MORLEY’S FIVE STAR WORKSHOP
They all do that, sir
I recently bought a 2006 BF XL Falcon ute optioned with the low power, three-valve 5.4-litre V8. Tidy looking old thing with just over 105,000klms on the clock, but it has what sounds to me like a cam chain rattle when idling when hot. Doesn’t do it when cold.
The local Ford dealer says it’s an endemic issue with this breed of engine and won’t adversely affect its longevity. Looking for yours or other people’s experiences with this engine in the hope that I haven’t bought a dud.
I have been reading this publication since I was a teenager and love everything about it. It feeds my passion for cars and for that I thank your entire crew, past and present.
Geoff,
morley says...
AW, SHUCKS GEOFF. You make us lot sound vastly more professional than any of us really are. Meantime, that three-valve engine in your Ute is an interesting piece of equipment.
What I have trouble figuring out is why Ford Oz ever bothered with it. Not that it was a spectacularly bad engine, but when Ford was about to start fitting the four-valve, DOHC version of the same 5.4 V8 to XR8s and such, why not just fit that to the Fairmont and Ute? Okay, so maybe head office wanted a power difference between the sportier XR8 and the cooking stuff like your Ute, but surely, any 12-year-old with a laptop could have brewed up a tune that would have achieved that.
Mind you, that DOHC V8 with its big, fat cylinder
