Hi guys, newbie here, been looking for the past couple of hours but I can't find the info.

I have just purchased a carby XF and I was wondering if I got a 4.0L donk, some compatiable mounts, sway bar and stuff. Would I be able to get an intake manifold, or use existing manifold to fit a carby to the 4.0L motor?

As I will be running the car on LPG 98% of the time, this sort of negates the advantages of MPFI, and if I keep it carbified this should in theory take away alot of the trouble of looms and computers.

Do all the 4.0L engines have computer controlled spark? If not, which ones don't? either way there should be a relatively affordable spark/timing computer available to do the job. (I've seen them for $300 to suit chevs)

Ultimately a BA I6 would be the go but can these motors run without the ECU? I've read somewhere here that the AU I6 can't because of the VCT, does the BA I6 have VCT?

My aim is to get the newest/smoothest style of I6 that can be made to run on a carby, and go into an XF.

Cheers guys and thanks for any help.

afaik, you wont legally be able to do it, you'll have to keep to the emissions standards of the replacement engine

Aha, that puts a bit of a downer on the subject, bummer.

I was obviously under the incorrect understanding that the emission standards were to suit the year of the car, not of the engine, maybe that should have been the first thing to look into.

there has been alot of older x series converted to the new 4.0l,, your best bet would be to grab a xg ute thatsbeen in a accident, steal its wiring looms, motor, box etc, engine mounts are the same if i remember correctly, itll just be a bit of work to pull the old looms out and put the new ones in

nope, emissions are to match the engine, which is why you end up with people doing silly stuff like 5L's into FJ holdens, and having to do all the EFI s**t, cats, etc

I'm told that a 3.9 cpi engine is excellent for the lpg conversion and also piss easy. you would have to get computer and wiring loom etc though, but like it was said before the engine mounts are the same

If hes runing straight gas then emissions should be a problem should they?

I have to keep correcting so many people on this issue and i will post it every time: FORGET THE XG BECAUSE VERY LITTLE FITS THE XF
At the end it will only go as well as a worn out old XG anyway...comparable to a stock EA...yeah gee thats worth it.

I know because i've been there done that and my XE has an EF engine in it without using one single XG part.

If you are contemplating the OHC conversion do a thorough search on x-falcon.com and also performanceforums.com under my user name and you will find heaps of info. The only other people to speak to on x-falcon are users "Xdee" and "xf4ltrturbo". I advised Xdee on his conversion

There are not "alot" of these conversions around at all and finding credible info is difficult.

Don't bother about running a carby (as in a conventional holley or such). Run Gas Research or an Impco mixer on the throttle body, look into the issue of a custom dizzy, and all the other things that i've covered.

In short its probably not worth all the work unless you are going to substantially develop the engine with a turbo. The same gains can be had with a rebuilt crossflow. Also its not an economical conversion in the monetary sense and its a big investment of time.

Once again, been there done that.

I have sized up the BA engine...forget it unless money is no object. It has no provision for a conventional distributor which immediately means an aftermarket ecu is required to control the 6-coil-on-plug arrangement.

That's a seriously good point bogan, can anyone verify this?




Thanks Hoges, that's some very useful info, I will check out those other forums. I just haven't driven a crossflow which has been as smooth and powerful as the later I6's.

The price factor isn't really that much of an issue as I'm in the process of getting back to grass roots with my vehicles, I've just sold the missus's rav4 and am in the process of selling my VX berlina, VT SS and '01 4x4 dual cab triton.

I'm trying to get back to cheaper simpler things and learning to be less materialistic and more humble, but at the same time I'd like the XF Spak I just bought for $200 be as comfortable and reliable as I can get, and dropping a newish donk in her seems to be a way to achieve that.

I'm not ruling out the conversion yet as I have a wrecker mate who owes me a big favour, and any of the newer I6's are within reach, I just don't like the hassle of all the ECU's and BCM's that you have to deal with in cars nowadays.

the best way to do the conversion is to get hold of a wrecked e series. then you have access to all the wiring, etc that you need. all you need to get as well are xg sway bar, xg radiator, xg coolant tank, p/s hose. if you fit the dash fron the e-series all you need to do is swap the wiring from it as well. I've put an ea motor and dash into my xf ute, and so far it is going well(hasn't been in long). the dash almost fits straight it, but you may need to fabricate some new ducting and windscreen vents.

you are half right.

the emissios is based on the newer of the too. if the engine is newer the emissions for that engine aply. if the car is newer the emissions for the car aply. if you could get the emissions low enough you could put a clevo in a BA. but we all it's not going to happen

I'm trying to avoid using the engine looms and computers as I want to keep it simple, and running LPG makes all that stuff obselete anyway.

These newer engines are still just engines and if you supply air/fuel/spark they should still run smooth and strong.

in that case, i have been told that an xf carby will bolt straight on to an ea cfi manifold. not 100% sure but...

Thanks tickford_6 for clearing that up, makes more sense now, I think that running it on straight LPG might be a way around that.

Cheers
Toa

Last edited by Toa on Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That's a handy piece of info, and something I will be checking out, as the ea cfi manifold should fit any of the "e" series heads and possibly the later ones too.

Cheers
Toa