For almost two months now my stang has been crippled to the point I can't drive on the highway long enough to get anywhere. (Still got me around town and to work fine)
My heater core was shot, my radiator was near fin-less, my thermostat housing was seeping coolant (warped), brakes were spongy, and my fan wouldn't come on by itself.
I decided to put the car down for a few days and fix everything.
When I took the radiator out I found some nasty rust on the frame under it. The metal was flaking away and it didn't look so good.
I sanded it down with my dremel (too time-consuming) and coated it in bondo. I didn't really care if it was perfect to the eye so I just sanded the really high spots. I'm sure it could have looked a whole lot better but I just wanted something to cover the metal.
The radiator went in fine but the top mounts seem to be keeping my hood from closing as low as it should. I didn't bondo around the lower mounts so the radiator must be larger than the stock one. I tried cutting the rubber down but it seemed pretty tough, anyone have recommendations?
I still haven't fixed the fan, just made me a switch.
The heater core was a PIA as expected. It wouldn't have been so bad but I got mixed up in a few places. (a few screws/bolts wern't mentioned in the guide I used) The heater core I pulled out was the original ford heater core - lasted 17 years.
The original thermostat housing managed to become slightly warped. I tried replacing the gasket four times before I realized it was warped. I replaced the housing and put in a 180* thermostat.
I bled the brakes but I don't think there was air in them. I think they need to be adjusted.
For the hell of it... I installed a usb port (charger). I use my Palm PDA as my primary source of music (head unit has aux. input.) so now I don't have to keep bringing it inside to charge.
I've included some pictures below.
My ghetto project box. Made out of a clear cd jewel case and hot glue. (painted) The 9v battery connector connects to another one which has a fuse and diode - Power is from the "always on" wire to the stereo.
Not the prettiest thing...but functional.
The whole set-up. I don't actually drive with the palm sitting there
**Edit** I removed the pics of the area where the radiator sits because apparently it was a bad idea to bondo it.
My heater core was shot, my radiator was near fin-less, my thermostat housing was seeping coolant (warped), brakes were spongy, and my fan wouldn't come on by itself.
I decided to put the car down for a few days and fix everything.
When I took the radiator out I found some nasty rust on the frame under it. The metal was flaking away and it didn't look so good.
I sanded it down with my dremel (too time-consuming) and coated it in bondo. I didn't really care if it was perfect to the eye so I just sanded the really high spots. I'm sure it could have looked a whole lot better but I just wanted something to cover the metal.
The radiator went in fine but the top mounts seem to be keeping my hood from closing as low as it should. I didn't bondo around the lower mounts so the radiator must be larger than the stock one. I tried cutting the rubber down but it seemed pretty tough, anyone have recommendations?
I still haven't fixed the fan, just made me a switch.
The heater core was a PIA as expected. It wouldn't have been so bad but I got mixed up in a few places. (a few screws/bolts wern't mentioned in the guide I used) The heater core I pulled out was the original ford heater core - lasted 17 years.
The original thermostat housing managed to become slightly warped. I tried replacing the gasket four times before I realized it was warped. I replaced the housing and put in a 180* thermostat.
I bled the brakes but I don't think there was air in them. I think they need to be adjusted.
For the hell of it... I installed a usb port (charger). I use my Palm PDA as my primary source of music (head unit has aux. input.) so now I don't have to keep bringing it inside to charge.
I've included some pictures below.
My ghetto project box. Made out of a clear cd jewel case and hot glue. (painted) The 9v battery connector connects to another one which has a fuse and diode - Power is from the "always on" wire to the stereo.
Not the prettiest thing...but functional.
The whole set-up. I don't actually drive with the palm sitting there
**Edit** I removed the pics of the area where the radiator sits because apparently it was a bad idea to bondo it.
