Progress Thread Finally got my first Fox Body - 1988 GT

So I haven’t done anything else..but I started the car and let it run for maybe 5 minutes or so and then gave it a little bit of gas. It slowly moved up a bit. Temp gauge appears to be working now.

So...I now have SAE and metric ratcheting wrenches. I'm sure they will come in handy plenty of times in the future but unfortunately, they have not done the trick on loosening the fender side nut on the brake MC. The 15 mm and 5/8 will go around the nut but they are too big. The 14 mm won't go around the nut (thought it fits fine around the nut on the other side). I can mostly get the 9/16 around the fender side nut (it also fits on the engine side nut perfectly) but can't get it to grip completely. The 1/2 and 13 mm are both too small. It seems that fender side nut is just in this weird place where there isn't a wrench or socket that will fit and grip it. I am thinking I might need to consider removing the brake booster to get the MC out, unless anyone has any other super solutions.

General karthief said:

To test the gauge, yes, a jump wire, get two small alligator clips, a piece of wire, mine is 8 or 10" long, and solder a clip to each end of the wire, now you have a multi-use jump wire, one end clipped to the intake someplace ( ground) and the other end to the temp sender wire. Turn on the ignition and the gauge should sweep to hot, turn off the ignition. Gauge is ok. If no movement you either have a bad gauge or a break in the wire to the gauge.
Now, about that power steering pump. You wasted your time with the small amount of fluid you removed and then replaced with the royal purple. To 'flush' the system you must remove the return line and extend it into a large bucket, put a vacuum line plug on the return line nipple on the pump, this will keep the fluid from coming out, no need to clamp it, it's just for spillage. You need about three quarts of trans fluid (I use actual power steering fluid but the factory calls for trans fluid) start with the ps can full, start the car and fluid will flow into the bucket and you keep the pump full adding new fluid until the fluid coming out looks nice and red, it took about two quarts for mine, I put in a new steering rack, same old pump with 150k miles on it and you can barely hear it.
You have a new pump, I would install that and then flush the system.

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Thanks for the clarity on the jump wire and the hard truth on the power steering pump. I figured I would eventually have to replace it (or go to a manual rack) but just wanted to see if a half-assed variation of the ChrisFix method made any difference on the noise.

I'm going to keep focusing my energy on getting the brake MC and brake lines replaced, do the hood hinge cups and hood firewall seal, and maybe see about replacing the valve cover gaskets and intake manifold gaskets while I have the hood off. After all that, assuming nothing more pressing comes up, I will see about replacing the power steering pump and addressing that problem the right way.

90sickfox said:

That nut must be corroded or something. Did you get the flexible gearwrench sets ?

The 14, 9/16, or 15mm should fit. Theres no other size that is close.

I could stop by over the weekend and help you get it off.

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I think it's worn down in some areas...kind of hard to get close up pictures given the location.

Thanks for the offer to help. We might need to go to Arlington this weekend but if not, I'll let you know.

Took forever but I got the brake booster out. First, after I removed the four nuts in the firewall and moved it around a bit to give myself more space to wrench on the impossible nut...still no lucky then pulled the whole thing out and now I still gotta get this damn thing off.