cdm

Damn straight. A forced induction AWD Aurion would be the perfect replacement for the T.

For those who are interested I have attached an info sheet on Castrol Transmax Z. AU_Castrol_Transmax_Z.pdf

Sounds like burnt factory oil. I would change ALL fluids and ensure coolant is in date, before storage. Leak is most likely from shifter if not from rear seal, it may have not been sealed down correctly. We fit 4 litres of oil, if you open the fill plug you will get at least 1/2 litre run out, if not more, as factory I6 fill is 4.8 litres. Actual metal filings, as opposed to a "shimmery" effect, is a bad thing. It is most likely metal from dog teeth, and as you have a problem with second that is the likely source. Most likely caused by rough/grinding shifts into second. does the car go into second cleanly? Does it jump out as you let the clutch out, or on decel, or just randomly? Ben. ← Thanks ben. From memory it is poping out as I let the clutch out and going down from 3 to 2, but this has only been occuring after the car has been driven a fair bit. I.e, today I did 2 trips of about 20km with no problems at all, but the other day after a lot of stop start driving it was regularly (maybe 1 in 5 shifts) jumping out. So, your recommendation is to fill it up with 4L of Transmax Z?

Well, my car has been jumping out of second a little bit recently, but only when it's warmed up. I've also noticed a few drips on the garage floor recently so I thought I would take it to the local mechanic and put it up on the hoist to check the gearbox fluid level. The leak appeared to be coming from near the reverse gear lockout. Upon opening the plug on the side of the box some fluid gushed out indicating there was enough in the box, however, the fluid was a dark auburn kind of colour and had small metal filings in it. What would cause this? The car is running a T56 (done about 30k) with Rip Shift, 4.11 diff gears and 318rwkw. I have to put the car in storage for 6 months from boxing day so I really want to get this sorted out before then. Perhaps I should just change the oil and check it again in a few thousand km? Or is this a sign of iminent failure? All advice appreciated. Regards, Chris

Or an Aussie flag for that matter! I wanted a flag for my room and it's impossible to find one Made in Australia!

How about: +compulsory annual class one medicals for individuals involved in all commercial vehicle operations (taxis, truck drivers, train drivers) +compulsory class two medicals every four years for those who drive privately, bi-annual for those over 60, and annual for those over 75 +Improved rail infrastructure to reduce the amount of trucks on the road +Digital variable speed limit signs (could perhaps be triggered by light intensity so speed limit drops a set amount when dark or stormy) +Bi-annual proficiency checks for all private drivers and annual checks for those involved in commercial operations +Trucks must stay out of the RH lane +Start driver education at school, before kids get the opportunity to get behind the wheel with their learners. I.e perhaps one period per week from year 8 to year 11 or 12 +Remove revenue raising cameras as they have been proven to increase nose/tail accidents at intersections resulting in millions of dollars of insurance claims +Increase MARKED police car presence. Cops can demonstrate discretion where a camera can't. Cops can also book people for reckless driving, sitting in the right lane, failing to indicate, drink driving etc +Vehicles must have a roadworthy every 1-2 years +Discounted registration fee’s for newer vehicles +Increasing registration for older vehicles (with exemptions for classic, vintage or special purpose vehicles) +Improve the public transport system (Melbourne’s system is $hitful) to reduce traffic congestion +Actively encourage carpooling (we are a nation of massive cars driven by one person [95% of the km I drive in the falcon are on my own!]) +Place all revenue from traffic offences back into roads/vehicles/driver education rather then consolidated funding (if drivers are going to be taxed we should at least see some benefit) Hmmm. That’s about all I can think of at the mo.

Do you have any screen shots or links to the software used for the Sat Nav and the on-board diagnostics?

What software does it come with and how is it accessed? I.e through a touch-screen, or IR remote, or keyboard? Silly question: Will it boot in safe mode or have problems if it's not shut down before the car is turned off? Any performance information available? ie G-tech style 0-100kmh, 0-400m etc.

How much? How fast?

