houtex

Update the whatever it is by now.

Regarding this:

I thought and looked and pondered and inquired and today, just a little bit ago, I am the proud owner of a shiny new, fully assembled, collapsable 2 ton engine crane hoist in shiny Red, complete with 2 ton capable leveler. It was quite the deal, and just a little more than the competing 1 ton setup I was otherwise contemplating, and it's about the same overall footprint for storage. It's already got a cubby almost ready for it to roll into when it's not in use. It's a tight fit in the garage, but I'll work around it and make it work, and it'll do the job... namely lift the engine at the alternator mounting (the Ford desired way to do this in cradle) and I won't be putting the oil pan or me in jeopardy. AND I'll also be using that support.

I felt it worth it for more safety, bein' how I'm just me. Be stupid to not spend the dollars at this point. Besides, the crane is gonna be handy in other ways besides just this job, and logistics of getting another here is... yeah. I can use it for the motorcycle for sure.

And I think I'm gonna be making a shingle. May as well, I'll just open up a shop in the garage! I just hope I can fly under the radar of the homeowners board... XD

That is the update. After all this time since. Life is SO in the way and screwing up my timing...

OH. Wait. The reason last weekend nothing happened! The car I'm borrowing and am very grateful for is a lil' Dodge Caliber. We call it the Silver Pellet. And wouldn't you know, last Friday night, after driving around and various stops and stops, I get home, park the thing, go inside, sleep, and get up all bright eyed and bushy tailed (I gotta get that dealt with...) and ready to go get that engine crane...

...And the Pellet doesn't start. What. The. Heck.

Click. Click. Solenoid sounds like it's engaging, so I figure out how to reach down with a long stick and hammer it a little. Got it started. Whee. Ok, so plan sort of still in effect. But now I had to stop and do something else real quick... go back out...

And that thing is officially done. No start. Great. Not getting the Mustang done this weekend. I had no other car, the car is in the way of the motorcycle where it's parked... Ugh.

Long story getting medium by cuttin' it off, the diagnosis seemed to indicate that it's the starter itself. So... after rearranging things so the car's out of the way and the motorcycle can be extracted (An actual good project!) I proceed to rip it apart... and man. That thing needs help. I don't know who designs this stuff, but the entire system to just GET to the starter... well, my motorcycle (PC800, Honda Pacific Coast) is quite the adventure, as the starter is pulled directly before you remove the engine. So the Pellet isn't that bad, but... it's up there. And the battery tray is... well, it seen better days.

I get it mostly apart.. and work blows up. I had to leave it and boogie and fix that. Ok, Saturday is SO FREAKIN' DONE and so am I. Tomorrow.

I source a starter with a nice online discount, and finish the extraction. Which required at the end of it: Battery removed. Airbox and intake tube removed. Throttle body removed. Battery tray removed. Wires/hoses relocated. And finally, the starter bolts, holy **** those were a nightmare. But I won. Got the starter out. Motorcycle'd to the store, swapped the starter for the rebuilt one. Looked good to me anyway. Threw everything in reverse, but also cleaned the throttle body and that battery tray. It was real nice when I got it done.

Moment of truth... Vroom. It works. My diagnosis was correct.

But at that point... I was done. I was also working in direct sun, and while I had some protection, and actually lovely weather, all that bending and pulling and pushing and prodding and all that for two days (the car's a real nightmare to work on, it's just weird...) I just shut it down.

I won't be getting anything done on the car tomorrow, because activities again. Sunday, I'm hoping to get the engine lifted, the k member dropped a little, and the oil pan out. Although if it calls for it, and I just gotta, that K member can come out just as easy. Just bolts at this point.

Anyway, if I can do that, get that oil pan out, and the oil tube, I'll be home free, I think, and soon enough (maybe April at this rate ) she'll be back on the road, new timing in, and off we go back into the wilderness and adventures that await.

Ok update done. I'll hit it again after Sunday, whatever happens.

Paris MkVI

Never, ever a dull moment!

houtex

Dateup the dangit, Starchron 20191228.404PagenotfoundMCST, idiot houtex reporting.

---

Once again I am beset with the morning woes that is my intestinal nonfortitude, but I finally, struggling, get out to the garage to attempt to do things(tm).

I clear up some previous tool issues, then I proceed to get the wheel off the front left of the car in preparation for the crane to go under the car so it can lift the motor. I rearrange the 'don't let stuff in the engine' rags because time has passed, but I believe all is still well. I remove the two nuts from the two engine mounts. I remove the alternator as prescribed to prep for the lift... and as I start that, the car starts to tip backwards or forwards or something... it's unbalanced on the jackstands.



I go and fix the issue, the right rear jackstand was somehow not notched correctly. Not real sure what happened there. But I'm glad I caught it after I'd been under the car several times...

Done with that, I then get the alternator off.

And then... I stand before the car.

And stand. Staring.

And stand some more, confusion obviously having taken hold at what I see before me, incomprehensible, yet completely comprehensible at the same time.

This:


...apparently has been lurking and happening behind my alternator. The car gave *no signal whatsoever* there was anything wrong. At all. I don't get it.

I'm especially confused by the lower black pipe/hose what has the new wrinkle finish applied to it. I suspect it's not supposed to be like that.

So. Now I'm pulling the intake to do these things. Good thing I already acquired the quick disconnect for the fuel rail, which I was sort of avoiding having to do, but oh well, there we go. I might as well pull the heads and do those gaskets, get new hoses, thermostat, and oil filter adapter gasket, and since I'm yankin' everything, a new water pump, power steering rack... maybe a radiator...

...oh, and a 'new' car. Because Awesome ain't goin' anywhere for a while now. I've been borrowing one, but at some point that's gotta stop.

Yay projects and unforseen things. More time I don't have.

/Gonna make the time, yeppers... somehow...

