well the CEL came on, so im going to pull codes later. maybe, just maybe, it will actually give me my answer lol. its probably related to the transmission swap though. also: i cant seem to find any push on connectors to connect the reverse lights on the transmission, as there is no room for nuts on the studs.
1992 LX Build thread!
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so now that the car is running and is road worthy, its time to think about the longrun build. i just needed it running so the family has it while im gone at training for 7 months. that will give me time to save up and build what ireally want. heres the plan:
rebuilt turbo bottom end
Boport stage 3 head with a 1.1 cam most likely, maybe the 1.5
some type of billet valve-cover
Boport ported upper and lower intake
Stinger header, downpipe and intercooler kit
T3/T4 turbo
either a dual rear exit exhaust or a turn-down after the axle
tubular K-member and upper control arms of some type, probably UPR. havent decided if i want to go coil-over or not. will probably buy a set of progressive rate springs and new shocks for the rear
MM Caster/Camber plates
5-lug 94-95 spindles with Cobra brake upgrade
8.8 rear-end with discs
17" FR500's
the axle and brakes and such are not high on my priorities, just on there for later. but the K-member will need to be done when the engine is, as mine is a bit rusted and im not taking that engine out again to do it later. the goal is to build a reliable daily driver, that makes good power and retains some MPG. streetability is my main concern, so i dont want to go too extreme.
rebuilt turbo bottom end
Boport stage 3 head with a 1.1 cam most likely, maybe the 1.5
some type of billet valve-cover
Boport ported upper and lower intake
Stinger header, downpipe and intercooler kit
T3/T4 turbo
either a dual rear exit exhaust or a turn-down after the axle
tubular K-member and upper control arms of some type, probably UPR. havent decided if i want to go coil-over or not. will probably buy a set of progressive rate springs and new shocks for the rear
MM Caster/Camber plates
5-lug 94-95 spindles with Cobra brake upgrade
8.8 rear-end with discs
17" FR500's
the axle and brakes and such are not high on my priorities, just on there for later. but the K-member will need to be done when the engine is, as mine is a bit rusted and im not taking that engine out again to do it later. the goal is to build a reliable daily driver, that makes good power and retains some MPG. streetability is my main concern, so i dont want to go too extreme.
79'293stang
Active Member
Sounds like a good setup. One question though, why the 1.1 with a stage 3 head? The 2.1 and 2.5 have decent characteristics. I have a 1.9 and have no issues on the street, just has a nice lopey idle and low end loss was not horrible.
the 1.5 was what i was leaning towards. but i honestly dont know that much about their cams. i just do not want to sacrifice much daily drivability or MPG.also just saw the stage 1, which i may consider as well. we will see when the time gets closer
79'293stang
Active Member
Heres an idle clip of my 1.9. The 1.1 and 2.1 will have the best idle characteristics, the 2.1 just has higher lift and so on and so forth. 1.5 and 2.5 will still have decent low end with better mid range. I went with the 1.9 to match the spool up of the turbo I plan on going with. In this video I have the cutout open, otherwise my car is fairly quiet.
thanks, i appreciate it. yeah, i think the 2.1 is more of what im looking for, maybe even the 2.5. and drove the car for about 50 miles this morning so i got a better feel for the problem. when i shift to neutral when approaching a light, the car will surge between 1-2k RPM's, almost like its looking for a gear. but after sitting at the light for a few seconds it will settle at between 1000-1200.
ok, well i think i figured out the idle problem. it shot 5 different transmission codes, and a EGR flow code. but what it really feels like its doing is looking for a gear, like when the neutral safety switch goes out. i think the computer is confused since the wiring harness is not plugged into anything. what do you A4LD to T5 swap guys do to remedy this?
79'293stang
Active Member
Your best bet would most likely swap to the manual ecu or if you do not want to spend money twice drop the money on some sort of piggyback(Quarterhorse, eec tuner, etc.) These will be able to carry over to your turbo swap down the road.
gotcha, i will see what i can find. and i had the heater core replaced and my mechanic told me i need to replace 2 sensors, the one at the top of the AC bottle on the firewall, he said it had to do with the clutch kicking in and out, cant remember exactly what he called it. and the one in the radiator hose between the heater core and the water pump, advanced gave me the wrong damn one of course
well i ordered a 91-93 manual transmission ECU off of ebay, hopefully that will fix that issue. now it seems that i am leaking oil, at a decent rate. it seems there is oil on the front of the block below the head. im not sure if its from the head gasket or possibly the valve cover? i would assume if the head gasket was the cause that i would have a compression issue or something else like that
ETA: just changed the oil, i was running 10w30 Motorcraft Synblend before, swapped to a 10w30 dino. also, the only place there was oil was the front of the block and head, not on the sides or rear at all. my best guess at the moment is valve cover
ETA: just changed the oil, i was running 10w30 Motorcraft Synblend before, swapped to a 10w30 dino. also, the only place there was oil was the front of the block and head, not on the sides or rear at all. my best guess at the moment is valve cover
91TwighlightGT
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Valve cover is certainly the easier option to replace. I would just do it and see if the leak goes away. If not, then you can decide to pull the head or not.
well after the oil change and some more miles, it seems to be leaking maybe even more, which is understandable with fresh oil. but its not leaking from below the head, like i had suspected. and its also not as simple as the valve cover. the main collection of sludge seems to be on the front and bottom of the oil pan, and right below the crankshaft pulley
also got the new ECU in the mail today, and will get that in asap and will report on the effects. the oil leak is whats worrying me though
also got the new ECU in the mail today, and will get that in asap and will report on the effects. the oil leak is whats worrying me though
79'293stang
Active Member
If its the front main seal then it wont be a difficult fix. If you have changed a timing belt than youve done 75 percent of the steps, next step would be to unbolt the piece that slides over the crank snout and put new seals in. If its the oil pan gasket than its a different story.
im was thinking possibly front main. with the timing belt change, that would be my best guess. could have been damaged while trying to get that damn belt off. im going to look at it more closely this week, but its definitely a hard spot to look at close enough to be sure
and is that the front crankshaft seal? looking on Rockauto in case that is the problem
AZmustang98
Member
thanks! well the leak ended up being a vacuum issue, and got it taken care of. the only issue right now is a brake fluid leak, and the ac/heat is coming out of the defroster only. im taking it back to who did the heater core to get it sorted out though. and the engine swap is looking more feasible possibly this summer or fall. i will be buying a house out in the country, and will now end up commuting around 60 miles a day to work. so i will either be grabbing a turbocoupe engine, and having it completely gone though and swapping it in along with a tubular k-member and a few other things, or buying a 2012 Focus. i really would like the Focus, but with a mortgage im not sure if i want a car payment over my head as well
as will probably have to throw a new rear-end in it. question for tall on that: when im doing 75 my RM's are right at 3k, is that a bit high? remember, the car was an auto and is swapped to a SVO geared T5, so im sure its not an ideal combo
91TwighlightGT
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
You are running a 3.73 gear on the stock auto rear end. The stock 5 speed rear end was a 3.45 ratio, so your cruising rpm will be a bit higher than an original 5 speed car.
yeah, thats what i thought. i found a running turbocoupe i was going to pick up as a donor for the engine and rear end, but its an automatic with the same 3.73's. i'll keep my eyes open for a 5-spd donor, or look at piecing it together i suppose. but for $700 its very tempting. and if anyone has 2.3T engine for sale, let me know!
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