Progress Thread 1990 Lx 5.0 Dark Titanium "one Last Ride"

[Nutty 5.o]

A little side project that isn't directly part of this this thread, but it will make working on it easier. I've actually been doing some cleaning of the garage and making room since I got the car on the road. I finally pulled the trigger on more storage. I had the black Craftsman since the late 90's or early 2000's. It's been good but I didn't have enough room. The US General HF box was my choice years ago when a friend bought one. They're pretty nice for a homeowner shop.

 

[95BlueStallion]

Nice man. I need to upgrade boxes as well. Crazy how many tools a guy collects over time!

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Finally have an alignment appointment set up for next Tuesday. I ended up putting a bump steer kit on and put in the poly front spring isolators in as it still has the original rubber barely there. Rack boots were leaking so it was a good excuse to swap these out. Pics without the end links installed.

A picture showing some patches a guy did in another Mustang. Stopped to snap a picture of them. Looks like he blew off 2nd and 3rd gear.

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Finally did the 92/92 dome light install. Not really a big deal, but much preferred and isn't completely a plug and play swap. I really wish I took some pictures, but this is what is needed:

Need to run a full time power source (I tapped off the sun visor mirror feed) to the dome light. This is for the two lights independent of the dome light. I first traced out the existing dome light mounts and cut a piece of sheet metal out. I notched for the rubber insulator (dome light) connection. As I mentioned in an early post, I used a power mirror plug that I cut off as this plug fits the dome light. Three wires come off but you only need two if done how I have. Cut the red wire as the one screw hole fits the same (dome light) and will screw into the rubber insulated connector so you will not need to wire this. The yellow wire from the plug taps into the 12+ feed (I used from sunvisor light wire). The ground just gets screwed to the sheet metal I put in and used a ring terminal to sandwich it between the dome light and the sheet metal. This attached by having to drill one new hole center of the dome light (with lens off!). Reason for this is there's brass plate that passes power under much of the dome light. There is already a hole here but just needs slightly enlarged. This hole that needs enlarged is next to the ford emblem on the bottom of the dome light in my picture below.

Took about 2 hours taking my time fabbing this up. The best part is you can put the original dome light in and it's 100% reversible. I am using a normal 90 headliner (TMI ABS backed) hence why I kept the forward map light. No cutting was required for this.

 

[General karthief]

Wished I'd done that.
I got a vert harness and a mirror from from same vert and stuck in mine. Not very bright but good enough.

 

[Nutty 5.o]

It was a nice day in SE Pa Saturday so I tackled the badly leaking PS pump with supply and return line swap. I also spent more time than I should have cleaning up the old ran so I could make sure I would know if there's any more leaks. Some before pics and during. Tomorrow is the alignment so looking forward to have a car that can be driven. After the car was lowered in the mid 2000's, it was never aligned nor has been since!

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Also, on a side note, my AC compressor harness is missing. I know I can get a new one. Does it attach to one of the harnesses by the battery? Going off of memory since I don't have a car to check/compare.

 

[General karthief]

Yes, it has a round black connector that comes from the harness that runs over the shock tower and down along side the solenoid.

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Thank you!

 

[90sickfox]

I'm going through some AC wiring stuff over in my build thread " the ole 4banger v8 swap ". I really need to change that title....

I've been digging through my wiring to get my AC working properly.

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Thanks! I'm sure it will be helpful. If the car stays with me until the winter, I'll be putting the A/C back then.

On a side note I got the car back from alignment today. Worlds better!! And the new PS pump and lines aren't leaking as a plus. Specs:

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Not real bad, but enough to feel a difference, huh?

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Not bad for a ghetto tape measure job, huh?!

Yes thanks brother. Much better.

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Yesterday was the day I finally decided to start the clutch job. No problems or suprises and not even any smoking guns of anything wrong. TOB has an issue, but other than that, the rest looks ok. I'm hoping I will find the clutch easier to operate after all this work. The trans was rebuilt by Bob Hanlon a few years and it shows. It's clean, leak free and has had nearly no miles on it. It does have a steel input shaft, quadrant, firewall adjuster, and Pro 5.0 shifter already installed. I recently installed a Ford Racing adjustable clutch cable but it did already have one.

Here's the recap of what is being replaced with new:

• Trans and crossmember bushings
• Ford Racing clutch fork, TOB, pilot bearing
• CF DFX clutch kit: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cmb-13-0047
• ARP flywheel bolts
• rear main
• clutch fork ball stud

Some tear down photos:

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Pics of components out:

 

[Nutty 5.o]

New set up installed. I did find an answer that there is supposed to be a lock washer under the fork stud in the bell housing. New rear main; went with the Ford Racing. ARP flywheels bolts and FR pressure plate bolt/dowel kit. New pilot bearing installed as well so with a new trans, this thing should be extremely easier to drive.

Some pics of the progress/clean up of the bell housing.

 

[Nutty 5.o]

The trans is back in with (thankfully!) no surprises, issues, frustrations. I even got it all in myself. All that's left is topping off the fluid, bolting the shifter back on, and test driving it. The pedal feels of less effort but it's still really too much for me. So not really looking like it will make it as a permanent car for me. It's a shame as it's a nice car and everything has been sorted out.

Here's the pics:

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Maybe I missed it earlier, but why not use a hydraulic clutch system?

 

[Nutty 5.o]

Maybe I missed it earlier, but why not use a hydraulic clutch system?

I didn't want to deal with the extra expense at the time. But as time goes on I don't see me enjoying this car. It's just not fun to drive like they used to be for me. It's a bummer, but if I can't enjoy it and it be comfortable, it doesn't make sense.

 

[QuietOne]

The more you use the clutch the less you will notice it!