I have bought a AU LTD. Will be updating the build thread with it soon.

Just wondering though, I have read that the LTDs got the 185kw engine, can anyone confirm this? I have looked and it seems there isnt any visual defining things to pinpoint 175/185.

It has the explorer manifold (squarer looking) but Im pretty sure they were standard on all engines by AU, correct?

It seems to have some sort of extractor looking exhaust manifolds, (factory not aftermarket) the drivers side go around the steering shaft and factory looking cats.

I need to get some parts. Anyone know who has any of the following?

Trip computer (faded LCD), although I have found the bloke on eBay. Anyone know if the S2-3 ones will plug stright up? I dont like the dated orange LCD look if i can upgrade it..

Electric passenger seat switch.

Sunroof cover handle.

Center dome light cover.


Also did these all have an LSD diff? How do I find out? is there going to be a tag on it somwhere?

Also I need to replace the upper rear camber adjusting bolts.

Anywhere can get these from? I had a search but couldnt find much info...

the only difference between the 175 and 185kw is the exhaust system, but all luxo packs would originaly be 175kw..
lsd was an option on au models especially ones with traction control. being ghia, fairlane ltd ect..
you may also find it probably doesn't have a rear sway bar either
you could go to fordetis.com and put your vin and it will give you the info on your car.

The DU2 got the dual exhaust and the 185kW engine rating. Corresponding Fairlane model did not.

Thanks guys.

I went onto the etis site and got some info there, aparrently it has "rear diff less limited slip" which I guess means Non LSD.

Aparrently has ABS, but didnt list traction control, but another problem i need to get onto is the traction control and ABS light are constantly on on the dash.. Looks like the bloke tried to paint over the lights at some stage with paint. so ill need to get onto a scan to find some fault codes i think.

I thought it a little odd that the earliest models had a 185, not that it is that much significantly more anyway, but being a 8/99 i figured it would be pretty "series 1" spec..

Were sunroofs in these done by ford of comissioned to an outside installer when chosen as a factory option? It has a book from another group about the sunroof in the glovebox.

all fairmont. ghia and fairlane got traction control and abs..
being 8/99 Its a late series 1 .. also known as series 1.5..so it would have smartshield instead of smartlock. .
afaik all factory ordered sunroofs were fitted by outside companies..

Mate for your trip computer you can ft it repaired at liquidxtal just Google that name I got the climate control redone with these guys there really good. I had a 2 turnaround with them so if you send it Monday over night you'll get it back at the latest by the end of the week. As far as getting parts fit the Ltd just troll eBay for Ltd wrecks there starting to get really hard to get parts for. I've been looking for over a year for centre caps for the fairlane wheels and had no luck.

Any AU Fairlane that has IRS, whether it be I6 or V8, got ABS and TC....it was standard.

you cannot use a S2 onwards trip computer, plugs are physically different.
No, not all got TC. ABS was a standard feature though.

My T1 TE50 has ABS but thank god, no TC. If it has traction control it will have a button to turn it off above the stereo, if it does not have this button it does not have TC. The fault light on the dash could easily relate to an emmisions system error, I seem to recall these lights being used to signify this issue, then again, it could relate to any array of issues, lol. Wasn;t that helpful?

you can use a series 2 trip comp in series1 plugs are the same .but not the clusters.
I had a series2 trip comp in my series1 ghia for a short time..

I tried one in mine, plugs did not line up or fit.

it did in mine... maybe you wernt trying hard enough..lol..and the black s1 ghia I wrecked I tested the trip comp in the mrs s2 fairmont it fit and worked

Tickford fitted the factory sunroofs. Any car ordered with a sunroof, was built at Broady and sent across the road for it to be fitted.

Well, It was made at broadmeadows, and it has a booklet from Vermeulen Hollandia Sunroofs, so I guess thats the mob.. It was the main selling point for me actually, there were only 3 I found advertised and only one had the sunroof.

It dose have IRS, and an ABS module, and has a TC button above the stereo.. I have pressed it a few times and it dosnt make the light go off so uness its the faulty switch, it may be the indicator for another issue. Would this show up though on a error code? be it a TC sensor/emissions or whatever else ford got clever with?

Im not surprised they are hard to find parts for, with only 320 LTDs being made in '99 and 4,487 lanes according to the wikipedia page. Although Im pretty sure that really it was just the badging that made it different, and it has pretty much the same options as a fairlane ghia other than embroidered seats.

Damn. I was hoping it would be smart lock but spotted the hand symbol, but fingers crossed it dosnt play funny buggers. The owner mentioned the hand on the dash requires a whack under the dash, but it had only happened a few times before..

Am I able to disable it like you can do in earlier models, or is it all integrated too much with the electronics?

As with the trip computer, Ill probably order a S2 one anyway, see if I can find a plug IF they turn out to be different and wire that up. Its just the orange LCD looks like it was taken straight out of an XF..

you can disalble smartshield with a J3 chip altough it makes it really easy for theft to occur and would void your insurance as you have effectively removed the anti-theft device to your car.

Yeah thats good, il look into it if it ever starts to play up on me..