Progress Thread Let's try this again...

I’m finding some more problems. I was under the car trying to tighten up the header to h-pipe flange when I noticed a drop of oil on the bottom of the transmission where it meets the back of the engine, so it seems I have a very slow rear main seal leak.

I also found out after I washed the car that the passenger’s side weatherstripping is leaking. I have a new set, I’m going to replace both sides.

I also have created a fun little game that I call: “What is This Wire, and What is it Supposed to be Connected to?” because I keep finding loose wires hanging out around the car, like this one from the oil pan:
D42D2484-4384-4CDB-9C8A-2242F5DF4B49.jpeg


it looks like some sort of low oil level sensor? In any case, it’s been cut and it’s not affecting anything so I’m trying not to worry about it. The rear main seal leak is now my primary concern.
 
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I’m finding some more problems. I was under the car trying to tighten up the header to h-pipe flange when I noticed a drop of oil on the bottom of the transmission where it meets the back of the engine, so it seems I have a very slow rear main seal leak.

I also found out after I washed the car that the passenger’s side weatherstripping is leaking. I have a new set, I’m going to replace both sides.

I also have created a fun little game that I call: “What is This Wire, and What is it Supposed to be Connected to?” because I keep finding loose wires hanging out around the car, like this one from the oil pan:
D42D2484-4384-4CDB-9C8A-2242F5DF4B49.jpeg


it looks like some sort of low oil level sensor? In any case, it’s been cut and it’s not affecting anything so I’m trying not to worry about it. The rear main seal leak is now my primary concern.

it is the low oil level sensor. If I remember correctly, that wire runs into the o2 sensor harness, and then up to where it belongs.
You may find the other end inside that loom?
 
it is the low oil level sensor. If I remember correctly, that wire runs into the o2 sensor harness, and then up to where it belongs.
You may find the other end inside that loom?

I’ll take a look, does it automatically shut off the engine when it triggers, or does it just light up something on the dash? Because if it’s just an indicator, then I’m not too worried but if it’ll save my engine from catastrophic failure, then I’m all for it.

As for the rear main seal leak, I suppose now is as good a time as any to get a new clutch as well, right? I don’t know what condition the one that’s installed is in, but my learning to drive stick probably hasn’t done it any favors.

I’m also pretty sure I have an exhaust leak somewhere. I can smell it in the interior and it’s on my clothes after I get out of the car. I know it doesn’t have cats, but that still can’t be normal, right? This is something that has always been the case with this car, even before I started messing with the headers.
 
Didn’t see any buildup anywhere and I don’t hear any leaks, so maybe it’s nothing.

I also got the passenger’s side weatherstripping in, but unfortunately I broke some plastic in the process. I had to pull the dash pad in order to get out the a pillar cover. For some reason I thought the dash was held in by metal clips like the headliner retainers, so I took out the front screws and gave it a tug.

Now I know that it’s held in by a couple of tiny hidden screws in the back attached to some very flimsy plastic. I also found out my center speaker is missing, which is great. I put everything back together and it looks like it did before, but it’s probably going to rattle around a lot until I can either replace the plastic underneath or fuse the pieces back together somehow. I feel like an idiot, the LMR video was of an 87-93 interior, and it looked really easy.
 
I am now reading that the center dash never had a speaker, so that’s at least one less thing to fix. As for the broken tabs, I think I can find the pieces and glue them back. If not, I’ve read about people making new ones out of ABS plastic.
 
I’m finding some more problems. I was under the car trying to tighten up the header to h-pipe flange when I noticed a drop of oil on the bottom of the transmission where it meets the back of the engine, so it seems I have a very slow rear main seal leak.

I also found out after I washed the car that the passenger’s side weatherstripping is leaking. I have a new set, I’m going to replace both sides.

