arm79

I didn't say it was a run in. I was just pointing out that before you pickup your car its already done a few km, some on a dyno at upto 100 km/h. And considering its well known the most effective time to bed in the rings is the first few km of an engines life, by the time you get the car, that has past. The only thing left is being nice to the bearings. And the last time I witnessed engine production, they did quickly test the engines. Fill them with fluids and turn them over to ensure they are actually workable before shipping to Broady. If they fail that test, they get taken off the line, put into a QC area and are stripped, repaired and restested then sent to the assembly line. Maybe they don't anymore, but I figure a manufacturer would be best placed to test an engine quickly on the line before putting it into a car only to find its seized, then have to spend $1000 in labour swapping it after putting it into a car.

That's part of it that I don't get. I thought they were rules that had been around for a long time. I know a few people that have been done for the "driver distraction thing" with rear roof mount screens. They copped a fine and that's it. Unless the changes now dictate demerit points plus a larger fine.

Full list of new rules in the link below, due to come into effect on the 9th of November. The phone/GPS thing is just one of many stupid new rules, which are now a money and demerit point penalty. http://www.themotorreport.com.au/40924/victorian-govt-to-make-hand-held-use-of-mobile-phones-and-navigation-units-illegal-while-driving/#title

Thanks for that, I'll have a read. As I said, this is only one of quite a few problems the box is having and no one can seem to fix it. I know BTR's in EB Falcons with 300,000+ KM that are smoother than mine. I actually did tell the service manager at the dealership, "If this is Germanys finest and the best they can do, let me know where I can convert back to a 4 spped BTR".

My car is getting a new ZF auto in the next week or so, this being one of the complaints I have with it. When it happens to me, its accompanied by a thud and a small shunt forward, as its pushing against the brakes. Most of the time you can hear a metallic noise with it. This is one of a couple of complaints I have with the thing, harsh shifting being the common theme. Problem surfaced when I started getting used to the car when I first got it at about 13,000km. Complained at the 15,000km service. Seen the ZF man twice and Ford area manager, and now finally they have agreed to a new box. Car has just touched 29,000km. If you take it to Ford, push hard and keep arguing until you get a decent response. It may be as simple as the ZF bloke coming out and adjusting line pressures or something... But something Ford can't do. As you can see by the amount of time it took me to get somewhere, it's a painful exercise.

Yes... The engines get hot tested in Geelong before being delivered to the assembly line. When the car is complete, its run on a dyno to check cruise control, speedo, aim lights, general mechanicals, etc, etc. This is usually 2 to 4 mins. Then it gets driven off to the holding yard. Driven onto the truck, off the truck, around the dealer, etc, etc. When you consider the best run in begins in the first few mins of an engines life, you can see its pretty much already been done for you. Only thing left is to try and be kind to the bearings from the time you get it.

As in I'm driving a BF, not an FG. But my understanding is the tanks and sensors are the same, and this gripe has been around for a long long time. I just unplugged the fuel pump plug at the pump and started the car and waited for it to stall. Fuel pressure all gone then. I was told the same in the end, being out by 10ish litres is acceptable and is as designed. So I asked "does that mean my 9 mates who's gauges are all deadly accurate have faulty sensors and mine is the good one?" Didn't get a reply to that, so that's when I decided to fix it myself. Seeing as you live down the road, I'd be happy to show you and have a crack at it and see if its the same.

Must be a bloody big batch, as my car is an early 07 build, and all of your cars would be 2nd quarter 09.. lol.. I doubt its a build thing, I think its more an installation problem. If you get into the tank and see how you have to install the sensor, you can see how easy it is to bend the float arm without realising.

I assume access to the fuel tank on an FG is the same as a BF. If so, you need to remove the rear seat and take the fuel pump out. Make sure your tank is low on fuel, as you will get quite wet and smelly doing this. From there you need to unclip the sensor from its bracket and remove it carefully, check the float arm (straighten if necessary) and put it all back in.

Had the same argument with Ford regarding my fuel gauge. 3 sensors later was still faulty, so I decided to fix it myself. I really do hate Ford touching my car at times. Turns out it was bloody simple. The steel float arm was slightly bent (all I'm talking is 2/3 mm) and this would give a variance of 10 to 12L on the gauge. If you ever take the fuel level sensor out of a tank you will see how easy it is to bend the float arm without realising and how much care is required to put it in. Now I can assue you, when the needle is on empty and the trip computer is flashing 0km left, it really really means it.

Considering the way Ford builds and tests these cars, a run in really isn't required. Drive it normally from the day you pick it up.

Well, if we're not into rubbing it in then... My BF 2 Force 6 insured for $47,000 with Shannons for $1085 with a $500 excess. This is with 2 claims in past 5 years (One at fault and one not at fault), plus all the nice Shannons extra's on the policy that dont come standard on alot of other policies. There are better deals to be had out there from the normal mainstream insurance companies. I can't fault Shannon's at all for their service, effort and particularly their low premiums in the 3 years I've been using them for vehicle insurance.

