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Messages - ThunderFox

16
Engine Tech / Temperature Gauge
Put on the new HD clutch and Mustang 9 blade fan and wow, what a difference. If you put your hand over the engine you can feel it blowing at idle. Did a 30 mile trip which included a 10-15 minute initial idle warm up and without the A/C on it stays between the N and O even in consistent low speed driving. With the A/C on it didn't budge past the middle, beginning of R at the most and immediately drops when the A/C is off, not bad. It was high 80's today too. Hopefully this is done. Lol Thanks all for the help and tips.
17
Engine Tech / Temperature Gauge
Well the car still goes to "M" with A/C on after a little while during an hour long trip yesterday in high 80 deg weather. Im pretty sure it's the fan clutch since its the stop and go/ low speed driving it can't overcome. When cruising on the highway even with A/C on the temp starts to drop. I wonder what temp it really is on the "M"? Does anyone know the range of temperature for the stock buttstuffog gauge? I dont think it was near overheating or maybe that's normal operating temp, stock gauges suck. I should get a manual gauge for the A Pillar.

The fan clutch has a lot of gunk at the front. I picked up a HD fan clutch from Advanced and once I feel btter Im going to put it on with the 9 blade Mustang fan. I can't see it being anything else at this point.

Thanks for all the help and info so far.
18
Suspension/Steering / Mustang Front Control Arms
Hey guys, now that I have the engine finally set(other than VC Gaskets and upgraded fan), I am moving on to suspension. I was going to replace end links and sway bar bushings, then have my friend rebuild the control arms (bushings and ball joints), replace shocks/struts and check the rest.

Here's the question: are all Fox Mustang front control arms a direct swap? I actually found a set of low mileage control arms with bushings and ball joints from a 4 cyl. Mustang. Can I just buy these and swap them on instead of going individual parts?

Thanks!
19
Engine Tech / Thermostat Replacement
Quote from: JeremyB;435165
Do they make a rubber/silicone thermostat gasket for that application? For my 3.8, you can get this. Which turns a t-stat swap from a c to a breeze. No more sing the old paper gasket/RTV out!


That's pretty cool, but I haven't seen anything like that for the 5.0.
20
Engine Tech / Thermostat Replacement
Well, the car sat overnight and I took it to work with no signs of a leak. So I guess it was the lack of a clamp on the bypass hose. I guess I learned my lesson and I don't have to do the T-Stat again(for now).
21
Engine Tech / Temperature Gauge
Quote from: JeremyB;435132
A 180 degree thermostat will only delay overheating if you have cooling issues. A thermostat fully opens at 15-20 degrees above what it's rated for. At 195-200, a 180 degree t-tstat if flowing the same as a 195 degree t-stat at 210-215 degrees. If you have underlying issues and get stuck in nasty stop-n-go traffic in a hot day, the 180 degree stat will only buy you a few minutes before it's running just as hot as a 195.

That's all I'm looking for. AFAIK the cooling system is working properly, the radiator looks to be in good shape, there are no leaks(other than my ignorance in excluding a hose clamp from the bypass hose) and the coolant that I drained for the T-Stat install was a nice clean light green. I'm just looking for more cushion when the A/C is running full blast on a hot day. I'm going to upgrade to a heavy duty fan clutch and the 9 blade Mustang fan.

My Mark VII was in great shape and the Temp. gauge would stay a little over the middle(just not as far) on hot A/C days ad that car had no issues idling with the A/C on for hours. It still gets me paranoid though. Lol
22
Engine Tech / Thermostat Replacement
I searched on here before I did it and didn't find much info, I guess I should have searched harder. Lol

Well I put a clamp on the T-Stat side of the bypass, cleaned up the coolant under the housing and stuffed a paper towel underneath. Warmed it up to full temp to get coolant flowing through the housing, drove it aggressively for 10-15 minutes and no leak. Sat for almost an hour, still no leak. I drove it to work(less than 7 miles) and temp never got over half with the A/C blasting. When it did leak yesterday, it went right over half within a few minutes of driving.

It's going to sit for almost 9 hours. I hope it's not leaking when I get out. If it's not, I will tell everyone I know how awesome the Stant adhesive backed gaskets are. Lol
23
Engine Tech / Thermostat Replacement
I'm going to put a clamp on that side and hope that is it. If not, I give up my belief in no RTV on T-Stats and I'm going to make sure this thing doesn't leak if I have to do it again. I'll give the Ultra Black a try if I unfortunately have to.
24
Engine Tech / Thermostat Replacement
So I decided to go with the 180* T-Stat. It was a pain since hoses and clamps were original and that right bolt is so annoying but after a couple of hours I had the thermostat in with a new upper radiator and bypass hose. Drove at least 5-10 miles yesterday , all good. Drive it for 10 minutes tonight and there's a leak in the thermostat area.

I didn't put a clamp on the T-Stat side of the bypass hose so I hope that's it. But it's probably the T-Stat with my luck, how can it be fine one day and then leak the next? I sed both the housing and manifold side clean and had an adhesive backed gasket holding it in place. Are there any tricks I'm missing here? I wouldn't mind if I didn't have to drain the coolant again. Any ideas on what I'm missing would be great. Lol
25
Engine Tech / MAP Vacuum Line Size
Quote from: thunderjet302;435002
I would at the very least clean the plugs if not replace them outright.

Yeah, they're cheap enough and it's easy enough. I picked up some Autolites before work and I'll swap them tonight. Thanks for the info!
26
Engine Tech / MAP Vacuum Line Size
Quote from: thunderjet302;434987
How rich was it? Like smoking rich?

I drove it about 8 miles to get home from work but at one point it was smoking and I pulled over to cool down. It was rich enough to smell and see with the exhaust.
27
Engine Tech / MAP Vacuum Line Size
Quote from: thunderjet302;434958
Just pop the upper off next time. Takes all of 10 minutes :D

I hated doing it when I put on the HO upper because of the old vacuum line, and now they're coming back for revenge. Lol

Do you think I should change plugs since it was running so rich for a day or so. It runs great once it warms up, but there is an intermittent slight rough idle/ hesitation in the first few minutes of driving. The MAP and rich codes are gone.
28
Engine Tech / MAP Vacuum Line Size
What a PIA dong this with the manifold on. I had to get some pliers in there and work them with one hand coming from the drivers side, and one from the back to get the worm clamp off. But thankfully the hose on the fitting was strong enough and I just pulled it until it popped off.

I used 3/8" heater hose for the fitting on the manifold and once it cleared the manifold I used a reducer to 1/4" to then connect to the MAP. Took some time running and driving to get any residual fuel out (I guess that was why) and now its running great again.

The 1/4" I used is fuel line or wiper fluid line because it's not very strong. I'm pretty sure there's not enough vacuum to cause a problem until I get the 1/4" heater hose...

Now on to the 180* T-Stat and new upper radiator hose when it comes in a couple of days.
29
Engine Tech / MAP Vacuum Line Size
Does anyone know what size the MAP vacuum line is? Is it a different size at the MAP connection and at the intake manifold side?

Thank you.
30
Engine Tech / Temperature Gauge
We'll I'm an idiot. Took it to a shop just to check the exhaust, all good. Then I ran codes, MAP sensor. Checked it out and the vacuum hose sprung a leak.

PIA bc I don't want to take the manifold off again. Is there usually a clamp on the MAP hose under the intake? What size and length is the MAP hose if anyone knows off hand?

Thanks.