2007 Fpv Tornado Ute - Tinkering & Setup

[arronm]

What gap did you use. 7 isn't really the correct heat range. Ford agsp22 iridium plugs work well and don't need to be changed as often. I should have posted earlier.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Thought you'd never ask!

It's 2:45am now... can be at your place around 3:30am.

C'ya there.

Seriously, the minute you've got time and inclination to help me out with this thing just say when and where. Late afternoon onward on a Sunday would be ideal.

I know Falcon general mechanical stuff fairly well these days... from doing taxi stuff at stupid hours of the night. I know close to zero about turbo stuff (ie they make whooshing noises and go fast).

Current status: The thing actually drove for about 15-20 minutes tonight without going into limp-home mode. I can't see how fitting new NGK BKR7E spark plugs could be the solution (ie what I've done tonight), but I'll be ecstatic if it is...

Dammit... diff oil's been draining for a while now. Time to go back to work. Will take the laptop with me and do an updated check for diagnostic codes.

No Probs, drop the keys in the mailbox. Don't make too much noise or I'll set the dog on you.

The car did whisper to me that it would like to interact with Ralph Wiggum in the near future in regard to transmission flush and fitting of PWR heat exchanger.

As above.

[FiftyOne]

Poor conductivity causing interference or an old code?

[PhilMeUp]

Thursday, 25th June, 2015

Although I will end up getting the cooling system flushed properly, and learn about other ways to flush engine oil, I had these two in the shed so figured that I might as well use them. The Tectaloy Heavy Duty Radiator Flush and Wynns Engine Flush would at least be a start - I was always going to replace the coolant and engine oil in the first week of ownership anyway.

Getting things set up. The Stanfred ramps are from SuperCheap Auto, along with the optional extenders that allow a lowered car to get onto the ramps. However, I don’t like the ramps themselves - the loop at the end isn’t big enough (ie to stop the car from driving over the edge). I had a problem with my previous Tornado going over the edge one night and damaging the sideskirts. At the time I thought that was just a stuff-up on my part, and I’ve been extremely careful with using those ramps since.

However, when I reversed my taxi up onto them recently it also went over the edge. After the Tornado drama, I was being extremely careful.

I’ll need to take them to a metal fabrication place and get some bigger loops welded onto the end of each ramp.

Getting ready for draining the engine oil and coolant.

The instructions on each bottle of flushing stuff said to let the engine idle for 15 minutes, so that is what I did. After 15 minutes I drained the engine oil, which came out a lot blacker than what was previously on the dip stick.

The black plastic splash guard goes between the front bumper and a chassis crossmember. On the left is one of the original screws, which has a 7mm head. However, someone has added a bunch of additional Philips head screws as well.

I reached up and loosened the coolant tap. The old coolant started draining out.

I grabbed a clean white ice cream carton and put that under the coolant drain so that I could have a good look at how much junk was in the coolant. It was better than I expected, but I wanted to know that there was fresh coolant in there anyway.

I’ve got a bunch of concentrated stuff that I use. I mix it up at a 10:1 ratio with distilled water in some old Tectaloy bottles that I’ve kept.

Once the old orange-coloured coolant had drained I poured some of my green coolant in and watched until it drained out. That way I knew that I’d gotten rid of as much as the old coolant as possible.

Although I had a big parts order for this car waiting at the warehouse, I decided to change the pulleys then by using a couple of spares that I keep at home for my taxi. Loosening the two bolts that hold the cooling fan in place was easy enough, but getting the fan past the rubber hose was going to be a problem.

After some jiggling and wrestling I finally got the cooling fan out. Getting it back in later was going to be a challenge.

Once the cooling fan was out I could access the pulleys.

I removed the old idle pulley and tension arm.

I put the old idle pulley over a finger and rotated the pulley. I could feel how worn the bearing was, and it was making noise even by spinning the pulley with my other hand.

With the tension pulley, Ford lists only the complete tension arm and pulley as a complete kit for the BF Falcon (ie expensive). However, the trick is to order the identical pulley on its own from an earlier model Falcon (EL & EF). I reused the previous bolt and washer, and put a bit of mild Loctite 222 on the bolt.

