#3 is not correct. I have a late-build (manufactured date July 1988) Thunderbird Sport that csme with the factory 8.8 axle and 10" smooth drums. Up until a year ago it was factory stock right down to the lers, plug wires, plugs, and air silencer in the fender.
I attached a pic of the door jamb label with VIN, manuf date, trim and axle codes, etc if anyone is interested.
You have an exception, and not the rule, at the end of the build cycle for that platform.
It could be similar to the '88 XR-7 in that respect (the 8.8 ), but also many V8 Sports came with the 7.5.
Right. They do exist. I have seen one other 88 Bird that was an LX with the 5L option, was NOT a Sport, and it also had the drum 8.8. Actually I tried to buy it about 5 yrs ago, as it was a cream puff garage queen owned since new by a senior, but he would not let it go.
So from what I understand (Chuck or Eric correct me here) is that the:
1) 87-88 Turbo Coupes had the 8.8 rear end that was the same housing width as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and were disc brake. Correct.
2) The 88 XR-7 Cougar had a drum brake 8.8 that was the same width as the Turbo Coupe rear end from axle to axle but the housing is the same as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and not very common. Correct. There was a V8 Cougar that had an 8.8 drum brake rear. Narrow housing. Longer axles.
3) There were some 87-88 Thunderbirds that had an 8.8 with drum brakes but I believe the housing was wider like the 7.5" housings. No. There were no 8.8's in any other 83-88 Tbird, other than mentioned in #1 and #2. All 86-88 TBIrds/Cougars (Not listed above) had the wide housing 7.5.
I looked at the chart and the XR-7 is not discussed not is any type of 8.8 drum brake rear end.
#3 is not correct. I have a late-build (manufactured date July 1988) Thunderbird Sport that csme with the factory 8.8 axle and 10" smooth drums. Up until a year ago it was factory stock right down to the lers, plug wires, plugs, and air silencer in the fender.
I attached a pic of the door jamb label with VIN, manuf date, trim and axle codes, etc if anyone is interested.
Yeah, I'd do either the top or the bottom hole, depending on clearance between spindle pad and strut body. Maximum motorsports had a little squib on it somewhere on their webpage at one time.
Having to use spacers for a narrower strut shouldn't cause the camber to be off. Those are two consistent points and the locations are very close to identical (if not exactly the same) between the 10" and the 11" spindles.
If you let the CA drop down as far as it would go, could it be possible the springs popped out of their pocket on the CA and caused what amounts to a taller spring? (that will certainly and definitely cause your issue)
The other thing I can think of is that the spindles were bent, like they came from a wrecked car. I'd doubt this is the case, but could be. I'd assume you know their source?
Last thing; did you happen to disconnect the swaybar end links and then not get 'em tightened up enough? They have to be nearly parallel to the ground (rather a smooth flat surface, preferably)
A couple of well lit pics of the underside of the front end help us I'd bet.
No, you misunderstood, I had questioned about the strut spacers because he said he had reused the struts and had not mentioned he acquired some spacers to mount them up, just wanted to clear that up before moving on to addressing his camber concerns.
So...3 main factors influencing camber here are vehicle ride height, spindle design (can't do much to alter what's baked in from factory here), and strut positioning.
So, going off him having stated that the springs were never dislodged from the control arm pocket while having the A-arm lowered to swap spindles and unless he really put the torque to those control arm bushings while unloaded... then I'd be looking closely at how the strut is positioned both top and bottom. How close does the strut body come to contacting the inside edge of the wheel/tire assembly? Any pics of it? With hood open, how is the strut positioned at the strut tower, towards the fender or towards the engine?
So assuming everything else is checking out, which would be a bit odd... solutions to get rid of positive camber? Aside from installing lowering springs in the front, which will bring some negative camber into the picture, or installing the tbird specific caster/camber plates...
The other options are too elongate one of the strut to spindle mounting holes on the strut ears to allow the spindle to be inclined inboard, thus decreasing the positive camber... OR... slightly elongate the upper strut mount holes at the strut tower to allow the strut to incline inboard, bringing the spindle with it, thus decreasing the positive camber.
You say you reused the original struts and only swapped the spindles. But the original 10" brake spindles have a thicker mounting pad on the spindle than the 11" spindles use. So you must have used spacers to make up the difference when you changed spindles.
I have gotten new store bought struts for these cars before where the strut body mounting ears had the wider spindle mount design even though they were spec'd for a 11" brake car. The reason? The common store bought strut manufacturers decided to stop making the struts in 2 versions, one with wider spindle mount ears, one with thin. Probably for cost reasons or to keep people from buying the wrong version. So they make them ALL with the wide and include in the plastic hardware bag a set of 2 rectangular steel spacers with predrilled bolt holes for the two strut mount bolts to make up that width difference.
I've also seen that where the strut mounting ears are welded onto the strut body vertically seems to vary quite a bit depending on manufacturer and vehicle application. If your car has previously had struts replaced, you may want to look at how far up or down the strut body your mounting ears are at. In my experience the 87-8 cars are camber sensitive to these details due to the longer front lower A arms.
Its a bit tricky to see with the spindle and strut in the way...but recheck to make sure you got the end of the spring's coil correctly seated into the lower A-arm pocket, usually between the two small drain holes in the pocket. It can sometimes shift a bit while reassembling.
