arm79

I was told they are hard to repair due to the type of plastic and the thickness of it. But apparently the bars are readily available at Ford for $3490.00 + GST

mmm... Ford gave me a new tranmission under warranty when mine was doing this. The changes in most other gears were intermittantly less than stellar as well, but it was the 5 to 6 shift that was really bad, and it happened 9 times out of 10. Felt like another car tapped my ass end midshift cos of the jolt the shift caused. The new transmission, and every ZF I've driven, very very occasionally you will feel a very slight pause in the 5 to 6 shift. But no jolt or clunk.

mmm... Weird. I had a friend who worked at Ford show me the BA manual at the time, and it said 40nm. Then I got a copy of the BF and it said 40nm too. Either there has been revisions in the document, or misprints along the way.

The factory BF manual and factory Territory supplement manual. Is that page from a BA manual? I've never seen a factory manual that lists the setting as 27nm. For the FG's it's 50 to 55nm, yet still 27nm for NA.

Manifold to head bolts are actually 40nm for the turbo. 27nm is for NA.

Ah my bad. Sarcasm accepted as intended. But I know now I fixed my float arm, I have no reserve. Empty is empty. There is a variance of 1lt at most.

As far as everyone that has fixed it can see, its a problem with the float arms being bent. Its not a "safety net" built into the gauge display. A safety margin might be say 5 litres. Not the 10 to 17 that everyone else seems to be experiencing. Proof??? FG: What the manual says it should look like: What a user on AFF removed from his tank: BF: In my BF I had Ford replace the sender 3 times, and still had inaccuracies of 10 to 15l. The manual states above not to bend the float arm. Mine was bent down by about 2mm according to my square at that 90 deg bend. Straightened it out, and now its litre perfect. A few FG owners have talked Ford into getting new senders. Another guy had a bent and twisted rod. New sender and float, now his FG is near litre perfect as well.

Whether it be a BA, BF or FG, the problem seems to all be the same. There is a float in the tank that connects to a metal rod that connects to the sensor. Ford seem to install these sensors badly and the float arm gets a little bend in it. The bend makes the gauge display incorrect readings. A 10 to 17L difference is the norm. My BF had a constant 13L difference. Just a matter of running the tank low, removing the sensor and float arm and straightening the arm. Problem then fixed. All it takes is a 1 or 2mm bend and the thing is up the creek.

I suppose we will have to wait for it to be tested in real life. But I know the new laws have a couple of manufacturers and importers worried. The example of the fridge was one from his mouth.

Thanks... For something that this country has been lacking for a long long time, the release of these new laws was done very quietly. And this may be an interesting way to test them. I think I'd be 100% right in assuming it would have to be the selling dealer. The stuff I've read talks about the retailer being responsbile, so in this case it would be the selling dealer. You might be able to get another dealer to diagnose and take it from there. If its a basic issue, it will be fixed. If it's a major, then back to the selling dealer and start "discussions" It is a funny term, but if you've ever had to deal with Ford/FPV on a large warranty claim, they sure make it difficult and disruptive. My car needed a new engine at 3000km as well, luckily during the previous owners control. 3 visits to check the problem resulted in a request for a new engine. Took 1 month to sort out and she was without a loaner for the whole time and not compensated at all. When I got the car and had a decent look under the bonnet, I was worried I had bought a factory second. Missing bolts, scratches, loose clamps and as I've only recently found a damaged radiator. I had to deal with the damage to the transmission and turbo under my ownership. Both of which were eventually replaced. Hopefully it's only something small and an easy fix. But considering the small number of these that have been sold, the stories and things I've read are a bit concerning. Hate to see a new engine added to the list.

I'd be checking out the new consumer laws that came into effect this year... Assuming you purchased the car this year. If the fault is major, you are entitled to a replacement car or a refund. If the engine has crapped itself, I'd say it was a major, and you could argue as such. http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/news-and-reviews/car-news/lemon_story The link gives you some info on how it works, then maybe a call to your states consumer trading department. Either way the law states, you MUST go to the dealer first and report the problem and allow for diagnosis before starting any action. Then you can attack them from there... Which includes compensation for time without the car, etc, etc. I was speaking with a high level manager who works for a world wide electronics retailer, and he mentioned these new laws and that he had recently attended a seminar about them. He said these laws from a retailer and manufacturers point of view are extremely scary. Consumers can basically write their own warranties on basis of their expectation of how a product should perform and last. Like "My previous fridge lasted for 20 years, and this one has died at 5 years, new one please. I expected at least 10 years of service from it" or "The transmission in my EL lasted 600,000km and I bought another Ford because I expected the same reliability... But its only done 110,000km, new one please". The other great part of these laws is it puts the dealer directly in the line of responsibility for the product. So there is no more fobbing the problem off to Ford. The dealer is legally responsible for the performance of the product as well.

I thought they were supposed to do that, pull the power briefly at high power 1 - 2 shifts. Remember reading about it on the FG's release. Part of the programming to protect the box on high power shifts and make the 1 - 2 shift smoother and quicker, and is able to keep the boost up during the shift... Ultimately I'm sure it was claimed it would make it quicker in a straight line.

