Napalm

How do you replace the leather shift lever cover. Looks like its all one piece (ie with the plastic insert panel and cover that adjoins)which would have to be replaced> Has anyone replaced theirs with an aftermarket?

Yep your right. Had to remove he whole gear lever so I could stick it in the vice. Used a plumber wrench to unscrew. Original gear know now stuffed. Next question. How do you replace the leather shift lever cover. Looks like its all one piece which would have to be replaced (ie the plastic cover that adjoins).

Morning all. I have had my BA XR6T since 2003 and the standard gear knob is worn. Just want to add a standard after market but cant seem to get it to undo. Is there some trick to it or should it just unscrew like any other? Any tips would be appreciated.

Not sure actually. The throttle body was changed and I assumed that the TPS was part of that?

Hello all. Have 03 BA from new and have had the idle issue for years. Replaced the entire throttle body, no change. Replaced the plugs, no change. The car has a tuned edit with stage 1 injectors. The car runs great except at idle which is rough and stalls at times. The other issue is a noise coming from under the battery. Its a constant ticking (from when I turn the ignition not from start) which appears to be a solenoid. Are these 2 issues related? Is the solenoid the boost solenoid or is there another down there? Would the WD40 trick help or should I just have it replaced. This has been extremely frustrating as the car runs quite OK apart from the idle.

Yep standard clutch since new.

Guys I have had the same problem on and off for some time. Have a BA XR6T 5 spd manual with 10psi edit. It only happens at idle. Tune was done by C & V who have recommended a new throttle body. It would have to be an electrical issue surely? Is generally worse when lights/aircon etc is on. Would this be a regulator issue?

Guys, I have a BA XR6T 5 spd manual with an edit and stage 1 injectors (rwkw 284) and have had no problems. The car has done 100,000ks been on race track days, drag days and to Qld 5 times. Clutch is starting to go. My only issue has been a steady idle. Driven with common sense you should have no issues.

Got this email today. What do you think? I recon its worth pushing. Comments? This is only possible if you remember that Woolworths service stations are Caltex Petrol outlets. I'll try anything as my fuel bill is over $150 per week. SO.............read and pass this on. This makes sense... Join the resistance!!!! Do you want petrol prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Philip Hollsworth offered this good idea. It makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy fuel on a certain day' campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy fuel. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, may just have come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us! By now you're probably thinking fuel priced at about $1.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently around $1.40 per litre for regular unleaded. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre of fuel is CHEAP at $1.00, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace – not sellers. With the price of fuel going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of this fuel come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their fuel! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying fuel. But we CAN have an impact on petrol prices if we all act together to force a price war. Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY fuel or any products period, from the biggest company in Australia, CALTEX. If they are not selling any fuel, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of CALTEX fuel buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't bail out on me at this point keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!! I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) and so on, and by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. A reasonable chunk of Australia!!! Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people - that's all! (If you don't understand how we can reach 3 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all three MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next few days!!! I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from CALTEX** until they lower their fuel prices to $1-00 or below ** AND KEEP THEM THERE ** START THE BOYCOTT TODAY!!!!!!!!

Hey guys, in cleaning the throtle body what bits do you need to remove. I don't want to get too carried away and have half the car on the garage floor. If you have a photot of the engine bay and indicate that would help heaps. Regards

Is it costly/difficult to change the TPS?

Hey guys, Am off to the Ford dealer tomorrow to have the TPS looked at. I have had the idle stalling issue for 8 months on and off. I have had the intake and throttle body cleaned several times which seems to fix the problem for a few weeks before it starts again. I have a unichip as part of a stage 1 upgrade. Every time I return to Ford they tell me the problem is the chip and that I should go back to Autotech. I am sure it is the TPS and want it changed. One question, I understand that the unichip only overides the factory settings. It does not change them. Therefore if the chip was disconnected, the engine should return to normal standard settings? If this is the case (1) can I just unplug the unichip? and (2) the unichip shouldn't effect the TPS at all. Is this correct? Any guidence would be appreciated.

Hey all, Yup, add me, the wife and 3 teenagers in. Yeh ha.

