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Topics - Haystack

16
Lounge / Yeah, that's about right.
First real snow fall of the year, and my driveshaft broke. At work, on a delivery.

Had a bit of a vibration at 75mph. If I sped up or slowed down, the vibrarion went away. I planned on replacing it, I even have another driveshaft with new u-joints in storage. Oh well.
17
Electrical Tech / Sometimes I really hate electrical
So my 86 tbird has done this thing where the dash lights and heater randomly go out. Its been like that since I bought the car last year. When I first bought it, if you tugged on the steering wheel or pulled on it too hard, the car would die.

I thought no big deal, get a new ignition switch, call it a day. Drove it home no issue, and swapped in an extra switch. Couple of months down the road, hit a speed bump and the dash lights go out. Take the switch out, and the connector is melted. The dash is still readable barely, and it didn't really bug me, so I just kinda ignored it for a while.

Now that its getting cold again, I am running my heater alot, not to mention how much I drive, and I do pizza delivery, so I like to keep the heater going as I am mainly doing short trips, in and out constantly and its been in the low 20's, so a warm car isn't a bad thing.

One day the dash lights go out, and so does the heater. I special ordered the ignitions switch "pigtail" when I knew mine was melted. As I was getting ready to splice over the whole switch, I realized I didnt need to splice all of them. So I unpinned each one, looking really carefully for anything that's burned or melted. I don't find anything, nothing at all.

As a matter of fact, all the connectors look pretty much brand new. After putting it all back, everything seems to be fixed, I figured it just must have been the slightly melted connector.

Now remembering I hit a speed bump, or tug on the steering wheel, randomly it dies again. Well today it died all together. If I kept the heater off the dash would barely light up, so I left it off or low for the whole night.

Now when I get off work, its 16° and I've been cold for most of the night. I had another new switch and some 40 amp relays plus some wire I bought specifically to splice them in and slave everything.

I pull the ignition switch off, carefully pull each wire trying to decide which one is melted and needs to be slaved to a relay. The switch still looks brand new and all the wires and connectors are still perfect.

I spent two hours trying to figure out which wire was bad and found nothing wrong. About to give up, I tossed down my test light down in the console cubby thing, and I see a flash of light. After poking around a bit, the grounding part of the cigarette lighter is powered. I hadn't even noticed, but every time I turn on my heater, my cigarette lighter dies.

To test it, I clip on an alligator clip to the outside lip of the cigarette lighter then ground it to the colum. Instantly the heater comes on, as well as the dash light. After poking around, the whole s902 grounding point seems to be dead. After another hour or two of trying to figure out where a "centered on the I/p panel" is, I stumble onto it and realize its somewhere near the radio bolted to the side of the dash.

After poking around for a bit trying to trace back to it from the cigarette lighter, I gave up, and added a t-splice to the lighter ground and bolted the other end to the dash brace on the steering column.

I feel like an idiot for blaming the ignition switch this whole time when it was just a random ground, probably just loose or dirty somewhere under the dash.

First warmish day i have off, I am gonna go any try to find that ground and see if I can replace it.
18
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Got rats...
So last night I'm driving my car and I hear what sounds like plastic being cut with a hand saw. I was driving by active construction zone with the window down so I kinda just ignored it.

Couple hours later, I go out to my car to smoke (im the only one in my family that smokes so I keep it outside) and I keep hearing something in the car. I figure its a moth or bug, so I roll the Windows down and turn on one map light hoping it will fly out. Out of the corner of my eye I see a rodent drop down from under the glove box and fall in the middle of the foot well then scurry off.

What's the best way to get rid of this thing? My first thought was to poison it, but obviously that's gonna kill it somewhere in the car.

My next thought is to put a mouse trap on the floor.

In hoping that this came from the tow yard my car that was recently wrecked at. Its just starting to get cold and I took a bunch of stuff out of my car that my buddy had in there after it sat outside with the one door open in a field. I actually keep my car pretty clean for a smoker, I vacuum it out several times a week and I try to wipe everything down at least once a week. I'm just hoping I don't have any holes somewhere they are getting inside the car at.
19
Lounge / Another one gone
My buddy wrecked my 83 cougar today. He's okay but the cars probably s.

Borrowed it to him when his girlfriend kicked him out so he could drive to and from work. Guy ran a yellow making a left hand turn and tboned him. He went to the hospital but is gonna be fine. Just sore, nothing broken and maybe some soft tissue damage.on the plus side, his girl friend took him back home.

Wheel was pushed in pretty far, windshield is smashed in. Floor and steering column stayed put. Had to use jaws and take a fire axe to the drivers side tires to get the door open. Said it took over 45 minutes to get the door open. Car was pretty clean, old paint but barely a dent on it and only around 110K miles.

