1987 Ford Falcon XF S-pac from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Cylinder Head corroded

Carbie jets blocked

Water pump corroded

Rear seal leaked

Hand brake cable snapped

Seat recliner broke

Door handles snaped

Spedo needed replacing

Shifter popped out.

And general maintenance things such as the radiator, steering, suspension and so on have gone.

Don't let the long list of faults put you off, these things will go wrong in any old car, and I probably shouldn't have listed them all. I'll write this review as a buyer’s guide, as no doubt that is what most people are looking for.

Engine:

The 250 engine's bottom end is practically bulletproof. The bottom end is very strong and will usually take quite a bit before they break, (any mechanic will agree).

The alloy head however is quite susceptible to corrosion, so make sure you use only genuine manufacturer FORD brand corrosion inhibiter in your cooling system. If a car is blowing smoke, it may also just be the valve stem seals, these tend to go easily.

One of the most common mechanical problems with the xf's, is that the secondary jet on the Webber carbie gets a bit blocked, and causes a flat spot on acceleration, to avoid this just use a good fuel and occasionally a fuel additive to clean out your fuel system. The Webber carbies are usually quite good, however since Webber haven't made carburetors for over 15 years now the parts for them are fairly expensive. Otherwise the carbie is very reliable. The carbie model is the Webber ADM series.

Fuel injection systems are usually pretty reliable, just a bit more expensive if anything does go wrong.

Oil leaks commonly appear from one of three places, the rear seal, the rocker cover gasket, or the oil pressure switch. All are relatively easy to rectify. If oil is leaking from the front seal that is a much bigger problem, as the engine has to be practically dismantled to get at it.

Transmission:

Both the automatic and manual transmissions for the xf's are quite strong and reliable, just keep up the general maintenance (and don't thrash the car too much!).

With the manual transmission the gear leaver will at some time pop out of the gear box, this is inevitable. Some lock tight can hold it back in place, or for the more meticulous, $50 Aust will buy a new fitting.

Body:

The xf is most prone to rust on the passenger side roof, just in the corner between the windshield and door frame. Also the corners of the boot lid on sedans is a common rust spot, as there are drains right there.

You might also want to poor some water through the plastic cowling along the windscreen, where the wiper motor is housed, this is another common rust spot, if the drain has been blocked with leaves or whatnot. You will know if it has rusted if the interior gets wet.

Otherwise the location of rust really depends on where the car has been, and what has been done to it. With any luck you can find one without rust.

Other common problems include things like door handles snapping off ($15 Aust will by a new one)

Misc:

The handbrake cable on these cars has a tendency to snap, if this happens spend the extra to buy a new one so it never happens again (they are not expensive).

If the Speedo does not work it may just be the transducer at the gear box, or the little plastic cogs. If it is the actual Speedo, have the price lowered. The Speedo can cost 200 dollars to fix! Or you could get a new dash from the wreckers.

My two cents (though probably worth less) :

Despite what I have said these are great cars! They are very reliable (mine has never broken down), and if something does go wrong, they are usually cheap and easy to fix.

Don't be fooled by the ignorant, the xf's are NOT performance beasts (but they have the potential). A standard 250 X-flow engine has adequate power for a car that size. They do have a bit more boot than most, and will squash any 4 cyl, but don't think you will be beating any v8's, or new commodores from the lights (I know it pains me to say it). The high torque at low revs does feel nice though! Handeling is excellent, and the power steering makes things really easy. Lastly fuel economy on these is pretty average. Please note that this write up only refers to the 250 X-flow XF falcons.

They are very comfortable cars. I love mine and am going to fully rebuild it in 8 months. I have probably missed something, but this will be a start for those of you looking to purchase an XF Falcon. If you want to ask more questions about the xf’s, or any falcon try the Australian forum on fordsix. com, my name there is ‘Silver Bullet S-pac’.

Sorry about being so long winded, but you did ask. If you got this far, thanks for reading.

Hi

These cars lack in performance, by being a low 1st gear which does nothing.

Not good for burnout because they also couldn't do it in 2nd.

I'm a Ford fan, but these XD's, XE's, XF's look poor

and driving performance is poor. Even the old 2v 221 or 250

had more power. Go for a better looking car like a XW, XY!!

I think this guys chines, his attitude is poorly

Sliver Bullet S-Pac, thanks for your review. My 87 XF carby 4 speed manual has a flat spot when you go to full throttle, now instead of buying a kit, I will just bung in some fuel system cleaner and see if that does the trick. Of course, I might have to do the right thing and actually clean out the jet!

