Hey everyone, i have a few questions but firstly i will list a little bit of info on the car:
98 Ford Futura, auto:
I bought the car last Feb with 139 k's on the clock, it ran really well, all cylinders were within .5psi of 144psi, the engine oil was clean, engine was very responsive, paint and all asthetics (in and out) were great:
Stuck it on gas 30thousand km's ago, runs a dream! -Plugs were replaced then and have not been touched since (I have some newies sitting in the garage)

Now, the car is at 180,000km's, i have changed the oil 3-4 times, oil filter 3 times, air filter twice, radiator fluid was dropped and radiator flushed and new hoses fitted,

1. Tranny has not been serviced in the time i have had it, the manual says only to replace the fluid when its running 'rough' - Is this ok to do, it runs without a worry at all at the moment

2. Im told its ok to do, but to be sure 'Is it ok to go down gears on the auto tranny?' within reason i assume its ok, (ie not over 3500rpm)

3. Im running the engine on an Impco gas system, it gets roughly 450k's to $25 gas @48cents a litre i assume this is great economy, for an old but clean air filter, any comments/tips for longevity for the engine?

4. I clean the air filter out with an air compressor, i do a really detailed job, i spend about 5mins doing so, i imagine this isnt an issue?

5. Is it really that bad flooring it while its on gas? I imagine its ok - not so much you overheat the engine and blow oil seals and what not?

6. On petrol, with almost unroadworthy tyres i can drop the gas pedal in the wet and get both wheels spinning from 80km's to about 100km's in the wet - Which is a really insane adrenaline rush! I mean wow, power slides at 100km's! -Not really a question, but is this common?

7. Is there anything to keep my eye on as the next 50thousand km's click over? I imagine just checking the engine oil / Radiator coolant levels and making sure they dont mix.

8. I have played with the two settings on the dials where the gas goes into the air intake- Im told this is ok as long as i am not losing any performance, infact if i gain some then it will be running better;
I have no idea what these dials do, seems the big screw affects the initial idle, this i turned in and adjusted the black knob counter clockwise a lot, like 120 turns - so it starts after about 2 kicks on gas!

9. I havent dragged anyone on gas, but on petrol i have beaten countless VS commodores, VT S commodores and one or two (out of one or two) VT SS commodores - I imagine this is normal, with the exception to the VT SS, i thought one of these would kill the EL if they were trying?

10. How do the stock diffs in the EL's run? I can hold some drifts for ages, but sometimes only the back right wheel spins - which is a good safety net sometimes drifting through right hand turns, any comments on this?

Any tips for keeping this plum running well and maybe increase economy and performance without spending much more than a few hundred?

Thanks a lot guys, i really enjoy this forum, i think i'll be here a while and help out others where i can >Insert scouts salute<
Thanks again!
Matt

9 - commodores suck lol.. the VT was the heaviest commodore released.. the VT S had 147kw and the VT SS (if its a series one) had 195kw..

10 - put an LSD in.. you'll rip twins all day lol

1) these trannies eventually die from over heating due to crappy fluid, so give it a service and save money in the long run.

2)if you do somthing the tranny dosnent like, you will notice it.

3)thats good econamy uyour getting there, its probly just a well tuned gas system.

4)just buy your self a good K'n'N filter more peformance, better fule econ and less of a hassle to clean

5)these cars are fords, there indestructable, hehe.
dont be scared your tranny, diff and head gasket will go miles before your motor does

6)any car with dead tires is going to lose traction easly

7)just reguarly service the car, nothing much you can do apart from that

8)all your doing is playing around with you idle controller, i dont think you can do enough damage to totice a diffrence

9)you should beat any holden v6 with respects to sv6 and new vz's. as for the vt ss, he shouldve gotten you but s**t happens

10)single spinner diffs spin the wheel with the least traction. lsd, limited slip diff limits the amount of slup between each wheel, giving a vairable % to either wheel.
have a look on your diff, if its lsd it will have a little badge on it marking so, if not its a single spinner.

Thanks a million guys, i will get the tranny serviced - I imagine the mechanics can use a non-ford oil that will overcome the overheating issue?

If the head gasket does go, does it need towing to the mechanics or can i drive it 20km's and say leave it there overnight?

Actually at the moment my amplifier i just hooked p has some interference, if i turn the music on, the back speakers play the sounds of the tranny winding up, i hear the clutch in it and all. - The only time i notice the tranny hates going down gears is into first, where it clunks.. But anything down to second seems fine

THanks again

ford service manual specifies castrol TQ95 transmission oil
there are other equivalents out there in other brands
your mechanic should only use this oil or equivalent
some guys service the tranny themselves (i do)
not much work and save some money, but a bit messy
every 20-30k or annually

if you don't know the history of tranny services on this car, I'd recommend asking for a full flush
this will replace ALL the fluid in the transmission and torque converter
if you just ask for a "service" they will replace only the fluid in the transmission part.
this is about only 1/3 of the total amount of transmission oil
this new oil then mixes with the 2/3 old oil still in the coverter
better replace the lot and then you've got peace of mind

regarding tranny overheating, an external transmission cooler is the way to go

early vt ss's only had 179kw but still should've beaten an el!

take it easy manually shifting your auto, esp back into 1st when slowing down. make sure the brakes are doing all the work and not the gears.

head gasket may have already been done before you purchased the car otherwise it WILL need doing at some stage, no question about it. if you keep an eye on the water usage (shouldn't be any) then it can be picked up reasonably early allowing it to be driven to a mechanic.

very important to use the right tranny oil or will cook and die$$$$$$$$$$$$
fit a trans cooler.
very important to watch for coolant leaks and maintain coolant level.
Low coolant can result in air in the head and major cracking.
you should see many hundreds of thousands of klm with care. one of my EF's is up to 348,000klm with only 2 head gaskets due to coolant leaks/catastrophic radiator failure.
new exhaust, brakes, radiator, surge tank, water pump..... nothing too hard

Thats all awesome info -I wont service the thing myself cos i dont have any garage space, what should i expect a full flush of the tranny to cost?
Thanks again

90% of the time on ef/l falcons its the head bolts that snap/stretch causing the head to warp, and not the gasket failing.

most times if you look at the exhaust side of the block you will see a wet patch leaking down from the head.

I was talking to my uncle, apparently they service the auto transmission in 'dust free' rooms, on glass tables and stuff
I imagine this isnt a problem if you are doing it on a gravelled area, with stands, a tarp to sit the bottom panel on etc.. Its not dusty where im doing it, just it isnt a proper room

depends what "dust free means"
if it's a proper dust free room like what's used for satellites & stuff, i reckon he's yanking your chain, or he's the most fastidious person around who does transmissions - what's the name of his shop?
or dust free could mean, that clean table over there which we wipe the dust off every now & then when we remember, which also just happens to have a glass top etc...

10) I know EL fairmont's like my car have a 3.23 diff so maybe your Futura might have one all it could have the gay 3.08 GLi ratio?

yeah mines a 98 EL futura and has 3.08 diff

hey mate with the amp question cheack that u have th power from the battery, remote wire down one side and run the rca and speacker wire down the outher/ the noise is the aultinator, u can get some thing that stops it but just put the power down one side and the outhers down the outherside.... GL

Haha, probably, you know how people exagerrate