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Messages - Haystack

31
Engine Tech / Re: spark loss while driving
Bad spark plug wires cause interference on am radio.

I had an 88xr7. Tach never worked. It ran okay but needed a tune up and had a bad head gasket.  When I removed the coil wire while I was doing some in related work, I put it back on and tach started working intermittently. When the tach died, it would start to stumble and miss. I figured it was caused by the bad head gasket.

Threw new spark plugs and wires at it after the headgasket repair and it worked fine.

32
User Rides / Re: 84 Tbird project
I've swapped them, they were all used junkyard stuff so who knows if they were original or not. But I pulled a full 83 console with the lights in the side then used my 87 console bits because they were nicer.
33
Suspension/Steering / Front suspension rebuild
Front suspension rebuild.

Any tips or pointers?

My 86 tbird has 220k miles on it now, 100k since I bought it 3 years ago. I drive the  out of it, pizza delivery and a ton of highway.  Last winter I hit a bad patch of ice/snow and spun out. Straightened it out right before hitting the guard rail. Luckily it pretty much only rubbed on the tire but it bent the tie rod. I adjusted it out a bit just to get by without killong tires.  Before that, the alignment was perfect.

But with all these miles on it, I lost a ball joint on a dirt road a while ago, and really haven't trusted everything else on the car since. I want to pretty much replace everything on there, including struts up front.

I would like to get as much adjustment as possible to fix a bit of caster/camber incase I bent something when I hit that guard rail.

As much as I would like caster/camber plates, I do not plan on lowering the car, just a basic stock rebuild. I was thinking about getting "crash bolts" to make sure everything is as good as I can get it, but I have no experience with them.

Every alignment ive gotten, the steering wheel ends up crooked or even upside down and they refuse to adjust everything as long as it is "in spec". I am going to try to do a drive way alignment after I replace everything to get everything as close as I can before I end up taking it somewhere to make sure its all as straight as I can get it first.

I plan on spending good money on balljoint. That one was pretty scarey. I'm glad I was under 10 mph on a dirt road when that one let go.

Any tips or tricks I need to know before hand?
34
User Rides / Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.
Pla warps pretty bad in a car interior in the summer.

The thicker you make the part the stronger, obviously. We've been making parts out of Pla dor model airplanes for a few years and they warp bad. Particullarly the wing mounts we've designed to be held on with rubber bands. Without the rubber bands they hold up okay if its not in sunlight.

Abs is slightly lighter bit not quite as rigid for the same part. Adhesion between layers is hard to get right though.
35
Electrical Tech / Re: Lamp out/Flash to pass issue
I used to use 1156 bulbs to discharge model airplane batteries. They pulled 12 watts (1 amp) each.

I dont think that a voltage drop would be very accurate, but I can't say I've researched it much. Also when measuring voltage on two different cars tail lights (my 86 cougar and 87 tbird) they were 9v at idle with the headlights on. There is pretty significant voltage drop.
37
Drivetrain Tech / Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies
Anything over 1/2 throttle in od should cause it to downshift. I can understand trying to keep it in a certain gear, but with stock motor and gearing 3rd is good for about 120mph.
38
Misc Tech / Re: dash swap, sn 95 into bird
I was saying the column trim covers for an mn12. The mn-12 is completely different. All fox parts are built on the same structure so most parts interchange
39
Misc Tech / Re: dash swap, sn 95 into bird
Yes, its pretty much identicle to the a fox mustang swap except you don't have to trim off the door handles. Ours are further back and do not interfere. The mn-12 cars use the same style steering wheel and column cover. The steering shaft a column is different. You have to trim a bit around the windshield.
40
Misc Tech / Re: 87-88 nose on 83-86 car
Bolts right up.

You need the bumper or the cover will sag. The trim lines and body line up but are a different style. All 83-88 stuff is interchangeable. The 87-88 stuff has different headlight wiring. The 83 stuff is a bit different. The hood hinges are different and so are the front turn signals, clear instead of amber.
41
Engine Tech / Re: New Radiator
That tiny hole doesn't circulcirculae much, but when its really cold, it doesnt take much to cool the car either.

My 88 car I just bought, I havent had tome to mess with it. Brand new radiator and water pump. Previous owner said it overheated easy in summer time. Threw new parts at it and then stopped driving it. Leaks out of the timing cover so I haven't messed with it much. Found a empty box full of receipts in the trunk and it has a fail safe 180° thermostat in it.

We got about a foot of snow the other day and I have been in the hospital with a new baby. Went to start the car up to keep the battery charged up and dig out the car. In 45 mins it never went over the first bar on the digi gauge and wasn't even warm enough to defrost the windows.

I did a winter out in Montana. Warmest it got was -1°f the day we finished the job and drove home, before that it was -27 to -40°f the whole time we were there, plus wind chill. And it was blowing 40+mph most days. Never been that cold before. The car ran really good the whole winter with a good heater.s the plastic headlights didn't get warm enough to keep snow off them on extended winter drives though. Never had a problem overheating that summer when I got home. Went from -40°f to 110°f running a.c. with no changes. I miss that car.
42
Engine Tech / Re: New Radiator
Most "good" quality thermostats have a bleed hole in them. I've found that the hole just allows some coolant to bypass the thermostat. Also the more expensive ones tent to open up sooner and do not fully open until the temp rating.

Most cheap thermostats act more or less like an on off switch as they open and close.

So if you did have a bad radiator before, a better thermostat may have kept it from getting hot as fast, but now it might be overlooking.

As backwards as this sounds, I'd try swapping in a cheaper thermostat.
43
Electrical Tech / Re: No Brake Lights
When my brake lights were out on an 88 I bought, only the center lamp brake light worked when you pressed the brake.

There are diodes in the turn signal so it doesnt backfeed into the turn signal switch so that when you press the brake it still flashes.
45
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Re: Is my car supposed to talk?
There is a small black wire thst connects to the ignitiong key under the steering column. On my cars, I have disabled the key/door chime since I do pizza delivery by disconnecting this wire.  A beep every time you get in and out of the car 50 times a night is quite annoying.

Not sure if the 83-84 cars are exactly the same. The 83-84 use an audible speech generated talking setup instead of a regular chime.

If that black wire is disconnected, the headlight chime should still come on once the door is opened.

The regular cluster doesn't have a oil light, but if the temp or oil is low then the check engine light will come on.