Hey guys, unfortunately my ef xr6 head was soft so have managed to source an au xr6 head, cam and rocker gear. It is going onto my efII ghia.

Is the au xr6 cam or rocker gear any different to the ef xr6 kit?

When looking at wade cams, am I still looking at the same torque, power increase dropping it into the au head as I would into the ef head? I was looking at getting a 1673 regrind for my ef. Still worthwhile on this new head. Anything I need to be aware of?

Went to Ford to enquire about the price of an au mls head gasket...$400NZD Next best price is $330 incl headbolts. How much are you guys paying across the ditch? Anyone in NZ know of any better deals? Repco wants $300 for just the gasket.

How much vertical play is acceptable in a cam angle sensor? I have a second hand unit which has no more than a cm of movement. Is this ok or not?

And finally, my BBM has oil on in the internal walls, both behind the throttle body and on the 6 pipes to the head. Any causes of this I need to be concerned about?

If this should be in seperate posts just let me know.

Thanks guys

if you want to run an ef cam in an au head you need all the rocker gear,

Nah mate not interested in running ef cam in the head unless it is better than the au kit, which I dont expect it is. but from your answer I'm assuming that the cams and rocker gear from the ef will fit into the au. CHeers for that.

So would I need the ef rocker gear to run the 1673?

yep you need an ef cam for the ef rocker gear/ef head, or if you want to keep the au head with its original stuff you can get a cam to suit the au head/rocker gear

do a search, im pretty sure ive read you need the AU cam gear, and the markings on the AU cam gear are in a different spot than the e-series which is very important when lining up timing marks........ you dont wanna bend valves

Hmmm ok, even with the cam angle sensor? I'm at TDC and chain is cable tied. How would I adjust with this new head and gear?

Ok so got my head today but not the rockergear and cam like i'm sure we discussed. Anyway they are on there way hopefully arriving tomorrow. I will be using the au cam in the au head on the ef block. BUT he took the rocker assembly to pieces so I'm only getting the arms. The ef rocker guide? (the bit the arms attach to) lines up to the head, so can I use that rocker gear, do I need to change the arms, if so do they have to be in the same place on my rocker gear as they came off the original au rocker gear? I'm getting conflicting answers on those questions.

There's a difference in rocker ratio between E-series and AU - this means that cam lobe sizes will be different - so AU cam needs to be run with AU rockers - and of course E series cam will need E series rocker gear.

AU valve springs are I think a single coil tapered design? The idea is for them to have low tension until high in the lift range - reducing load and drag on the valve gear (theoretically making for quicker revving?). Not sure if AU springs can be used with E series rockers and cam?? (I think they can but not sure).

Check out Shiftkits Australia for head gaskets - they sell a "std" multilayer steel one for au$ 99 and a "performance" one for au$ 248

I've used the $99 one - it looked fine - Durapro brand - it was definitely multilayer steel (a google may show Durapro only doing composite gaskets but this one was definitely MLS).

Do a google search for "replacing head gasket on falcon" - you'll find a link to an Autofix article on doing E series head gaskets - they have info on the difference between late EL/AU and earlier E series cam setup. I don't know what the ramifications are of trying to fit an AU cam to EF bottom end - ie. whether it's simply a matter of using an E series cam gear or whether the AU cam gear has to be used - and what that may need as far as alignment with the rest of it.

Edit: - your last post came thru while I was doing my reply: - not sure if you can use EF Rocker supports with the AU rocker arms - shafts should be ok but it's entirely possible the supports themselves are different height - not sure about that tho (sorry). The positions of the arms will be the same but YOU MUST USE AU ROCKER ARMS WITH AU CAM.

Thanks for all the help guys. Ive got the e-series cam and rocker gear on the new(ish) au head.

Its pissing a lot of blue smoke on start up as if it is the valve seals, but a guy from wade cams said the base circle diameter of an e series cam is wider and the valves will be held open.

Could that be the issue? or just the seals.

Cheers

Any ideas anyone? I am getting au rocker gear to go with the au cam tomorrow, but would like to know in advance while i've got everything off if i should do the valve seals. I would think it is the seals because once the car is off some valves would stay open anyway even with the proper cam and gear? And the longer I leave the car sitting the more smoke it blows. So oil is definitely seeping in somewhere. But I don't want to have to do the seals now if I don't have to because once my rebuilt bottom end is done I'm getting some headwork done, so I would rather do it then.