DFB's Garage

Gearing up for a comprehensive service on the XR6. I probably should be attempting this myself, but I know my confidence limit and would rather leave it to someone who won't second guess every single moment.

 
DFB said:
Gearing up for a comprehensive service on the XR6. I probably should be attempting this myself, but I know my confidence limit and would rather leave it to someone who won't second guess every single moment.

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I would agree here with you, if it was a simple oil change you could definitely do it as I've seen you work on small engines.
 
Tasmania said:
I would agree here with you, if it was a simple oil change you could definitely do it as I've seen you work on small engines.
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I know, I guess the value difference between a car and mower has me hesitant.

Other than an oil change, it will be a pretty decent service this time -

- Coolant
- Brake Fluid
- Diff Fluid
- Rear Bump stops (which I could do myself, but I'll just let them do it)
- Inspect/rectify front caliper rattle (slide pins)

I also have a feeling they will want me to do the diff bushes as well, which is the Achillies heal of IRS Falcon's. The whole cradle has to be dropped to do them, which I'm not keen on as I don't think its at a critical level to justify such a massive undertaking.
 
Washed the XR6 ready to be rotated back under cover this afternoon, XR6 in, Mustang out.

Something that's impressed me over the last week has been this Optimum Power Wheel and Tire Cleaner. Now, I was probably a little harsh on this product when I first tried it, but it seems to have redeemed itself.

https://detailingshed.com.au/collec...wheel-and-tire-cleaner?variant=48098206449879



Below is after one single pass with the product, then blown dry. Regular readers will know that I struggle getting these tyres properly stripped, which tenaciously hold onto a dressing and require nuclear grade artillery to fully strip (Tarminator, Eulex). The result here is the best I've seen from an alkaline tyre cleaner. Some slight residue remained, but not to the point where a follow up pass with a solvent would be warranted. Also, because I clean tyres at every wash, I never really get much or any browning. Well, this OPT product turned a greyish brown under agitation, impressive! I just wish it lathered a little better, it would be perfect otherwise.



So once I had the tyres clean, what did I do? Yep, went and made them greasy again with a fresh layer of OG Tire Dressing. In this case, I brushed it on and allowed to sit for about 10-minutes, then buffed the excess to knock it down to this deep, dark finish. Perfection!





I also went and booked the old girl for a comprehensive service next month. Above the usual oil and filter, its getting coolant, brake fluid, diff fluid, rear bump stops and hopefully sorting out the front caliper rattle its developed.

I've also decided it's time to remove the Falcon's away from dealer servicing, something I should have done a long time ago, but I just liked the idea of it being attended to by a Ford dealer. The thing is, a Falcon passing through a Ford dealership service department these days would be extremely rare. Every time I'd go in there, the workshop and carpark were full of Ranger's and Everest's, maybe a lone Mustang or Transit. If these guys aren't working on Falcon's, then they are hardly the "experts" anymore. And a petrol powered Falcon is a world away from a Ranger or Everest with tractor engines. So, the shop that fitted my brakes will be working on it in a few weeks, the mechanics are both Ford guys. I'll supply the OEM parts and fluids and let them handle it for me.





And one other comment I want to make, I'm losing patience with the internet. Wow, so what you say. I put a lot of effort into what I do online, be that on forums, Facebook and Instagram. I do it for my own mental health, it gets me out of my own head. In the process, I learn new things, and by association, others might as well. I make no money doing this, it's purely a labour of love and sanity. In doing so, I try to make sure I cover all the bases, hopefully to provide a balanced review or opinion, addressing both pro's and cons.

And so, when you have people cutting you down over trivial matters over and over again by passive aggressive ar.eholes, it gets old. Especially when its clear the person did not even bother to read what I had written, if they had the comment they made would not have been needed. And it's this can't be bothered, short attention span, TLDR society we live in is incredibly toxic. And my fatal flaw is that I'm very thin skinned, a fault I've always had and probably always will. So, when you've just spent hours writing something and all you get is an argument, I'm left with the why bother question.

For example, I've just finished writing an extremely comprehensive, near 8000-word article covering the Miami V8. From the very beginnings, to the development programme, the production, the numbers, the specs.............the complete story. Why? Because as it stands, there simply isn't anywhere on the internet that covers the entire start to finish account on this engine in one place. I know this because I went looking for it myself and found I had to bounce around several websites, reviews, magazine articles, Facebook posts, Youtube videos and countless images to get the full picture. And in collating that article, I had so much fun tracking it all down, learning new things about an engine I've owned for 11+ years. And I can't be the only one who would want to read about such a thing. So, I created it myself. But.....................

Do I even bother posting it? I mean, I can see what will happen. People will read the title, scroll through the photos without even reading the text, then make an uneducated scathing comment at the bottom, then argue to the death about something they have no idea what they are talking about. So rather than perhaps learning something and being a gentleman, they leave a nasty personal insult instead. So, even though I have something I believe others will want to read, I just don't know if its worth the hassle, the arguments and trolling.

