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1 week after the rebuild

Like the title says it's been about a week since my car hit the road again after I finnished rebuilding my 302.  Since then I've put about 150 Km on it and except for an EGR issue that kept stalling it the engine has run fine.  But whenever the car is sitting in traffic I get a really rough sound like a hard thumping that goes away again when I speed up.  It hasn't affected driveability, the engine runs and the transmission shifts fine.  For a while I thought maybe the new cam just roughened the idle but it seems a bit excessive.  Tomorrow I'm putting her up on ramps again and making sure the torque converter nuts are snugged down as well as the engine mounts (the engine mount nuts went on hard, actually one went on easy and the other one gave me 100 Ft-lbs of torque by the time it was halfway on the stud.  I think I might have bent the stud slightly when the engine went in).  Can anyone suggest anything else I should look for?
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #1
Did you check to see if the exhaust was touching the frame anywheres?

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #2
Not specifically but I don't think so.  It should be in the same layout as before.
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #3
If its a thud when u go to drive then its some thing shifting.
Odds are its a mount.

next time you drop in a motor keep the motor mounts losse on the block so they flop around a bit and its alot easyer to line them up in the K member that way.

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #4
Alright at long last I know what the problem is.  There's a vacuum leak in the brake booster.  You can hear the hissing if you don't have the heater or radio on, sometimes when the pedal is down and sometimes when the pedal is depressed.  Explains a hell of a lot.  Is replacing the booster the only way to go?
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #5
you might be able to replace the diaphram, but im not sure. i have never taken one appart. eather way im pretty sure your going to have to remove it to fix the problem, its not that hard say for the bolts under the dash. i used long 24"+ extentions for my ratchet.

 if you plan on putting in a 5 speed with a firewall mounted adjustable clutch cable now would be a good time to put in a mustang brake booster with its smaller diameter.

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #6
No I'm pretty happy with my AOD.  And I'll be plenty happier still once the vacuum leak is resolved.  Quick question though, is there any actual fluid transfer between the booster and the master cylinder?  If I can I'd like to just leave the cylinder hooked up and sealed.
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #7
Quote from: sum_weirdo
No I'm pretty happy with my AOD.  And I'll be plenty happier still once the vacuum leak is resolved.  Quick question though, is there any actual fluid transfer between the booster and the master cylinder?  If I can I'd like to just leave the cylinder hooked up and sealed.




no there is fluid between the two.If you find fluid the master cyl is probly bad and leaking.


You can just remove the 2 bolt and set it out of the way while leaving the lines connected.;)
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1 week after the rebuild

Reply #8
Yeah, I have heard the brake booster sucks. Throw in a new master cylinder while you are in there. Its like $10 and a 2 minute job that you will be doing anyways. And then there is always the peace of mind that goes alng with it.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

1 week after the rebuild

Reply #9
Well I do have a new cylinder kicking around.  If I can get the old one off without destroying the fittings maybe I'll go ahead and do that too.  Thanks guys. :)
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton