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11
Misc Tech / Distributor shaft bushings for rebuilds
Last post by V8Demon -
Ok.  Considering that I now own THREE cars with a TFI style EFI Ford 5.0 ignition system I figure it's time to have some spare GOOD parts on hand; specifically a distributor or two.

I have 2 old/worn distributors with known bad PIP sensors. One from one of my cars, the other I grabbed for dirt cheap to swap the PIP on to use as a spare.

Anyway I figure if I'm going through the hassle of pulling the gear and shift to get to the PIP, I may as well swap out the shaft bushings as well while I'm at it.  Worn shaft bushings can and WILL affect the idle quality and just off idle power due to the introduction of lateral and rotational shaft play even with known good electronics installed on the distributor and the rest of the ignition system.  Been there done that.

My question is where the hell can I source the proper bushing?  The earlier. 467" diameter ones are plentiful.

The ones for EFI cars it's a . 531" diameter shaft? I'm coming up with bupkis.  Strange considering that you can obtain cheap knockoff aftermarket distributors brand new so with that in mind, one SHOULD be able to source the proper bushings as well.

So, anyone ever rebuild one or know a source for the bushings?

Fwiw  .531" is basically 17/32nds...
12
Electrical Tech / Re: EEC / computer power relay relocation
Last post by jcassity -
since last dealing with this eec power relay, i did happen to spot it where it should be but that was on my white coug i completely overhauled going 3.8L to 5.0 & flat black paint, folding rear seat, fuel pump access hatch, subframes, dual exhaust,  fuel filter relocation to engine bay, 2'' tube steel re-enforced rad core supppor & front end support so car can be towed from front or rear, mining belt pads at four points for future jacking up of car or lifts,, list of improvments go on and on including built in pop out drink HOLDER!!!!.

my point was if anyone did this,, did they remember if any wires needed extended or not.
iirc, one or two wires traveled "up" wth no slack.

from what i observed, the best way to get to the relay is through the pass front speaker opening.,,, howeveer,,,
you have to fabricate a tiny tool to poke into a special spot on the speaker grill in order to remove it properly.  i did know this until i poped the grill off and discivered the tab.  the shop manual did not mention this at all anywhere that i was able to find.
13
User Rides / Re: 1983 Ford Thunderbird Heritage
Last post by Ductape91 -
Drove the tbird around for the last two days since my daily is broke and i needed to put more miles on that fuel sender and all i can say is wow, the headlights just dont light up anything on the road in the rain. The stuff they used to paint the lines with lasted years and was still visible in the rain with standard halogens but man this newer stuff is faded after months and is invisible in the rain.
Had to pic up some new wipers right away and the intermitten wipers just kept stopping randomly on the windshield untill i ran the normal speed for awhile. Probably havent been used for decades so im just glad they even work.
I put it back in the garage again, maybe next weekend ill drag it back out, but while i was there i finally got to use those h4 headlight replacements i bought like a year ago but threw some cheap leds in.



I hate the color, hope they wont blind people but they probably will. Well see.
14
Electrical Tech / Re: EEC / computer power relay relocation
Last post by Chuck W -
It's a pain to get to, but how often does one really need to access it. It shouldn't be a problem to relocate it pretty much anywhere else.

Thanks for the note on the EFI relay on the CFI cars. I'll be doing a port injection swap with a MegaSquirt on the LTS and I'll make sure I swap out the relay.
15
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars WANTED / Wanted- Oil Pan for 5.0L
Last post by jcassity -
I am experimenting on doing a two piece oil pan and would like to also post the process on my youtube channel " I FIX IT ALL".

A two piece pan would allow one to remove the pan without too much trouble,, pull the two long bolts out for motor mount then jack up the engine a little bit to achieve bell housing and front rack clearance.

location is 24941 and ph 304 772 4082 ask for scott.

16
Electrical Tech / EEC / computer power relay relocation
Last post by jcassity -
I  was really disappointed in how ford mounted the computer power relay.  Its location being difficult to get to is an understatement.
I am considering lowering it downward and over to an area that would put it basically behind the glove box.

meaning,, you open said glove box then push in the tab of the clove box so it swings completely down.  now when you look at your hvac enclosure, to the right there would reside the power relay.

thoughts?

tid bit of random knowledge her in case anyone out there needs to know...............................................
*** IF *** you have a ford engine with a CFI fuel injection system.... your EEC power relay is unique unto itself.  it is not by any stretch a mirror of what you would know of as a standard relay.   more specifically, if your engine has an IDLE SPEED Control Motor, mounted to the side of your CFI,  the proper relay for your car would be one that has a time delay built into the low current side / coil side of the relay offering a time delay when you turn your ign sw "OFF".  during power down, the eec power relay stays energizd for a couple seconds to respot / re-position the nose of the ISC motor for your next startup.  once this eec command is complete, the eec power relay will power down.,,, actually after a couple seconds it will power down.  All im saying here is that the eec power relay has a power down time delay built into it just for the sake of properly operating the ISC motor controller.

I swapped in a 5.0L sefi into an originally built 3.8L CFI coug, i was able to use a standard relay for this application and so would anyone else who *does not* have an ISC motor controller typically only equipped on CFI application engines by ford.
 
17
User Rides / Re: 1983 Ford Thunderbird Heritage
Last post by Ductape91 -
Stopped by the garage today before i went to work, actually a few days ago also to take it out, to replace the alternator.
Easy enough job with just a 7/16, 9/16, 5/8 sockets and 15mm wrench and 5/16 socket for the tensioner.

Pulled the old one out and took a pic so i can remember where the wires go.



Inspecting the alternator charging harness, wires looks good no hot spots or corrosion on the connectors. A real shame that these connectors are not reproduced by anybody.



Old and new(nos rebuilt actually). I had to drag it to work yesterday to remove the pulley since i cant find my impact anywhere.



And new one ready to go in.



The old one has alot of forward/back play in it, definately enough to make the belt jump. Rebuildable so im going to drag it to work and take it apart and see where the play came from.
18
Other Vehicles / Re: '16 F150
Last post by Mikey97D -
January 26th I said good-bye to big blue.  That was my favorite truck so far. 

I got a '21 F150 Powerboost.  Hard to find a used Powerboost with 6.5' bed, but I found this one with 41k miles.  It has the Max Tow package and the 7.2kW connection in the bed.  Should be really useful for the pulling the tow behind camper and boondocking. 
19
Other Vehicles / Re: Oops, I did it again. I bought a new car. (1986 Ford LTD wagon)
Last post by Chuck W -
So, a little update.

Life and winter has hampered progress, but here's where we sit at the moment.

In the bay with the 2015-17 intake.



All with the hood closed.


I went to a 96-04 Kmember, as I needed a little more drop under the oil pan. Still needed to clearance the back of the Kmember to get the pan down and foreward.


I have about 1/4" between the oil pan and the rack, but as you can see, the pan is still tucked up under the K-member


Right now I'm sorting out motor mounts. I have a couple ideas on what I want to do, but we'll see which one pans out. Ironically, I may wind up welding the factory mount pads back on, even if they're in a slightly different location.

The only real clearance issue is the u-joint on the steering shaft with the DS exhaust manifold. I think I can make it work OK with a little engine placement, a spendy steering shaft, and some clearancing (meaning grinding).