//What I really need is a bigger garage...

houtex

Update differently. Same day, different stuff.

So it turns out that I in fact did NOT get the disconnect tools. And in thinkin' back on when I thought I had bought them, I realized I pulled the "Nah, it'll be ok, I don't need to disconnect the fuel rail, I'll get them later..."

Well, it's later. Way to go dummy.

It got too late after I discovered the issue, so I'll have to get them... another day. Tomorrow's already shot and allocated elsewhere, so... that's that. I'm done with this this weekend.

I did get the crane to fit though! And I got things otherwise ready for the lift... only to discover that the intake has to come off *anyway*, because what I got won't clear it. Fantastic.

So to salvage things a little bit, I went and ordered the oil pan gasket, the intake gasket set, the oil adapter gasket, a new thermostat ('cause there, might as well) and the pipe assembly, as expensive as it is, because both of those hose/connectors/? are one big thing. Sure, I could rig something up, but... not gonna. It lasted as long as it did, so a new one will do just fine... one hopes... for as long again. Anyway, all the stuff should be here Wednesday, accordin' to Summit. Just in time for another weekend. Maybe things will go well...

I really could use a break on this reclamation project at this point. I'm hopeful I don't have to go farther. Only things left at this point are the heads and the crank/rods... I am very optimistic the crank/rods are ok... and the heads are too... but at this point, I'm just really concerned something else is about to pop up, and I'm gettin' a little cranky... ha!... about it.

Thanks for readin'. Again, I remind all, I do these posts for the cathartic effect, because otherwise a sledgehammer might get involved where it shouldn't...

Cavero

All I can say is with the kind of determination you show...it's gonna be an incredible feeling when you get her back together.

Mustang Freak

X1000!

houtex

I appreciate the uplifting! I am just hoping that once all the disassembly and such is done reassembly goes like the clutch did, and that starter I did for this other car. Took forever to take apart, but goin' back in was smooth and easy.

I'll take that if it happens.

No updates otherwise. Awaiting parts...

houtex

Novtoberpril 41st, being a leap year, update.

Yesterday was... I mean, I had the 'I'm messed up inside again' issue, and I'm gettin' *real dang tired* of that. But after all these tests it is Known. I'm just that way. Yay. I gotta stop eating, I guess.

I did manage to start getting the intake off. As mentioned above, two reasons. So yeah, got started... and...


I *have to have* a deep well 8mm socket.

Fine. Trip to Lowes for that, because I also need a COP bolt that I can't find, lost in the crevices of my car. I don't know how. I know it's not in the motor, of course, but, maaan... Oh well.

So by the time I did that... I got back just in time to my Dad's house where we watched the Texans get past the Bills in heart attack/stroke/porque no los dos fashion, and thanks to the Titans () winning against the Bradychicks, mah Texans are going to Kansas City. Kansas City here they come. Because Mr. Mr. JOOONES, Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones, Mr. Jooones... went to the teeeennnn.... on that ruunnn... So that was thrilling and I got to watch it with my Dad. But it being a late game, well, that was that, after I took Mom to get some food for all us'ns, and then get back and... yep, time to put it up for the night. Also, apparently I shouldn't have done that work, as I sprung a little leak from the blood letting I did the day before. Double Reds. They always want those. They warned me not to drink alcohol, get fluids, eat a hearty dinner, and not do exercise... turns out workin' on a car is exercise... so they're kind of meaning what they say. Wasn't a big deal, but still... very very weird to see the site of the vampiric action do that...

So. Today. More of the innards issue. I need a new body. Grr. BUT... I got better enough to attempt to do things. And also the vein was good to go now. And things I did. I currently hurt so much from the weird positions and fighting through my ailments... but things I did.

So first thing was the fuel rails. They block two bolts of the intake. That took a minute, they really didn't want to come loose. But I won. They all look ok, the injectors and o-rings, I'll probably just lube them back up and send it on that stuff. Now taht I've messed with them, they'll be easier to remove/replace if they sprang a leak now. Intake was un-wired, un-hosed, and then unbolted. Popped right off, but man, the areas around those runners are *filthy*. These cars really like to collect the dirt. Gonna be a fun time cleanin' those. I stuffed shop towels in them, and have plans to rig up a snorkled shop vac thing to suck anything left in the intakes. Good thing all the valves are closed now. Oh, yeah, I put the valve covers back on before I did the intake *exactly* for this reason. Dirty. I just wonder how to clean this going forward?

I then got the lower engine-thermostat housing hose off the oil filter adapter. Aaand I'll need a new lower hose, this one for some reason is messed up at that end. Softer than it should be, seems to be flaking away... so yeah. New hose is definitely in order. I also got it off the thermostat housing. I actually got it off of that first, to try to mitigate the messiness that is the coolant stuck in the motor. Worked about as well as I could make it, not too much mess afterwards. Most went in the pan(s). Yes, two. It's that kind of messy...

After that, I got the thermostat housing-lower radiator hose off the radiator, and now the entire set of coolant hoses is off the car. Yay or something. I'll be rebuilding the thermostat and housing as needed. Might as well kind of thing, got the thermostat and o-ring with the intake kit...

Ok, so recap... valve covers back on to prevent crap dropping in, fuel rails/injectors off, intake off, radiator hoses off, thermostat housing off, coolant pretty much all gone... Let's get those heater pipes out of the valley.

I put a couple of sheets of doubled up aluminum foil under the pipes right on the valley floor, and made sure they'd be little 'pools'. Then I put shop rags in the pools. Then I attacked the pipes. The upper one, in the above picture the one with the quick connect, was impossible. So corroded up and nasty. I wound up getting my fancy lil' hose cutter and sliced the hose part, leaving it on the crossover pipe, which has been loosened, but can't be removed because of this connection. Well, now it can be removed. I'll have to get that elbow off later.

