One of my very close friends now lives in Oz. I've known him since 1986... and he's shown me a lot of their "strange" looking cars. Not 100% sure, but I believe I've seen these models before. Damn near everything over there is a "Ute" now, and I don't know if you saw (I think I posted it) that Ford is considering bringing them to the US as the Courier in 2022. It looks really similar to the Falcon Ute that he has sent me pics of.

He had a 2nd gen Explorer what was CNG from the factory, and he sent me some photos of that.... it came with a 3rd row seat over there, and it was also a right hand drive - which is really weird to see a dash board that you already know so well in the reverse pattern.

 

Can anyone help with a problem I'm having with my Edge? For the last couple of weeks when I start it I get a short, half hearted attempt at cranking. Seems to stall for a second. Then it takes off and works fine. But it's been getting worse. It slowly has been getting longer with the stall. Been warm the last couple of days so temp isn't the issue. Terminals have been wire brushed and are tight. Battery tested very good. It's just over a year old. There are no codes which I expected. Any thoughts?

 

Don't remember your Ute post but I think it's a good idea. It's popular there and I believe it will be here too. They have a lot of configurations for the vehicle like the flat bed, tanker, etc. They also have a PTO version, or they did anyway with a lot of attachments like post hole digger to lawn mower to some farm implements. Then again, they have Utes with all the bells and whistles.

I've spent a fair amount of time in the UK and have been to Oz and that right side driving is something that's hard to get use to. It really reminds you of how much of our driving is muscle memory and done without though. It's real easy to **** people off. A lot of fingers flying which is their version of road rage.

 

I had a similar issue with my 2011 Escape. It would randomly, in the most inconvenient times and locations, decide it did not want to start. I cleaned the cables, cleaned the battery, replaced the battery.... then found the ground was severely corroded under the OEM shrink tube Ford used. I replaced the end as best as I could.... because Ford gives you ZERO slack on the damn thing. It did it to her again, so I just replaced the entire harness that goes to the battery, starter, and alternator back in Octoberish. Been good so far. I got the harness on Ebay for about 50 bucks, but later found I could have got it a little cheaper via Rock Auto.

 

Appreciate that White. It's a 2008 that came my way from my parents estate but it only has 40k miles on it and is very clean. Under the heat shrink makes sense because it's not something that would be suspect visually. Thanks.

 

My God, is there a 30 weight oil gene that idiots are born with?

 

Ughhh my wallet is gunna be hurting real soon. Bout to drop some serious coin on a power steering refurb for the Highboy ain't cheap but I guess I like being able to steer. Especially once 37s go on

 

Interesting. What are your plans? How is the current steering letting you down?

 

I have what a lot of people call the worst power steering setup ford ever used lol. I have the bendix power assist steering.


However from what I can tell the biggest gripe is that they leak not necessarily that they don't work well. Oh and that they sit outside the frame well so it's a bit intrusive.

I am just having mine rebuilt and upgraded with better seals and a few added parts to make them virtually indestructible. I measure and I believe my 37s will just barely clear the power valve. I don't have the confidence in my welding to do the 78/79 steering upgrade because you have to cut and box the frame and the steering shaft. I also don't have $1700 to go the benchworks kit lol. But yeah the system as a whole hasn't let me down beyond it leaking likes sieve which this "upgrade" will fix. I hope I'm not setting money on fire but this seems like the best route for me.

If you're interested in the newer parts I will be using blue top steering gears (https://www.bluetopsteeringgears.com) which is a family member who split off from redhead steering (https://redheadsteeringgears.com)

From what I can tell my gear box is in good shape and god I hope so cz that's another $500 if not lol. Btw anyone have a good way to test for slop in the gear box on a 74 f250?

 

Always interested in steering issues. Can you give me a part number on the gear? I don't anything beyond the obvious basics but I might know some who do and can ask for you.

What ratio are you going with?