Ford Falcon Problems

You can affix insulation material to the inner wheelhouse arches and floor inside the cabin to dull the sound of the stones.

I agree that it is good of Ford to repaint your car at no cost to you, but then again isn't that what you would expect when a company puts out a flawed product as Ford did with those they painted 'Shockwave'. Yours is just one of many Ford has had to repaint because of problems with that colour.

We also heard from another reader who told us the diff bushes were the likely cause of the knock and that they are a common failure in that model.

'Breaking in', sometimes also called 'running in', is the period when components in the engine, like the rings and bearings, work in the surfaces they are in contact with. That's the rings with the cylinder bores, the bearings with the crankshaft, the cam bearings with the camshaft etc. It's best in that time that you don't drive it hard under load or at high speed, and it's a good idea to vary the engine speed so you're not driving it at the same speed all the time. Engines in today's new cars don't need much running in at all, according to the carmakers, but older engines do and it's a good idea to give them 1000 to 1500 km to settle in. Swap oils at the end of that period and you could use a 20W-50 oil at that time.

I've not only heard of it, I have experienced it, and reported on it when I tested the ute in the CarsGuide. I thought at the time that it was probably related to the tailshaft, but it was one of those things that a carmaker would say was "commercial", in other words it was good enough to take to the market. I think the service manager is correct, that there's nothing you can do about it.

Ford used a two-pinion set-up in the Borg Warner diff in the BA/BF Falcon and they regularly break, but there is a solution at hand. Trans-Diff in Melbourne regularly rebuilds Falcon diffs and can rebuild your diff with a four-pinion set-up that won’t give you any further problems.

We have had quite a number of reports of vibrations in Falcons, but yours is the first report we have received of a tailshaft actually breaking. As you rightly say it's potentially dangerous and anyone who has a vibration in their cars would be well advised to have the tailshaft in the car checked.

It’s starting and running on LPG, so you would think the problem is on the petrol side. You need to check the petrol supply. Start by making sure the system is operational when you switch over to petrol; make sure there isn’t a problem with the switching in the first place. If that is working correctly then check the fuel pump, fuel pressure and injectors etc.

Thanks for the tip about the brake master cylinder; it's something worth considering by anyone with a vibration they can't fix.

Try and establish whether or not it's firing during this starting phase. If it isn't you should look for an electrical problem, if it is you should look to the fuel system. On the day it won't start, remove the spark plugs and check them for any wetness that might suggest it could be flooding. I the plugs are black and wet clean and dry them and replace them and try again. If it starts this time I would be looking to the fuel-injectors.