I then finagled things regarding the wires attached to the pipes bracket, got them all taken off. That actually freed up the wiring and helped me get things out of the way better! Then got the two heater hoses off. I am NOT putting those factory clamps back on. They are a pain in the butt, spun the wrong way, and just... no. I have all kinds of ready-to-go stainless worm gears going back in their places. Every. Stinkin'. One. I hate those factory clamps. I *know* they're better, but... my motorcycle has the worm ones factory, and they're fine, so I'm going to use them here. Delayed me about an hour overall getting those things out. I don't know who put them on, but they must have been real jerks... or factory workers that don't have to worry about getting them out later, one of the two...

Anyway. Heater hoses off, tucked away, pipe bracket loose, the upper one cut off because not saving it, and then yank the bottom one... tada, pipes are out! And let me tell you, the aluminum foil/shop towel thing did a fantastic job at catching the coolant that came out! Clean up was a *breeze*. Couldn't be happier with my lil' foil epiphany. Hope that helps someone! Same trick as I use for the motorcycle, wrap the exhaust pipe with foil, sort of make a channel, then remove the oil filter. Bad design, but packaging is always an issue with motorcycles, yeah? And this prevents the oil getting on the pipe. Oooh that smell...and smoke...

That's right. Aluminum Foil. It's your friend!

So, back to the pipeage... The o-rings on the... nipple? Feed pipe? IDK what it's call, but it goes to the water pump from behind. There's two o-rings, they're the same, and they felt good, not brittle or out of shape. I put them back on after cleaning the feed pipe, and greased them up in anticipation of the inevitable reapplication of a pipe upon it's self. But not just yet.

Ok... I think I'm there. Finally. Everything is removed from the top side. All the hoses, wiring out of the way, even the two nuts for the motor mounts are removed...

I had already put the chain and clevis on the alternator studs, so I broke out the crane, put its legs down, hooked up the crane to the clevis and... lifted the engine.

IT. WORKS. Hot dang, it works. I knew it would. Well, ok, I had my reservations regarding the chains being put where I put them, but everyone says either the alternator studs/bolts, or the intake bolts will do. Still. My first time, scary and nerve wracking, but it WORKS!

Lifted the engine,still on the trans and therefore on the trans mount, not disconnected from the exhaust. But it pulled up almost off the studs of the motor mounts. Had to clear one wire connector off the bay side on the passenger side, but that was it. I still have room to go, but I believe it's up enough to get the oil pan out!

But. It's a crane. It's a hydraulic ram holding things up. I know it will let off and let that motor down. Remember I had gotten an engine holder/brace? The fender to fender bar with the adjustable hooks and its own chains and all that, just to hold the engine in place/up as needed? Well, that's been applied. And funnily enough, sure enough, the crane let that motor back down in the time it took me to get the engine holder/brace busted out and figured out and ready to mount. Not sure I didn't have the crane 'locked' all the way, but proving the point. Can't trust the crane, not to hold things, gotta have your eye on it. Every jack I've owned does that. Just the nature of these beasts, oh well. I mean, I'm sure I could buy a really expensive one guaranteed to hold things up, but... that's ok. That's why they have jack stands, and that's why they make engine holders/braces: Because cranes won't stay up forever.

I find it quite amusing the instructions specifically state "do not work on engine while being supported by brace." So... what the heck is this thing for then?! I mean, I get it, lawyers had to get involved to prevent a suit, but still, sorta defeats the purpose.

Also, I'm betting it was user error. Thing is *stout*. And stable. I attempted to shake it, and then shook the engine, both while the crane was still involved and after I removed the crane from the picture. Yes, the crane has to go, I can't work on the car if it's in the way, for this anyway. If I was takin' the motor out, that's different. But this is the reason for the brace above all else.

Finally. I'm nearing the goal of disassembly complete. But not yet. That was the stopping point tonight. Gotta work tomorrow. Had to clean up for the night, get some grub, go to sleep.

I sill have oil pan, oil pickup and oil adapter to take off. And the cams, they've been awaiting their turn at removal. They are the absolute *last* things being removed, because at that point, it's time to clean ALL THE THINGS, then start the reassembly process. But even before those come off, I'm going to take the windage tray off and inspect the crank and rods to be sure the bearings are ok. It all comes down to that. If there's too much play, then... well, I've kind of wasted time, but not really. I'm just a transmission removal away from pulling the engine, and the timing bits go into the new one, or this one gets freshened, whichever makes sense.

Assuming the crank/rods are good, then the cams come off. Then cleanings. Then assembly.

It's slow, but it's gettin' there. Issues with me, issues involving me, issues with 'and another thing's... But I'm trudgin' forward best I can. Just feel it's not really best I can sometimes...

Thanks for readin', update when there's an update to be had!

Bert

wow, this saga reminds me of why it took me 3 months to change my front lower control arm bushings, and is making me reconsider whether I want to tackle this job!

hang in there and keep the updates coming, enjoying the reading!

houtex

I shall call him... Mini Update!

But first...

3 months? For control arm bushings? That's why you buy the entire control arms!

I joke, I have no idea what you were goin' through.

Also, while I do these "I'm workin' here!" threads for the cathartic reasons, I also hope to enlighten people about their cars, what goes on and why things are, as I discover them. We're all in this together, right? More info is good, especially gotchas and better ideas and workarounds.

I mean, discovering that you actually *can't* drain all the coolant out from the radiator petcock is disappointing. There's actually five different things you got to do to get the fluid out. The radiator, sure. Do that. Hose helps. Then you pull the upper hose, but then you pull the tank off, and keep the hose on the thermostat housing. Then drain fluid from that one. Leave it on, pull the left side crossover tube radiator hose off, then use the tank hose to drain *more* fluid out as the system lets more go. THEN you pull the lower radiator hose off, and catch the bit from that. THEN you pull the lower engine hose off, and THEN you can pull the crossover tube and get the heater hoses off.

