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Messages - Cougar5.0

2011
Suspension/Steering / Re: 295 tires on stock turbines?
I have the M/T ET Street 275/60/15 drag radials mounted on a stock 7" rim. Great for track use and it JUST clears the fender lip. Kinda sloppy on corners though. Funny how M/T (and others) say that a 7" rim is too narrow for these tires, but the relaxed width across beads before mounting is 7" so it fits on the rim rather easily (unlike what so many said here on the "internet"!)
2012
Lounge / Re: OK, it's that time of year: (warning, sports-related)
Well, I'm not good at predicting future events, but considering that the Pats won it all last year and are playing a bit beat up this year, I am surprised at the lack of a letdown by this team AND I think that this sort of diversity is actually good for a Belichick team where he can use the injuries to rally some of the lesser known players so they will have experience when he needs one of them in a pinch. I'm also in awe of the Stealers at this point in the season, but I've seen hot teams in the past and will just wait until the pressure is on before I fully beleve that they are for real.

Edit: BTW, my misspelling of Steelers is deliberate  :dunce: any other misspellings are purely coincidental  :grinno:
2013
Drivetrain Tech / Re: Rear differential clunk
I found something unexpected when I replaced my stock Ford T-Loc with an Eaton E-Locker this past year. The shims on either side of the differential carrier are one piece (for each side of the carrier) ground at the factory based on some statisics as to how the carrier tolerances are running at a particular time (best I can determine). The problem I found was that the material they make the shim pieces out of is some sort of cheap soft metal that is susceptible to permanent deformation by the shock forces normally applied by a good running motor with a nice snappy throttle response. What does this mean in reality? Well, my shims were worn more on one side of the carrier and they were worn such that they were NO LONGER parallel to the carrier (diagonal wear). This was due to the way the force during acceleration is applied to the carrier and then to the housing through the shims. It was obvious to me after taking the unit apart that the shim material from Ford was TOO SOFT and this clearly allowed EXCESSIVE SLOP in the differential carrier.  I wont go so far as to say that this is why many of these units clunk, but I will say that what I saw was a CLEAR DESIGN FLAW and lead to a ton of play in my differential. I ground the stock Ford shims down and added the HARDENED STEEL shims that come with any differential rebuilding kit between the now thinner original Ford shim and carrier so that a nice hard piece of TRUE SHIM STOCK was seeing the shock forces from the carrier! I was SHOCKED at the 0.030" lash I was seeing when measuring gear lash, and was almost as stunned to find out that just reinstalling shims to the original thickness as installed by Ford removed all of the excessive lash and put the gearset back into spec without ANY OTHER ADJUSTMENTS!!!

Perhaps I stumbled across the reason for the clunking of the Ford rearends? Let me state this clearly - the difference in thickness from one side of the factory Ford shim to the other (only 110,000 miles) was 0.010"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you familiar with these sorts of things, that a HUGH amount of distortion in what should be a hardened and stable shim.
2014
Lounge / Re: OK, it's that time of year: (warning, sports-related)
Well, I'm not giving up on the Pats just yet  :grinno: Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but if the Pats get anywhere close to healthy by the end of the year, the Stealers will realize how lucky they were to have won the first meeting. The only thing worse than playing a well prepared and healthy Belichick Pats is playing a well prepared and healthy Pats after having beat them in the same year previously  :2gunsfiri

I'm not expecting much after winning the Superbowl (and the World Series), but DO NOT count out my boys!  :bowdown:
2015
Suspension/Steering / Re: Tired of no traction->need help putting togther suspension
Quote from: EricCoolCats
Yes. ;) It's just that things are pending and I don't want to let the proverbial cat out of the bag just yet. But let's just say a deal may be in the works. And you will just about poop your pants when things are all said and done.


OK, I'm installing my diaper on new years and waiting!  :deal:
2016
Lounge / Re: Poll: What category Would This Fall Into?
I chose sufficient. The rest of my comments involve the Edelbrock criticisms in this thread.

I've used the Edelbrock Performer 5L intake and it is one of the best designs out there (especially the lower). Others have had similar good experiences with the RPM (upper) version as well. It is also more expensive than the Trickflow intakes that are very heavy and ugly IMHO. The Trickflow intakes have huge port exits also which make them difficult to align with heads - especially if shaved - the Edelbrock intakes taper down so they can be adjusted to the heads as needed. The Edelbrock aluminum  heads are some of the best quality out there with all of the holes heli-coiled which is not true of many other brands.

Those Victor Jr. intakes can make some serious HP too from what I've read. I've never heard of the sort of quality issues from Edelbrock that Trick Flow had with their valve guides. Their products are much improved though and push the performance envelope a bit more than Edelbrock who are a bit conservative unless you are going with their "Victor" high RPM race oriented gear...
2017
Drivetrain Tech / Re: okay 5 speed swappers...
Quote from: 88lx50
..."One is the brake light switch.  One is the starter interrupt switch, and the other one sends a signal to the computer when the car is in neutral.  Most people do not hook up the last switch, although I did.  It is wired parallel with another switch on the transmission, that many people mistakenly use as a neutral safety switch."

