Most relaible Oz Ford ever built?

[GASWAGON]

I run two EF I6's on gas and over the last 6 yrs they have both been pretty reliable apart from one backfiring the other week and requiring a tow home....
Luckily a mate came around and solved the problem within minutes so i gave him $50 for his help....The trhottle cable was a bit sticky....And the ISC needed disconnecting to reset the idle.

Both of these cars have required head gaskets but i did those repairs on my own..... The BTR trans are pretty reliable plus fitting a shitft kit can prolong the life of these trans which i have done...

AU's have a very solid reputations even more so than Ef-EL's....

BA-BF have diff problems, Radiator problems contaminating the auto trans, and the Egas models have problems with idling and not starting properly....

I'm not sure about older models but am wondering which model will give the most reliable, easy to maintain, and least running cost over say a 500,000klm running time?

From my readings on this site the AU is the pick of the bunch???

[XR Martin]

EL and AUs I reckon.
EDs were pretty sorted too.

[chookaradley]

For me it's AU. Hella of a car. I think some of the older stuff pre alloy headtoo can go forever, but then again rust was a major concern

[GASWAGON]

Ye its AU for me too....They sorted the coil pack problem..... BTR 4 spd pretty reliable.... No diff issues AT ALL compared to BA-BF..... Disc brakes easy as to work on.....Maybe a split radiator every now and then..... Capable of 500,000klms with minmal repairs....

The trick is to find an AU wagon on gas with low klm's???

[wrongwaynorris]

My EF has clocked 390,000 ks and has never had the head off and it has been overheated twice . Replaced the tranny last year at 340,000 k . Diff is untouched , had new discs last year Has never let us down once and has never broken down . It has ofcourse been scrupulously serviced . It still drives like it did new and I reckon it would be a miracle if it has lost anymore than 5 kW in this time .

[xr8lover]

Without a shadow of a doubt my old 1971 xy gs 351 Clevo, followed by my trusty AU Ute.

[FGII-XR6]

as an EX cabbie and AU owner I have to say the AU wins hands down. you just can't kill them . they go through treatment that would see most cars dead and buried and still keep going

[GASWAGON]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

EL and AUs I reckon.
EDs were pretty sorted too.

Gotta luv an ED XR6 but I really love the EF-EL I6 with the serpentine single belt, so easy to change!

Is the AU a modern HQ-HZ Holden.....I really think it is?

[GASWAGON]

A local mechanic did tell me that the I6 Au's can have thrust bearings wearing issues at the crankshaft.....Mostly engines over 300,000k's tho...and can be repaired if required with some new bearings?

[Blue Roo]

My First Car, the old XD Falcon. Tuff, Rugged and could last the distance. Except for thoses bloodey door handels

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

My First Car, the old XD Falcon. Tuff, Rugged and could last the distance. Except for thoses bloodey door handels

Somewhere in China is a factory getting filthy rich supplying Cortina / Falcon door handles .

[ratter]

XD Falcon

[mechanic]

The XD-AU model wagons seem to be preferred by backpackers who know absolutely nothing about travelling in Aus.. Their reputation for reliability is known about before the travellers even get here and most are onsold from one backpacker to the next
It's difficult to pick a particular year as all Fords seem to have a reputation of reliability. There's all sorts of surveys that will show Honda and other manufacturers have less breakdown callouts, of course very few of them are ever taken out of the major towns and off good roads.

[P6LTD351]

AU all the way. Isn't it funny that this so called 'ugly duckling' has grown up into a beautiful swan like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.

The reliability is a bonus.

[GASWAGON]

Well as much as i luuuuv the EcoLPi falcon it worries me about spending 25k on a new car that may have diff and radiator/trans issues.....Not to mention replacing brake pads with the new style calipers that are very difficult to work with.

I really think i'm better off sticking with my two EFs that i can maintain most of myself and they're pretty basic to work on by today's standards.

Am fitting a shiftkit to one of them asap because trans is starting to get lazy..

Already done radiators in both cars.....Just gotta keep driving them!

[P6LTD351]

With all the cars in my signature, I realistically won't have to buy another car for the rest of my life.

I don't need to keep up with the Jones' and the cars are all in excellent condition which guarantees they turn heads. Reliable too!

[GASWAGON]

Ye i know of a few that WILL NOT drive newer model cars....... Wether its Holden or Ford I dont think you can beat anything pre 2000....From then on its all over with never ending faults and repairs costing everyone money?

[FGII-XR6]

as cabs they did over 700K on one engine with no problem. I know of one still on the road as a daily that has now gone over 900K and never had the head off it ( I used to drive it as a cab)

Originally Posted by EF_6

A local mechanic did tell me that the I6 Au's can have thrust bearings wearing issues at the crankshaft.....Mostly engines over 300,000k's tho...and can be repaired if required with some new bearings?

[GASWAGON]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

as cabs they did over 700K on one engine with no problem. I know of one still on the road as a daily that has now gone over 900K and never had the head off it ( I used to drive it as a cab)

Gees thats really impressive.... I could'nt give a stuff what the car looks like i want reliablity that i can depend upon which is very rare these days apart from Toyota's products obviously and even they can have head problems sometimes?

[AJ09]

I'm another AU fan..

Aside from being solid, reliable and easy to maintain, they are easy to source parts for and parts are generally cheap.

Cheap to insure and on LPG they are cheaper to run than a 4 cylinder Camry - a lot more enjoyable to drive too!

[Bushbasher]

AU rules OI OI OI....

[Danny]

My old EF was the biggest piece of Sh*! to ever disgrace the roads, shocking shocking car, a pile of steaming hateful crap of the worst order which forever tainted my love of Falcons.

That said, Dad had an AUIII XR6 VCT ute in Meteorite. As much of a POS that the EF was, the AU was a shining beacon of build quality and reliability. Beautiful looking car that never gave us an issue. Since then have had BA's, a BFII and the FG's and none have held a candle to that AU. It was a great car. Such a nice ute.

EDIT:

That was what it looked like - Except it was Meteorite grey, say what you reckon about the sedans, but there are rocks in your head if you reckon this is ugly... the BA-BF-FG just lost the character the AU utes had. They don't look as sporty /story

[XW-BAXR6T]

1993 EB Fairmont. Best car for reliability for me, went & went & just kept going. In almost 10 years of owning one has broken down only once the fuel pump went & that's it.

Oh & i didn't service or tune it for 4 years as i was going through a settlement with my ex wife it was part of our settlement no point for me of looking after it.

[xwgs302]

As a taxi owner i would say the BA-BF. The last time i did anything major on a Falcon was heads on the EL, never removed a head from AU on.


500000km and still going strong!

[Full Noise]

Another vote here for the AU.

I’ve had a few.
2001 series II XR8 new
2002 series III XR 8 new
AU series I ex QLD police car. Drove this car to work for twelve months and spent nothing on it. An unbelievably good car.

I have an AU series III Forte as a spare in case any of the BAs, one Fairlane, one Forte I have break down. This is a fantastic car and I will keep it until the wheels fall off it.

[Shonky.]

Xd....

[duaned]

AU for sure.

[ebxr8240]

Trouble is a lot of the speedo's stop working after 10 years..

[smoo]

Live axle AU 4.0. I've driven roughly 210k in them and never been stranded.

My last AU, XR6 manual ute. Sold it to my mate for 4 grand and it is now close to 670,000. 1st gear syncro has gone and it burns a bit of oil but that's never stopped an I6. Build quality is as good as day one too. Better than any E/B series.

[FERG_51]

Ford mechanic since 1978, AU hands down, XY through to XF all good cars but not as good as AU.