I also have created a fun little game that I call: “What is This Wire, and What is it Supposed to be Connected to?” because I keep finding loose wires hanging out around the car, like this one from the oil pan:
D42D2484-4384-4CDB-9C8A-2242F5DF4B49.jpeg


it looks like some sort of low oil level sensor? In any case, it’s been cut and it’s not affecting anything so I’m trying not to worry about it. The rear main seal leak is now my primary concern.

As Rdub6 said, it's the connector to the low oil level sensor. The one on my '86 looked just like that. As part of my rebuild, I replaced the sensor and soldered the wire back together. The other end is in the harness for the O2 sensor.
 
Alldegree, I'm a little late coming to your thread, but as the owner of a silver '86 GT that's been through a lot of work over the past year, I'm finding it interesting to read all the things you're learning on your project! Picking up on an earlier theme, did you ever get the rest of your gauges working?
 
Alldegree, I'm a little late coming to your thread, but as the owner of a silver '86 GT that's been through a lot of work over the past year, I'm finding it interesting to read all the things you're learning on your project! Picking up on an earlier theme, did you ever get the rest of your gauges working?

Thanks! Yes, I did. The speedometer is about 10 mph fast, but I have a correction gear that I’m going to put in so that should be fixed soon.
 
My instrument cluster has been in and out multiple times in the past four months. In that time I’ve put in two new speedometer cables (neither anywhere as nice as the stock Ford cable I started with) and whenever the cluster went back in, something didn’t work. The copper lands were coming loose from the flexible circuit board, causing problems. Everything works now.
 
My instrument cluster has been in and out multiple times in the past four months. In that time I’ve put in two new speedometer cables (neither anywhere as nice as the stock Ford cable I started with) and whenever the cluster went back in, something didn’t work. The copper lands were coming loose from the flexible circuit board, causing problems. Everything works now.

That instrument cluster is hard to pull out, or at least it is in my car. There’s not much slack on the wires and the connectors are really hard to get to. Luckily my problems were around the sensors themselves rather than the cluster so I’ve only had to pull it once or twice.
 
More problems today. I took it to the shop to get the rear main seal replaced, and the mechanics there found that the input shaft on the transmission has been ground down to the point where it doesn't fit snug with the bearing anymore. They said it didn't seem to affect the car too much, so they're putting it back together as-is, but told me that I should probably plan on getting a new transmission eventually. The car always seemed to shake when in lower gears, especially in parking lots, but I attributed it to my learning to drive stick.

I'll probably replace it with the clutch when that goes out, but when I do, should I get a new World Class T5? Or should I just get a used stock one? Is there that big of a difference?
 
More problems today. I took it to the shop to get the rear main seal replaced, and the mechanics there found that the input shaft on the transmission has been ground down to the point where it doesn't fit snug with the bearing anymore. They said it didn't seem to affect the car too much, so they're putting it back together as-is, but told me that I should probably plan on getting a new transmission eventually. The car always seemed to shake when in lower gears, especially in parking lots, but I attributed it to my learning to drive stick.

I'll probably replace it with the clutch when that goes out, but when I do, should I get a new World Class T5? Or should I just get a used stock one? Is there that big of a difference?
Ground down how? They couldn't provide a pic? Hmm
 
More problems today. I took it to the shop to get the rear main seal replaced, and the mechanics there found that the input shaft on the transmission has been ground down to the point where it doesn't fit snug with the bearing anymore. They said it didn't seem to affect the car too much, so they're putting it back together as-is, but told me that I should probably plan on getting a new transmission eventually. The car always seemed to shake when in lower gears, especially in parking lots, but I attributed it to my learning to drive stick.

I'll probably replace it with the clutch when that goes out, but when I do, should I get a new World Class T5? Or should I just get a used stock one? Is there that big of a difference?

Ford started putting “World Class” T-5s in Mustangs in 1985. In 1990 there was an upgrade implemented with stronger gears (more torque capacity) and revised ratios. Any ‘85-up T-5 will work, but a ‘90-up would be the best choice.
 
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