first couple of days driving, what I noticed

[johntolhurst]

Hi guys, I ended up with a 2001 blue AU ute with carryboy cannopy in matching midnight blue.

A little rust at the base of the passenger A pillar. And on some of the carryboy fittings. Fisholene?

Seems its been under the trees for 6 months, lots of cleaning to do.

I delayed filling the tank till it said 40ks left. Then on the way to the petrol station up a short bridge and the engine conked. Over the crest, it came back to life. Up the short steep bit after that. Stopped. Rolled it backwards to a level and it started, so I navigated a flat course to a petrol station. Phew. But why?

Motor sounds good, really nice. But there is 290k on the clock, so other stuff is tired.

Leak from the sump plug bolt, no worries there.

A drip from a seal on the auto, not sure what that means, probably need to have a mechanic evaluate that. Seals were done 6 months ago.

Fan works, or does it? its on-again off-again on settings 1 2 or 3. And flat out on 4. For that sensual hot again cold again experience.

Head lining sagging, so as suggested here, out with the headlining for a refit will be the job - although I can spend all day with the car and not notice it.

Interior is in really nice condition. Just a bit of vib coming from the round panel of the centre console. My 1998 AU sedan had that too.

A lot of red dust inside the vents and a cocktail of aromas, from that dust, air fresheners and I think there is an ants nest somewhere. Ants certainly pounced on my lunch the other day while it was sitting in the cab.

Driving. Smooth take off, good changes.

I do get a strange sensation when tapering off speed to keep with the traffic flow at 40 to 60 km/h. Seems to push and drag. Like the engine isn't getting a smooth fuel flow. I wonder if I can feel it also cruising at 60ks. Maybe something simple like the fuel filter? Just my naive thoughts.

Remote locking was working. Then when I was washing the car the alarm went off. I hit the red button on the remote to kill the sound, now the remote locking doesn't work. Hmm.

I like that I can carry lots of stuff in the back. I paid 2900 for it. Probably more than many here would have!!!!

http://www.fordforums.com.au/attachm...1&d=1441757604

[johntolhurst]

Forgot to mention the brakes. There is a bit of yah yah as you pull up. The front rotors measure 28mm to the outsides, so I think that is pretty good. They might just need machining.

[johntolhurst]

This is the interior and dashboard. All in tact.

[johntolhurst]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k55xks8mlj...91424.jpg?dl=0



This is a large format of the left side. Reflections are happily concealing some 'sunburn' on the roof. The right side has a section also where the duco has peeled off. Underneath, the blue gives way to a real purple. Would have been real pretty when it was new this one.

[mik]

looks good mate , those little pics are not working incase you didnt know, once you get the little bugs out of it , it should be a grouse cruiser, i havent driven an au ute, but i imagine it wouldnt be a lot different from the sedan,
these cars are so easy to drive and so good as dailys, good luck with her.

[Spurious]

Some fly spray will kill the ants, some glen20 will kill the vent/carpet odours.
Treat the rust with RANEX. Just spray it once a year.

Sometimes wish I had a ute.

[johntolhurst]

I never owned a ute before. There is a lot of road noise isn't there?

[johntolhurst]

Originally Posted by G6AUII?

Some fly spray will kill the ants, some glen20 will kill the vent/carpet odours.
Treat the rust with RANEX. Just spray it once a year.

Sometimes wish I had a ute.

Thanks G6AUII. Good suggestions.

Im thinking the center console has to come off so I can clean the fan switch. and try to tighten the clips to stop the vibe. I tried this on my 98 AU sedan with limited success.

[barrys123]

As for the road noise I just unbolted the canopy and raised it on bits of timber and put insertion rubber all the way around between the canopy and the tub liner. This really cut down the road noise as it used to seem to vibrate through the whole canopy.

[johntolhurst]

That's interesting. The canopy might be a sound board for the road nose or vibrations of the tub. is insertion rubber anything like closed cell rubber sleeping mat stuff?

[barrys123]

No, I bought it at Clark Rubber it was just flat rubber 25mm wide and I think I got the 3mm thick, I think I bought 6 metres which was more then enough and it was under $20, It's not self adhesive so I put a small smear of contact adhesive on it to hold it in place till I bolted the canopy back down. But it certainly quietened the drumming that came from the canopy, but the cab on the utes are not as well insulated as the sedans. I travel a lot down the southwest of WA and the new highway has quite a few different types of gravel used in the bitumen and it is a lot quieter since I did it.

[johntolhurst]

I measured the cabin noise with a decibel app on the phone. 60 db at 60 kph. In my FG falcon it was 55 db at the same speed.

After I add the river between the canopy and the tub I'll remeasure.

[Uncle_Ken]

I hope it doesn't get washed away using a river instead of rubber
UK

[johntolhurst]

Ah ... auto text on smart phone. Rubber it will be. River it will not be.

[barrys123]

Originally Posted by johntolhurst

I measured the cabin noise with a decibel app on the phone. 60 db at 60 kph. In my FG falcon it was 55 db at the same speed.

After I add the river between the canopy and the tub I'll remeasure.

Hi,
What's the app your using, wouldn't mind downloading it.
Thanks

[johntolhurst]

Its sound meter lite for andoid. I put the phone on the small ledge in front of the odometer.

[barrys123]

Originally Posted by johntolhurst

Its sound meter lite for andoid. I put the phone on the small ledge in front of the odometer.

Thanks for that, downloaded it, works fine will check mine out in the cab and canopy.