Progress Thread Finally got my first Fox Body - 1988 GT

[DudeStang]

Have you tried to bolt the bracket to the frame rail and bolt the horns to the bracket?

I didn't see an easy way of doing that when I was under the car last time but I had the front driver side wheel still on this weekend (car was on ramps). I will look again next time I have the wheel off and see if I can make something like that work.

My plan for the next reasonably warm day is to focus on cleaning up everything underneath to better identify the leaks and also work on the front driver side frame and shock tower rust.

 

[General karthief]

That bracket should line up to a couple holes on the frame rail

 

[DudeStang]

That bracket should line up to a couple holes on the frame rail

I think I gotta find a way to get this out though...

 

[General karthief]

Some heat and a pair of vise grips.
There is a couple different things to keep in mind, the nut is 'captured ' by a thin piece of metal so care must be taken or the nut can be torn from bracket.
You can try blaster or similar product and vice grips and just wiggle, wiggle, wiggle till it comes out. Take a file or a small grinder and hit it on the broken side so none of the broken side of the bolt is exposed, may make it easier.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Grab that nib with some vice grips, heat up the backside, and twist it out

 

[DudeStang]

New video is up. Disregard my goofy ass face close up. I need to create a custom thumbnail or something, lol.

 

[DudeStang]

Regarding the crusty seal on the back of the stock air box, I would go to a home improvement store of your choice and
purchase some new adhesive foam weatherstripping. They sell it in many different sizes, you could even get some
in a neoprene rubber.
Clean off your old stuff really good , wipe it down with some paint prep, rubbing alcohol etc. and stick down the new stuff.
I'll be taking a trip down to southern VA from CT this weekend , I'll honk on the way by.

I picked up some weatherstripping from a hardware store close by but I didn't feel confident it could be manipulated to make the right shape without cutting it and gluing it together a bunch so I just ended up returning it and ordering the replacement seal from LMR. It took me probably close to half an hour to clean off the old stuff but I got it done eventually and got the new seal on the air box.

Old


New - pretty happy with the quality and fit

 

[DudeStang]

Noticed this when I was poking around again. Based on some quick googling it looks like maybe it’s a proportioning valve?




Also got a couple of other pics...

Wondering what used to go in this fire extinguisher looking strap, lol



Also. Hard to see a lot of detail on this but looks like some moisture/oil pretty high up, wondering if maybe this is an indicator of a leak somewhere around the intake manifold or the head gaskets?

 

[Mustang5L5]

Proportioning valve for the added rear disk brakes.

The bracket used to hold the ac accumulator for the air conditioning system, which has been deleted.

Can’t see the last pics, but valve cover gaskets are a common source of leaks

 

[General karthief]

That 'fire extinguisher strap' is for the ac hose, it has a big can on it, can't remember what it's for.
Or what he ^^^ said.
Yeah, kinda slow on the keyboard

 

[DudeStang]

Proportioning valve for the added rear disk brakes.

The bracket used to hold the ac accumulator for the air conditioning system, which has been deleted.

Can’t see the last pics, but valve cover gaskets are a common source of leaks

Thanks

That 'fire extinguisher strap' is for the ac hose, it has a big can on it, can't remember what it's for.
Or what he ^^^ said.
Yeah, kinda slow on the keyboard

Thanks

RE: head gaskets - I was thinking that I had head gaskets in the spare parts that came with the car. Upon closer look it seems what I have are the intake manifold gaskets...




This is pretty small but I made a short video of replacing the air box seal and adding the K&N filter.

View: https://youtu.be/V-jAf_gWlfY


Also ordered a few random small hardware pieces...the hardware for the fender splash shield, so it’s easier to put back in when I get it all cleaned up, also the battery tray hardware kit, and the hood rubber bumper kit.

I’ve got some other stuff on my list but trying not to be irresponsible with money given the current situation...and also need to make sure I’m not forgetting the rust and leaks.

 

[DudeStang]

Some heat and a pair of vise grips.
There is a couple different things to keep in mind, the nut is 'captured ' by a thin piece of metal so care must be taken or the nut can be torn from bracket.
You can try blaster or similar product and vice grips and just wiggle, wiggle, wiggle till it comes out. Take a file or a small grinder and hit it on the broken side so none of the broken side of the bolt is exposed, may make it easier.

Grab that nib with some vice grips, heat up the backside, and twist it out

Thanks for this input. I tried a little bit with the drill/wire brush to file it down. I was able to see a little bit of progress but it seems heat and or an actual grinder would be more sufficient.

My wife has this wood burning art kit thing with a pen that supposedly will get up to 900ish degrees Fahrenheit. I was wondering if that might work but I’m guessing I might need something hotter/more heavy duty..

 

[General karthief]

You need fire

 

[Mustang5L5]

Yup. Head on down to Home Depot and head to the plumbing aisle and buy yourself a MAPP gas torch

Has paid for itself saving me time while freeing stuck brake rotors, or heavily locktited bolts

Edit: there are cheaper kits. I just like the igniter torch head

 

[TexasFireman]

Just ran across your channel on YouTube. Always glad to see new REAL WORLD Fox content. Welcome and good luck!

 

[DudeStang]

Added a little bit more color to the fox

Before

After



Also found a possible better use for the ac accumulator bracket thing


Was planning to replace the fuel filter this weekend but realized the filter I received from American Muscle didn’t include the retaining clips so had to order those. Filter will have to wait until next weekend.

 

[Rdub6]

Added a little bit more color to the fox

Before

After



Also found a possible better use for the ac accumulator bracket thing


Was planning to replace the fuel filter this weekend but realized the filter I received from American Muscle didn’t include the retaining clips so had to order those. Filter will have to wait until next weekend.

Red lettering looks good!
Don’t waste you’re money getting parts like that filter at AM. They’re probably charging you double what the local parts store has it for (and they come with clips).
I bet you could trade those wipes for several fuel filters

 

[DudeStang]

Red lettering looks good!
Don’t waste you’re money getting parts like that filter at AM. They’re probably charging you double what the local parts store has it for (and they come with clips).
I bet you could trade those wipes for several fuel filters

Thanks man. Interestingly, I found that the oil filter was actually quite a bit cheaper at AM than LMR but I was already ordering some small things from LMR anyways. I won't make the mistake of ordering things like fuel filters from AM again though...I'm just trying to be responsible given the current epidemic situation and order things via mail rather than going to the store in person.

I made progress on a few more small things Friday and got a new video up:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvCdEzuFm-A


Another thing came up today...I went to start the fox body and got a fast clicking sound. I did some googling and apparently that is usually a sign that the battery isn't holding a charge(?). I found this thread from 2011 to help try and trouble shoot: https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/clicking-noise-when-trying-to-start.843501/

First thing I did was attempt to jump start the fox with my other car. Fox fired right up. I was thinking about what it could be that caused the battery to drain or die. I'm not sure whether this seems like a feasible explanation but figured I'd run it by you guys. So on Friday, when I was working on the fox, I had one or both doors open for at least a couple of hours. Is it possible that the dome light being on could drain the battery that drastically? I assume that there's probably some other issue like battery wiring or bad connection somewhere but maybe the light being on for a while contributed to the draining of the battery. What do you guys think?

 

[General karthief]

That or the battery is losing power from just being old, get your volt meter out and check the battery voltage.

 

[DudeStang]

That or the battery is losing power from just being old, get your volt meter out and check the battery voltage.

I should have clarified, it's a brand new battery that I picked up a few weeks ago.

 

[General karthief]

Leaving the doors open for a couple hours should not have effected a new battery as long as the battery was fully charged. Do a voltage drop test on the cables.
You may have a bad connection.