Wise men: Advise ME!

[Jock260]

Okay, here's the situation.

Found a nice, what seems to be well conditioned AU II XR8 Ute. Now, it is currently getting things fixed in order for a pending RWC to conclude our (Mine and Dads) purchase. These include the usual, a new headliner, bit of rust needs to be fixed in the drivers inner door sill (Was shocked, but told by some AU blokes to expect a bit of rust) and a new Windscreen.

SO, when we go down there to test drive and possibly negotiate a bit more, what should i look/listen for? (Power Steering whine/Steering rack knock/Harmonic Balancer/Engine Ticking/Gearbox or Diff Whine??)

Also, how can i tell if it's the 200kw motor and not the 185kw? It's Black, Manual and has 150,000k's, leather, Momo everything and what not but they look like they need replacing. (eBay?)

If it drives like a bit of a dog, should i walk away, or do simple things like fouled plugs or sh!tty leads ruin what would otherwise be a good car? Also, what weight oil/brand should i put in? (We'd like to change it before we make the drive home, just to be safe)

Is 150,000k's too much? Seems to have been maintained and serviced regularly but i will know more once we get the full logbook details.

Please guys, give me anything to look for, i realllllyy don't want a lemon.

Thanks in advance, Jake.

[Whoosha]

AU11 AR8 ute, all were 200kw motors , @150k on it, if hasn't had plugs / leads yet it will need them, as for the motor 150 is low by todays standard on a 11 year old car and shouldn't be a issue on a Windsor. other rust spots on the utes,if you remove some of the door seal rubber at the front near the windscreen (runs up the pillar ) and check down the seem both sides , if your still unsure get a RACV / NRMA check done ( they will list everything and make it sound like a wreck ) what sort of money are they asking for it ?

[Mr Hardware]

Get an independent mechanic to check it over if this is your first AU.

[mik]

if it`s been in a flood area check the front rails for rust.

[blownv8au]

Also check from door jam to wheel well ie remove front guard. Have seen major rust there on very clean utes at the wreckers from the bottom of the a pillar to the sill. You won't see in there with the inner splash guard or the front guard on. Only seen it on drivers side and only on utes. Checked mine first thing after seeing that, all good.

[Jock260]

Thanks a lot blokes, keep it coming. Whoosha he wants about 12k for it, but to be honest i'd rather pay around 10ish. But if it is rust free and everything is the way it should be i'd prob pay close to full price.

[Cúl-Báire]

I wouldn't pay more than $10.5k unless it's imaculate. They are pretty solid cars, I would however have the diff checked it's probably the only fault in these things.

At 150k kms, I'd be giving it a major service when it gets home, including flushing the trans, diff and looking to change the leads, coils and plugs if they haven't been already.

[b2tf]

Not all AU2's were 200 motors. Only the ones after the Pursuit ones became 200kw V8 standard. Look for engine builders signature on the driver's side rocker cover.

150kms is bugger all for a windsor provided service history is good. Budget in to replace coils, leads and plugs unless they have been done already.

Being a manual, check the firewall around where the clutch pedal goes through to see if it has any excessive movement in it, they are known to crack after a while.

Other than that check all the usual things you would on any car. Personally I wouldn't pay more than 10k for one with those kms.

[Jock260]

Cúl-Báire- Thanks for the heads up mate, will look into a full service before we leave. Will be picking the car up in Brisbane, any good Ford orientated shops that will take care of the fluids and filters and plugs?

Thanks b2tf. I see that MSD packs and leads are the way to go, how do i go about getting my hands on a set? So if the engine was hand built, it's a 200kw motor? Will check the firewall for sure mate. Hopefully it is in very good condition. The photo's show it to be in good order, although i don't think it has been babied aesthetically, the manifold looks like quite shabby and the bay is far from clean too but getting up close is the only way to judge properly.

[raised by monkeys]

Ive found, as others, that there tends to be some corrosion around the water pump, at 150k, unless already been replaced, might be due to be replaced. Same with the alternator.

In addition to the plugs leads, again, unless already done, i reckon the 02 sensors might be due to.

[rag top]

Being a ute, pull the tub liner out and give the tray area a thorough clean. The amount of crap that gets caught under the tub liner (on both occasions that I did mine) was amazing.

[cedric]

if it is a 2000 model it will be a 185 not such a bad thing. i have one and love it. as an everyday car i like the 185 better than my 220 au3 sedan

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by raised by monkeys

Ive found, as others, that there tends to be some corrosion around the water pump, at 150k, unless already been replaced, might be due to be replaced. Same with the alternator.

In addition to the plugs leads, again, unless already done, i reckon the 02 sensors might be due to.

Good advice. 02's make quite a difference to fuel econ.

[guidedog]

had a au xr6 ute,started to rust bottom sills due to ford filling them with foam it traps water so it starts rusting .au are better build than ba

[Donny]

Check the steering wheel by grabbing it and trying to move it up, down, left and right feeling for any slop in the column.
If there is slop and or engine noise coming thru the firewall while test driving, there's a good chance the lower steering joint and toe plate bearing is gone.
That's a $450 part plus labour to fit.. Iv just had this fixed in my car and it has less klms than the one your looking at.

[Jock260]

Thank's very much Donny, great advice. Thanks to the rest f you fellas, i think I've got a good list of things to go over, but if somebody has something they'd like to share that would be great. It's going to to get a RWC on Monday, so will see what the results are of that.