...



http://www.keislerauto.com/gm/transmissions/overview.html

..."Integrated neutral safety switch makes conversion from automatic to manual even easier"...

I love having a neutral safety instead of having to push in the clutch. I found out that some T5's also have the Neutral Safety Switch, but I think you are correct that it was not designed for this use as the Tremec 3550/TKO/500/600 trannies are. Too bad because I always know for sure that I am in neutral when I start the car.
2018
Drivetrain Tech / Re: okay 5 speed swappers...
Quote from: shame302
yeah..i dont see it.  it. when you shorted it out at the tranny (eliminating the clutches wire loop and switch?) did it turn over with the clutch out?


Yeah, it will turn over with the clutch out. The way to have the safety in this case is to wire the neutral safety on the 5-speed into the same wiring as the old automatic tranny neutral safety switch. Basically the wire completes the circuit to the starter solenoid. If the wire is not connected, no power gets to the starter solenoid and the car (obviously) won't start.
2020
Drivetrain Tech / Re: okay 5 speed swappers...
To get mine to start I had to simply short the wires going to the neutral safety switch at the tranny. I eventually got a neutral safety switch for the Tremec and rewired the neutral safety back in. I never did anything involving the clutch switch since the one on the tranny keeps you from starting the car in gear which is all the IHRA/NHRA cares about (drag racing). There may or may not be any wiring for the clutch switch under the dash - I never found it. The switch on the tranny works fine for me.
2021
Engine Swapping / Re: Tips before install & 1st Start
I think the oil pump spins in reverse so the drill should be run backwards to pre-oil-prime the motor (won't hurt if I'm wrong, you'll get lots of oil on the spinning shaft if you are spinning it the correct way). Seeing that you have a roller cam that has hardened lobes and roller lifters, cam break-in isn't really a big issue. Double check that the distributor is installed correctly - I can't tell you how many times I thought I had it in correctly only to find out it was wrongly installed.
2022
Drivetrain Tech / Re: Which rear axles interchange for a 1987 Thunderdird?
Quote from: JeremyB
The axle in question has already had a repair bearing installed and it too has worn down the axle surface. The pinion seal leaks too. I guess these things are to be expected with 212k miles on the car.


I upgraded to Moser axles when I went to a 31 spline rear, but these guys will make any length you need for $225/pair or $115 ea. in 28 (stock) or 31 spline. http://www.moserengineering.com/moser_interior/customaxles_cclip.htm I just told them my application and they knew what length (though there are length tables on the internet - you need to search for them). My order actually had another vehicle listed on it so there is a cross for the 4-lug TC axles. It appears that 7.5" & 8.8" use same axles from interchange info above?
2024
At The Track / Re: my times with the afr 165 heads
Quote from: Mercoug302
When I got the dyno tune, they did 2 pulls on my current configuration before they began tuning, it was 289 rwhp. I added 3 for 1/4 because my dyno session was indoors, in the summer, in hot-ass Atl Ga. I ran the 1/4 time in the fall where I live in NJ on a 56 degree night. It may have been more or less at the track because I came to find out from the J-man, that the stock sensor that was in my C&L intermittantly did not return voltage to the EEC! So there were some instances where I pretty much wasn't using a MAF meter at all.


I'll bet the difference between "indoors, in the summer, in hot-ass Atl Ga" and "56 degree night" is around 20 HP based on my experience. I saw a 2+ MPH improvement hot summer day VS cool fall evening.
2025
At The Track / Re: my times with the afr 165 heads
Quote from: Mercoug302
Not really, before I had my tune, I was pushing about 292 rwhp on a good day (when my f'in C&L meter would work properly). I ran a 13.47 @ 107.2 mph spinning all the way through 1st and second (I pulled a 2.6 60" time). This was on a very stiff suspension, non locking rear and street tires with 5 speed manual with stock shifter and 3.08 gears. So I definetly lost some time and MPH on that run. If I had optimal track conditions and equiptment to leave the line better, I am almost certain that I could've pulled a similar time/mph as rob302. My car is a 1988 XR7 with every option and a (at that time) 240lb driver.

There are also SC'd 4.6L MN-12 guys pushing about 310-320 rwhp and running high 12's @ 109ish mph, and their cars weigh just a hair under 4K with driver.


About 292 RWHP - is that a dyno number? My car ran slower as predicted by those in the know when I got better traction. It ran 108 with 2.0 60' and 107.2 with a 1.7x 60'. Some of the other things you mentioned may add MPH though. I think my car must run on like 7 cylinders of something! BTW a 20th Cougar (all options) weighs 3700 lb with 170lb me and 1/2 tank of gas.