It's a real process, turns out. Wish I'da known. And now I do, and so do you!

Now... why is that important-ish? Because the online manuals are for... something else. NOTHING in regards to the coolant system of the 4.6L 2005-2006 Mustangs (apparently '07 and up are different?) is in the manuals. It's... *close*. But not quite. Precisely because the thermostat housing that lives on the left side near the lower radiator outlet *is not in there*. The thermostat is elsewhere, hidden behind the alternator, apparently. The hoses are different in the drawings. It would appear that in THAT configuration, the draining from the radiator will be fine. But not in the '05-06 configuration.

So there ya go.

I wonder if I should put that up elsewhere as it's own thing...

---

Ok, it was bothering me last night, and so this morning I did the right thing, in my eyes anyway. I lowered the motor back onto the motor mounts, the support bar screw thingys lowered it plenty fine... and raised it a couple of times too, as I needed to align the holes... Weird shoving the engine around like that... but it worked both ways with enough ease I'm curious if I can just use it to lift the motor directly instead of busting out the crane again... I well lubricated the screw hooks and giant wing nuts with grease, so... maybe it'll work.

The concern I had was leaving the thing hanging for however many days and nights it'd take for me to get under the car and do things(tm) would do something bad to the bolts or the bolt holes. Stretch the threads, bend the bolts... I mean, we're talking 10mm heads and skinny, long bolts here. Both the intake and the crossover tube ones. Not exactly beefy. So just in case.

I'm sure I'm being overly paranoid. But to ease the paranoia, I went to Horrid Freak and got some body shims. The entire box of the things, if stacked, will reach over 6 inches, which is 3 inches a side. About where it'll wind up. So I can pull the motor up, slide the shims in, settle the motor on 'em (they'll be aligned with the motor mount stud and the stud stays in the motor mount bracket, so it's all sorta still attached in a way). They shouldn't go anywhere, and the motor will be supported underneath and up top! Maybe a little less strain on those bolts and holes I'm worryin' on.

Don't worry, I'll duct tape the shims so they don't be splayin' all around. Or something. I'm sure I'm gonna need to do something to keep them in line. I'd weld them, but I ain't got one of those. Although I do have a battery and some cable... Maybe I go get a welding stick... Wait, I got it. Duct tape AND some radiator clamps. Yeah. That'll work. OOH, no wait... JBWELD. Of course. And duct tape and radiator clamps. And a couple of zipties, just because at that point I'm being ridiculous.

Whatever, I'll get it figured, don't worry, I won't be unsafe. I'll let y'all know what happens.

---

An annoying thing is the lower radiator hose, the one from the thermostat housing bottom outlet to the bottom engine/oil adapter outlet. Nobody has one. Had to order it. And everywhere, EVERYWHERE, it's next Monday (13th Jan)before it shows up. Except the one from StoneBuggy. They could have a 30 day warranty 'last years model/acquired from liquidation' one to me by Thursday (9th Jan). I'm not anticipating all this stuff being done this weekend, but I'm still gonna try. Having things 'in stock' is better than not for that.

And while I'm a slight bit concerned about the weird that part sounds like, for double the price and the same Monday the 13th delivery to get the 'our own stock' version... meh. I'm sure the thing is good. And if I *do* have to replace it... well, I know what I'm up against, AND the dang thing will almost leap out of the car, especially when I have tossed the old OEM band clamps. Those things... but I already fumed about those. They gone, that's that, never again.

Ok, that's it. Laters!

EF1

This project has experienced scope creep at a government scale. Good luck, keep at it and you will get there eventually.

Bert

Long story, but not as long as yours, LOL . . . I had a little bit of scope creep (ball joints and paint) and some special requirements (hard poly bushings for road track) but most of the delay was due to multiple trips to Harbor Freight for various tools, waiting for paint to dry, going on vacation, and so on and so forth!

And complications with the available control arms that didn't quite meet my needs -- the GT500 OEM ones are too soft, the BMR complete ones are too weak, the Steeda ones have extended ball joints which require bump steer correction . . . it's complicated! :-)

Cavero

Kinda wanna see some pics of all this

houtex

Yeah, I'll put an album together later. I'm le tired. I am taking a couple of pics, but honestly... it's not all that exciting or informative. Maybe when I put it back together I'll document it in reverse or something...
---
(posting this from a notepad 'journal' I did instead. aaand... *click*)
---
TL;DR: Don't dismount the power steering, the pan doesn't care. Among other things, but that's the big one, don't waste your time on it.
TL;DR v2: Work sucks, but it's the timing that's the problem there, not the work...
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1-11-2020 A Saturday for whom that must know that.
Update the whocaresbutmeandafewothersmaybebutprollynot

As I'm typin' this, I'm on a lil' break from workin' on Awesome, eatin' a carrot, gettin' a little bit of fluids in, fixin' to do a little research and figured I'd start typin' on Notepad my thoughts and goings on while I rested and thought. I'll post it end of the day. So this is sorta gonna be an 'as I'm goin' entry, lil' different than the 'end of day diatribe.'

I'll do my best to keep it shortish, but at this point, if you don't know what I do in this thing, well...

---

It rained a plenty and blew quite a lot overnight, and was still a bit not-so-great this AM when I woke up. I made breakfast and awaited things to calm a little.

It got kinda cold too. Not sure it woulda worked at 8-9am, to be honest, my hands, y'know...

Anyway, got started. First thing I did was get the oil adapter off to replace that gasket. What a mess in between the engine and that thing. But it's gonna be better!

