Paxton's EF

With the EF now playing second fiddle to the BF, I've started to think of ways to get it to a level where I would be happy to drive it again daily. I'll start with 2008 when I bought it, and move until the HIDs went in on Sunday, June 17.

In 2008, the financial market had turned to shit, and, in order to try and take some pressure off our loans, I gave up a two year old Mazda6, and went back to a Falcon. Our Territory was up for replacement in 2008 as well, so we were going to be up for a bigger hit when we bought the BMW. Paying cash for the Falcon kept making sense.

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I bought the car from about 10 KMs from me. Originally, I wanted a Manual, but the price differential, was not worth the added expense, but we'll get to expenses in a minute...

I picked the car up in early Autumn. Still warm days. I didn't pay any attention to the fact that the Thermofans were always on, and that the car couldn't idle in Drive with the AirCon on. It also had shock absorbers that were flat, and was in desperate need of a service. I was just impressed with the power and ability of the Falcon, so I overlooked it. BIG Mistake...

Awesome write up Andrew. I miss my EF. Only a gli but I loved it.

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Originally Posted by Paxton

I've started to think of ways to get it to a level where I would be happy to drive it again...

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Windsor 347.

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Originally Posted by Paxton

....daily

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oopsi, I missed that part. Boss 5.0 for sure. j/k.


Looking forward to more updates Andrew.
Me too, Ian, had a GLi. Dropped a in 185kW 5.0 + manual.
/Are you hearing me Andrew?

I'll throw in here (and I'm madly trying to find a photo), but this is my second EF. I had one newish in 1996. Both of them are/were JGSWSEs (April 1995), but the first one was LeMans Red, and Manual. I miss that car, but from what I've heard on the grape vine, it went headfirst into a Eucalypt, and isn't running any more. Shame.

Edit: Nope. I've got my Dad's XD, and EA, my Nana's AP5 Valiant, my Patrol, AU and Territory, but not the first EF.

By now, I've had the car a couple of months. It's getting cooler, but the fans aren't turning off. I'm also seeing this worrying red light to the immediate left of the Odometer, telling me that the overflow tank is low on coolant. So, back under the bonnet I go.

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Man am I glad that this part was still being used in the B series, so was a quick and cheap repair. Plus a new Thermostat, which I hoped would fix the fans, and cure world hunger (not asking much...)

But no, the fans are coming on when the ignition is on, and not turning off. In winter, the temperature gauge didn't move into NORMAL, which meant, no heater. Driving to Wollongong wasn't fun for a while. It turns out that the original owners had done a mod, where the fans were wired to the +ve and -ve terminals of the battery, bypassing the ECU and relays. A new ECU through Ford, and a new relay block, plus about a days work for an Electrical Engineer (my Dad) had the car actually warming up in Winter.

Then the Cruise Control Died. I didn't know why, because everything worked (apparently)...

Andrew, just noticed in your sig, can I ask about the plans for the X5?

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Originally Posted by HSE2

Andrew, just noticed in your sig, can I ask about the plans for the X5?

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Q5 3.2 Petrol. Won't be until about this time next year. I'm just going to run it until it either dies, or the lease runs out next year.t

So, after roping my Dad into fixing the thermofans, we had another problem on the horizon. The Cruise Control was vital for me, as at that time, I was working for a company in Wollongong, which was roughly a 120 Km round trip to my place in the Shire. I wasn't prepared to do the drive without cruise. My first thought was the actuator, so I found one on line, and installed it myself. No go. We then did resistance tests on everything, changed the brake switch, changed the buttons, and did basically everything except rewire it.

I'd been out testing cars to replace the EF with one afternoon (a tasty 75th Anniversary Fairmont Ghia), and found myself at Blacktown. Anybody in Sydney knows which wrecker is out there. Not having any tools in the car at that stage, I managed to borrow one shifting spanner, and proceeded to remove every brake pedal switch from every EF and EL in sight. Got home, installed one, bled the brakes, and had the Cruise working in my street. I couldn't believe it. The only thing we didn't test, was the problem.

Then, the Wednesday after... DISASTER. I'd hit the Old Princess Highway heading south. Just after overtaking a slow moving car, I noticed that there was lots of water coming out of the rear of my car, but thought nothing of it, until the car started beeping, and the Radiator Light came on. Pulled over, inspected the damage (Heater Pipes), and limped the car to a servo, where I waited for the NRMA. I then called in sick to work, and waited. And waited. Eventually an old F250 arrives, to tow me back to my mechanic in Taren Point. The car was fixed and back on the road on Thursday, but unknown to me, I'd done some lasting damage.

The Head Gasket went about six months later. It's now together with AU Gasket, AU bolts, and an AU Manifold Gasket. The Head had not been done before, so it was fine to be cleaned and reinstalled. It had been suggested to me that they get a remanufactured head, but they couldn't get a Tickford one - mine had to be reused. Obviously, I wanted a Tickford Head, so having the original one was paramount.

The only change cosmetically at this time was finding another XR6 and Tickford badge for the side of the car, where they were missing. That 1/4 panel also has the best paint on the car, so it has been resprayed at some stage.

Started the EF for the first time in just over two months today. Apart from a flat battery (jumped from the BF), it started as normal. Say what you like about these old girls but they are as reliable as the new cars. I'll take it into work with me a couple of days next week to keep the charge back into the battery. I just have to remember to get the aircon serviced before next summer.

I can't say how much I've missed driving a normal car - I didn't have an RWD car at all in the states. The closest was the RV, but that weighed more than the Titanic.

Hey Andrew, long time no chat. Just found this thread while rooting around the forum. Great to see the EF still lives...I still have mine and it is similarly reliable...even though it just passed 330,000kms.....

Did a $20 steering pressure switch last month that i replaced in 5 minutes...apart from that all good. Still great fun to drive these old girls...but good examples are getting thin on the ground....