Thanks Blown and Zap. The guage is in place and the wires run to the floor. Will attempt part 2 tomorrow (ie connect to vacuum line and wire up power to the TC switch). Thanks for the help guys. Regards, Neal H

Hello all, Just trying to get a boost guage in. The point where I am stuck is getting behind the premium sound console. Is there a trick to getting it out or getting in behind under it to run the sensor cable out to the engine bay via the clutch firewall grommet. Help please!

Ok I have been tinkering and got some info. Have the console cover off, understand that the T pipe connects to the brake boost hose (thanks Cro) and goes through the firewall via the clutch grommett. All I need now is to get the premium sound console section out so I can get in behind it!!! I have been pushing and pulling it for a while and it doesn't come any further out than about 2 cm. I think that all the wires are holding it back. Not game to fiddle here. I need to power up the guage and get the sensor cable up into the console guage. Any pointers please? Regards, Neal H

Hey guys, Just got my boost guage bits, now all I need to do is install the bugger. My questions are as follows: 1 Does the console section above centre dash console just pop out and if so is it easier to pop it out from the front or back? 2 There are 2 wires pink and black. These are obviously for power to the unit. Where abouts do I connect these. Can they just plug into any accessory and do I need to cit wires? 3 The T section that plugs into the vacume pressure line....where is the line? 4 Mounting the pressure sender...has any body found a good place to mount this so it doesnt flop around? 5 Feeding the wire from the guage to the pressure sender through the fire wall. Where is the best place? I know this sound a bit dumb for some of you but the last time I put guages in a car was 1980. The guage is the Fairmont clock type. Ok ok I know some of you think there *beep*. I am older ok! Regards, Neal H

Guys, An easy brake upgrade for the T is Bendix Ultimate pads, standard rotors and Castrol SRF brake fluid. Nothing else. I used to do Supersprints in my VS clubsport and tried bigger brakes etc. A lot of cost, a lot of headaces, and not a big gain. The reason for soft peddle is brake fluid. If you are going to do track days, the standard stuff is dangerous. Pay around $100 for the SRF (what the V8 supercars use). Trust me this is from experience around Oran Park and Wakefield. I also drive my car everyday for work and dont have to keep swapping set ups. The only downside is that the pads make a lot of brake dust and that you will chew your standard rotors out fairly quickly. At the end of the day the brakes are there to stop the car!

Hey all, OK I was a HSV guy for 15 years. Owned a couple of clubsports and SS. If you think Ford is bad for service try owning a HSV. When they sell it its a "HSV" when they service it or do warranty work its just another Holden. I have owned my XR6T since Oct 2003 and had a phase 1 mod done in late 2004. I have travelled 42,000 ks and have not had an issue. I get 11.2 ltrs per 100 ks which is 2 ltrs perr 100ks better than standard. I can also match a 285 kw clubsport over 400 mtrs even though the clubby is 50 kilos lighter so I am pretty happy with the car. A couple of things I have noticed here is that there are good dealers, ordinary dealers and absolute shockers. How about a thread to warn people of the bad ones. Unfortunately the cars quality seems to vary greatly off the production line. This really needs to be addressed by the factory. I dont know if its a case of a Monday and Friday car or what. Another point that I find puzzling is why Ford are fighting the after market mods. The T's power is definitely wound back for marketing purposes. If they supported the aftermarket options with a limited warranty they could do well in the sales and aftermarket stakes. Instead they choose to fight it with flashing of chips and all sorts of crap. They can either join in or loose out. Seems dumb to me.

Does anyone know if you can get some small HSV badges made to put on the drivers door for each hsv we beat? You know like the fighter pilots put on the side of their planes after a kill. I need a few! Went to the Australian Muscle Car drag day last Sunday at Eastern Creek dragway. Had a great day in my XR6T mk1 5 speed manual APS stage 1 upgrade. The days run times were slow due to the heat but still enjoyed the day. Managed to beat BA GT mkII, Monaro's, HSV GTS 300, HSV VY Clubsport 285. The clubsport was hardest to beat. Beat him 3 times but in the last run by only 0.002 of a second. Best time was only 14.3 @ 102 mph. The best time of the day was a HSV GTS with 360kw. He got to 13.4. All thanks to Spiro and the great job he did on the APS stage 1.

VS SS, VS Clubsport---------> XR6T. Was in the HSV Owners Club and on the committee for 3 years. Never again. Go the Fords.