Mustang5l5's Progress Thread - Archived Progress thread '08-'20.

[Mustang5L5]

Okey, this is why i had to get a new speedo cable. My car did not have cruise control. So i guess it had this dealer installed cruise dohicky. I removed it a long time ago, but a lot of the wiring was buried up in the dash and i could finally get it out now.

I guess the VSS for the cruise attached to the speedo cable up top as you'll see by the wires and the weird UFO dohickey.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I finished with the POR-15 in the rear axle area. I did that area, where the mufflers were and as far up into the driveshaft tunnel as i could go because the AOD is still in place. I need to drop the AOD, degrease the hell out of the trans tunnel and then i can finish POR=15 on the underside.

I also yanked the front fender liners out and did the POR-15 in the front wells as well. I didn't snag any pics of it however.

Next up is remove the AOD, and remove the fuel lines since i have replacement lines for those. Anyone remember what size A/C disconnect tool i need for the fuel lines up front??

Downside is my engine. I really need to take the engine out and give it the same treatment as i did the rear end. brackets are rusty, it needs degreasing, and the bay needs to be cleaned up well. Unfortunately i can't pull the engine out at this time, so it will have to stay as is for now.

I'll get to it eventually.

 

[LiquidGT]

About how much POR-15 did you use back there? How far do you think a gallon will stretch?

Take a look at your inner rear fenders behind the hatch panels, sometimes you can spot some rust back there. I've seen quite a few foxes here with a hole in the right rear fender flair.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I bought a quart and I'm only about halfway through it. I did the rear axle, the rear axle area under the car and most of the front inner fenders. I am actually amazed it got me this far. I've been using it vigorously trying to get every little nook and cranny covered and protected. I checked the area previously mentioned before and it's rust free. In fact, I'm amazed at how rust free the rear of the car actually is.

The ONLY spot that concerns me is the front shock tower under the MC. Guess i leaked some at one point and it corroded the metal. It's not rotted through or compromised, but it's rusted pretty well. Kinda why i started POR-15in the front inner fenders. I'll need to spend a day sanding and repairing it before I paint it up. But that's the only area of rust that concerns me. Everything else has been very light surface rust which is amazing.

In addition to the underside of the car, i plan on taking the carper out and putting POR-15 on the floorboards as well.

I'll prob need a quart and a pint when all set and done. I think a gallon would be a huge waste.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Wow, i needed the little rubber e-brake boot.

Well it's $60!!!


87-93 BOOT, FRONT PARKING BRAKE CABLE TO BODY MUSTANG



But if i get it with a brake cable it's $30!!

99-04 PARKING BRAKE CABLE, FRONT MUSTANG


WHat a rip!



I also priced out some LCA bolts, and the underbody rubber plugs and came up with a $175 shopping cart!!! For bolts, boots and rubber plugs and the e-brake cable holders!

This is gonna nickel and dime me to death.

I still need to order my MM LCA's for $450


Looks like i'm gonna have to slow down and spread this out over a few paychecks as my g/f's bday is in 2 weeks and i gotta buy her a few gifts too i guess.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Yup, I want MM XD adjustable arms p/n MMRLCA-32

$460


I REALLY don't want to spend nearly $500 on lower control arms....but I have yet to find anything else i like. It would be cool if i could find some nice LCA's for $200-250. I like the adjustable spring perches so i want someting similar, but i don't think my plans for my car justify a $500 control arm.

I've noticed the J&M products weght jacker arms are about $250 and have gotten good reviews. I'm searching for the best price. Maybe i'll snag these.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Got a few more parts.


Ordered my E-brake cables. I took the handle to work and cut the spring and welded up the pawl and installed the Ford Racing adjustable cable. Also i got the two cables that run out the calipers

 

[Mustang5L5]

Got myself a new pilot bearing and rear main seal.

Also a friend gave me his flywheel out of his '94 GT. I figure i'd go resurface it and see if it's in good enough shape to use.

 

[Mustang5L5]

yeah thats not gonna be fun especially if its been sitting for a while, my tranny was a bitch to remove, but then again your car looks alot more taken care of then the one i bought.

