So, the Cougar shiznit the bed south of Atlanta. It decided to run again after being towed, so I Uhaul'd it back to my house instead of letting some stranger touch her. Thus, I needed to button up the Tbird's SN95 rack swap so I could go to work, and begin to acclimate myself to the rat race again after being on disability for 5 weeks.
Well well well, nothing is as easy as it seems. The portion of the shaft that fits into the column was a tight fit...a real tight fit. So tight that after slathering it with lithium grease and beating it with a pipe-wrench (hammer was MIA), the column began to collapse faster than my junk after jumping in a mountain creek. With no means of getting that sucker back out, I decided removal of the column was in order. It is a pretty easy job, but requires the first bushing from the column shift linkage to be removed. I looked at the manual, but it recommended using a bunch of specialized tools that I have no access to and would probably be harder to buy than high grade plutonium. I next tried to wedge a screwdriver in between the bushing and push the linkage over the bushing lip. NO DICE. Level II was cutting the bushing with a razor blade and stabbing the bushing with a screwdriver (I bought $50 of chisels this evening to remedy the ol' screwdriver as a precision instrument thing) to try and dismember it. NOT MUCH DICE. Level III was coming at it with a dremel and a cutoff tool as much as I could. I then used adjustable pliers to try and squeeze the bushing off. NO DICE!.
So, in short, what do I do to get that freaking bushing off?
So a few weeks ago, I go out to my Tbird (which had been sitting by the curb for over a month due to my misdeeds to it...) and notice the door was slightly ajar. Hmm... I pull on it and the door opens with no resistance. Turns out the door striker bolt snapped in two while the car was sitting. Thanks Motormite. :nkhk:
Hopefully the replacement from Motormite won't have the same problem. The above striker had only been installed for ~3 months before kicking the bucket.
I don't have a Rockwell hardness tester in my garage...but I bet the break resulted from the bolt being too "hard" (making it brittle).
Although my Tbird will never be as stiff as a 18 y/o at prom with a sample of his dad's puppies, I'd like to at least try and make it halfway there. [the car, not the prom reference]
Has anybody tried to install a MM STB in a CFI 3.8L car? If not, can anybody guess if one would fit?
I was perusing the owner's manual for my '85 Cougar (what's left of it :( ) and noticed an interesting bit in the towing section.
The manual states V6/V8s can tow 2000 lbs, but with the towing package - V8s can tow up to 3500 lbs. The manual also states the 3500 lbs is with a WD hitch. Currently, one can only buy Class I (2k lb) and Class II (3.5k lb) hitches (both use 1 1/4" receivers). Did Ford ever offer a Class III hitch?
It'd be pretty tough to tow 3500 lbs w/o a WD and not exceed the rear GAWR.
My '87 3.8L T-bird likes to lock up the front right caliper prematurely. It isn't really noticeable on dry roads...but in the wet it becomes a deathmobile. I had an off-road excursion last night due to this, so I'd like to fix the issue pr0nto.
Other than premature lockup, the braking system works fine. Anyone think it is something besides a bad caliper on the right?
After replacing the PIP/TFI in my '85 3.8L Cougar, I re-timed it. The timing marks are almost impossible to see with my Actron timing light. The last time I re-timed the dist. I painted the marks with some nail polish. Anyone have some specific tips on making the marks readable?
I replaced the TFI/PIP two days ago and after I reset the timing on my '85 3.8L Cougar. I went to pull the codes to see what was there (I pulled a KOEO 23 a few days earlier, it's been there a while)...as I hooked up my multimeter, relays and other such things began to click. That struck me as odd...I checked out the multimeter and noticed the positive input was on the 10A fused input, and not the V input. I swapped the positive input to the correct terminal (multimeter was set to DC Volts setting the entire time) and tried again.
With KOEO, the voltage on the meter was 9.7V. As codes came in, voltage would drop to 6.2V. So instead of going to 0-12-0...it goes 9.7-6.2-9.7. It gave me 23 (TPS) and 87(Fuel pump primary circuit failure). I went to crank the car and noticed the fuel pump didn't come on. It started and ran for a few seconds until the fuel ran out. I grounded out the fuel pump wire on the Self-Test and the pump ran. With the wire grounded, I could crank and run the car.
The moderators are probably aware of this, but most threads don't come up when using the search function. Is this a temporary thing as the database is updated?
I installed a class-II hitch and a Saris T-rax a few weeks ago...but with a bike on the rack and some stuff in the trunk, the car sags too much for my taste.
I remedied this by installing a set of Moog (TRW) cargo coils. $68 + shipping from partsamerica.com. I also ordered a new set of spring insulators from 50rest.com. $44 + shipping from 50resto.com
The original springs. Can you say destroyed spring insulators?
Below is a comparison of the new/old springs. Lucky for me the new springs are shorter. The spring rate increase is 50% according to Moog.
A comparison of the new/old spring insulators. You can see how the old insulators have compressed over the years. This is the upper insulator.
Look ma, no hands (or dampers or springs). Due to 4-link's mega-bind I had to resort to pry bars and a BFH to coax the left spring out. The right spring came out much easier.
That's right purty.
I took ride height measurements to see what effect the springs/insulators had. I will redo these measurements in about a month once everything has had a chance to settle in.
The measurements were taken from the top of the LCA bolt on the chassis end.
Old Springs No rack - 8.9375" Rack (no bikes) - 8.6875" Rack (2 bikes) - 8.4375" [COLOR="navy"]Total Change = 0.5"[/COLOR]
New Springs No rack - 9.6875" Rack (no bikes) - 9.5" Rack (2 bikes) - 9.1875" [COLOR="Navy"]Total Change = 0.5"[/COLOR]
I used a tape measure so my accuracy is +/- 1/16". I was surprised the new springs seemed to have an equivalent rate to the old springs. I'd hazard a guess that 3/8" of the ride height increase is due to the new insulators.
I haven't driven the car enough to obtain any driving impressions.
The bolt that comes with 3G alternators is weaker than the bolt it replaces. I ordered a set of bolts from McMaster to remedy this. Since I had to order 50 of the buggers, I'm selling some of the rest so you don't have to pay $12 for 1 fastener.
Specs:
Socket Cap Screw Std. Head 8mm x 1.25mm pitch (fine) 12.9 35mm long Black oxide coated
I went and got an alignment/balance/rotation at my local NTB today since I had bought my tires at NTBs several years ago (to get free balance/rotation). When I picked the car up, I was presented a bill for $75, luckily I had a $10 coupon. This seems somewhat ridiculously high. The place I normally go to is $39.99. The last alignment I had at NTB was $44.99 in 2000. I calculated the average inflation from then to now to be 2.69%...which gives an inflation adjusted price of ~$52.75. Wow. Time to mark another shop off of my list.
What would cause such a thing? I took my door panel off today to replace the attachment push-pins and looked around. If you roll the window down to an intermediate position then stop...the window can be moved 1 1/8" down. You can also rock it backwards/forwards a good bit. When the window goes up, it rocks forward until it slips into the slots at the top of the door..it then moves back into normal position (hopefully that made sense).
All I can see that is out of the ordinary is a good bit off free-play between the motor/regulator interface. The motor spins for a bit before the regulator begins move.
