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Today I glued a polished steel silver frame to the handbrake that I got from eBay: https://www.ebay.es/itm/305685469211 Totally unnecessary, but it adds up to the interior.
I suffered droplets and fogging headlights in silence and despair (not getting to grips with it at all) till I found the solution in this forum: 99.98% Methanol. Took a bumper out and a few screws to get here Removed bumper, grille and underpan to get full access to headlamp screws. I also disassembled fog lights and turn signals. Fog light disassembly. Just pop the two clips off and turn the cap on itself (careful with the rubber gasket inside). Watered off 18 years of dirt and mud.
Thorough front panel scrubbing. Headlights back on. Final result. After some Methanol filling, vigorous shaking and rinsing (three times), followed by generous blow-drying, together with contact and bulb cleaning, resulted in this: Headlamps, fog lights and blinkers look amazing, like brand new! No trace of previous dry droplets and crap attached to inner glass and lenses. Reassembling the car, especially underpan, has been a bit of a wrestle, as I have to work on the floor, because I do not have a car lift of any kind and I have to rely solely on XFs carjack (shoring it up with timber logs).
THIS FORUM IS ADDICTIVE...THE MORE I READ, THE MORE I DARE STRIP THE CAR DOWN AND GET TO ITS GUTS! WHAT'S COME OVER ME, DOC?
What am I up to with my N/A Crossy? As I had my fender off to:
1/ clean up lenses and car front in general
2/ Check radiator, wiring, screws and piping...
I decided to remove the front original air intakes (2 pins only, but tricky to remove without breaking anything unless you have good access to them) and install 70mm wide and 500mm long heat-resistant rubber air intakes. 500mm flexible tube will increase the airflow to the new throttle body. It is not as impeccable as the Needswings CAI, but the metal clamps look stout and the mod does not look "cheap". The rubber is thick and heat insulated, so the air passing through will not heat up as rapidly as with the flimsy OEM intakes that get super hot when the engine has been running for a while (not to mention the removal of the intake "restriction" at the radiator). The intakes are flush with the frame just behind the grille. Alles gut!
A week ago, I cleaned the K&Ns and air boxes, and descreened and debaffled the MAF. Currently waiting for a 73mm throttle body and rubber seal that are coming from the States. To be assembled soon...
I want to one day (pretty soon) install a Needswings DCAI and an oil catch can, but delivery prices to Spain are crazy expensive and I need to save up a bit to get the parcel over here. Once done, Jerry from Eurocharged (already agreed on this) will take over and remotely tune the ECU. Unfortunately, no free retunes any more, so I will have to go step by step, wait till the mechanical procedures are completed and then let Eurocharged take over.
UNDER SPANISH REGULATIONS, my XF has become an absolute outlaw. All these mods are illegal over here, and as my car is more than 10 years old, I will have to pass MOT on a yearly basis. On that day I will have to take the car back to original (DCAI only) as the 73mm TB, debaffling and descreening and ECU tune will pass undetected. As for the oil catch can, a good thing about an unfamiliar car is that they will either not "see" it or will think it is OEM. Tuning vehicles over here is a nightmare, but as far as I am concerned, 1 day of work is worth 364 of torque and pleasure.
Spacers, exhausts, wheel widening, rims, fender extensions and mods of the like are hyper-super-mega-illegal here and won't ever pass the MOT, unless you are ready to hire an engineer, splash out an indecent amount of money (in the thousands) to have the car checked, tested and certified. BA... ritons!
SPAIN, loads of fun, good food, sun, laid-back people BUT DEATH-BORING CARS! This OBDII connector sent by Eurocharged and a laptop will do the trick. Can't wait...
Up until the moment I get the ECU tune, I have decided to "upgrade" my intake as much as I can to see how the car (ECU) responds. No codes so far, so we are good here... Posters in this forum generally claim 20-30HP gains on an N/A with these engine mods (dual cold air intake, 73mm throttle body and oil catch can). All spiced up with a 9-Drive to lose the lag at the pedal. Enough for me, sir...
It has happened. 74mm throttle body in place.