You guys should check out Al Gore's doco, An Inconvenient Truth. It basicly concludes the world is fu(ked within 50 years unless we do something about carbon emissions.

So what's the good site? I use Bitcomet.

Post #25 should read: Although the quality of chinese parts is of a lesser quality then domestic products it is cheaper for Expensive Daewoo to import them and have 100% INSPECTION then it is to purchase locally made parts

You could always push for higher wages and less hours. And while you may be successful in the short term (due to the balance of power lying with unions in this country), don't be suprised if you end up like the Ajax employees in a few years time. Unless of course, you are happy to pay $70 000 for your XR6T. In which case the automotive companies would have less incentive to look overseas to cut costs. However, I dare say, that if that was the case, then your $70 000 XR6T would look more like the EF-EL then the nice car it is today. You can't have your pie and eat it too....

The ironic thing is that it's our current quality of life that is going to end up costing us our quality of life. More rights in the workplace, more money, overtime, allowances for everything, blah blah blah. Everything is too expensive in Australia - starting with labour. And I was originally going to say India would be next, but changed my post. ← Indeed, it is the cost of labour (including downtime from strikes etc) that is killing the Australian automotive industry. In some cases, components are coming in from overseas (Thailand) for a landed price that is the equivelant of the local cost of material alone. I have heard a particular component supplier saying, that if they have to pick up the part at all (in the production process) then they cannot compete.

Toyota builds the best quality cars in Australia and has the greatest local content (52% for 042L down from 56% for 380N) so why aren't we all driving them? Local content on the VE is 35% while Ford is somewhere in between as far as quality and content. Although the quality of chinese parts is of a lesser quality then domestic products it is cheaper for Expensive Daewoo to import them and have 100% then it is to purchase locally made parts. The main competitors for the Australian automotiive industry are China, India and Thailand.

How much longer now Brian?

Indeed. 95% of my driving is below 80km/h in the suburbs hence 4.11 suits me well as I'm rarely on the freeway. However, as I said, with the 3.46 I still sat in fifth unless I was doing 110km/h+. In which case I still had to downchange for reasonable overtaking performance. Now I just floor it in 6th and it's all good.

In my opinion, if you are swapping to the Ford T56 then you definately need to upgrade the diff to at least 3.73. While 3.9 would be perfect, this ratio is not available for our cars. I upgraded to the Ford T56 when I jumped up in power from 268rwkw to 338rwkw and found the tall gearing negated the power gains. I.e The car had the torque to pull through the tall gearing ok, but it only felt marginally (if at all) quicker then it did with the 268rwk and the T5. I have since, swapped to 4.11 which suits me fine. Yes, you do change gears a little more, but the power is always on tap. 6th gear was previously unusable below about 115-120kp/h whereas now 6th is perfect for 110km/h on the freeway, and no need to change down 2 gears to overtake. I haven't taken my car to the strip so I can't help you with times I'm afraid. BTW some others have similar power to me and are happy with the gearing, so it's a matter of personal preference. I figure, because I don't go to the strip, if I ever boot it, it's only up to 100km/h which requires one change (with either 3.46 or 4.11) except I will get there at the top of my rev range.

Ah Franga, lol

I had my rip shift and diff done by Norther Diffs (Bluepower) and I was happy with the service. The work was done on time and on cost, and they were very helpful to talk to. As for a tune, I couldn't tell you sorry. If you don't want them, try HPF (Dandenong).

I looked into this a little while ago...I think you might end up scratching the rims if manage to get the chains on...Maybe buy some cheap 16's then put them on before you go up.

JetStar wont go under...they are expanding the fleet with 787's and going international. The lack of seat allocation and ticket flexibility is typical of a low fare airline...they do it to ensure fast turnaround of the aircraft. Jetstar aims at the leisure travel market (who may travel with 4 people and realise big savings), while QANTAS targets business travellers...Virgin, used to be a true low fare airline however it's now become a hybrid low fare/full service airline...

What power?

How many km's has your car got on it brian?