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Holy mother of god. That's all I can say! This thing is a completely new car. It actually andles now! Like, really well! I'm amazed, it feels like it can transition better than the audi. I can take the wheel and jerk it back and forth and it feels go-kartish, just darting to where you point it. All this on crappy no-name all-seasons??
Over the weekend, I did the following:
removed mechanical clutch fan- was too big, noisy, excessive. I installed the dual 15" electric fan setup that I used to run on the Mustang. I had it laying around for years now and they spin up using the stock dual electric fan electronics just fine.
Installed REAL a/c hoses. I broke down and purchased motorcraft pieces. Triple o-ring designs, now. The ones I had made were leaking. I evacuated it and charged it with R134a, and it blows colder than ever now. One of the lines that I didn't make prior contained the oriface/filter pinched inside, non-removable. Now that said line has been replaced, I have a new oriface designed for r134a and a clean filter screen, I'm getting much better performance as a retrofit system-- it blows VERY cold now.
Installed Monroe Sensetrac Struts/Shocks. The electronic programed ride control system still functioned, but the tokiko shocks were blown and I can't find replacements. When they could be found, they cost around $350 each .. which is more than I can spend. As a passenger car shock, these are quite nice! I'm very happy with the ride, it's smooth and sporty, and for $13/rears and $43 fronts, it's money well spent.
Installed new sway bar endlinks. The old ones were completely gone on one side, to the point of wearing a groove into the control arm. There was no bushing material! It had fallen off I guess. This would be the source of the clunk... and why the car felt very odd. I had some new spare ones laying around from the mustang and on they went!
New rotors, pads, brake fluid, bearings, seals. The old rotors had pink Mobil 1 grease packed in them. Someone really did take care of this car, I sure wish I could find the original owner. This was someones baby once, I just know it. Noone puts Mobil 1 grease into their wheel bearings unless they really care about their car.
Replaced the fuel pump. I found a Walbro unit inside the tank! I'm not sure what the output capacity is, but I think it may be dying. My fuel pressure was leaning out under boost and it doesn't now with the 170 lph in place. I think the filler neck in the tank is leaking now, I can smell gas at every stoplight. I was careful with the O ring at the top of the tank, and used some silicone grease on it and the filler. But. Something isn't sealing right. [Image: frown.gif] These gas tanks seem to always come out a couple times for pump replacement, it never fails...
Replaced the timing belt. It was off about 45 degrees!!! It had slipped, advancing the cam a huge amount. When I timed the engine after getting the car, I was wondering why it was at like 25 degrees BTDC with the spout disconnected. I put it at 10, but that didn't fix the cam in relation to the crank. The engine runs totally different now, it's still a rattlebox but it pulls like a freight train at 15 psi.
Put a 6.25" fan on top of the intercooler. Hey, now when it's at a stoplight the turbo directly under the intercooler isn't making it an interHEATER. It used to get hot enough to burn my hand after just a minute of not driving. We'll see how long the fan lives in that spot. I should put a 5 minute delay timer on it after I shut off the ignition.
New spark plugs. Old ones were at .045" ... and this engine is picky about plug gaps. Cheap autolite 764's @ .030" is what you want. It had some AC delcos of who knows what heat range in it.
Oilchange-- Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 5W-40 (Formerely known as Delvac 1) all the way. I run this oil in everything now, the mustang, the audi, and the thunderbird. It is fantastic oil, and $19.88 for 5 quart jugs at any wal-mart (I cannot find it anywhere else).
Next I think I'm going to 'borrow' the Accel 300+ MSD unit out of the mustang. It bolts in using the factory wiring harnesses, so it shouldn't be a big deal to temporarily swap out.
Unfortunately I cracked my windshield when R&Ring the hood. Caught it at the corner while mounting it, my friend holding it slipped and it took a chunk out of the edge, which has since drawn a 3" crack. Brand new windshield. Argh.
800 grit + 2000 grit wet-sanded the headlights. They are no longer yellow, they are crystal clear as I used plastic polish following that. The problem is the left lens reflector is actually rusted inside. Ford sells replacements for $42 each so I'm just going to snag the drivers side one.
Parking brake is non functional still. I adjusted it, it gets taught, it pulls the arms in the calipers, but they do nothing. Has anyone tried fixing/rebuilding thunderbird rear calipers? I can get front calipers fully loaded with pads for $19. But the rears, the cheapest I can find is $85. The calipers don't look to be in bad shape, I just think the parking brake ajusters under the pistons are broken or something.
Oh, the absolute best park-- I fixed the electric trunk/fuel door buttons. They were disconnected down at the passenger kick panel from when I did the heater core last winter. Whoops. So now that I could get into the trunk (my key doesn't fit it), I was able to look up the keyless entry code that's printed on the passenger trunk hinge......
... so I push the buttons on the keypad, and they all light up, the interior lights come on, and when I push the last button the door unlocks. I push it again and the trunk pops, and the other button and the passenger door unlocks. I push the last two buttons and they all lock. Outstanding!!! The system actually still works!
I'm afraid that the thunderbird is now earning a spot in my heart, I can't drive it like a battering ram anymore. It's just too nice of a car at this point. It just rides and drives so well I'm religating it to my daily commuter from this point forward. My commute is nearly 50mi/day, and it's getting 28 mpg on the highway. At $2.92/gallon these repairs could pay for themselves in short order compared to what I get in the audi.
