New member - EA Falcon runabout

[damocrobins]

Hello all,
My name is Damian.
I recently acquired my in-laws old 89 EA Falcon GL it is a 3 speed auto with CFI. 268000kms travelled.
They recently bought a brand new 2006 BF Falcon XR6 with the 6 speed auto and Ford only offered them $100 as a trade in on the old EA.
I gave them $500 for it which was really a bargain.
It has a S Pack dash which we fitted about a year or so ago, Clarion CD player with 4 speakers.
It is mechanically good having had a new head fitted mid last year. My Father in law and I did this as he works for an engine reco shop.
The body is not the best with a few dings and marks to show it’s age… But being this way means I don’t have to obsess about it.

Interestingly the S pack dash we put in it was only a few hundred kms different to the stock GL one we took out at the time.

It suits me as daily transport and a runabout. It fits the baby seat and pram etc.
The Falcon is a relaxing effortless car to drive but is very thirsty…. I would like to have put on LPG as soon as I can.
My other car is now designated as a toy and very rarely used.
It is a Suzuki Baleno with custom turbo install. If you are interested you can read about it on the Autospeed website.
www.autospeed.com look in feature car section. Bank Balance friendly Baleno. (they decided on that title not me!)

Since purchasing the old EA I have put on four new Kumho 215/65R14 tyres, new Monroe gas struts front and rear, uni filter air filter, alarm, immobiliser, new bonnet struts, clear interior light lens and a few other bits and pieces…
I have given it a full service with Penrite oil, oil filter, spark plugs, dizzy cap, rotor button, leads, ignition timing.

I have new brake pads which I am still to fit and intend to buy some slotted front rotors as it currently does have a squealing issue and the rotors do feel warped to a minor degree.

It does have a hiccup occasionally which I am still trying to diagnose. If you leave it idling it occasionally drops it’s idle speed down splutters and sometimes stalls but sometimes recovers.
It does this when sitting at lights sometimes too. A tad annoying.

I can only think it has a issue with a sensor or a fuel starvation issue possibly fuel filter or map sensor. ???

I am trying to lower it’s fuel use as it does seem extremely thirsty. I only get around 330kms on around 62litres in the city… this puts it around 18 to 19 litres per 100kms. Is this normal for this car?

Has anyone done any mods to increase the efficiency of the CFI engine such as headers and big bore throttle body which is unbelievably small.
I have seen bigger butterflys on dual throat carbies fitted to 4 cylinder cars.

Is it feasible to bore out the factory throttle body? Will this help it?

Does the low fuel light in the S pack dash come on as a function of the gauge in the dash?
By this I mean the fuel sender is not different between the two? At least according to the wiring diagrams it appears to be the same for all models.
I had the gauge just kissing the red section on the gauge but the light had not yet come on… 62 litres to fill from this point.

Cheers to all,
I look forward to learning more about this car and chatting to you all.
Regards,
Damian

[Redrum]

Damian,

welcome aboard mate. I cannot answer your questions on the EA though as I have never owned one. Good luck with it though. Turbo charged Baleno, this I have to read.............

[TotalDriver]

Welcome to the Forum mate.

You certainly picked the right place to ask those sorts of questions!

Cheers,

[FPV8U]

Welcome mate, get used to spending 99% of your spare time here...

[Redrum]

Could not read all article about Baleno :nutsycuck Just have to wait to subscribing member of autospeed is over again..........

[Mike Gayner]

You may have a vacuum leak, which would explain the rough idle and excess fuel consumption. Most commonly occur where the inlet manifold bolts to the head on these engines, often these nuts wiggle themselves loose and a quick tightening can solve the problem without having to shell out for a new gasket. Spray some CRC or carb cleaner around the area and listen for a slight increase in the idle to confirm. Also the throttle bodies on these CFI models can get pretty messy, so try giving it a nice clean up with some carb cleaner and a rag.

As for improving fuel economy, it's hard to recommend something that will give enough of an improvement to offset the cost of the modification within a reasonable timeframe. The biggest suggestion would be to convert to multipoint injection. You would see a relatively dramatic improvement in fuel consumption with this conversion alone. Installing headers would give only a very minimal improvement, certainly not enough to justify the cost. I wouldn't bother with a larger throttle body either, unless you are interested in more performance but in that case I would again recommend the multipoint conversion.

One major thing to watch for is leaky injectors, especially on a 17 year old car. Have a look around the injector to see if there are any fuel stains, if so simply replace the O-ring. Unfortunately with their high displacement and admittedly innefficient fuel system (especially the CFI models) the Falcon 6 has never been renowned for fuel economy. Just remember that the right foot dictates how much fuel you will use so go easy if you need economy. I can't think of anything else right now, but there are some real experts on this forum so I'm sure you will find the help you need.

Oh yeah, and welcome to FF!

[BENT_8]

G'day mate and welcome
Have a look at the clutch fan to see if it is siezed. You can notice a really loud whirring noise under acceleration as the fan spins at the same speed as the water pump.When the fan clutch is working correctly it will slip and allow the engine to rev freer(not that thats a word) This happened to me and my fuel consumption went really bad.
If it is the clutch for the fan you could proberbly replace it with a EF/onwards twin thermo's set up for a similar price and get even better fuel economy
just a thought
Steve

[ten[A]cio[U]s]

Hey buddy.

welcome to the forums.

[ubeaut302]

G'Day Damien
All the things listed above are good things to check as the car gets older things gum up and require cleaning, retightening, and reseting. I used to have an EA wagon.It was a CFI 4speed auto and i would get about 400k around town and up to 900k on the highway. I lived in adelaide for a while and used to travel back to Torquay and I could do it easy without refuelling. Unfortunately with a 3spd it will never get that sort of economy. After doing all the cleaning and tightening you may need an idle relearn, especially if you drive an auto with 2 feet it can upset the DCM or idle speed controller.

[falcon91]

Try E-Bay for a MPFI it's worth it. As for further economy tips, check your catalytic converter. Mine was stuffed and blew my economy out the window.!