I tensioned the brace allthread/bolts/whatever they're called up a litte bit, ready to lift the engine. Then I went under and took out all the oil pan bolts. Lost one in the K member, but I found it later with a magnet. Yay, 'cause that woulda been... irritating. Yes, that's the word I'll use. There's a hollow under the crank pulley type area of the K member that's just perfect for eating bolts and things... Silly design decision.

So I got the pan loose, ready to extract. Lift the motor about 1.75 inches (1 3/4 for those who like their numbers that way) and... dang. Pan clears except for the transmission. I could pull the transmission, but c'mon. JUST a little more up and the tilt will clear the K member... and a little more... and... oh, I gotta stop, the cats are starting to impinge. That's all it'll go. 2.5 inches or so. Maybe 3.

And the oil pan is still not clearing the transmission. It needs about 1/8" more clearance then the puppy would slide out slicker than sandpaper. Well, ok, that's not all that slick, but it'd still come out... but alas.

I am therefore about to loosen up the K member... if not just yank it all the way out. Because otherwise I gotta yank the transmission to get the engine out. I can't do both at the same time, it won't work where I'm at. I don't wanna do the transmission.

K member loosening/removal it is. Here's a handy video, similar to what I'm facing.

The interesting thing is they're supporting the engine *with the transmission alone.*



I mean, I suppose... So... With the engine brace and the transmission already mounted, I should be good.

I'm still gonna put a jack under the transmission. I ain't stupid. I'm ignorant, overly simple minded sometimes (especially when it's 'ah, should be cake to replace these chains!' or such) but safety third is a mantra!

If it don't come out with the loosening/lowering, then all the way, Mae! K member's comin' out. Meh. It'll be ok, just... yeah. But I can do it. That's why I have the transjack, for the trans, the axle, and this thing. Ain't skeert, but dangit.

See y'all in a bit.

---

And then work called. *right* when I was gonna go do that.

Discussed a bit. Had idead. Nothing. Had to go in. Means gettin' cleaned up, re-dressed, going, dealing with, getting done, goin' home, gettin' re-dressed... ugh. 'Bout three hours of prime workin' on the car time down the drain with all that.. Fantastic.

Timing. I still haz problems with. Such an adventure it's been...

Ok, back home, it's early evening, sun's goin' down fast, need a little grub, then gettin' back in it.

---

Back from doing things(tm)...

Right, the 9er's won, whatevs (although Arin, if you're still around, grats and all!) and currently the Titans are havin' their way with the Ravens... which while I support as this would benefit the Texans if they win tomorrow, as that'll mean the AFC Championship is in NRG, and THAT would be awesome. Not Awesome, but awesome nonetheless! XD

First things first... Texans gotta get it in KC. Tough call, but then I expect not many said "Titans win."

And now...

We left things where I'd decided to drop the K member. And that's fine. I got all the 8 bolts loosened up. I did so to actually drop the thing a little while still captured. This nut, that bolt, that bolt, that nut, that sort of thing. I stopped because I figured I needed to do the other side, and also weight needed to come off. Just in case. So I then attacked the left side spindle to get it all freed up.

My. Goodness.

First, I accidentally didn't think and took the caliper off, realized my 'whut' of the moment, put it back with loctite on the bolts, then took the entire bracketry and caliper off and hung it.

Then I attacked the tie rod end. The left one had been fine and in since she was created... and it was NOT going to let go. I hammered and hammered and used slickery and finally had to wedge the pickle fork in there () and then hammered the stud... and hammered and hammered and *POW* it came out.

The 2 pound brass hammer did nothing. The 3 pound sledge did nothing until the pickle fork. And even then.

And after all that... yeah, that one's not goin' back in.

But that's OK! While I'm there (again!) I have the bumpsteer kit, so I'll just slap that in. NBD, was gonna do it anyway at some point, so... now's good!

Also took the control arm ball joint bolt and nut off, and it's free. Can't get it off, but that's ok, it'll just slide out when the time comes.

I then started to get the other side figured out, got the tie rod off first this time... and then... somehow... I had some kind of an epiphany! I could just remove the power steering rack and that'll free up the pan, right? Right!

Some rather easy at this point overall wrenching, just time, and tada, the thing is out! It's captured on the spindle/tie rod end and the pipes, but it's out of the way!

...and that's the wrong side, stupid. Pan is still stuck in there on the BACK SIDE of the K member. Way to waste that time... Or did I? I mean.. the thing WAS leaking. Perhaps I just need to go ahead and service them o-rings While I'm There(tm)...

Back to the K member/oil pan issue... Ohhhkayyyy... FINE. I give. You're comin' ALL the way out now. The manual says to raise the motor 1.5 inches (which is about all you can do, btw) and then to lower the K member near 2 inches... and the bolts/nuts aren't that long... so it's comin' out.

Fantastic.

But it's late. And I'm *filthy* from the underside because of various fluids that're lingering or have leaked (power steering leak from earlier, the oil adapter, oil changes... And all the coolant spillage from gettin' the hoses off...) And I'm also tired and a little sore. So I'm gonna pack it up for tonight.

Tomorrow, until about 1pm, because Texans wif the pops. GO TEXANS!

John SCB

Thanks for yet another detailed update. Your articulate and oh-so-descriptive writing style makes it crystal clear that fixing these cars can be a royal pain. After 15 years of ownership, 105,000 miles and a new battery, the only problems I've encountered with my GT were self-imposed (replacing the clutch before it needed to be replaced). Your stories makes me want to consider selling the car before such troubles arise. Carry on.

Mustang Freak

I would definitely have to sell or pay someone else simple as that!

houtex

John: Most cars are a royal pain. If you don't go through and loosen/tighten, and ain't done it before, and also get sucked in to something that sorta says
...ish... that turns into
because
and
it'd get this stupid this fast,and it just makes you wanna

But cars are like that sometimes. Nobody escapes it.