For the idle pulley, Ford also lists a complete kit for it instead of the pulley on its own. The extra parts are the bolt, a bit of plastic that goes inside the bearing centre and an o-ring. The wholesale cost difference between the kit and pulley on its own is $3.29, so I order the complete kit each time to ensure that I’ve got a fresh bit of plastic and o-ring.

As with the tension pulley, I put some Loctite 222 on the bolt.

Once I had the new pulleys in place I could move on to putting the cooling fan back in.

A photo showing where the coolant drain tap is (the white plastic thing that is unscrewed).

I tightened the coolant tap and put new coolant in.

The black plastic splash guard that came of the Tornado was missing one of the plastic hooks that holds it in place (hence the extra Philips head screws). I had a spare secondhand splash guard, so decided to put that on instead. It was covered in dirt and cobwebs so I gave it a clean with CT18 and water.

[PhilMeUp]

This tab gets screwed to a crossmember but the plastic tab often breaks off. That would be why I’ve bought this secondhand splash guard from somewhere.

However, a front section of plastic had still come away from the main section. I’ll sort that out with a drill and some zip-ties in a few minutes.

As mentioned, the front plastic tab breaks off. Someone has previously prevented this on the old splash guard by making up this metal bracket and bolting it on. I like this idea.

I wanted to make a template of this bracket so that I could get some made up for future use. I flattened it with my hydraulic press, took it inside and traced around it on some paper with a marker pen.

Once I had an outline of it on paper, I put it back in the press to bend it back into the required shape.

I drilled some holes and bolted it to the replacement splash guard. I also drilled holes and put some zip-ties through to hold the plastic sections together.

The replacement splash guard is on the left. The previous one (on the right) also had a lot of damage from hitting kerbs and driveways.

This is the main reason why I set about replacing the splash guard with the spare that I had. There are plastic hooks that help hold it into place, and one of those hooks was broken off. Rather and have a bunch of Philips head screws to contend with (as well as the original factory screws) I wanted it to be as close to the original setup as possible.

About the put the new splash guard on.

Before putting the replacement splash guard on I had a look around and saw the pod air filter. It needs cleaning, but that will involve removing the front bumper. I also noticed that I could easily access the driver’s side front indicator globe while I was there. Goody, I could get that done now instead of going in through the wheel arch later.

I put a new BAU15S globe in and sprayed some silicon spray on the o-ring and base of the orange plastic holder to make it easier to screw back in.

The base of the Plazaman 1000hp intercooler. It’s big and wide.

With Falcons, the windows sit in rubber guides. Friction eventually develops between the rubber and window glass, forcing the window regulator (ie electric motor) to work extra hard moving the glass up and down. This causes premature failure of the window regulator.

This is why I periodically spray some silicon spray into the window guides on my Falcons. I squirt silicon spray into each guide (front and rear of each door frame) and then run the window up and down 10-15 times to ensure that the silicon lubricant is spread throughout the guides.

I wanted to fit new spark plugs, so bought a set of the same that was previously in the car - NGK BKR7E. I read numerous forum posts about different spark plugs, but decided in the end to go with the same model of spark plug that the car was originally tuned with when the engine was modified.

Putting the new spark plugs in.

The coil cover bolts.

In recent months I have been experimenting with some heat-proof o-rings under the coil cover bolts instead of the original fibre washers. This is to prevent water getting past them when I wash the engine bay. However, I wanted to make sure that the rubber o-rings would seal properly against the bolt heads. I did a quick lap underneath each bolt head with a Dremel and wire brush.

An o-ring on one of the coil cover bolts.

Once the new spark plugs were fitted it was time to drive the car forward. I loosened the plastic splashguard in the wheel area and removed the washer pump. I then ran the garden hose in it for a minute or so at low pressure to flush out any junk that might have been in there.

Now that I was finished with the engine bay, I could let the engine idle for a while and top up the coolant.