I like these.... Mainly cos they are of my car, but I just think they came out well.

We'll... We havent officially met, and my sh*tbox was hiding... That may explain it.

Now that I've seen the pics in the other thread, yours was one of the cars I saw floating around.

I ended up going... Got there about 9, had a walk around and left 40 mins later, before the masses tried to escape... Took a few photos and stuff, but I had to work next day. Saw a couple of cars there, a couple which I thought was yours tonyv... But in the end wasn't sure, so packed up and headed home to sleep..

I might go if my plans fall through tonight and I get stupidly bored. It wont be that early though, if anything I'll get to the first meet point at 8:30 to 9.

Another local... My car lives in a garage when its not being driven, and I'm usually late for work and late leaving work, so the poor thing usually doesn't get noticed, but it gets around. Plus I've only had it a few months. Previous car was an EL Ghia sparkler that I've had for nearly 10 years, and is about to be sold. I used to live on Shirley St and Cameron Ave when I first got the Ghia. Which car wash do you usually use? As a cruise moderator on another forum, I can say there aren't many places in the West to go for a cruise. There are the 2 best places, but they are reserved for special occasions - Macedon and Great Ocean Road. Best one can offer quickly, which I'm going to do right now, is a drive through Williamstown and back around through Altona, until I end up at HJ's in Altona Meadows for something to eat!

My understanding, and this is the story that I was told and my mate was told who went to look at the car for me, was that it was a husband and wife who owned it. They drove up to Brisbane to buy a Typhoon. The husband test drove a stock Typhoon and the dealer suggested trying the one R-Spec he had in stock. So he did and was sold and bought it there and then. He drove it home, drove it a few more times after that (apparently 3 or 4 times) and then got diagnosed with cancer of some sort and died shortly after. So it was left behind in the garage with the guys wife not really wanting to drive it, apart from once every week or 2 to keep it running. She eventually decided to put it on the market earlier this year as it was too big a car for her. that's when I saw it and did all the research and checking. Came very close to buying it too, until someone mentioned another car to me. When I was looking at it at the end of Feb/start it had just under 3000km on it (hadn't even done first service) and it was almost a year and a half old at that stage.

The one time I've seen a bad squeak on one of these seats was because the seat base was starting to crack towards the back. The driver was a big bloke and the seat was pretty far back over where the frame and motors bolt to the floor. So I figure it was getting badly stressed, and developed 2 very small cracks that would rub and squeak. Took about 2 hours of stuffing around to find that, and was very hard to find while it was in the car.

Thanks Daniel.. I do love it... Had to get one before they got too old and all turned into slappers. Glad I did! We'll have you catch up again soon, its been a long time. Seems like you have disowned us for some reason. You asked... And I answered.. No need to get all bitchy over the answer.. lol.. If you want white stitching, get a Typhoon. The car is all about subtlety, not standing out. Red is the default interior colour for a white car, so if you find one with a black interior, its a special order. Ring FPV and ask, I'm sure they can tell you what was made.

They do. The FPV logo is embossed in the leather on the headrests. Plenty of other little things they missed out on though... But luckily I have fixed them all and made it like Ford should have!

I recently took posession of Force 6 number 58 off a nice quiet lady driver. Ego, Red Leather and 11,900km at the time. No mods yet, have to wait for warranty to expire for that to happen. Unless you call a sunroof a mod, which I got put in myself. For $72k, I'd expect it should have been standard, along with the 6pot Brembo's - Something else I'll have to go out and find! I was initially dead set on a blue Typhoon in Qld with 3,000km on it, but someone mentioned a Force and there just happened to be one local in Melbourne, so it took the winning vote. Couldn't be happier with the thing (apart from the typical Ford problems and service). It is one awesome car! Did a 5,700km Melbourne - Qld round trip in May. Didn't miss a beat, and couldnt be more comfortable. More comfortable than a Typhoon methinks - those seats are awesome. And the Kangaroo dodging abilities are worth a mention too.

Was a good drive... Shame about the weather, but it always makes it interesting. Its a much more fun drive around Macedon when its drier. I noticed you were being a bit cautious on the way back down.

I'll be there... Newbie to the forum, so I thought I'd come out and say hi. CRUISE LIST: TUFXRT6 F6RD F6_charlie Qikchift Jman straughsberry (EGOXRT riding shotguns) skunk bunna THRU5T XRSCAR RSpec (NVYDF6 shotgun) 6L_ETA (SLY6T) WAAPSHH ronburgundy arm79 POSSIBLES: PSIFPV Vebbers dswiders +2 devinexr6 GR8XR6