---

There. Hows that for pics/vids.

---

I didn't update for yesterday. So here we go.

Texans lost. I dunno what they need to do, but BOB and RAC might need to be... dealt with. I get that KC is awesomesauce, even if their BBQ is questionable (don't @ me), but honestly... You HAD THEM. Then Kelce got stupid, and you had NO clue how to stop him?!

C'mon.

But that's the past. To the future or something.

---

Because I wanted to spend time with the fam, I didn't get much done today. I *did* get the steering rack out. It just had to come out. It's in the way. So fine. I also have to clean it up and put new o-rings on the incoming pipes anyway, to really solve that leak I 'fixed' with stop leak. System wasn't near as messy to disassemble as I'd thought, actually. Got the pump out, the rack out, the reservoir out, left the cooling tube near the radiator though. What a mess. It'll help though. Rack's fine, actually, just the hose o-rings.

But that took a while, because I was trying to actually pin it to the sway bar, and that was... not happening. I was trying to 'add lightness' to the K member. So that thing removed, attacked the right side wheel stuff. I managed to mangle the ball joint bolt. Not happy about that. I'll see if I can chase it back to ok, but I think I'm going to have to get a new one. Just... Yeah.

Caliper/bracket came off no problem, hung by the strut/spring with care.

Found I bent the head of one of the intake bolts. So I'll have to get another one of those too. :| Probably just get a set along with that ball joint bolt. Also making me rethink what I'm doin' with the hanger, if that bolt did that... Not real sure what to do about it at the moment...

'Bout it. K member still in there, engine resting on it, but it's ready to come out. Had to 'fix' the transjack because it was leaking down pretty bad, but there's a procedure to fix that. Get it all the way up, open the release valve a little, *push that thing down fast as you can*, then repeat a couple of times. Tada, thing stays up. Gotta get my other jack out and get the transmission to be supported.

Soon. That oil pan/k member is NOT going to win, but I'm losing bolts doing it... eh.

Update when the next thing happens, later!

houtex

1-20-2020, mini update, as I'm fixin' to head out to get yet another something else.

Motor mounts are done. Like, really done. And I was stupid and didn't say "self, you're there..." Ugh. But I need them worse than I need to berate myself, they're in stock somewhere that's open and I can get them. I ain't happy, would rather wait, but you'll see from pics why I'm not gonna.

I'll probably replace them again later, but I'll just have to lick my wounds about last minute crap and just go get what I can. Dangit. It's just motor mounts though, but the ones I have, seriously, they're D-U-N, done.

Bigger update soon(tm). Off I go... *crosses fingers they ain't lyin' about the mounts...*

houtex

As I walk through the valley... Update the ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?!?

Ok.

Ok.

Ok... calm down. Life is what happens when you are too busy making lemonade... It'll be ok...

---

So as I sit down and start this up, I have bashed my right index finger on a slipped socket when I was trying to torque a bolt. Ow. I also wrenched my hand drilling things. Ow. And it's all starting to hurt as I don't use them. Typing is gonna (siphon with.. y'know...) Oh, and I'm tired, It's almost tomorrow morning, and I'm a lil' filthy, 'cause not showered yet.

But... BUT.... Today's Mission Accomplished.

Well... mostly....

I'll get to that... but the day's goal was achieved nonetheless, so I'm not completely unhappy at all. Grand majority of happy goin' on. Honest. I'm just too tired to really express it at the moment. But I promised an update, so here:

---

Today I watched SpaceX launch a Falcon9 booster, it's nth time, and final, because it gonna s'plody. All to test that new Crew Dragon and the escape system. Worked fine, and indeed, the rocket blew up spectacularly due to the slight bit of tumbling it was just going to start. Or so I understand. Who knows, all I know is it s'plodied real good, and the Crew Dragon passed.

I then set about making the thing(s) I wanted to make to feel a little safer about the engine being supported by that bar. Oh yeah. I forgot to do that update yesterday. Mainly because there wasn't anything to update. All I did was be ill, again, I'm gettin' tired of admitting but it happens. But I dragged myself to Home Depot to get some bolts to replace the bent one(s? not sure about the other one, but got one to be sure) and while it's 7mm longer than stock, I think I can make it work until I can hit a junkyard, 'cause Ford is stupid about those particular Intake bolts. Oh well, it'll happen later. I also got new, shorter bolts to go in the holes, and some bracketry, and some quick links.

So, like I said, armed with that today, I set about and made this happen, at the end of it:

Just Hangin' Around

That's a doubled up, closely bolt holed, angle bracket of not-insignificant metal thickness each, bolted to the front intake holes, and then drilled out in line and quick linked right to the hooks for the support bar. Everything completely vertical/in line for the least amount of stress, bolted down, as good as it will get. It was seemingly strong and I used this to also lift the engine up as well. Worked a charm, although i was still nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking rocking chairs using this setup.

But as you can see, I did not get crushed, so that's good. Or did I?

No I really didn't! Honest. And I also stuck a 6 ton jack stand (as all my 2 tons are holding up the car right now) under the very front of the bell housing to be extra secure. I raised the motor, shoved the jack stand under there, and lowered the engine until the bell housing was resting just on the jack stand. And the quick links were still tensioned. About as balanced/safe as one can get on this, I think... unless maybe you have the Ford overhead support system, but that thing... yeesh.

And so... a little bit more finagling with the transjack doing the work, and then some shoving and figuring and lifting and grunting and this and that and TADA!

Maaagiiic!

It's outta there! Yeah, I use this thing to roll stuff under the car. I have a nicer creeper for me, one that doesn't try to eat me with the wheels, but this is low and works well for such as this.


This is fine... If you're into scary things...