Well, my trans had been leaking tranny fluid for some time, so a saving grace is that my entire underside of my car is COATED in grease and trans fluid...including all the bolts. SO it does help preserve everything. Every bolt and nut is coming out easy. PITA is gonna be degreasing the underside.



I made more progress today, but didn't take pics. I yanked out the front sway bar and end links. The links were trash. I'm gonna install urethane links and sway bar bushings.

I also took the h-pipe off, and removed the trans x-member, trans mount, shift cable, unplugged all the wiring, removed the cooler lines and took the inspection plate off and unbolted the torque converter.

All that's left to do is unbolt the transmission. Anyone know how many bolts are holding that fat pig on?? I've got a ton of extensions and swivels and breaker bars. I just need to devise a way to support the trans while i unbolt it.

 

[Chuckman]

6 bolts holding bell onto block, 5/8 heads. to get mine out, i had a couple buddies (one will do, the other for me just watched and played around in tranny fluid) and my trusty little floor jack with a 2x4. the jackstands ive got are short, so we ended up having to take it off the jack to actually get it clear of the car, but as long as you have normal jackstands you should be ok.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Transporting the rebuilt T-5's to the car where one of them will be getting installed soon hopefully. I've got all of next week off of work so i' getting everything ready for an install orgy

Also, buddy of mine painted up my Cobra grill insert and front Saleen molding for me

 

[1991notchbackLX]

nice man, i love those install marathons where you have a 10 foot pile of parts and a few days responsibility-free to have at it... two T-5s? are you building one of those dual-transmission mustangs


[side note: i know you have a spare dash, but you wouldn't happen to have a spare black center console, would you? PM me as not to clutter your build thread up ]

 

[Mustang5L5]

Suck it AOD!!

It actually came out pretty easy. I was surprised. I did it all alone with just me and a normal floor jack. 2 hours and it was out

I'm glad as hell i'm not putting this thing back in! It's heavy!!


I also found out it's not the original AOD. It's got 1989 engineering numbers all over it and my car is an early 1988. Guess that means it has less than 100K on it since that's what my car has.

 

[Mustang5L5]

So, nothing AOD left in the car. Time for the fun stuff, putting the T-5 stuff back in. Unfortunately what's holding me up is i need to go resurface my flywheel and i need a bellhousing.


Not bad under here. The engine has leaks. The rear main was def leaking and it looks like the oil pan gasket has some seepage. I'll have to address these when i yank the motor out at a later date.

But i need to degrease the underside and POR-15 everything before i can slap the t-5 stuff in.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Even had time to disassemble the front suspension. I have Ford Racing arms to put in, plus i wanted to POR-15 everything and redo everything nicely. I have Mach 1 13" brakes going on here too.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Lookin real good! Bet you can't wait to get in the thing and bang some gears!!!

You have no idea.



It's all downhill from here though. Everything is removed that i want to remove. Now it's time to put everything back in.


I finished POr-15 the underside today. I didn't snap pics though cuz i cleaned up and realized i forgot and didn't want to crawl under again.

I got the front wheel wells all set too. Then i ran out of POR-15 so i might pick up a small can to do the interior floorboards later.

I'm not going for a concourse style paint job underneath. I just wanted to protect everything from harsh New England conditions for as long as possible.

Anyway tomorrow i start assembling my front suspension

 

[Mustang5L5]

Flywheel cut. I'll be installing the pilot beating, rear main seal, flywheel and clutch tomorrow!

 

[Mustang5L5]

Excuse the crappy cell phone pics. I forgot my camera today. Don't know why i bother posted them they look like crap

I got most of the front suspension put back together. Ford Racing A-arms, 94 spindles, Ford C springs, Tokico shocks.

These are NOT the rotors i'll be using. They are just some junk Cobra rotors a friend gave me as "roller" rotors so i don't grease up, ding or rust up my good brembo rotors yet. I'll swap them before I drive the car, so ignore the ugly black rotors.

I didn't do much today because it got too hot. 90 in Boston in April is unheard of!

 

[Mustang5L5]

Quick check just to make sure no surprises tomorrow

 

[1990Coupe]