what do you hate most about the e series

[Rob]

Having owned an AU3 and an ED, I'm gonna say... the AU was a better car by far, but the interior on AUs feels so cheap!

[DEVL-XR]

Originally Posted by Rob

Having owned an AU3 and an ED, I'm gonna say... the AU was a better car by far, but the interior on AUs feels so cheap!

Yeah I do have to agree, when I drive my parents AU3 Fairmont I wow everytime. The steering is so much lighter and easier to drive, the accelerator is a lot softer and smoother and the motor is a lot more responsive. The suspension is softer and rides over bumps a lot nicer than mine, although I probably prefer mine because theres not as much body roll as the AU! The interior is a lot quieter than my car, no wind noise, my car is really bad for wind noise. The only downside to the AU is my EB looks tougher, lower and sounds a lot better than the AU! When the 2 cars are parked next to each other in the carport, the AU's roof line is so high compared to mine, theres a good half foot of difference.

[Rob]

Cable ties don't work as well on AUs as they do on E-series.. its science.

[Gohan]

the Sepentine belt kinda wears the water pump pully down hence blowing head gaskets and heads due to that reason

or there is somthing more to it than just that

[XR_Lightning]

Originally Posted by Gohan

the Sepentine belt kinda wears the water pump pully down hence blowing head gaskets and heads due to that reason

or there is somthing more to it than just that

haha, a bit off target there mate, dont know where you heard that, head gaskets fail due to the different heating & cooling speeds of the alloy head and the cast iron block, people think of these cars or the ford inline 6-cyl engine in general and think they just do headgaskets all the time, but as a matter of fact headgaskets are common on almost all cars

[ILLaViTaR]

Ignition setup and other things under the manifold.
Fogs up easily, clutch fan, Lag when flat floored, 3 belt setup, bloody odometer gear (twice now) and all the I had to replace to get it running smooth.

Oh almost forgot, the ridiculous amount of wind noise (as said above).

[XXRR-50]

A few things on my EFII Ghia should have been better:
- headlights
- bigger brakes ( should have been EL GT size at least on XRs and V8s)
- wheel offset (sooo many nice deep dish wheels in AU/BF offset)
- more supportive seats (I wish Ford kept EB/ED XR Recaro seats)
- fuel tank position (to allow proper dual exhaust)

I'm probably one of not many people that went from a BA(Ghia) back to EF. For some reason, I like my EF better than the BA. Probably because its a V8, whereas the BA was a I6 (nothing can beat that V8 sound!).

BA was much easier car to drive, but I prefer EF because its more raw and involving, sorta feels like an old muscle car compared to the BA.

[TIKFD6]

My biggest problems where the Brakes(330mm upgrade helps.)
and the factory spoon in poridge manual shifter(Short shifter helped), and the lack of easy tuning ability.

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by TIKFD6

and the factory spoon in poridge manual shifter(Short shifter helped),

Some of them are very bad. I drove an EF XR6, and the shifter was terrible. I've driven a few others that aren't great either. Weirdly though, mine is great. It doesn't have a short shifter, but it feels precise and direct. I don't have the rubber between where the shifter attaches to the gearbox so it rattles a bit more, but it is such a nice shift.

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by Rob

Cable ties don't work as well on AUs as they do on E-series.. its science.

I disagree. The wife's AU actually has more cable ties on it than my EA.

[gthofan]

I hate the constant hand in wallet motion. I reckon my eftpos card has develop RSI. These cars can be quite expensive to work on, they make me want to throw the towel in :(

[LOWBA6]

Position of the coil pack, shitty seats, crap headlights, weak pedal boxes, and i hate my trans lol but only cos its stuffed. Other than that i love my EF :P

[TIKFD6]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I don't have the rubber between where the shifter attaches to the gearbox so it rattles a bit more, but it is such a nice shift.

Thats half the problem, i modded a stock one for a mate the other day, i used a Sway bar bush and cut it down. Got rid of the Stock Rubber bush and bolted the stick straight to the shifter.
Feels nice, but still not as good as a short shifter.

[EgoFG]

Hmmm
Doors would unlock/lock cycle fixed at first service.

250,000km later
The only other issue is that I had to replace 3 water pumps - prolly not a real problem

So the real problem was this:
I had to sell it :-(
The wife liked her Mazda 626 more, so I had to sell the EFII Futura to get the BFII FGhia.

[gngtho]

my only prob with my ed is the location of the bloody top starter motor bolt.

luckily i have made a costom open ender to fit in there.