Mine had some corrosion in the head when I bought it too, evidenced by a leak near the #1 spark plug, caused by the previous owners not using corrosion inhibitor. Luckily a bit of Wynns radiator stop leak (not the whole bottle, about a teaspoon full) took care of it.

Apart from the slight flat spot and a gearbox oil seal leak it has given me no trouble at all. Handling is a bit sloppy, but you have to remember these are a big heavy 15 year old car!

When our car was out of action (crash) an XF was the car we were given while the repairs were being carried out. Apart from the flat spot, broken door handles, broken seats and holed exhaust (all common problems, apparently) it was a top car. I want one. The fuel economy's not to good though.

Hi, thanks for all your comments.

To the fella who had a problem with a blocked carbie jet, I just wanted mention another way to get that grit out. First If you take off the air cleaner, then start the car up. Now working in the engine bay, place your hand over the top of the carbie (make sure you have a good seal so that no air can get it). Then while your hand is on top, give it a few good revs (just pull the throttle lever). Just when the engine is about to die, take your hand off, rev it to life and go again. This just gets faster air and fuel flows when the car is recovering, this can actually be quite effective, and really quick too.

If this does not work, you can do a really slack repair, by just taking the top cover off the carbie while it is still on the manifold. This will expose the float chamber (the fuel jets are in the bottom of this), and it will also better expose the air jets. Use a bit of compressed air, and see how it goes. However I would only recommend doing the 'slack repair' if you don't really like your falcon, and can't be bothered to spend the time with it.

Cheers.

Hi all. I just ran into this website today and I found it very interesting. A lot of questions I had have been answered. I have an 88 XF Fairmont (carby). Recently I had a 2.5 inch sports exhaust and extractors installed. I've noticed improvement on the top end of the clock and a slight improvement on fuel economy. I have been playing around with the carby on it and am not too sure what you are able to adjust on them. I'm guessing you can adjust the idle speed and the fuel mixture. Can anyone give me some advice on tuning the carby, or any suggestions about throwing a larger carby on. Thanks guys.

I have a XF 1985

Cabbie / webber

Question

The 2 bottom idle jets No 210 one the left side looking at front of carbie

jet one the right hand side No 137

IS THIS RIGHT

or should they be the same

Thanks guys.

I have a 1991 EF 4.1 cross flow webber falcon ute which seems to have very poor fuel economy of about 5 kilometers per litre.What would cause such poor performance and what should I check or repair to rectify this.Awaiting ideas regards bob.

G'day, I'm 89 xf ute owner, I am not the most mechanicaly minded person around buttry and do a few jobs on it here and there. The latest one has alluded me though, It is in the steering, when you go round a corner, staighten up and go for about fifty metres it does a very sudden change of direction, it scares the crap out of you sometimes, it is not a big change, but has the effect previously explained. I have replaced the flexible coupling (It has power steering) the ball joints are fine, the rubers in the sway bars are brand new, the inner bushes need to be done, but are not completly nacked yet the steering has been tightened (I think perhaps too tight as the steering does recenter it self now. Any I deas? thanks for your time to read my problem double thanks if you can help..Grayem.

I have an 86 XF S PAC with a manual steering box. It is really hard to park, but is a great car.

When I am travelling at 100km per hour or more, the steering has a slight vibration. I have had it aligned, balanced, and and some front bushes replaced, but is still vibrating, could this possibly be the tie rod ends, or is it normal for a car of this age? Can anyone give me any feedback on this?

Also, although the engine only has 100,000, it has a slight rock, making it a bit rough at idle, but it does not affect the driveability of the car. Most mechanics say don't worry about it. They say its probably just carbon build up. Can anyone be more specific than this, and is there any kind of additive you can buy to remove the carbon?

I got an 87 xf spac, it has a fairlane interior, mags, lowerd, extractors, 2/12 inch exhaust, 450 holley on a 4 barrel manifold. besides that, I got a few problems, the first is one that I cannot figure out, it has no power till about 2500 rpm, then it has heaps of power, it is really weird, anyway the timming is alright, checked the chain on the cam, all good, replaced the dizzy, but it still does it. any ideas??? and also the second problem, the aircon doesn't work, but it has gas and the compresser is new.

I have a 1987 Falcon S Pack, 5 speed manual, 4.1 litre. I have never had a problem with mine, it is really good with fuel consumption and I love it to bits.

I have a XF Ute 5 speed manual GLS. I put it up on the hoist the other day, and I looked at the cross member and there are cracks on the left and right side, where the cross member meets up to the engine mounts. So would the power steering do that? Like when you have it on full lock and the steering is on relief valve?

What would be the best idea to do with it? Weld it up or what?

Luke.