We require insurance, my car had state minimums with a high deductible, other guy (newer car, I didn't see it) had no insurance.

Moral of the story, get a lower deductible, don't borrow your car to a friend, and I'll think harder at full coverage next time. Think it was only $25 more a month. Should have $25k uninsured coverage if I remember right, should cover hospital bills. Other driver wasn't hurt.
22
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars FOR SALE / Stripping a 86 5.0 cougar.
I am finally getting around to stripping the car. It's an 86 302 with about 350k miles on it. Body is pretty rough and so is some of the interior. Car drove fine before a broken oil pan, but the front end is all worn out and the shocks and and struts are junk. If you need any electrical or sensors most if not all is there and worked. Both motor mounts are shot with broken brackets.

Let me know if it can be any use to anyone. Located in grantsville utah, 84029.
24
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Stupid snow!
So, been driving my new 86 tbird doing pizza delivery. It's incredibly good in snow.I live in a relatively rural area and some drive half a mile down dirt roads to get to houses. Well, this means driving through a ton of deep snow, making the tbird much better then the fiesta just as far as ground clearance goes. Several of the places I delivered to today, the snow was higher than the door of the car when I opened it.

We got 10" of snow and then hit a killer cold snap hitting -7°f the last two days and giant chunks of snow and ice have been building up in the cars wheel wells. Today, while driving on the highway, I hit a bump dislodging a.big chunk and it was loud, hit the floor of the car hard. When I got home I could smell gas. Crawl under it and cycle the key, gas squirting everywhere. I almost stopped at a car wash and cleaned out the wheel wells, but decided it was too cold and I was too tired. Now I get to spend all day on my day off swapping fuel lines of my cougar.
26
Lounge / The saga continues
Last night I was doing a 75 mile freeway cruise, out in the middle of no where, went to downshift for a hill and nothing happened. Milked it about 20 miles (straight freeway near the bonnevile salt flats, no exits and emergency stops only) popped the hood and foundy tv cable had fallen off. Ghetto rigged it with electrical tape and a tip tie, but damage was already done.

Pissed at the slipping trans, I just got it home and placed an order for the brass bushing. Today I had to drive the car for the morning shift to do school lunch at work. While I was pulling up to a light the engine shuts off. I look at the guages, the temp is pegged all the way in the red and steam starts pouring out of the hood. I pop the hood and the fan shroud is broken and the fan is no longer connected to the water pump. The fan clutch didnt fail, my couple week old water pump  came off the pump.

Now I get to do a water pump, 3g conversion and an electric fan/radiator on thanksgiving. Probably gonna start looking for a clutch pedal and just throw the t-5 in while im at it.
27
Engine Tech / new head bolts?
I keep getting mixed responses when I look into this. I have a chilton for "ford engines 1968-1992" and it doesn't mention head bolts at all. Im assuming the stock head bolts arent tty, but I cant find any definitive answer either way. Googling is about 50% replace them you cheap skate or drop $100 on arp studs.

Im putting together a shopping list for my head gasket swap, new bolts are only $40 but are a special order part, while everything else is on the shelf.

Just trying to get this stupid xr7 reliable enough to last the winter so I can finally start fixing my 86.
28
Lounge / theres a first time for everything *rant*
I usually consider myself to be pretty good at buying $500 cars. Now to tell ya all about my 88xr7.
I figured ive about seen it all and can fix most anything on these things. For the first time, I feel like maybe I should have walked away from this one.

The gas tank was held up with some wires. I figured no big deal, hit the junk yard get some straps and call it a day. When I cut the 60' or so of wire off and dropped the tank, the fuel pump wasnt in the tank. It was hanging by a wire. The last guy drilled through the floor of the trunk and attached it to the trunk lid latch. The connector. I cut the wire, pull down the fuel pump which is "spliced" using scotch tape, duct tape and glue, also with a tiny green wire duct taped under the car to a switch wired right to the battery. No fuel pump retention ring, and the gas tank is full of dirt. Luckily it was completely empty, I ran it out of gas since the gas light was on when I got it home.

