MattK

Gday all,

Just a general enquiry - I'm looking at buying an EF2 Fairmont Ghia (w/ body kit, tickford 16's and tickford suspension) in the next week, and I wanted to know if anyone has any opinions of these cars? I'm paying $16,000 for a 175,000km car (high kms I know), is that a fair price considering the kit and alloys? $16,000 is a bit rich for an EF2 Ghia, but the next cheapest one with kit/wheels/susp I've found was $20k. Do I need to be wary of the high k's from the point of view of reliability - ie are the engine/trans/fuel pump/oil pump/whatever notorious(the engine sounds good, body/paint/interior is perfect, it was serviced by the books every 10,000 till 110,000, then theres no record after that)? Is there anything I need to look out for specifically? Finally, I've heard EA-EL Falcon's blow head gaskets quite frequently - any tips on how to prevent this?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the twenty questions :)

Matt

Mr Jucy

I had one & can tell you its an awesome car but i would just try & find the best one I could & worry about wheels & kit etc later but thats just me I can understand some people don't want to muck around modifing themselves

Xyphoid

I would have to agree with Mr Jucy on this one, but then again, its a personal preference thing, and if you are happy with the kit and wheels, then go for it.

The problems that I am aware of include,
Head gasket, bolts tend to deteriate with poor coolant,

Auto Transmision cooler part in radiator tends to leak into the
coolant section. Causing reduced Transmission fluid levels.
(Check the condition of the coolant, check for transmission oil in coolant etc).
Remember, the EF2 does not have a Transmission Dipstick (Doh!)

Also power steering pump can leak fluid.

And Airconditioning compressor has been known to have problems, and need replacing (Early EF's supposedly fixed in EF2, but worth while checking anyway)

If it has a Towbar, check for a Transmision oil cooler, otherwise, the transmission may have had a hard time.

Also with that many K's, the shocks would have been worn, and will need replacing. (If original)

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Dont let the above deter you though, these problems affect all EF's, not just the Ghia. Apart from that, these are very good rides, are cheap to insure (for what you are getting), have a kick a@@ stereo, XR6 motor, LSD, etc etc....

But then Im probably telling you nothing you already know !!!

Cheers and happy motoring !!!!!!
Matt

MattK

Thanks for the replies guys, I agree do on the add-ons after purchase philosophy, but realistically, if I don't get them now, I won't get them at all.

To Xyphoid:

I was wondering, what do you mean by 'poor coolant'? Do you mean poor as in home-brand vs Mobil, or insufficent levels, or insufficent concentrations, or what? If you mean poor as in home-brand, do you recommend a certain brand? Also, what does transmission fluid in my coolant look like, so I can check?

Thanks again for the tips,
Matt

Xyphoid

Mmmmmm. I dont really recommend any brand of coolant, but what I meant to say was check the colour, and check the Coolant resevoir.
To give you an example, if the Coolant colour is brown, or very clear, (I.E. water only), then there may be problems.
Apart from that, All I know with regards to coolant is not to mix and match them, as they tend to get thick and gooey, and clog up.
But I think this is an important Question that you raised, and worthy of a new thread ?
Ill check to see if there is one already, and if not, will start a new one.

Plenty of people here that would know much more about this than me.

Cheers
Matt