[guidedog]

u cant go wrong with a au falcon and the xr look awesome .they are the last of the tickford build cars.and if its got serviced all the time it will be fine .have a good look that all the gaps are even and line up (bonnet ,doors ). would advice to get revs check done on internet .but get the complete one done (cost more but better) it will show if car had accident that insurance fixed ,or if it got stolen

[Jock260]

Thanks everybody. Me and dad decided to buy the Ute. Was asking 12.5k (dreaming off course) but we got it for 7k. It's not perfect, far from it actually. Has rust inside the door well near the scuff plate, and rust of the joins in the body going down besides the windscreen.

It also won't Idle properly, and has quite a delay is accelerating (ie, I push the throttle, then decides to rev about half a second later), bot sure what this is, Spark Plus/Leads/Distributor?. Steer creek/clicks at very low speed, not sure what this is either. Paint is in fair nick, as is the interior. Barely any dints, no rips in the leather.

Will be going in for a Service this coming week, doing ALL the oils and ALL the filters, and also the plugs. As will get them to have a look at the steering to see what is making that noise. There is no play in the steering column (ie moving the steering wheel up and down/side to side as advised by a previous post) so i'm not really sure. Will be up for a new clutch soon too, so you can see why we got a fair bit off $$ off it.

Gearbox feels great, Engine feels okay too, but i think it needs a new ignition system, just feels lazy, not responsive enough.

Can anybody give me the part numbers for the MSD distributor pack and the leads to go with it? And some advice on what oils to use in the Engine/Trans/Diff. Will put a few pictures up tomorrow after the race.

Cheers, Jake.

[Cúl-Báire]

Sounds like a good buy, with that extra cash saved I'm sure you'll have more than enough to make it perfect.

Coils are MSD Part No. 8241, MSD don't make leads to suit however ICE make fantastic leads in both 8mm and 9mm. Hit up forum sponser Justin @ Tuff Car Parts for a good deal on both.

[Jock260]

Thanks a lot mate, will do. Also, I've just changed the oil, service manual says it takes 5.5 litre's (Damn). just put 5 litres of 15w-40 Penrite in it, and it reads over full, by a fair way. Time to panic and drop it again, or is this normal? (Needs to be started and run for a bit, then checked again?)

[b2tf]

Sounds like a good buy, a bit of work is nothing to be afraid of.

My shopping list was as follows:

Engine oil - Liqui Moly 10x40 (suit yourself though, I used it and was happy). You need 5L - up end the bottle and forget about it.
Filter - Z9 Ryco or KNHP 2010

Air Filter - A491 Ryco or KN equivalent

Fuel Filter - Ryco Z373

Gearbox Oil - Castrol Transmax Z, you need about 2L from memory

Diff Oil - Castrol SAF-XA - about 2L. Don't need any additives.

Ignition Coil Packs - MSD 8241 x2
Ignition Leads - suit yourself but don't bother with Top Gun
Spark Plugs - NGK TR55IX Iridium or NGK BKR5EFS-15 - Check this I cant remember the exact number. Listed as for the Holden VT 5L V8

Other little jobs to do:

Clean the MAF using contact cleaner or a dedicated MAF cleaner - CRC make one
Check and clean the throttle body
Replace 02 sensors - 4 wire Bosch ones, Ebay is the cheapest by far, you need 2
Check and tighten header bolts if it's got aftermarket headers on it
Consider changing valve springs with those sorts of kms - Crow P/N 7738-16

Drive and enjoy

[Jock260]

Thanks so much b2tf and Cúl-Báire and everybody else for their advice. Thanks to b2tf and Cúl-Báire i now have all the items that need to be done before the fun starts.

Will be starting a thread of it in the Workshop later tonight so keep an eye out for some nice photo's.

Thanks again, can't wait to experience this thing at it's best.

[b2tf]

They're easy to work on and good fun when you start playing with them. All the best with it.

[Cam]

Originally Posted by b2tf

Sounds like a good buy, a bit of work is nothing to be afraid of.

My shopping list was as follows:

Engine oil - Liqui Moly 10x40 (suit yourself though, I used it and was happy). You need 5L - up end the bottle and forget about it.
Filter - Z9 Ryco or KNHP 2010

Air Filter - A491 Ryco or KN equivalent

Fuel Filter - Ryco Z373

Gearbox Oil - Castrol Transmax Z, you need about 2L from memory

Diff Oil - Castrol SAF-XA - about 2L. Don't need any additives.

Ignition Coil Packs - MSD 8241 x2
Ignition Leads - suit yourself but don't bother with Top Gun
Spark Plugs - NGK TR55IX Iridium or NGK BKR5EFS-15 - Check this I cant remember the exact number. Listed as for the Holden VT 5L V8

Other little jobs to do:

Clean the MAF using contact cleaner or a dedicated MAF cleaner - CRC make one
Check and clean the throttle body
Replace 02 sensors - 4 wire Bosch ones, Ebay is the cheapest by far, you need 2
Check and tighten header bolts if it's got aftermarket headers on it
Consider changing valve springs with those sorts of kms - Crow P/N 7738-16

Drive and enjoy

A good list, I would be adding a Cam Synchronizer to that list, especially with the idling / delay under throttle issue. I had a very similar thing in my AU..

Then a trip to the local mechanic to get fault codes read wouldn't be a bad move either..

All the best!