Get "new" straps, retention ring and wiring from a junkyard car, hose out the gas tank with brake clean and about 12 rolls of paper towels, reinstall the fuel pump and splice in the wiring, car starts right up, I think all is good. About two weeks later the car develops and intermittent fuel pump problem. Let it sit for 20 minutes, it fires back up. When I get it home, the wires all ohm out and cant find anything wrong.
One day the car dies at work and wont start up, so I drop the tank and cant find anything wrong, the connector has voltage but the fuel pump won't turn on. So I drop the tank on my 86 and rob the fuel pump and swap it in the tank. Bench test fuel pump fires up, in the tank nothing. Eventually I find that 6" pasr where I spliced in the "new" connector and wire, there are about 10 splices, this time just electrical tape and twisted together in about a foot of cable. Finally I found the cause of my intermittent no start.
Buy two new tires, a windsheild and throw two new shocks in the rear, plus the cat back off my 86 and I pass safety. Now it's time to swap out the new radiator with the hole some poked in it when they installed it. Luckily I had an extra in storage.

I bought a pressure tester open box on sale at harbor freight and hooked it up. Instead of leaking at the radiator, it leaks out of the also new looking water pump. Seems like a gasket so I buy a new gasket and tear it all apart. Once I get the water pump off, I find its full of rusted water, is hard to spin and the gasket leak was actually the weep hole someone had filled up with silicone.

Now for a new water pump. While in at it, why not do a thermostat and a quick tune up to get rid of the rough running idle and bad stumble. Get all that done, rotate all the spark plug wires over two posts and the car seems to idle much better but still stumbles. Oh well, drive it for a few days with no obvious water leaks.

Deciding ive about got everything major fixed and that it feels pretty solid, I drive 50 miles to pick up my kids from school. On the way back it starts overheating.
I let the car cool down and check the water level, seems a little low, but took less then a gallon. So I figured I just didnt have all the air bled out yet. Today, I drive the car to work and I keep getting weird spikes where it says its overheating on the guage, but cools right back down and the heater never quite so I know it's not out of water. So after it cools down after work, I pour some more water in it, irritated I cant find a leak and surprised at how much water it took, so I let it warm up good and hot on a quick drive. No weird temp spikes, no puddle when I park it. Let it cool down again, and after 12 miles of driving, it ate a gallon of water. My buddy stopped by, so I had him rev the engine while I was laying under it, and I see water dripping off the under side of the exhaust manifold.

Upon closer inspection, leaking between the #2 and 3 cylinders where the head meets the block.

Out of probably 10 302 cars, this is the first head gasket leak ive ever seen. My $500 car has turned into well over $1000 now, and now im looking up gasket kits and pricing stuff out. I just don't get why people.cant be honest when you buy a py $500 car. My favorite part, the guy tells me he drives it on a 500 mile trip 2 or 3 times a month and that it would pass safety with just a windsheild. I knew that was bs, since it had a cherry bomb welded straight to the cat  and no tail pipe.

Just venting. Wish I hadnt disabled my 86 by borrowing parts to get this car through safety. Now I gotta do a head gasket, hopefully the head and block are fine when I get it all apart, or illd be robbing parts off this car to drive my 86 temporarily until I can get everything fixed. Funny how much cheaper and more reliable my 340k mile car is then the "clean one owner" with only 180k.
29
Body/Appearance/Interior / key release
My new 88 xr7 has a key release. I want it gone. Is it simple to do like pull a pin or something, or is there more to it then that? I probably wouldn't go as far as swapping out column to get rid of it, but while it's in the garage and I am working on it, I practically have to get in the car to turn the key all the way on and off.
30
User Rides / picked up an 88xr7, pics coming soon.
Got it for so cheap I couldn't walk away from it. 88xr7, white,180k miles, a few issues.

Gas tank fell out I am pretty sure, it's all sed up on one side with a big dent and is currently held up with a phone cord, both sides. Tank straps were either cut or rusted through. Fuel pump is wired directly to battery on a switch, guessing fuel pump wiring got damaged when the tank fell out. Has a cherry bomb clamped on about 6" past the cat, held up with a metal hangar, no tail pipes at all. Has a 8.8" different cover in the trunk along with quad shocks, but a 7.5" rear installed with no quad brackets, cracked windshield and the master cylinder is shot. If you pump the breaks it easily locks the tires, but bleeds to the flood in about a second and sticks to the floor if you hold it down too long. Rear shocks are also shot.

Interior looks really good and is complete. Floor shifter with a broken button on the handle, leather interior and xr7/tc style seats with lumbar and everything else, power windows, drivers seat mirrors ect. buttstuffog cluster, speedo is off by about 10% but has correct sized tires, guessing a different rear end ratio. Made the 40 mile drive home with no real issues. Exterior is okay, minus a missing cat head in the grill and a spray painted stripe down the hood. Bottom parts of car are rino lined or some sort of under coating, but I don't see any real bad rust. The trunk lid has some pretty good surface rust on the lip.

Overall, shouldn't be too hard to get on the road, just been ghetto rigged a lot on some really easy fixes.