Progress Thread 1995 3.8L Vert (2002 3.8L Dual Port Engine)

February 15 (11:00 PM EST)

Tonight I got off work about 3 pm and grabbed a few Taco Bell Burritos a case of Pepsi and decided to fix some Fuel lines so I can get this girl started. It wasn't the quick fix I wanted it to be. The 95 has the fuel rail delivery and return on the passenger side. The F150 where I got my fuel rail for this build has it on the drivers side. So I went out and grabbed some nylon line and some connectors that would get them up on the firewall and away from the engine. NOPE. I made all of the connections and got the lines where my OCD would not be too picky about them and something told me that they were not good. Well I was right, I turned the key on and gas was just pouring out from the pressure line at every connections. I used the doorman quick connects because everyone told me that they were good.
I am not a fan of them. So I took them out and tried to use barbs inside the nylon. Barbs were great, the nylon sucked ass though. IN the end, I took the two factory quick connects and gutted the nylon off of them, got some fuel line hose from AZ and some hose clamps. Now, to connect these, I have to take off the Upper Intake and slide it to the side to slip the fuel lines into place. Got it all connected, Got the Intake back in place and double checked all of my electrical.

Turned the key and NOTHING!!!!!! All I could think of was me posting the word "Nothing" and then the multitude of replies directing me to the "No Crank" Checklist.
I was not happy. I took a breath and decided to get out and see if any fuel was dumping out of the lines before I went any further. No fuel smell on the drivers side, none on the passenger side. No fuel on my fingers when I touched everything. That is when my eyes went to the battery and my "Battery Cut Off" switch. Which was in the damn OFF position. Turned it to on, fuel pump engaged, I jumped inside and gave her a try.

30 seconds of "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" and ROAR....... No Backfire!!!! WOOOOT

NOW, you can see the dust on my windshield? That is when a MORON don't clean up the kitty litter that was used to soak up the fluids that ended up on the floor during the removal of the 95 engine. I had to stop because the dust and some exhaust quickly took the garage over and its damn 30 degrees outside here.

Tomorrow I will burp her and get her outside to breathe.

After I ensure that I am good, I will then take her apart and make the wire harness look pretty, right now, wires are everywhere as you can see.

2020-February-15-Louise-Engine Start.jpg
 
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Bought a Ram (2003 1500 SLT 4.7L 2wd) Bone Stock (Clyde) UPDATE!!!! Crushed by a Tree and waiting to be sold
View attachment 618094


I had a 2003 Ram 1500 2wd SLT 4.7L in Atlantic Blue (the lighter blue)... I sold it because I was bored with it after four years (only did exhaust and utility/appearance mods to it). I miss that truck. It was actually a fantastic and reliable truck, which still blows my mind to this day having worked on them for a living.

Seeing yours brought back memories.
 
I have actually replaced that truck with an identical 04. I swapped a bunch of parts off the damaged one and Still have it as a roller. All it really needs is a cab and bed, (I know, that's all?) but the rest of the truck is still great. I am thinking of swapping rear bumpers and axles then calling it quits.

I just Love the RAM as a truck. I wouldn't own another brand truck after driving these two for so long. Its still for sale if anyone wants a doner vehicle or a project rebuild
 
February 17


Idles SUPER high. I missed something. Like 4k high.
Took it out for a spin and it was rolling at 60 mph minimum. Like 0-60 immediately.

* Wrong Clutch Cable.... Maximum Motorsports High Performance Clutch Cable (82-95 5.0L; 96-04 All)

* Right Clutch Cable..... Mustang Steeda Adjustable Clutch Cable Kit 5.0L/3.8L (82-04)


* Now it wont start, may have burnt up the clutch. When I get the right cable and quadrant in I will adjust it and see if the clutch is good still.

* Once I replace the quadrant (IT is still good) I will post a pic of it and if anyone wants it Ill just ship it to them

* Also, nobody including me, noticed that I installed the firewall adjuster backwards
 
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OK, I will edit this post later but I believe that I have found the solution that many people doing this swap from single port to dual port run into.

LINK AutoMeter Radiator Hose Adapters 2283 (trying to find it cheaper)


OK the above link is to the location where I have found the answer to the issue that many people have been having. I was googling random thoughts on how to resolve this and ended up working with pitch rate and thread count on tapping the hole after drilling it out and WONDROUS things happened. The Old Googler popped up a "Related" item and I began exploring the world of Water Temperature Sensor Radiator Hose Adapters.

Once I realized "Universal" is not accurate I went to my parts house and got the specs for the ID of the upper radiator hose and the Temperature Sensor Switch so I could look closer to see if this is going to fit my application.

ID of hose is 1.5 inch. 3/8 - 18 NPTF is the temperature switch.