As advised in this forum,
new seal smeared with a dab of heat-resistant silicone to keep make it sticky and in place when screwing the new TB back in,
MAF debaffled and descreened,
kept original sensor,
made sure all plugs and tubes are securely put back,
battery hard reset (1 hour), Throttle pedal/ BAS-ESP reset
Started it and... no issues at all. So thanks again for the sound advice. Next is oil catch can, Needswings DCAI and Eurocharged STAGE 1 remote tune. 74mm TB just arrived from the USA. Seal from Estonia. Thorough cleaning with degreaser.
Part number: 113 as opposed to 112. I paid 30 bucks for it. And almost the same amount to have it posted to Spain.
. Debaffling the elbow: Fins removed with a dremel tool.
Descreening the intake tube: bye to plastic and wire mesh screen: just pried carefully from the sides with a tiny flat screwdriver until, I released the plastic grill from the intake. Once removed, the inner metal mesh was a piece of cake. Original sensor in place.
It has happened. 74mm throttle body in place.
As advised in this forum,
new seal smeared with a dab of heat-resistant silicone to keep make it sticky and in place when screwing the new TB back in,
MAF debaffled and descreened,
kept original sensor,
made sure all plugs and tubes are securely put back,
battery hard reset (1 hour), Throttle pedal/ BAS-ESP reset
Started it and... no issues at all. So thanks again for the sound advice. Next is oil catch can, Needswings DCAI and Eurocharged STAGE 1 remote tune.
74mm TB just arrived from the USA. Seal from Estonia. Thorough cleaning with degreaser.
Part number: 113 as opposed to 112. I paid 30 bucks for it. And almost the same amount to have it posted to Spain.
. Debaffling the elbow: Fins removed with a dremel tool.
Descreening the intake tube: bye to plastic and wire mesh screen: just pried carefully from the sides with a tiny flat screwdriver until, I released the plastic grill from the intake. Once removed, the inner metal mesh was a piece of cake. Original sensor in place.
The last 4 years has seen nothing but prefection from my 2004 Automatic. no hard starts, misfires, hicccups, mystery no starts. Nothing
Friday, I filled the tank and went for a 20 mile drive where I shut the car off while my wife shopped. 15 minutes later I started it back up, only to have it sputter and misfire for maybe 30 seconds………..Slightly tapping the gas to urge it on when it seemed it might stall out.
then, on its own, it resumed its perfect behavior and came home with no problems (where it was cold and snowy so I didn't pop the hood). I have since driven it maybe twice more around town with no problems
Nothing special- today I disabled the TPMS warning light by disconnecting the wire in the dome light fixture because no-one is able around here to reset the old system - I installed sensors on the tire valves that send to a receiver that sits on the dash. Works great, keeps me up to date on actual pressures in all tires, and the dome lights still work - they're really kind of poorly set in the fixture to be honest. Had to fiddle with the one on the left quite a bit.
The last 4 years has seen nothing but prefection from my 2004 Automatic. no hard starts, misfires, hicccups, mystery no starts. Nothing
Friday, I filled the tank and went for a 20 mile drive where I shut the car off while my wife shopped. 15 minutes later I started it back up, only to have it sputter and misfire for maybe 30 seconds………..Slightly tapping the gas to urge it on when it seemed it might stall out.
then, on its own, it resumed its perfect behavior and came home with no problems (where it was cold and snowy so I didn't pop the hood). I have since driven it maybe twice more around town with no problems
my guess ……… a fuel problem.
anyone venture something else ?
As ZERACER said, possibly RCM, worse case scenario fuel pump is going. Are those components original?
Tighed1 fixed me up 3 years ago with the works on the RCM, including the relays………..so I’m not thinking RCM right now.
it has 67k and 21 years under its belt…….maybe time to renew the gas filter. Fuel pump ??
I'm thinking of doing both pump and filter this winter. Just as preventative maintenance.
I'm going to look for the most recommended brand. I only want to do this once! LOL
I'm thinking of doing both pump and filter this winter. Just as preventative maintenance.
I'm going to look for the most recommended brand. I only want to do this once! LOL
I recommend products sold by Rob at Needswings.com
This is where I bought mine
We had some warm weather here in NJ, a balmy 58*F.
I took Svengoolie out for a drive and stopped off at Lurker Park in East Hanover.
They just finished adding this section to the park. I think they did a nice job.
I took the opportunity to take a couple of pics.
Re: What did you do to your Crossfire today?
I got almost a closet shelf of those Maxwell House cans, they make GREAT parts cans. Use them a LOT. 