[PhilMeUp]

In the middle is one of the new indicator globes that I used. On each side are the two old ones from the front. You can see how the cellophane wears off over time, making the indicators less orange. As the cellophane wears off the globes flash white instead of orange.

I wanted clear, bright orange indicators, hence the new globes. The Falcons use BAU15S indicator globes, instead of the more common BA15S that is used on most other cars. The difference is in the bayonet (ie where it screws into the car mounting).

I also replaced the windscreen wipers with Tridon 22” ones. Rather than just replace the wiper rubbers, I replace the complete wiper blades when I first do anything on a new car.

This ensures that it’s easier to replace the rubbers in the future, and the small metal mountings for the rubber won’t be bent and allow the rubbers to slide out of place (resulting in the blade scratching the windscreen glass).

Now that the car was mobile again it was time for a drive. I’ve been having problems with the car dropping back into limp-mode all week, so have only driven the car late at night so that I can drive home at a slow speed if required.

I drove around for about 15-20 minutes and did numerous hard acceleration runs on quiet roads. I was extremely pleased when the engine ran as it should, and the car didn’t go into limp mode at all.

After driving around for a while it occurred to me that the diff oil would now also be warmed up. Might as well go and change the diff oil while I can. I bought the Motive Products Power Fill 1740 a while ago via mail order from the US. It makes putting new diff oil in easy - by pumping the handle at the top, pressure builds up inside (similar to a weed sprayer bottle). The hook on the end of the hose hangs off the diff oil filler hole, and there’s a tap also on the end of the hose.

For diff oil, I use Penrite Pro Gear 80-140, which is a heavy duty synthetic oil. It’s expensive, but regarded by diff places as being one of the best diff oils available.

The old diff oil draining out. As expected, it was black.

To get the car on the angle I wanted:

- I drove the front wheels up on to wheel ramps.

- I jacked the car up at the diff with my trolley jack.

- Then I put axle stands under the front leaf spring mounts.

- By letting the trolley jack down, the diff was then at an angle suitable for draining the old oil (ie the diff drops as the trolley jack is lowered and the leaf springs uncompress).

- For the new oil, I used the pressure bottle to get oil up to the level of the fill hole, and then used the trolley back to raise the diff up to the right angle to top it up.

- I jacked up the car to the maximum height with the trolley jack, removed the axle stands, removed the trolley jack and reversed the car off the ramps.

The car, off the ground. There is a trolley jack and a pair of axle stands under there - you can see the blue tip of one of the axle stands in front of one of the wheels.

I’ve had a pair of 2,000kg axle stands for a while now, but wanted something bigger and more solid (ie safer). I saw some 4,000kg Orcon axle stands in an Autobarn shop for $99.95. They have a deal where you join their Autoclub via their web site and then get a 20% discount on your next purchase there. I did that and end up paying around $80 for the big 4,000kg axle stands. They are tall - the trolley jack has to be at full height before they’ll fit under the car - but they’re solid and safer than the smaller 2,000kg ones.

It was a tight squeeze, but I had a look underneath the car. The surge tank is that metal canister and box in the middle of the photo. To the right, with the two pipes going into it, is the standard BF Falcon heat exchanger. This can fail, resulting in a ruined transmission. I’ve got a secondhand PWR heat exchanger that will be going in its place (ie much better construction and more reliable).

Dear Diary,

I’m currently working on my third ute in the last 12 months - every time I do the work and get something up to my standard I find a better one that I want.

After having last minute drama with worn centre bearings each time, I’m so glad that I won’t have to stuff around with replacing yet another centre bearing on a car project.

With my large physical size, getting underneath the car to get to the tail shaft is a big challenge (literally).

I’m so relieved that I won’t have to go through all that again.

Oh.

Crap.

Bugger.