I believe that if I mount this close as I can to the water pump I can use the factory sensor by extending the wire connected to it. I will update this later to let everyone know if it works
 
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March 8

Today I installed this Auto Meter part on the upper radiator hose to make the dash gauge work for the Temp. I was skeptical about it and after burping the car and swapping in the new clutch we took her out for a test. I had my Craftsman Code Reader running the whole time so we could monitor the live data as we were rolling. It never went over 216 per the reader and the gauge never went past the "O" in Normal. So far it is the answer that I have been looking for with this build.
2020-March-8 Louise #1.jpg


Louise is now acting right, shifting smooth, and purring like never before. I am now calling this swap a success and will be felling her out for a few months to get use to the new shift points and the HP Gain which is very noticable. In town I am not even seeing 5th gear anymore and on the expressway, well I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the speedo after merging. I had to back out of it to set the cruise control (which I was told the 95 cable and controller wont work with the 02 engine, B.S. It works great)
 
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Still need to work out a Vacuum line issue and then I can clean the rest of the lines up, but some Scrubbing Bubbles and a Car Wash did some wonders to the overall look. It almost looks like I actually took the time and cleaned the parts before assembling the car. NOPE, Peckerwood is in Full Effect.
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Decided to get an Updated Picture of my girl after a good cleaning. Eventually I will care enough to color match things and pull the dents out of the rear quarter. That is my son in there wondering why the hell I am taking pictures.
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This is because DAMN IT I can't get "Agent 47" items for the 94-95 and I am Pissed. I will settle for just the door panels.
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Always something else going wrong. Took her out for a lengthy drive because the LURE of low gas prices brought me out and the throttle kept pegging on me. Normally before the swap if I red lined the tach, it would be steady. Now if it red lines it bounces like a crotch rocket because there is no rev limiter in the way I did the swap.

So I am driving and having a ball when all of the sudden the tach begins to bounce 5-6k on me and will NOT come down. I pull over and shut it down where I seen a safe spot and got under the hood. I was figuring that a Vac line came off somehow and that was my cause. I traced them all and none seemed to be off but some were not fully seated. I removed them all one at a time and re seated them all. Got back in the car and began driving.

Some hard launches and normal launches, some speed shifting and some normal shifting. Nothing, it all seemed good. So, I jumped on the expressway to get a real run and some mild fun. Just merged into the damn traffic lane and it red lined.

Wash Rinse Repeat. x5 with varying results but all ending in a red line and back to the side of the road.

So I limped home and just drove "normal"

Brought the car into the shop the next morning and about 1/2 mile out from the shop she red lined again and I coasted in while praying the engine would not blow. I parked and waited for a second set of eyes to come in. My main mechanic arrived first and he was under the hood while I started it up and it red lined immediatly.

He seen the issue right off.

My damn cruse control line was keeping the throttle wide open. Damn cruse is the stock 95 and on the 02 engine. I have to cut back that hard plastic line that covers the cable and make it work freely so the damn thing wont get stuck and keep the throttle wide open.

I also need that fixed because now I can reach 80 mph in a breeze without realizing it. Where it felt like 60 before, its 80 now. Going to have to re learn how to drive now between the added HP and the new points I need to change gears when driving. In town I cant see 5th gear at all (have to shift at 60 out of 4th so it wont bog)
 
April 7


UPS Just Delivered Some Sexy to my shop

BMR-TBR004R
Torque Box Reinforcement Plates, Upper/Lower, Steel, Red Powdercoated
Will have to complete a few projects at the house before I can get these in. Directions say 4 hours. We will see on the reality of that time frame.
20200407_110633.jpg
 
Here is a picture of how I ended up fixing the throttle issue. As you can see the accelerator cable here is stock 2002 on the stock 2002 bracket on the stock 2002 upper intake. The Cruise Control is stock 1995 because the 2002 cruise module is NOT compatible with the 1995 computer.

FIX: For those of you who do not recognize that green spool of wire. It is out of a Claymore Mine from my Army days. It is used for "Trip Wire" to pull a pin and well YUP create a bad day for the bad guys. I happen to have a few items laying around from that period in my life and well re-purposing is always a fun thing to do. As you can see here, I wired that cruse cable into place where it is not going anywhere anymore. I drove it around to test and it seems to have solved the issue without removing the plastic from the cable like I believed I would.

20200411_075932.jpg



Back In the Garage and on NEW JACK STANDS (No More Cinderblocks) Really, there are 4 jack stands under there, the front 2 are the bran new ones and are on the X member that all Verts are cursed with. It is Level and ready for the Torque Box to begin getting installed.
20200411_222951.jpg


While I have it in the air this time. I will also be installing my new Fuel Pump. Taking out the 155LPH and replacing with a 255LPH Walbro
2020-April-20-255LPH Wal.jpg


As soon as I finish my next "Peckerwood Project" No Spoilers here except we will be using Bourbon Barrels
 
Time Flies.........

I sold the car because no matter what I was doing to it, it was still a convertible. It has a happy new home and the owner brings it to my shop all the time for the Oil Changes and other service work as needed.