EL Smartlock remote / fairmont questions

[drubie]

Hi everybody,

Just joined - we backtraded a Territory for an EL Fairmont the other day to pay for school fees! Territory was nice but it wasn't being used much since we moved from Sydney to Armidale last year.

Anyway, the EL Fairmont is in nice nick (95,000Ks, leather but no other options).

We only got one smartlock with it. Where is the cheapest place to get another smartlock so we can make up a spare set of keys?

Also, the gearbox doesn't have a dipstick (I never noticed whether the Territory had one or not). Is the auto gearbox really maintenance free or should I be cracking it open to change the tranny fluid? We did notice a slight shudder through the gear stick during the test drive although it went away after a while (this car has been at the dealer for some months). Do the transmission mounts wear?

Is there any way to get an external audio signal through the "mid" audio system with the cd stacker? Kids have a portable DVD setup and I'd like to run it through the stereo.

Cheers for any help.

dave.

[vegabass]

Key pads are about $70 from ford and take like 30 sec to tune in.

with the audio/dvd set up Id be looking into a FM modulator. it acts like a radio station that you tune into Eg: 88.9 and it will play sound through the radio frequency.

i dont know too much about gearboxes but i used to get mine serviced every 12 months when the sticker said.

sounds like a nice car!

[drubie]

Originally Posted by vegabass

Key pads are about $70 from ford and take like 30 sec to tune in.

OK - I thought they might be like $300 or something. $70 I'll give to the dealer.

Originally Posted by vegabass

with the audio/dvd set up Id be looking into a FM modulator. it acts like a radio station that you tune into Eg: 88.9 and it will play sound through the radio frequency.

I forgot about those - that sounds like a good idea.

The service schedule in the handbook seems to have "inspect" on the gearbox rather than getting it serviced - I'd be happier with some fresh tranny fluid in there though.

Nice car? Aside from the odd little scratch it is just about pristine. The leather looks like new (no creases etc). Not bad to drive. Probably would have preferred a V8 Ghia but they are very thin on the ground.

Cheers,

dave.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by drubie

Also, the gearbox doesn't have a dipstick (I never noticed whether the Territory had one or not). Is the auto gearbox really maintenance free or should I be cracking it open to change the tranny fluid? We did notice a slight shudder through the gear stick during the test drive although it went away after a while (this car has been at the dealer for some months).

The autos (BTR 94/95???) in the EF/EL Falcons don't have a dipstick, unfortunately. However Ford claims they don't need one due to the way they're designed and that they only need servicing every 50,000 km. How true this is I don't know. I've an EL GLi and the auto was last serviced almost 40,000 km ago and appears to be functioning AOK (though very very occasionally it will do something a bit wierd like change down then up and then down again).

The only way you can check the fluid level is by putting the car up on ramps/stands, removing the trans fluid filler bolt and putting your (clean) finger in and seeing if you can feel the fluid.

Oh and if you're uncertain of when the auto was last serviced, getting a basic fluid/filter change isn't a bad idea and would certainly assist in prolonging its life. And considering a brand new tranny would cost about the same as a brand new engine, this probably is something you want to do .