[xe351]

Hi guys,

I bought an EB Fairmont series 1 a few weeks ago and it's a beautiful car but I've noticed a few oddities and I'd like some opinions;

1. It has the EA Ghia style climate control and unless u manually close all the dash vents, u can't set the system to recirc. It is working when the system is on but when the display says off air will always flow through the vents as u drive. Why?

2. It has everything else except power windows and I noticed today there's a large plug under where the power window switches would be. Could I be so lucky as to need only window reg's, switches and door trims to convert to electric windows?

3. The best fuel economy I've seen so far is 530 klms on a full tank with 50/50 city/highway...avg according to the trip computer is 11.1 lt/100klms. This was achieved driving painfully slow with no more than 1/4 throttle application the whole time, is this in line with other guy's EA/EB 3.9MPFI?

4. I dynoed it the other day and it had exactly 100 rwkw completely standard @200,000 klms, I was suprised with this figure I thought it would've been less is it in the ballpark? I was also watching the (new) o2 sensor operate with a 5 led graph o2 sensor tester on road and on the dyno and I noticed the o2 sensor goes to open loop (full rich) at about 1/2 throttle or so is this normal? The a/f ratio at wide open throttle was 11.7:1, I thought this was a bit too rich what do u reckon?

Thanks guys...get replying!

 

[Aussiblue]

Re 1) Recirculate just means it isn't taking air from outside the car - it will still be pumped out of the vents by the fans. So I would say it is working as it should.
3) I wish I could get better than 13 L/100 km around the city ; you are doing well.

 

[6pAc|30nG|00n]

wow 11.1 is very good consumption even if it is 50/50 driving. The best I got before some heavy mods was 13.8 (with slight heavy foot) after mods makes town driving avg round 16lt per 100 highway is way better than before with 7.6lt per 100 km.

 

[danege]

Another EB1 fairmont (non ghia) owner, awesome!!

1. Cant help you with, my air cons rooted so i just leave it off the whole time.

2. Where do you mean exactly, like on the console, or under the winders?

3. That fuel consumption is pretty good. I get 15 - 16L / 100k's, but i do like to drive my car.

4. Cant help you there, never had my car dyno'd.

Good luck and im sure you'll love the car, i know i love mine

 

[kiwishau]

xe351

I have the same model car and have the same situation with the air. I think my air con has a problem as the door thing under the passenger side always remains open. Can get cold air but never warm. Good in summer but a biatch in winter at 5.30am. Have to manually close all the vents.

Mione came with power windows. I am assuming you have manual winders on yours ? It is possible that the wiring loom is the same for both versions in which case you may be lucky. Check inside your doors to see if there are any unterminated wires there. If so it is probable you only need regs, switches etc

Have never got that low on my trip puter. Was only getting down to about 14.8 until I changed the thermostat. Now get down to about 13 or thereabouts combined city motorway driving. However downside is temp guage goes up to over threequarters on a hot day. Have to turn aircon off.

Never dynoed mine but is painfully slow on take off until it hits about 2500 rpm then kicks in (prob about half throttle)

Anyway good luck with the car. Mine is a sweet drive and much prefer it over the EL. All those creature comforts .....................

 

[Brent79]

Hey mate.... Hmmm my climate shuts off all airflow when the display is "off" if i want air coming in with no fan assist (Vent), i must press "Fresh" and the display goes blank. I press the "Econ" + "Off" to get the fan assist by itself.

With the power windows, YES you will have the wiring already there. Your EB1 fairmont is the same as the EA ghia but with a few less options. Just install the power regs and get yerself the centre switch. You dont even need to get new trims. Just stick a few ghia badges over the winder holes!

100rwkw is exceptionally good for a stock 3.9L MPI auto. Maybe it has a 4L head and a different cam??? i would expect 90-92rwkws???

Brent

 

[Supa R00]

100rwkw is really good, but maybe it might be a genourous dyno... and your a/f ratio is a bit rich... 14.7 is perfect but most e series run rich... rollin was running excessively rich at 10.4 at one satge i think i remember!... i wouldnt worry about it too much, congrats on the buy anyway! gonna put your 16's off the xe onto the eb??? would look trick! :hy:

 

[xe351]

Thanks guys for all the messages u were really helpful the car is in top condition and has the full grandpa pack ie. mudflaps, lambswool seat covers, weathershields & bonnet shields aplenty. I plan to lower it, fit EL XR8 16"s, ED Ghia grille, ED XR indicators & AU side indicators. What do these things weigh? And do those XH snorkels actually do anything or is it not a measureable difference? Thanks again guys! Now all I have to do is track someone down who's wrecking an EA/ED Ghia!