*Sigh.*

Hi ho, hi ho, off to Hardy Spicer I go…

For anyone that doesn’t know anything about centre bearings: It’s something that is about half way along the tail shaft (ie the bit between the transmission and diff). It helps to suspend the tail shaft in the correct position. There is a bearing, which is surrounded by a rubber diaphragm, and the whole lot sits in a metal bracket. Over time, the rubber perishes (as rubber does), which is what has happened here. That rubber is completely stuffed and the centre bearing should have been replaced a long time ago.

The dump pipe and catalytic converter. They are both of a rather large diameter. Huge.

There’s a plastic sump on the ZF transmission instead of the more desirable steel one.

4:32am and 7.7 degrees. Knock off time.

Having spent my first serious late night session working on the car, I’ve now gotten to know the car a bit better. I’ve ticked off a few jobs on the list, but added new ones in the process (eg centre bearing).

There’s definitely going to be a lot more work going into this car than I originally expected. Although the car looks damn good, there are numerous mechanical issues that need to be addressed. Apart from the problems with the car going into limp-home mode earlier in the week, there’s nothing particularly overwhelming - it’s just a matter of keeping a list of tasks to do, and then working through it all, job by job.

[Vallidium]

Awesome work mate, love reading your threads !

[arronm]

The joys of second hand cars. Make sure the intercooler isn't rubbing on the condenser.

[barnz]

Geez you tear through the work Phil I wish I had your motivation mate. Good to hear it's not playing up anymore. Seems odd just plugs had been the cause?

Also for engine flushing I prefer to just run a quality diesel oil in it for a few short change intervals. Once it starts draining clean(relative) things are going well. Those engine flush solutions do work but also have their risks if your engine is particularly dirty.

[PhilMeUp]

Sunday, 28th June, 2015

This is one good looking car.

I’ll be removing the hard lid sometime in the near future. For now, it does look good, though.

The driver’s seatbelt doesn’t retract at all. Time to fix that with some high pressure water.

I started by removing the bottom bolt with a Torx T50 socket.

To remove the top plastic I used an upholstery removal tool instead of the usual screwdriver. I’m getting really sophisticated these days.

Then I removed the top bolt that holds the seatbelt guide in place.

I pulled the seatbelt out as far as it could go and put some vise-grip pliers on the bottom of the seatbelt to prevent it from retracting.

I now had most of the seatbelt outside of the car.

This is what prevents the seatbelt from retracting. Grime transfer’s from the driver’s hands into the seatbelt webbing, and then builds up in the guide.

The other side of the guide was also full of grime.

I recently sold my Ryobi RPW2400 (2400psi) and bought a new Ryobi RPW3200 (3200psi) to replace it. I laid the seat belt out on the ground and blasted water through it to rinse out the grime.

The RPW3200 has an adjustable nozzle on the end, so I set it to the narrowest and most concentrated setting so that I could have maximum water pressure to clean out the guide.

However, the water pressure was so much that it got into the seatbelt webbing. Ok, I won’t be using that nozzle setting on a seatbelt again.

Next time I might even remember to close the car door before spraying water at 3200psi everywhere. Idiot.

However, the seat belt guide was now much cleaner.

The other side of the guide after blasting it with high pressure water. After I took this photo I also had a go with some eucalyptus aerosol spray and a cotton stick. This removed a bit more grime - there was a bit of black on the cotton stick afterward.

While I had the pressure washer out the taxi got its weekly wash and the wheels on both Tornados got cleaned.

Once I was done with the pressure washer I ran a towel back and forth along the belt to remove as much water as possible.

To finish drying the seatbelt I draped it around the driver’s seat and left the car idling for 20 minutes with the heater on full.

Time to enjoy a properly retracting seat belt.

Or, maybe not.

It turns out that where I had focussed the water with the narrowest setting had also thickened the seat belt webbing, resulting in it not fitting through the guide.

Thus, no retracting seat belt after all.

Bugger. Lesson learned for next time. Not happy. This means that I’ll have to replace the seat belt, and I know how hard it is to find a good secondhand driver’s seat belt. I also know how much new ones cost (lots).

After some brief consideration of this I elected to spit the dummy, swear a lot and storm off in a huff. I went to Bunnings and bought an overpriced garden hose.