Yeah. That's completely not comfortable to look at. I've engineered and examined and youtubed and read and things seem to say this won't be an issue. Bill at CJ did the BMR K Member swap with a Coyote, and all they did was the (in effect) jack stand you see here, no overhead anything. So I'm *guessing* I'll be ok...

Ok, so... Finally the oil pan is off, obviously, and I get the pickup tube out too. I decide to just shake a couple of the bearing caps and they are *fantastic*. No shaking, no moving, just perfect. Things look great in there. I think I'm good to go!
I attack the oil pan. Just be assured that thing is clean and ready to go at some point, but here's pictures.


Dark orange marmalade anyone?


Magic 8 Oil Pan, is there pieces of timing chain guide in you?


"It Is Decidedly So, Signs Point To Yes."


They look like they're cowering in terror awaiting their fate... Heh.

So that got cleaned out. No metal... well, I'll get back to that, but for all intents and purposes, no metal, no sparkly oil, let's move on, shall we?

The oil pickup tube was... fun. The next three pics tell the tale:
I saw, I conquered, and what the heck did you eat?!


Like a squirrel stuffing his face.


This big boy didn't want to come out. I'm amazed it got in there.


ALL THIS. In the pickup tube. I wish I was joking.

I'm frankly astounded the engine wasn't hurt. It's sorta weird how the pickup tube somehow shoved the materials to the sides and still had a hole for the oil to get up in. That the cams survived... much less the crank... I want to say these things oil bottom to top, right? Still. A fair amount of leeway seems to have been accomplished. Anyway, all that mess came out of the tube. It's clean as a whistle now, I swear it. (notice that shiny silver lookin' chip in the third pic, top middle-ish? Just you wait...)

This is the total amount of crud extracted from the oil pan and pickup tube. It looks to be the remaining 2/3rds of the guide. I found no evidence there was any anywhere else... yet... I've not taken apart the old oil pump nor the filter, those should be hilarious... But given the pickup is first defense, the oil pump is second, and the filter is third before the engine sees any oil, I'm pretty sure there won't be much. The chips don't much break down without a LOT of force, seems, and the pickup tube would have gotten the majority. We shall see. FordTechMakuLoco has apparently done a few like these, and they all seem fine afterwards, so... *crosses fingers* (He's a Ford Modular wizard, I tell ya.)

(Note: My arms and hands are hurting/aching now. Gettin' hard to keep typing. Today was a rough one, people... Oh well, I'm gonna keep going, I promised... and I wanna document... and get it out of my system... all that kind of thing...)

Remember that metal that wasn't there? Well... Interestingly enough, given this topic:
https://themustangsource.com/forums/...-video-547404/
Check it out:

Well, I'll be. Flaky aluminum! Huh.

The lower piece came from the oil pan. The middle piece came from the pickup tube. And the upper teensy piece came off the middle piece when I touched it. And since the Coyote and the 3V are both aluminum... Not sure what to think. I check the edges and 'hollow' side facing, and it wasn't exactly flaking off... odd. Anyway, just thought I'd let y'all see that, given that topic. Wasn't all that much, and wasn't any following those two. Just gonna go with 'odd' and move on.

Ok, so everything is cleaned up. Ready to put things back in. So let's go. Primed the oil pump and put it on, then I put on the oil pick up tube (SO much easier to do those two oil pump mating bolts with the pan outta the way. Oh, and the oil pump came with an o-ring, which I lubed up and put on the tube, I'm a good boy. ) Then the pan went on... then just as I just get the bolts ALL started... ah, dangit, I forgot. Pan comes back off, apply Ultra Black RTV to the rear main seal plate-block seam, THEN put the pan back on, torqued as ordered by the manual...1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 all finger tight, repeat at (mumbles) ft/lb, then 60 degrees. (I just forget at the moment the ft/lbs, bein' lazy.) It's done right. I know how much 60 degrees is, you bet. XD

Buttoned up oil pan!


Pump on, rags stuffed to keep it clean in there, not ready just yet...

That is a Melling 340HV. Higher volume pump, supposed to help things. Same pressure, though.

And then it was time for the K member to go... back... on.. hm. Those motor mounts are... yeah, bad. The studs were jigging about worse than Jello in an earthquake.

Tracked those down, went to get, you saw that mini up there, right? Right. Got them, installed them. They... fit. I guess. Seemed to mount ok. Little wonky gettin' them bolts to work, but work they did. Whee. Aftermarket stuff... but I had to do it, 'cause you see that rigging, right?

And THEN the K member went back on... that was fun, getting it under the car again, then getting it on the transjack (which you can't get the combo in/out under the car, just need 1 more inch clearance... alas...) and then aligning it, and holding it just so and my tongue in the right place and crossing my teeth and gnashing my toes and... yay. I did it! I don't have a picture, everyone knows what that should look like, right? Right. It's in there.

Bolted it up with all seven nuts and bolts, and lowered the engine onto the cradle...

"Wait!", I hear you say. "That's not right! There are eight (8) total bolts and nuts involved for those K members! What are you talking about?"

Well...

Friends, I'm just at a loss. Wasn't even all that hard to do. Unfortunately.


Left side K member rear brace front bolt...


... is not a bolt anymore.

Yep. Sheared the head right clean off. Although it's a pretty clean shear, I must admit. And I also admit getting that bolt out was fun in the first place, as it really didn't wanna leave, but I had to do it to it. And honestly, I'm not sure that's the same bolt going back in, they are the same kind after all those two. You can probably tell I'm a teensy bit concerned... That remaining bolt did torque correctly though, so I probably did shear off the stubborn one in the stubborn hole because I'm stubborn and it was ticked off at being removed in the first place.

So anyway, it happened. Hence my not completely happy with the end of the day issue. Oh well. I'll have to drill that out I suppose and then re-tap it maybe, if possible, and stick a bolt back in there. I don't want alignment issues or it dropping out or whatever. I wonder if I can get on the back side of that somehow, but... eh. Worst case, I'll weld it with a plate and a stud, use a nut instead, or something, but let's not get radical just yet. Drill first, then see...