Also if you had the A-arms attaching bolts loosened at the K-member, to prevent them binding, keep in mind they need to be fully tightened only once the weight of the vehicle is back on them, either a drive-on lift or some good quality ramps. Get your torque wrench out, I think the spec is 175 ft/lbs for the A-arm pivot bolts, but verify that fitst for your own applivation.
When I did the Fox control arm/Sn95 spindle swap on my 87 TC , I also elongated the strut tower holes in addition to using the MM plates to allow for more neg camber range.
The strut towers arent exactly made out of tissue paper so it does take some time and a good carbide burr, a die grinder, and most importantly some safety glasses. A shop vac and some primer and paint should also be part of the plan. But the results were worth it.
Cowboy, sorry, I went to edit my post and accidentally cut/deleted almost the whole thing. Since it was late and I was half asleep, I'll try to throw my guess back at it again after re-reading your efforts to diag so far.
Yes, bad ign switch can cause intermittent or weak voltage to apply to start signal wire causing wonky issues. The more important thing is it can cause wiring going to it to melt due to resistance/poor contact. People have had bad dash fires or even lost the whole car to fire due to bad ign switches. Bottom line, check yours out, dont put it off.
Resistance/length of signal wire to starter should not be an issue since its hardly carrying much current, just needs to be roughly 12v. The factory red/blue signal wire is like a puny 18 guage wire, just for context.
On starter wiring, there isnt much to eliminate before you should have it pretty well narrowed down. Faulty connections are 95% of starting issues.
If the solenoid at the starter is only clicking, it sounds to me like you have a bad ground connection on ground cable from engine to battery, or ground cable itself is junk.
Also triple check positive batt cable connections and load test battery to make sure its not just holding good voltage with no load, but experiencing a dead short under the load of cranking engine, just giving enough to click the solenoid.
If these connections are correct and in place, then your problem lies in the ignition switch OR you simply have a bad starter motor. Because thats all thats left in the circuit.
so all these injectors, with a whole list of compatable part numbers on some, all seem to have the same body style. I would be inclined to believe that they are all the same, just from different manufacturers, but i notice that several are from the same company, but with different part numbers themselves. Also, the ones listed on the site seem to be from an 'E' series of part numbers, while the one you showed me covers an 'F' series. Am I overthinking this? or are there valid small differences?
Not really, the differences in part # or application probably stems from the fact that Ford used your 5.0 fuel injected standard output, or SO, engine in multiple vehicles over the years throughout the 80's and 90's. Everything from Lincoln Town Cars to lowly E150 work vans. Same fuel injector, same basic fuel system in operation, just packaged slightly differently since a van has a different engine bay than a Crown Vic.
The important thing would be to ensure that you get ones rated at the 14 lb/hr rating because your engine computer is using that assumed fuel flow rating across the injector. Make sure any injectors you get have new O-rings and lube them while installing, engine fires are no bueno.
Assuming the diagnosis of bad injectors is correct, and the car you are referring to is the 1988 Cougar 5.0 in your sig, the stock injector is the old Bosch style EV1 14 lb/hr injector, usually gray in color at the top where it plugs in. I don't have the original part #, but its probably obsolete/discontinued anyhow. This link to equivalent replacements for sale at Amazon may have some additional part # info or reference:
Not to undermine whoever diagnosed the bad injectors, but I'd also have them check all engine vacuum lines, especially ones under the upper intake plenum going to the fuel vapor charcoal cannister, the map sensor, the pcv valve, etc. The speed density system is sensitive to vacuum leaks, and the rubber lines under the upper plenum are highly pr0ne to aging cracks/leaks, which will cause extremely poor driveability/idle.
An HO conversion might be an option too, Cool Cats website has a write up on whats involved with that if you are interested.
Why not just keep a lookout for a complete 8.8 assembly with the gears you want already installed? With some patience, there are 87-8 TC rear ends for sale that already have either 3.55s or 3.73 gears in it with the lsd. If you dont want to use the 4 lug disc brakes, just swap your axles and drums on instead.
I've found Fox mustangs being parted out with built rear ends that had upgraded gears, diff, and axles for very good savings over doing it again with your own parts.
Dont know what you are paying for the 7.5 parts, but gear installs run between $250-350 labor plus fluid, shims, and maybe new carrier, pinion, and axle bearings if yours look worn. Just sayin, might want to run the numbers.
Where's the chalk outline around the car and all the crime scene tape? Looks like a slaughter under there with all that trans blood puddled up under the drain pan. Drain pan?! We dont use no stinkin drain pan for stinky old atf !
Nuthin better than working under a car with atf soaked kitty litter to massage and soothe your achy back and replentish the essential oils in your hair..ahhh!
Sent you a PM interested in the 140mph speedo cluster, seats, carpet and door panels.
As far as the ProMotion T5, I've never had any experience with one, so can't speak to it. About 4/years ago, we put a Astro T5 in a 93 Cobra with built motor and Vortech approx 565rwhp añd similar torque, used a quicktime bell and custom clutch, I drove it few times and thought it was a fantastic trans fwiw. I wouldnt hesitate to use one.
Where's the chalk outline around the car and all the crime scene tape? Looks like a slaughter under there with all that trans blood puddled up under the drain pan. Drain pan?! We dont use no stinkin drain pan for stinky old atf ! 