[gngtho]

ohh also if there is no power steering prepare for a hell of a work out.

[GTENVY]

Brakes brakes and brakes!

And yes E7 heads, HO manifold.

[JackoTJK]

stupid MAP sensor resolution
stupid ECU's in general
seat position too high in EF/EL
dizzy and coil on EB etc
that stupid heat / sound deadener on the firewall you pull off the first time you drop a tranny out
the tranny's
the stupid cone LSD
offset
peeling clearcoat
no decent lip spoilers for EF/EL
brakes
fading POS headlight lenses and nowhere to put decent lights on a low car
the fact I would never get rid of mine, and if I did, I'd miss it!

[Ford_The_Win]

Good thread mine!

-The terrible, terrible stock brakes (but good ABS).

-In Econ it kicks into overdrive too early and in Power it holds the gears too long.

-Poor rear traction, on unpaved roads or in wet weather cornering at any decent speed is not possible without scaring the passengers.

-The super soft suspension = wild body roll. Also quite slow to react - in a crisis situation, I reckon the soft leg muscles would probably let me down.

-Some of the interior plastics are pretty crap - not Commodore levels of crapness but getting close. Nothing lines up properly (did it ever?)

-The central locking makes that horrible DERRP noise

-No transmission dipstick makes servicing the auto much harder than it needs to be.

Other than those things not much. It's easy to work on, very comfortable and rides more smoothly than a lot of brand new cars. And they leave E-series shaped dents in most other cars without sustaining any damage of their own.

[EgoFG]

The fact that it was the last Falc to decisively outsell the Commo.
Although it deserves the win over the commo, every post Au Falcon deserves it more.

[Psi-Pop]

-Door cycling in summer.
-Dizzy location
-Headlights

They pop to mind but there is a few things but the good far outweighs the bad.

[Coyote mk3]

I have had a bit of a chuckle with this thread.
We have all these little problems with the cars, yet love them... Maybe it's a disease?
I think it all just adds character haha.

For me it is;
-brakes
-Headlights (look great, but that doesn't help you too much at night)
-Stupid Firewall, pedal box and cable design
-front seats - very comfortable but wear very badly.

[chamb0]

The amazingly useless EF/EL cupholders should get a dishonourable mention too!

[Coyote mk3]

Yes the cupholders I forgot about them.
Only time it is usefull is with 2 cans in it. If you only have one can I find it falls out the side.
Don't even think about trying to put a coffee cup in there. and if you do get it in the holder I sure hope you don't want anything from the console....Say goodbye to the coffee if you dare try to open it.

[STINKY NINJA]

My eb ghia 5litre is an awesome car,it is 20 years old this year so you have to expect issues with window motors,lock actuators etc but thats wear and tear over 20 years.
Seems most of the issues mentioned are with the 4.0 get a v8!
Eb/d are awesome cars if they are looked after,ef/l are crap and ive owned both in 6 and 8 variant.
I also own a te50 and a fg turbo and i still like driving the eb alot.
The quality of interior fit and finish is alot better in my eb compared to my brand new fg ute,the quality of new cars these days is just rubbish!
Well see how well an fg goes in 20 years if it still goes at all...
Just my opinion.

[Wheelbarrow74]

Not alot really, I really like the E-series.. particular EF EL's. I guess the main things are low slung exhaust, dodgy power-windows, and leaf springs (wagon).

[Psi-Pop]

HAHA, the cup holders! The clown who had my ED had cut the center console and cut in a set of EF cupholders and used bike helmet padding to secure them. If you thought they were useless in a EF/L try them just plonked in a ED.

I forgot the clearcoat on some colours, but as someone said its all character building!

[supershifty]

Mines an XH I6 Ute - love the thing, best ute I've ever owned. EXCEPT:
1. No tranny dipstick
2. All the plumbing under the intake manifold - dizzy included (sigh!)
3. Styleside tray only

Wouldn't part with her until she's driven into the ground though!

[EATHSV]

For me its. Crap pedal box and firewall, dizzy position, the noise it makes when you lock it, wheel offset, lots of $$$ to keep it going.

I love... how it looks, the noise it makes, how good the recaros are, 20yo sunroof doesn't leak, there's not many around now. Its still pretty quick.

[SSD-85]

I had an EL Gli & an EF2 Fairmont ghia I6. Ill outline the irks I have of them:

- Headlights
- Useless cupholders
- Underpowered HVAC
- Centre console power window switches
- Seating position

Not really bothersome, but all EF/ELs have this "smell" in the interior. Hard to explain.