Yeah, I wouldn't use it as a regular after its been welded and repaired. Looks way to weak to take a bit of punishment. I found most of my damage came from driving into the driveway at work. Its one of the old style driveways with a raised lip. And if I don't hit it at a perfect angle at the right speed, I can sometimes feel the sidewall collapsing and the concrete lightly touching the inner bead of the wheel. I'm pretty sure that's what caused most of the damage to my rims.

I've cracked one of my BF rims. The 19's are just too thin on the inside with too low a profile tire to handle even the most minor potholes, cracks in the road and going up driveways. I tried warranty, but Ford quickly argue that you've hit something. Their perfectly good and well designed products don't do this. You'd probably have more chance claiming it on insurance. Genuine rims are a touch under $1000 each, depending on dealer. In the end, I had my cracked one welded up and its used as a spare. And they do buckle really easy too. Give up and just accept.

mmm... I forgot, I have a FG manual to look at. The setup is exactly the same for a FG. Connecter is C-51, which is behind the drivers side A-pillar cover. It's a U shape connector with 6 pins along the bottom (only 3 used) and the "legs" have 2 pins on each side (one on each side used). Has a black, red-black, violet-red, black-blue and grey-yellow wires running to it. Doesn't actually say if the plug is in all models. It might be trim/loom specific. But if its there, its just a matter of mounting the mirror and running the loom and it will work. If the connector isn't there, run the loom and splice the 3 wires into the appropriate spots. And then you'll have the best rear view mirror you'll ever get.

I fitted one to my BF2 that was from a BA... And I don't believe they were an option in the BF's. Anyways, its only 3 wires. Power, which you get from a switched source - Factory source being the power mirror circut. Ground line. And if you want, the 3rd hooks into the reversing lights so it doesn't dim the mirror when you reverse. Reverts to full "brightness". You'd have to assume the window mount is the same for all versions of the mirror. So if there is some retarded BEM contrl, it's easily bypassed with 20 mins custom wiring.

+1 for Centreline as well.. Very honest and reliable workshop. Although they weren't 100% happy that I replaced all my bushes myself when they diagnosed bad bushes during an alignment. They just like to make sure the alignment is spot on after a real drive and when they get back into the workshop, they confirm the settings stay the same... Or the need to readjust to compensate for bushes and stuff. If they keep have to adjusting, its a good way of telling you something is rooted. So much unlike 95% of alignment shops that simply roll a car on and off the machine, they do it properly... With string, rulers and dial indicators.. lol

Reading a post on AFF, seems the change in the new software is to stop the 2 - 1 shift from happening unless the car is going under 5km/h. Previously it was set to happen at 15km/h and under. If that's true, looks like the end result is that the car will spend alot more time in second. http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?p=3657264#post3657264

More like $1,500... But most were sold well under RRP anyways as they were a last ditch runout thing before the FG.

No. You win... I have no photo. I hope you get the trans sorted.

I cant offer any input into the thread, but that comment just makes me laugh... Specially since I have actually seen you giggle like a little girl, while drinking a pink Cruiser. Anyways, carry on.

They must run in cycles. I was a AAMI customer in the past. Had 1 at fault and 1 not at fault claim. Both were cleared up in less than a week, the not at fault claim in 3 days actually. Hardly had to wait on the line for someone, they were frankly excellent. Unfortunately they wanted to bump me to Just Car for my Force 6 insurance, so I went elsewhere. But when I had to contact them for information about the other drivers claim details, the first call I was on hold for 45 mins and when someone answered, I told him what I wanted, and he goes "Oh, OK..." And hung up on me. Rang the next day, waited for 53 mins... And luckily the lady was excellent with her assistance, so it saved her from a blasting.. lol... But then, I still wasn't happy about wasting almost 2 hours with a phone to my ear. Shannons don't seem all that better anymore. On the night of the accident, I rang them to inform them of the accident and was told that the claims office is closed after 5. Call back in the morning. All I got was their preferred after hours tow truck service. So much for Glenn Ridge's promise of Shannon's "always being there for you"!

I know I'm glad I found out about the concept and how it all works. Accidents happen and cars get fixed. My problem, like most, is not having a car while mines in for repairs. As soon as I got shunted the first thing I thought of what "how am I going to get to all my doctors appointments and stuff". I've been a bit sick over the past 3 months, and I'm finally on the mend, but not having a car to get into the city to see doctors would cause me no end of problems. So it was more of a search to find a way to make this idiot pay for a car in the meantime that lead me to all this. Couldn't care more if its a Jazz or an Audi (but an Audi would be nice), but a car is a car at the moment. My panel beater says its should only be gone for 2 to 3 weeks. I have a feeling it might be more like 2 or so months, knowing what Ford and FPV are like with the rarer spare parts.

I think it would be different. AAMI wont be acting on your behalf, someone else will be. So you wouldn't fall under all of their crap policies and timelines. Its essentially you sueing the other guys policy. Not policy vs policy. You said you're going to move when the renewal is due. What have you got to loose, apart from 4 weeks of waiting for approval, taking it to a repairer you know and trust and a free hire car while yours is out of action. http://www.kenyons.com.au/motor-vehicle-property-damage.html is the mob that my panel beater uses and I'm going through if its of interest. Teach the silly mofos a lesson for turning their previously excellent repair process into something akin to a Ford Warranty claim.