And that's it. Excepting that ONE FRACKING BOLT... Gah... I mean seriously, c'MON already, that's just... ugh...

...ahem.

Excepting that, I got the day's goal completely done! Get oil pan off, get tube off, clean, reassemble. Get that cradle back up and get the engine in it. While I did the engineering I did to make it as safe as possible, I wasn't gonna have that engine hanging around for a week. Do the job, get outta there kind of thing.

Probably why I'm hurtin' so much right now... Ow...

Really wish I'd have been better yesterday, I could be doing the cams and followers today, but everything is proceeding as it should, I guess.Perhaps if I'd done this operation yestarday, I'd be too messed up to do anything anyway.

The big thing is I got the car/engine in a good place now. The hardest part is finally over (save that dang bolt.) There's a light, I see it in that tunnel. It's faint, it's flickering, but I'm gonna start movin' towards it.

I just hope it's not a freight train comin' at me...

I don't know what I'm gonna do about that bolt though... I've never drilled out a bolt. But that's ok. For everything, there is a first time, Lieutenant. Wouldn't you agree Admiral?

(Bonus points for anyone who gets that.)

G'night.

/Ow.

houtex

First, RIP Kobe and Gigi, and the others on that helicopter. Just a shame.
---

Update the Imreallytiredatthispointofthewholething.jpgif

This weekend, like most, have been... stupid. Well, not completely. I did see my niece dance, she's really good, and I saw my nephew play b-ball, he's really good... at football. But he ain't all that bad at b-ball either, just definitely football. During his b-ball game he got a touchdown. Maybe an extra point, nobody really's sure, but he made some decent moves too.

Anyway. All that and I was kinda ill the whole weekend. Hence the 'stupid'.

So the only thing I did this weekend was to attack that bolt problem from last update. Stupid bolt. I have learned some things. And the short version 'cause I'm tired is thus:

Grade 10.9 metric is equivalent to Grade 8 SAE. Tough bolt. How the heck I snapped it is... yeah. :headscratch:
Places don't carry these things. Like, at all. They carry metric 8.8. Or possibly 12.9, but in Allen cap, which would be hella funny to torque down...
I wound up ordering the bolt from Ford after roaming around trying to find this thing... And also went ahead and got an 8.8 setup to have something in there...
Drilling a Grade 8/10.9 bolt is... not fun. You need either cobalt or diamond drill bits, or you'll never get through. I acquired some cobalt, rather not as expensive as I thought they'd be...
Center punching a bolt that's been fractured is interesting...
...hence the need to have a Dremel and a tungsten grinding bit that has a flat side on the end. That worked a charm, btw! Flat surface for punching!
Center punching a bolt is just hard on your back and you can't see because your eyes have had it with getting old. I used to have 20/15... But I managed to somehow get it done.
Drilling on your back pressing up into a bolt is... fun. Ow...
But I did manage to, I think, go in a straight line! Yay or things!
Drilling the bolt, take your time. Step up one size at a time. Take your time. Lubricate the situation. Don't snap a bit off in there... Take your time. Lubricate. Patience. Slowly.
...8 bits later, the 1/4" snapped anyway. Just like that. So much for trying to drill this out now. It's in there wayy early, so no extractor's gonna get in there.
So... I'm done. 3 hours of on my back wasted in an instant.

---

I'm really not all that upset. Just yet another 'what the heck' going on, although if you'd scroll up and hit that Screaming Marmot a few times, that'd be about right.


IDK. I'm just so done with this whole thing. For tonight anyway.

The plan moving forward is to otherwise 'finish' the engine anyway, get it back running and get Awesome out of the garage. Even with the missing bolt, she should be ok to move around a little bit. Just don't jostle things too much, I'm guessing... I'll get her somewhere she can sit for a bit until I can figure out what to do about that situation. Geometrically speaking... I kind of wish if one would have snapped, it would have been the rear one. I think the front one would work by itself, and you'd just get a 12.9 instead of the 10.9 and go on with life maybe. But that rear one... I don't know. I may still get a 12.9 for now, and then figure out how to stud that broken bolt instead. Weld a 12.9 stud at the frame, washer and flange nut the thing in?

Whatever, deal with that later. After I get Awesome back moving, gotta fix the Caliber I'm borrowing. It needs brakes, and it needs a heater core. I've just learned you don't have to take the dash out, apparently, so that's a plus. I can then give it back to my pops and take his Magnum and get the A/C working on it. And then re-attack my Mustang after that. Because I'm not driving her much in that missing K member bolt configuration, it may affect the suspension. Or the engine staying in the car. Or something else. Just... it's there for a reason...

---

I had to know. So I found out. The bolts go into a pair of sleeve nuts as long as the bolts are. Those are welded together with a 'beam' between them, then welded in to the section of metal that then is welded to the frame. I'm guessing that entire piece is available, and you'd just drill out the old welds, separate that piece and then body glue/weld the replacement in. I...*could*... do that, but it'd once again require the engine to be supported and the K-member removed again. Hence the 'maybe I stud it' idea. If possible. Or advisable. I just... yeah.

/I wonder how much diamond drills are...

---

Edit: Did a little researchin' after I posted that. Turns out I'm messed up on things. First, you don't use diamond, although you can... I guess... they don't really make those... or I can't find them... but you can use tungsten carbide. And you don't use a drill, you use an end mill. Or a dremel cutting tool. I have such a tool. So all is not *yet* lost. It'll siphon, it'll be slow, but it can be done, and that's a good thing(tm).

I'm still movin' with the 'forget it for now' thing and getting the car back on the wheels first. I can attack that bolt situation after I get the rest of things done that need doin'.