 

[TIKFD6]

Fairmont and Fairmont ghia share the same loom, you would only need the window parts and switches.

I get around 11.5/12, around town, and 9.3 on the highway.

 

[I8AHSV]

I agree with the TIKFD6. The electric windows were an option on Fairmonts as was the LSD, ABS (series II) & sports suspension. All off this was standard on the Ghia's. The loom is there and all you would need is the window regulators. EA-EL models all interchange but i don't know about AU's. 100rwkw sounds about right. Anyways congratulations on your purchase & happy motoring.

 

[Rollin]

the air/fuel ratio is not a constant thing.

the best AF ratio for the lowest emissions is about 14.7:1, the best for power is around 12/13:1 depending on each particular motor, and at cruise the enleanment can sometimes take it up to 17:1 when you are on the highway.

my car does 10:1 under full power, which is about the richest you can go on a piston engine before it just wont run any more...stupid POS!...11.7:1 is a bit rich, do all the engine mods you have planned and then get a chip to get the right mixtures.

and 100rwkw is definately a good figure for a 200k old engine!

 

[xe351]

Rollin,

Why do u run 10:1 under full power? Is yours turboed or supercharged? Also does anyone know what EB Fairmonts weigh?

 

[TIKFD6]

Weight is aprox 1550kg.

 

[BlownV8]

xe351, i had a series 2 eb fairmont. Mine had the power windows already in it, but you can just buy switches and window regs to get them going. Try a wreckers, should get the whole system withou loom for around $250.

Air con in mine did very similar thing, i just think cause it was the first generation of climate control for the e series fords. Someont mentioned that they get cold but no heat. This is a problem with the heater box in the e-series. My eb had it, my mums el had it and my mate ef had it. Just go to any good A/C garage, and they will be a ble to fix it. You need to pull the whole dash out and clean the heater switch on the heater box.

As for the dyno reading, that is about right. Thats what they put out at the wheels std. The ford 4L is a very good motor. Any readers of the latest zoom mag will have seen a supercharged xr6 running 1.2 Bar boost, and twin water - ari coolers. Stock motor, with crow cam and valve springs, develops 404KW at the wheels. Very good motors.

As for fuel economy, seems a little bit high. Mine was like that until i have the guts knocked out of the cat. This made the exhoust flow a little better, and increased fuel economy. Also i fitted a set of genie extractors with extended secondaries, mercury pre-fab 2.5" mandrell bent exhaust, with rear resonator removed, K & N pod filter, and a head shave of 20thou. This allowed me to get over 850 KLMS from a full tank of fuel on the highway.

These are a great car, you will have fun with it.

 

[Rollin]

Rollin,

Why do u run 10:1 under full power? Is yours turboed or supercharged? Also does anyone know what EB Fairmonts weigh?

i dont do it on purpose, the stupid computer somehow thinks its necessary....i have replaced nearly bloody everything to get it to lean out a little, but no joy.

new computer on order, fully programmable and MAF sensored instead of MAP....that will sort it out!

 

[hoon69]

daniel is not a happy chap:*laughs*

 

[Soxx]

1. It has the EA Ghia style climate control and unless u manually close all the dash vents, u can't set the system to recirc. It is working when the system is on but when the display says off air will always flow through the vents as u drive. Why?

This a common problem with E series cars.
There is a small arm which is operated by vacuum, which opens and closes a flap to let air flow in from outside, or recirculate.
It's a shitty job which needs the dash removed to get to it. It's located on the passenger side corner next to and above/behind the glove box.

Rick.

 

[xe351]

Thanks for your useful info Soxx...what exactly goes wrong with it and is there a definite procedure to determine which part is at fault? Thanks mate

 

[Soxx]

The arm breaks right at the pivot point and won't operate the flap anymore. Even though vacuum is still moving the broken piece of the arm.
The ways to determine if that's the part which is broken is to try and have peek in there. I did this just the other day with my brothers XG ute, but I can't remember off the top of my head which plastic panels are removable next to the glovebox on EB's.

I'll get back to you.

Rick.

 

[Soxx]

I've just attached a couple of pics to show you the part which you need to get to.
As you can see, the green vacuum canister has a white rod and attcahed to it is a black rod. This black rod has broken in this example too.

Rick.