Progress Thread Nasty Ninety Notch

[joetrainer31]

Joe,
I had to buy the off set A-Arms for mine after going to 17s. I have not had a sway bar on it for years, but have always intended on throwing mine back on. I'd be interested in what you figure out.

Ok. Again, there are two issues. 1) Sway bar touches oil pan drain plug, 2) end links getting smashed.

We called Steeda, after UPR fell off the fact of the earth, and told them the problem. One of their techs suggested the 03-04 Cobra Sway Bar Bushing Spacer Kit to resolve the sway bar concern. However, he was not sure about resolving the end link concern.

He did mention that there is no harm to running the end links without bushings; it will just make more noise. I'm thinking we will probably end up using a hemi joint design for the end links to accommodate the angle and length needed. Stay tuned....

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Is there something you could fab up to extend the sway bar that extra 1-1.5" so the link become vertical again? It'd be a PITA but you could move the sway bar mounts on the frame back.

@Sharad have any thoughts?

 

[joetrainer31]

Is there something you could fab up to extend the sway bar that extra 1-1.5" so the link become vertical again? It'd be a PITA but you could move the sway bar mounts on the frame back.

@Sharad have any thoughts?

Good question. Once I get the sway bar spacers in hand we will look at the geometry. We'd have to make sure the bar doesn't hit anything else once loaded if it gets moved back. It looks like it would only be drilling a couple of holes on each side because the sway bar spacers take all the fab work out. Have a look at the part:

Steeda Swaybar Spacer Kit (03-04 Cobra) 555-8124 | Free Shipping!

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Well if that solves only one problem then your left with the angle of the links. If your going to fab up new sway bar brackets, I'd design them to lower the bar and position it rearward enough to get the factory geometry and solve both problems. Hopefully you don't have to shorten the link bolts an inch to correct the angle.

 

[joetrainer31]

Well if that solves only one problem then your left with the angle of the links. If your going to fab up new sway bar brackets, I'd design them to lower the bar and position it rearward enough to get the factory geometry and solve both problems. Hopefully you don't have to shorten the link bolts an inch to correct the angle.

The sway bar spacers are already take care of the fab work. We can just bolt them in further back clearance providing. That 1 inch will need to be made up somewhere though.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

The sway bar spacers are already take care of the fab work. We can just bolt them in further back clearance providing. That 1 inch will need to be made up somewhere though.

Oh, good to know. I thought they bolted in the the stock location.

 

[joetrainer31]

Oh, good to know. I thought they bolted in the the stock location.

They certainly can, but they can also be moved if one wishes to drill holes in the frame. Take a look at the part's link above.

 

[joetrainer31]

Anybody have a 90 fox body under dash wiring diagram/schematic?

 

[joetrainer31]

Update: WHAMO!

This, my friends, is PAYDIRT. Check it out:

No, you aren't seeing things. This is a "like new" Ford tech manual. It was VERY hard to find. It covers all electrical and vac issues with the car. It has all pin outs, diagrams, etc. There is no better source of info for electrical and vac issues than this book.

 

[joetrainer31]

UPDATE: Wire Wrangling

After test driving the car, chasing a couple of Gremlins, and reviewing the factory manual for wiring/vac we decided the original harnesses were too much trouble. So, out comes the dash AGAIN, and in goes the replacement harnesses out of a working 90 5.0 5spd. Also, there will be some clean up of the factory rat's nest by the battery. No tucking inside the fenders, just some consolidation.

The replacement harness

Dash coming out again...

Cluster out...

Dash out. Remind me to give a stern talking to the guy who painted the dash pad & vents black. Now it's got to be restored.

Let the games begin...

Good ole Jay lays out the replacement harness to match the original...

Rat's Nest!

And after a can of Rat's Nest Be Gone. Notice the solenoid is gone and a battery isolation post is in it's place. This allows for less wiring.

 

[89oem]

If the Steeda solution doesnt work, 2 other options:

SN95 bushings and brackets will lower the swaybar and Maximum Motorsports Mustang Front Swaybar Relocation Kit (79-93) MMFSB50

 

[joetrainer31]

Update: Gremlin Invasion.

The replacement wiring harness resolved several shorts, missing wires, head light always on condition, and air bag light. However, there is still an odd problem with the clutch pedal (rev/neutral) system. It goes like this:

1) if the clutch pedal is pushed in the TPS & MAF sensors read normally and the car idles fine.

However...

2) If the clutch pedal is let out the TPS & MAF read wrong (i.e., TPS reads 5 volts, MAF is unrecognized), and car instantly stalls.

Any ideas?

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Wrap a piece of tape around the NSS to keep the switch pressed down and see if the car will operate normally then. If it does then maybe your NSS is wired wrong on the other end some how.

 

[joetrainer31]

Wrap a piece of tape around the NSS to keep the switch pressed down and see if the car will operate normally then. If it does then maybe your NSS is wired wrong on the other end some how.

Will do. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Also, TPS & MAF are new and tested as functioning correctly. We tested them outside of that whole loop; for what it's worth.

 

[joetrainer31]

Wrap a piece of tape around the NSS to keep the switch pressed down and see if the car will operate normally then. If it does then maybe your NSS is wired wrong on the other end some how.

Which NSS are you referring to? There is one on the trans (manual) and two on the pedal.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Neutral Safety Switch. The plastic white one the gets pushed in when you step down on the clutch. It keeps your car from starting without the clutch pushed in. I've wrapped tape around them before and my car still drove normal. So just to narrow down your issue I'd suggest taping and trying to drive your car. If it still stalls then it's likely something else? I'm no electrical guru but this is what i'd do if this happened to me.

 

[joetrainer31]

Neutral Safety Switch. The plastic white one the gets pushed in when you step down on the clutch. It keeps your car from starting without the clutch pushed in. I've wrapped tape around them before and my car still drove normal. So just to narrow down your issue I'd suggest taping and trying to drive your car. If it still stalls then it's likely something else? I'm no electrical guru but this is what i'd do if this happened to me.

So we tried the NSS deal, by the way there are 3 NSS on the car. Anyhow, it was a no go. We ended up bypassing the switch. This allowed us to have full use of the clutch pedal without the car stalling. However, this also meant two things:

1) the car will start in gear (no biggie)
2) The computer will not recognise the MAF & TPS, nor will the ECM perform a KOER test with a bypassed NSS.

Number two was the most problematic. What we did was to make a jumper on two pins of the ECM. The ECM needs to see 5 volts at two certain pins (all connected with the NSS, MAF, TPS), in order to read the MAF & TPS. The jumper basically fooled the ECM into thinking the NSS (all 3 of them) were working properly (i.e., right voltage at right time). Now the car runs MUCH better.

 

[joetrainer31]

UPDATE: More Knowledge, More Power

Goodbye sorry repair manuals from the autoparts stores...

Behold. The complete 1990 Ford shop manual and DVD in new condition!

This baby is thick!

 

[joetrainer31]

UPDATE: Re-wire

We chose the nuclear option and re-wired the whole car. We would fix one problem and 3 more would pop up.

Our tech took the replacement harness and went through it inch by inch testing and replacing anything that was broken or even questionable.

The transplant begins...

Even the dash framing came out. Our tech actually removed the framing and attached the replacement harness to it in order to make it one unit separate from the dash (as much as possible).

The dash is beginning to come together

26 hours of labor later the dash is 95% back together and the car runs MUCH better. Thanks, Jay!

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

If that car was mine I would've fixed it already, with a Molotov cocktail!!! I hope this ends your gremlins.