and all four guys shook my hand. I got on the radio and got another taxi to come pick them up. I didn't know anything about ball joints at the time, so was terrified of driving that car after that night. I drove it every night for another six weeks. The company that owned that car is one of the dodgiest in Perth. They are anti-maintenance. Ball joints: Get the Ford ones. They're close to the same price as the Roadsafe ones, but last longer. The upper ones last almost forever - they don't have the pressure on them that the lower ones do. For a tool, check on eBay for "ball joint press tool". There are ones listed on there for less than $100, including delivery. It's not like it's going to wear out - something like that you'll keep forever.

There's a guy called Phil in Cannington who wrecks the occasional FG. His number is 0421 891 606. There's a taxi workshop in North Perth that also wrecks FGs sometimes. Call Adrian on 0411 141 831.