Engine 66 heater box hoses to 5.0 heater hard tubes

[b_arrington]

I'm working with my son on the 66 with a 1993 5.0 swap. The heater box was toast so we replaced that in the fall. The fan motor bench tested A-OK on it's own and mounted in the heater box before installing in the car. However, now the squirrel cage is rubbing loudly in the housing.

I wouldn't mind pulling the heater box to adjust or replace the fan, except for the horrendous connection of the heater core hoses to the hard tubes for the 5.0 heater loop. The combination of the short distance to the firewall, sharp angle, different dimeter hoses (pipe is 3/4 ", heater core is 1/2"), and need for a T for the EGR coolant loop made assembling connecting the hoses just about the worst job I've ever done. It took many hours and a lot of swearing to make the connections. Enlarging the hole in the fire wall for the hoses helped, but it was still incredibly difficult.

So, any tips/ideas/suggestions for how to simplify connecting the 5.0 heater tubes to the 66 heater box? Any solutions to replace the rigid heater tubes with something flexible?

 

[90sickfox]

You don't have to run the egr coolant hoses at all. Dome say it's there to de-ice the throttle blade in cold conditions. It may help with Temps from egr but most cars do not have coolant flowing around egr. You can delete the coolant heater pipe. You'll have to plug the rear spot where the the small hose goes to the intake ( yours looks incorrect- there shouldnt be a T there. Should go to a nipple on the lower intake ). You'll need a 90° fitting to screw in intake in the location where the tube bolts in. There is also a sensor hose adapter needed for the ECT sensor. Might be able to get away with shortening the metal pipes. Should put a flare in them to help keep hoses from backing off. That way the sensor can stay in the pipes. Would have to brake the little nipple shut.

Edit; that incorrectly routed egr coolant hose is probably the source of 70% of your frustration. The above stuff may make it a lot easier but with the issues you've been having I'd get it back as close to a stock 1993 mustang as possible.

 

[Noobz347]

Once you get the routing all sorted out and have a solid plan, you might consider heading to a hydraulic line shop. There, you can get a hose made that can include a swivel and threaded block for your sensor, if required.

 

[b_arrington]

I understand there’s some debate in the need for the EGR coolant lines. I’d prefer to keep them on since I have to think the engineers did it for a reason.

That said I can’t seem to locate the spot in the back of the lower intake where the nipple would go. There’s a bunch of wires and stuff blocking things, but I still don’t see one. Perhaps it’s only visible once the upper intake comes off?

And I think you’re correct about the source of frustration. That T made things very difficult although the bottom one was no peach either.

 

[Noobz347]

Dropping this here incase it matters:

...and this:

Engine - 93 GT EGR spacer rear coolant tube routing? Smog help

Hey guys, I’ve been working hard on trying to get my car to pass smog here in CA, and failed part of the NOx portion of the sniffer test. This is after replacing/repairing a number of parts. I have replaced O2 sensors / o2 wire harness, CATS, spark plugs wires, egr valve/ egr sensor, pcv...

stangnet.com

 

[b_arrington]

Thanks, thank link with the images was perfect.

 

[Mustang5L5]

There is a port on the back of the lower ntake manifold where the EGR coolant line should go. Can't find a decent pic, but on the lower manifold, there are two 3/8" NPT ports in which one is blocked with a plug, and the port on the pass side has a nipple on it for the EGR coolant line.

Explorer intake for reference, but at the bottom right of the pic is the rear of the lower intake. You can see plug on one side, and open port where the nipple goes. I'll see if i can find a pic

 

[Mustang5L5]

Here's a pic from my build. 3/8" NPT threaded fitting with a 1/4" barb on the end. The EGR coolant hose on the back is supposed to go here.

 

[AeroCoupe]

You absolutely do not need to cool or heat the EGR spacer. I haven’t had those hooked up on my Coupe for over 20 years.

Just to poke a little fun at you then where is the air pump, thermactor, and associated piping on your motor? That would be all this stuff:

Ford designed it to be there but most of our cars have had it deleted for a loooong time.

 

[b_arrington]

Here's a pic from my build. 3/8" NPT threaded fitting with a 1/4" barb on the end. The EGR coolant hose on the back is supposed to go here.

Thanks, really helpful. There's so much stuff in the way right now it's impossible to see that spot right now. I'll look for it when we start futzing with the upper intake.

 

[b_arrington]

Plot twist. The lower intake does NOT have a hole where the nipple would screw in. It’s flat. Got some pics with the inspection camera. What gives with no hole? The part number seems to show it should be there.

 

[Mustang5L5]

You probably have a crown Vic or town car intake manifold. They had the intake pointed to the drivers side, so the boss on the drivers side would be drilled for the port. Check that side and see if there is a tapped hole there.

Technically you can run the coolant line there too. But the mystery deepens as to what your engine is a mashup of.

 

[AeroCoupe]

94/95 Mustangs look like this:

They have SAC3 on the rear here:

I believe 87-93 have SAC2 but I am not 100% sure.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Managed to find a pic of an 86-93 lower with the nipple on one side and plug on the other.

This one says SAC3 as well so not sure that’s reliable. I agree it’s prob the 94-95 lower intake. That’s an 86-93 upper however

 

[b_arrington]

Ours says SAC2
Also confirmed there’s no hole for a barb on the drivers side.

 

[90sickfox]

That really weird that it's not there on either side. If it were me I'd just delete it all together until I could get the intake drilled amd tapped for the correct nipple. Any fight avoided is a fight won....thats what my Mom used to tell my brother.

 

[Mustang5L5]

After googling pics of 302 HO lowers, the only ones I see where they weren’t drilled/tapped are the 94-95 Mustang lowers. Everything else I’ve seen is drilled/tapped and plugged with the square plug such as in post 14

 

[b_arrington]

This engine is so bizarre, it's like a mutt. It's supposed to be a 1996 "crate" 5.0 engine. It has a 1993 ECU, seemingly a 94/95 lower intake, whacko upper intake, and 289 HiPo headers.

 

[85GTStangGuy]

This engine is so bizarre, it's like a mutt. It's supposed to be a 1996 "crate" 5.0 engine. It has a 1993 ECU, seemingly a 94/95 lower intake, whacko upper intake, and 289 HiPo headers. heads.

Corrected (at least I think so ).

And yes, it definitely appears to be an interesting mish-mash of parts.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I looked through my old 1996 Ford Motorsport catalog. Ignoring the 351 and other bigger engines you could buy, this is all there was for 302 options

- a leftover stock 1995 5.0 HO engine complete
- 302 Explorer long block with GT40 iron heads (and explorer accessories/pan)
- 302 long block with GT40 aluminum heads
- Bare 302 short block


If i had to guess, if it was a purchased engine it was likely just the 302 short block. I'm not saying this is definitely what's in there, but there's not a whole lot of other options given the parts that we are seeing on that bad larry.

How much HP does it feel like it's making? If i had to guess (and assuming no surprises) ...200-225 crank.