What pis.es me off the most? That "people" let this blatant trolling behavior continue, but then step in on ME when I quite rightly arc up or play that trolling right back. It has to be consistent. So, do I continue to bother?
 
Have you heard of the Dunning Kruger effect, it's a cognitive bias where the less competence or knowledge someone has in a particular area, the more they overestimate their ability, or their understanding of the subject. Well the internet is full of people afflicted by it, and it can be hard to do, but I try to ignore them, it never leads anywhere good.
 
DFB said:
I know, I guess the value difference between a car and mower has me hesitant.

Other than an oil change, it will be a pretty decent service this time -

- Coolant
- Brake Fluid
- Diff Fluid
- Rear Bump stops (which I could do myself, but I'll just let them do it)
- Inspect/rectify front caliper rattle (slide pins)

I also have a feeling they will want me to do the diff bushes as well, which is the Achillies heal of IRS Falcon's. The whole cradle has to be dropped to do them, which I'm not keen on as I don't think its at a critical level to justify such a massive undertaking.
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Slide pins might need some Lube, When i clean my brother's wheels he strictly says NO cleaning products on the brake pads as this could take off the grease/Lube.

He HATES rattling brakes.
 
Tasmania said:
Slide pins might need some Lube, When i clean my brother's wheels he strictly says NO cleaning products on the brake pads as this could take off the grease/Lube.

He HATES rattling brakes.
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I'm fairly sure that is the problem, something the mechanic agreed with the other day. Talking with a guy who ran these cars as Taxi's, he said adding more lubricant to the pins doesn't always last long because of the wear on the pins and the caliper itself. But that's from running cars up to and beyond 700,000 km's, not 33,000km on mine. I also suspect the rubber boots are not holding the pins firmly enough, they are after all 18-years old.

I'm toying with just putting new pins and rubber boots in the thing. There are also upgrade kits with a rubber sleeve added to the pins, which stops the free play inside the bore, but they are about $160 per caliper set. I'll let the mechanic do what he see's appropriate and see what happens.

pwbrakes.com.au

PW20006 Caliper Guide Pin Upgrade Kit

Suits PBR twin and single piston caliper. Includes upgraded guide pins to eliminate caliper rattle.
pwbrakes.com.au pwbrakes.com.au

 
Earlier this week, we had a tradesman doing some work around the house. Well, I may have had a melt down over the state he left the worksite in.

First of all, he made an absolute mess in the driveway cutting concrete to install a fence post. So, there was concrete dust and debris everywhere, and concrete slurry splattered all over the fence and bins.................and my very expensive garden hose. Then the millions of little metal shavings left after cutting fencing slats to size. Naturally, mess is always a part of construction, I'm not totally ignorant of that. But to LEAVE the worksite like that after "finishing" the job is frustrating and just sloppy workmanship.

Then I discovered said fence posts had been dumped under my pressure washer, scraping the paint off the wall. And that became the catalyst to my melt down.

Unless the client specifically insists otherwise, I would never leave a jobsite in a worse state than when I had arrived. Afterall, they are paying me for a service. You can't show up, make a giant mess, jack up the owner's property, then pi.s off. I know I'm a fussy pri.k, but I'm not unrealistic. I shouldn't have to clean up and rectify the mess and damage caused by the tradie at my own time and expense.

So, I had to do some painting this morning......................



At least the fresh paint looks good.
 
DFB said:
Earlier this week, we had a tradesman doing some work around the house. Well, I may have had a melt down over the state he left the worksite in.

First of all, he made an absolute mess in the driveway cutting concrete to install a fence post. So, there was concrete dust and debris everywhere, and concrete slurry splattered all over the fence and bins.................and my very expensive garden hose. Then the millions of little metal shavings left after cutting fencing slats to size. Naturally, mess is always a part of construction, I'm not totally ignorant of that. But to LEAVE the worksite like that after "finishing" the job is frustrating and just sloppy workmanship.

Then I discovered said fence posts had been dumped under my pressure washer, scraping the paint off the wall. And that became the catalyst to my melt down.

Unless the client specifically insists otherwise, I would never leave a jobsite in a worse state than when I had arrived. Afterall, they are paying me for a service. You can't show up, make a giant mess, jack up the owner's property, then pi.s off. I know I'm a fussy pri.k, but I'm not unrealistic. I shouldn't have to clean up and rectify the mess and damage caused by the tradie at my own time and expense.

So, I had to do some painting this morning......................



At least the fresh paint looks good.
Click to expand...
If I had to guess I'd say he wasn't self employed, definitely sounds like he works for someone else. This is where Google reviews comes in, I give honest reviews, and occasionally you get a response from the business owner.
 
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DFB said:
Earlier this week, we had a tradesman doing some work around the house. Well, I may have had a melt down over the state he left the worksite in.

First of all, he made an absolute mess in the driveway cutting concrete to install a fence post. So, there was concrete dust and debris everywhere, and concrete slurry splattered all over the fence and bins.................and my very expensive garden hose. Then the millions of little metal shavings left after cutting fencing slats to size. Naturally, mess is always a part of construction, I'm not totally ignorant of that. But to LEAVE the worksite like that after "finishing" the job is frustrating and just sloppy workmanship.

Then I discovered said fence posts had been dumped under my pressure washer, scraping the paint off the wall. And that became the catalyst to my melt down.

Unless the client specifically insists otherwise, I would never leave a jobsite in a worse state than when I had arrived. Afterall, they are paying me for a service. You can't show up, make a giant mess, jack up the owner's property, then pi.s off. I know I'm a fussy pri.k, but I'm not unrealistic. I shouldn't have to clean up and rectify the mess and damage caused by the tradie at my own time and expense.

So, I had to do some painting this morning......................



At least the fresh paint looks good.
Click to expand...
I'm the same people have lost the respect and just treat it as "another job" Grubs! Gives the other people a bad name.

Puppy proof gate?
 
DFB said:
I'm fairly sure that is the problem, something the mechanic agreed with the other day. Talking with a guy who ran these cars as Taxi's, he said adding more lubricant to the pins doesn't always last long because of the wear on the pins and the caliper itself. But that's from running cars up to and beyond 700,000 km's, not 33,000km on mine. I also suspect the rubber boots are not holding the pins firmly enough, they are after all 18-years old.

I'm toying with just putting new pins and rubber boots in the thing. There are also upgrade kits with a rubber sleeve added to the pins, which stops the free play inside the bore, but they are about $160 per caliper set. I'll let the mechanic do what he see's appropriate and see what happens.

pwbrakes.com.au

PW20006 Caliper Guide Pin Upgrade Kit

Suits PBR twin and single piston caliper. Includes upgraded guide pins to eliminate caliper rattle.
pwbrakes.com.au pwbrakes.com.au

Click to expand...
Deyons Taxi service.... just go with some new boots and pins make it more fresh and the whole brake package will be 👌
 
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Was there an Aussie version of this from Holden

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
Is it winter yet? Hell, I'd settle for a little autumnal bliss. This is day 4 of a 7-day heatwave with temps above 40-deg C (104-deg f), apparently this is the hottest place on earth at the moment. :sun

Despite the heat, I still got out in the garage, EGO fan misting away and a Yeti bottle full of ice water. Even with some cloud cover, I still washed inside the garage today.



The Wildtrak was in line for a much-needed wash after its 1500km round trip to Adelaide over the last week. Being the dirtiest it's been since last winter, the poor thing was covered in dust, road film and plenty of dead bugs............par for course after a road trip.

My first port of call was the engine bay. After an initial rinse, I sprayed it down with Green Star and went at it with an assortment of brushes. Another rinse, I applied Hyper Dressing and blew down the engine bay to disperse the dressing and remove excess water. Finally, the washer bottle was topped off with more Bowden's Dry Spell before the hood was closed. Not perfect, but much better.

After cleaning the floor mats with Green Star, it was time to address those filthy tyres! For this, I grabbed SS Wise Guy and got scrubbing! From there, the usual foaming with Brake Buster to clean the wheel and wheel arch, followed by some KCx Wet Gloss. I also used Wise Guy and Wet Gloss on the plastic side steps.









Next, it was time to nuke those bugs! For this, I applied P&S Bug Off to the front bumper, headlights, windscreen and wing mirrors, then foamed the entire vehicle with KCx Active Foam. That combo easily removed the bugs, but there was still some road film on the lowers that I wanted to remove before the contact wash. For this, I sprayed these areas with Green Star, allowed to soak then rinsed. Sorted!





Anything else remaining on the car was easily dealt with during the contact wash with NV Snow. This is a soap I know I can rely upon when that extra cleaning edge is required, it will easily out-clean Carpro Reset. Following the wash, I had to add some Hydr02 to the lower doors, which is always the first area to degrade on an LSP. Following the blow down, I went around and applied ADS Ceramic Spray Sealant, then the door jambs with ECH20.

The interior fared well, so I just gave it a vac and wiped everything down with ONR, then Invisible Glass for the interior and exterior windows. From there, some Perl for the tyres and the job done!

Baking in the Adelaide heat did no favours to the headlights, they need to be polished AGAIN! And that's WITH the fancy $11.80 per ml Opti-Lens ceramic coating applied. I only got about 6-months out of the coating, that's despite "maintaining" it with toppers like any other ceramic coating, at which point you are no better off with or without the coating.



And so, tomorrow is the big day, my little man is coming home. I'm both excited and nervous, fearful of the unknown, but also optimistic of what's to come. The past week has been tough, I've been pining for his company even though we haven't even met yet. I just hope he doesn't get too lost without his siblings around. According to the breeder, he is more of a people dog than a dog dog and completely happy to entertain himself during alone time. Also helping the cause, he is one of three pups yet to go to their forever homes, which I hope means he has already begun adjusting.





"............... mrgh, merha, what, how dare you interrupt nap time!.............."

 
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