Progress Thread Hoopty v2.0 - It All Snowballed

I think my turbo may be roached. how much shaft play is too much shaft play? I can grab the nut on the impeller and wiggle it. The only thing that made me check is because the car smokes randomly now, and it never used to. I'm thinking the seals in the turbo may be bad.

Well, I didnt realize it had been since February since I had updated, but the car was smoking pretty bad when driving. I probably have 100-ish miles on the car since the head swap and this past weekend a lifter started making noise so I pulled the motor apart last night. I was still pretty sure the seals in the turbo were bad and causing the oil burning/smoke, etc. Which, to be fair, was an illogical assumption since none of these issues were present before the swap.

Anyway, Here's what I noticed:



Notice the bottom of the intake port: oily! I think that the intake wasn't torqued down enough (side note - all the bolts were loose and I never re-torqued them after the initial install, whoops.) so oil was getting sucked in and causing all of my issues.

So on to the lifter making noise - Once the intake and valve cover were off, I noticed the #1 exhaust lifter wasnt pumped up. So, I figured that was my issue. For grins, I primed the motor with a drill and ran the sump dry within a couple of seconds. Mind you, the oil feed line for the turbo was open and draining directly into the drain line since I pulled the turbo off. But still, shouldnt run dry that fast. So, in the 100-ish miles I've driven the car it managed to burn a s--t load of oil. The flat lifter did pump back up, BTW.

So, I'm at the point now where I'm going to drain the oil, add new sauce, RTV the intake and torque it down, then re torque it down, and hope like hell that fixes all the issues, and that I didnt cause any other more serious damage. Never saw the oil pressure gauge move though.

Outside of that, the car drives great. I made a new cat back using 3" flow tubes and 3" mufflers. Still really quiet but man, the loss of all the backpressure woke it up something crazy. SOTP feels like another 100 HP.

This is the only picture I have. And yes, I know 3" exhaust behind a 2.5" Y-pipe isn't very helpful but it's a done deal.



Past that, I'm looking at doing a couple of other things to the car. The PS pump is still leaking and squealing. I plan on replacing the pump and changing the line to all AN fittings. I'd like to re-plumb the AC lines since my buddy just bought a crimping tool. I still have the contour fans to install. So, itll likely be down for a while to fix all this stuff but it should be rock solid and able to go anywhere once done.

Made some headway on putting the motor back together. I swapped out a lifter that wouldn't stay pumped up. It was probably fine, but I really dont want to come back in the motor anytime soon.

Also, I bought a $40 alternator bracket off Amazon:
Amazon product ASIN B00TZE3ZMMView: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TZE3ZMM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I think it's designed for the factory alternators, the turnbuckle hardware doesnt really work with the 130A unit, but is easily fixable. I gained a ton of real estate and allowed me to move the AC line to a better spot that isnt on top of the turbo and route some lines better for a more aesthetic look. Also moved the alternator further from the turbo in case I ever decide to upgrade to a 7875 for whatever reason.

The next major hurdle is getting the valve covers and throttle linkage to play together without a phenolic spacer so the stock hood can go back on. I need the stupid $54 cable bracket from LMR. Unless someone has one laying around???

Monkeybutt2000 said:

You need an MC Machine throttle bracket.

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You're the second person to suggest that. I've looked it up and am not sure I have a place to mount it. I may make something of my own and see how it does.

I found a 1/2" phenolic spacer on eBay for $40. I really only need like 1/4" or less. Check out how close it is:



The plenum on the far right is juuuuust hitting the valve cover. The spacer I got is synthetic so I may use some of my woodworking tools to shave it down and get all the clearance I can manage.


I also ordered the throttle cable mount that sandwiches between the TB and intake. $24 on eBay vs $54 at LMR.


Finally, the factory serpentine belt was miles too long for the new bracket setup. I used to have a stack of 10 belts I had collected over the years but I guess at some point I decided Id never need them again. *rolls eyes* I have one that I found but it's just a hair short. I amy keep fighting with it and see if I can make it work.

I've been following the contour fan thread and am going to start on a bracket to mount the fans. Again, LMR is unreasonable with theirs so Ill bust out the welder. As far as the controllers go, I'm thinking Ill just do a thermostatic switch threaded into the drain plug hole and a couple relays and be done. I dont really feel like reinventing the wheel with 3 trips to the JY for parts.

a91what said:

You can also just set an output from the ecu to ground the relay to turn the fans on.

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This car has the old, OLD MS in it with the daughter board and stuff, like a two piece with the biscuit. I wouldn't even know where to start with that. otherwise, I'd much prefer to do it that way rather than trust a chinese thermo switch

Mustang5L5 said:

There are 3/8" spacers. granted that's not much of a difference

The price for spacers new is just ridiculous however.

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Yeah. I saw them and they were $90. There's no rhyme or reason to the prices it seems. I paid half that for an extra 1/8". Ill just shave it down as needed

I think in the interim, Ill put everything back as it was and make sure everything is healthy and not smoking. Once the spacers and brackets come in next week, Ill add them in and hopefully put the hood on.

Updates:

Got the car started last night, and as expected doesn't run as it should since we closed a bunch of open holes and took a guess at timing. Minor squeaking coming from the alternator, which is new.

This morning, the alternator is screaming like a scalded eagle and gets worse the more I mess with it. So, I ordered a bearing set for $13. Also, set the timing and now it won't idle for sht, but the alternator is squealing SO LOUD that I cant even try to mess with it. So, the wait continues.

In the interim, I build a frame for the contour fans to mount to the radiator. Need to do some more welding and grindgin

Yesterday, I picked up a 1/2" spacer from a guy in town. Between that and grinding down the intake boss for the front bolt, I think I've got the clearance I need for the hood.






Also, the throttle linkage has a mile of clearance, even though this picture makes it look close. Just a bad angle.



I also got the fans installed last night, Working through the last little bit of wiring. The alternator parts should be here this week sometime so I could potentially be back on the road this weekend.

I did sell a pretty expensive woodworking tool also, so I may finally pull the trans and get it rebuilt so I can actually shift. I'm also getting the itch to powder coat everything in the engine bay. And... and... and....

Most of us have a love/hate relationship with Teh BookFace, but the memories always make me happy.

This was me, 10 years ago. I was 25 and working offshore. I bought the car in CA and had it shipped back to TX. For a while, it was a great stock-ish engine street cruiser and then I went off the deep end. I had been building a really nice 408, but got tired of dumping money into it. A turn key 427W/C4 combo came up for $5k so I went and took out a loan and bought it, stuffed it in the car, and then sold it shortly after like a short sighted, close-minded, impatient young dipsht.

Build thread - https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/the-hoopty-build.833727/

Never got it running well enough to truly enjoy.

Why'd I sell it? A buddy had a '99GT with a vortech and I HAD TO HAVE IT. I eventually sold it after a short while, too.




I'm now on fox #6 I think. Priorities have certainly changed now that I have a family, but I have usually always had a mustang. It's taken until fox #6 to quit making regrettable decisions on how they're built, too.

#2 pictured above is the one I miss the most, followed by #1 aka my first car.

Mustang5L5 said:

Fox #6 damn.

I'm still on Fox #1.

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There were a few in there that never had a chance, LOL. gutted rollers, failed LS swaps, etc.