Keman
Springfield, VA
Over the weekend, I did the following:
removed mechanical clutch fan- was too big, noisy, excessive. I installed the dual 15" electric fan setup that I used to run on the Mustang. I had it laying around for years now and they spin up using the stock dual electric fan electronics just fine.
Installed REAL a/c hoses. I broke down and purchased motorcraft pieces. Triple o-ring designs, now. The ones I had made were leaking. I evacuated it and charged it with R134a, and it blows colder than ever now. One of the lines that I didn't make prior contained the oriface/filter pinched inside, non-removable. Now that said line has been replaced, I have a new oriface designed for r134a and a clean filter screen, I'm getting much better performance as a retrofit system-- it blows VERY cold now.
Installed Monroe Sensetrac Struts/Shocks. The electronic programed ride control system still functioned, but the tokiko shocks were blown and I can't find replacements. When they could be found, they cost around $350 each .. which is more than I can spend. As a passenger car shock, these are quite nice! I'm very happy with the ride, it's smooth and sporty, and for $13/rears and $43 fronts, it's money well spent.
Installed new sway bar endlinks. The old ones were completely gone on one side, to the point of wearing a groove into the control arm. There was no bushing material! It had fallen off I guess. This would be the source of the clunk... and why the car felt very odd. I had some new spare ones laying around from the mustang and on they went!
New rotors, pads, brake fluid, bearings, seals. The old rotors had pink Mobil 1 grease packed in them. Someone really did take care of this car, I sure wish I could find the original owner. This was someones baby once, I just know it. Noone puts Mobil 1 grease into their wheel bearings unless they really care about their car.
Replaced the fuel pump. I found a Walbro unit inside the tank! I'm not sure what the output capacity is, but I think it may be dying. My fuel pressure was leaning out under boost and it doesn't now with the 170 lph in place. I think the filler neck in the tank is leaking now, I can smell gas at every stoplight. I was careful with the O ring at the top of the tank, and used some silicone grease on it and the filler. But. Something isn't sealing right. [Image: frown.gif] These gas tanks seem to always come out a couple times for pump replacement, it never fails...
Replaced the timing belt. It was off about 45 degrees!!! It had slipped, advancing the cam a huge amount. When I timed the engine after getting the car, I was wondering why it was at like 25 degrees BTDC with the spout disconnected. I put it at 10, but that didn't fix the cam in relation to the crank. The engine runs totally different now, it's still a rattlebox but it pulls like a freight train at 15 psi.
Put a 6.25" fan on top of the intercooler. Hey, now when it's at a stoplight the turbo directly under the intercooler isn't making it an interHEATER. It used to get hot enough to burn my hand after just a minute of not driving. We'll see how long the fan lives in that spot. I should put a 5 minute delay timer on it after I shut off the ignition.
New spark plugs. Old ones were at .045" ... and this engine is picky about plug gaps. Cheap autolite 764's @ .030" is what you want. It had some AC delcos of who knows what heat range in it.
Oilchange-- Mobil 1 Truck & SUV 5W-40 (Formerely known as Delvac 1) all the way. I run this oil in everything now, the mustang, the audi, and the thunderbird. It is fantastic oil, and $19.88 for 5 quart jugs at any wal-mart (I cannot find it anywhere else).
Next I think I'm going to 'borrow' the Accel 300+ MSD unit out of the mustang. It bolts in using the factory wiring harnesses, so it shouldn't be a big deal to temporarily swap out.
Unfortunately I cracked my windshield when R&Ring the hood. Caught it at the corner while mounting it, my friend holding it slipped and it took a chunk out of the edge, which has since drawn a 3" crack. Brand new windshield. Argh.
800 grit + 2000 grit wet-sanded the headlights. They are no longer yellow, they are crystal clear as I used plastic polish following that. The problem is the left lens reflector is actually rusted inside. Ford sells replacements for $42 each so I'm just going to snag the drivers side one.
Parking brake is non functional still. I adjusted it, it gets taught, it pulls the arms in the calipers, but they do nothing. Has anyone tried fixing/rebuilding thunderbird rear calipers? I can get front calipers fully loaded with pads for $19. But the rears, the cheapest I can find is $85. The calipers don't look to be in bad shape, I just think the parking brake ajusters under the pistons are broken or something.
Oh, the absolute best park-- I fixed the electric trunk/fuel door buttons. They were disconnected down at the passenger kick panel from when I did the heater core last winter. Whoops. So now that I could get into the trunk (my key doesn't fit it), I was able to look up the keyless entry code that's printed on the passenger trunk hinge......
... so I push the buttons on the keypad, and they all light up, the interior lights come on, and when I push the last button the door unlocks. I push it again and the trunk pops, and the other button and the passenger door unlocks. I push the last two buttons and they all lock. Outstanding!!! The system actually still works!
I'm afraid that the thunderbird is now earning a spot in my heart, I can't drive it like a battering ram anymore. It's just too nice of a car at this point. It just rides and drives so well I'm religating it to my daily commuter from this point forward. My commute is nearly 50mi/day, and it's getting 28 mpg on the highway. At $2.92/gallon these repairs could pay for themselves in short order compared to what I get in the audi.
Keman
Springfield, VA
Eric "Keman" Uratchko
1990 Mustang 5.8 GR-40
1988 Thunderbird Turbocoupe 5sp
2005 Audi S4 Avant MT6
1990 Mustang 5.8 GR-40
1988 Thunderbird Turbocoupe 5sp
2005 Audi S4 Avant MT6