Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.

[jrichker]

I had one ( and thanks for the suggestion). It was a "one use" thing for me, because once there's fluid in the tubes, and pump, that's all it's good for. ( you can't get it clean afterwards, and it's just a filth magnet after that)

I'll get me a one qt. measuring cup and transfer the fluid into that one painful qt. at a time.

That's what a fresh piece of garden hose is for... Siphon it out..

A small silt in the tube 12" or so from the far end where you can stick a blowgun in to force air out the end will make the siphon start .Press the button on the blowgun and air pressure does the work for you. Then you don't have to suck on the tube or completely fill it with fluid to get the siphon started. it's great way to drain the fuel out of a gas tank before changing a dead fuel pump...

 

[xecute]

Cracked case. Ford Australia used the same expanded FMX with an overdrive internals in the Borg Warner BTR Ion XX LE series autos from 1991 to 2010, and they had to organise a carbon fibre wrapped drive shaft to cope with 145 mph cruising speeds all 5.0's with the better 268 hp upwards engines could do off the showroom floor. All those soft front engine mounts and dog bone axle counter weights and the AOD's one piece casing were to make the vibrations go away. Stiffen up the frame, solid mount the engine front mounts, then you'll need to look at speed limiting the car, or wrapping the drive shaft with aramids to absorb the vibration. The German Fords used Cardon CV type dampeners like the old 63 Chev tail shaft had.The old Bedford CF Jumbo vans had 'em too, all to stop gearbox extendion housing failures under the loads of a 348 or 3 tons of Pommy Coblers.

Use some dye penetrate to find the crack with a Black light.

Safe to say , this time is to make an assesment. Is it a case, or is it an extension housing. Prepsol, 2 propenoyl, or tri chloroetyelene, then Zyglo might be required, but find out where Mr Wide 70 is dumpin his ATF....

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Man,......it’s no coincidence that brass, and ass end with the same way...cause it’s a pain in the ass to find what you want,...it costs out the ass when you do,.... otherwise, it looks like ass if you don’t.

 

[xecute]

When I said find the crack with a black light, I spoke as a Materials Testing technician. Maybee a Dyslexic one who gets things Ass Backtards.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

When I said find the crack with a black light, I spoke as a Materials Testing technician. Maybee a Dyslexic one who gets things Ass Backtards.

Naaah.....there'll be no need for me to go get my Neru jacket, rose colored glasses, head band, bell bottoms, Jesus sandals, and peace sign necklace, dowse myself in patchouli oil to hide the fact that I just don't bathe,... then get out the Garrard Syncro-lab 100 turntable recently equipped with my trusty Shure M91ed Elliptical stylus cartridge and throw on my iron butterfly record album spinning at a precise 33-1/3rd rpm to set the mood ( none of which I've ever owned, or wanted to) .....before turning out the lights and whipping out the black light instead.....to check for cracks...

The leak is obvious...it drips off of the seal lip.....you only need a cheapo little flash light to see it.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

After checking around ( in vain) I've decided to use the push lock connectors again...They did work, the engine did idle at the correct rpm last year,....and after looking at what I'd have to do as an alternative to use rubber hoses,..they are the best solution for this application.
I'm guessing..
That those fittings don't like having the hoses shoved in and out of them several times. I'm guessing that the hoses, once installed, and removed several times don't seal properly after repeated assembly/disassemblies.
I'm guessing..
That screwing those fittings into a base material less than 1/16" thick might need a little additional sealing surface to adequately do the job..

So,..like everything I do over,..this too will get the V2 " new and improved" treatment.

 

[droopie85gt]

Less than 3 hours ....I could almost sneak that in tomorrow if I get up at 6...Provided I don't see any squirrels to have to stop and give chase to,...Sunday maybe, definitely on Tuesday..

Drove to Houston, Corpus Christi, and back to Memphis in 4 days this week. I don't have anything to add to the cam sensor, although learning from Dean about the combo alternator/vaccum pump is a nugget for the future maybe.

I spent the last 2 weekends at my brother's house repairing rot and squirrel damage. His neighborhood is at least 40 years old and has massive oak trees and a gajillion metric ton of squirrels. They use the gutters as super highways to get to their spots to chew through the facia. Or METAL drip edge if you repair the spot and put drip edge of flashing over their freaking holes.

So he picked up a break open/one pump .22 air rifle that is deadly out to at LEAST 100 yards. Surprisingly it's not much quieter than a real .22 but it is enough that it doesn't cause the neighborhood cat mongerer to call the cops. My brother works for a GC and they do a lot of water damage repairs/mold remediation. He has a FLIR camera...so we have done some night work in the trees of his back yard. Those furry little bastards light up bright red/orange.

I do feel your pain about how one change means another means another. Everytime I walk in my garage I am like, damn I am such a schmuck. I should driving this beeotch. But then, I am like, I need to rewire the engine harness...and I need to replace the fuel line from the factory hard lines to the TBI...and I need to swap the 351 in and I need a new transmission because the 351 is going to destroy the T5Z. Then I say eff it and leave the garage on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I don't know how I could ever take a car down to the shell and put it back together without therapy.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Drove to Houston, Corpus Christi, and back to Memphis in 4 days this week. I don't have anything to add to the cam sensor, although learning from Dean about the combo alternator/vaccum pump is a nugget for the future maybe.

I spent the last 2 weekends at my brother's house repairing rot and squirrel damage. His neighborhood is at least 40 years old and has massive oak trees and a gajillion metric ton of squirrels. They use the gutters as super highways to get to their spots to chew through the facia. Or METAL drip edge if you repair the spot and put drip edge of flashing over their freaking holes.

So he picked up a break open/one pump .22 air rifle that is deadly out to at LEAST 100 yards. Surprisingly it's not much quieter than a real .22 but it is enough that it doesn't cause the neighborhood cat mongerer to call the cops. My brother works for a GC and they do a lot of water damage repairs/mold remediation. He has a FLIR camera...so we have done some night work in the trees of his back yard. Those furry little bastards light up bright red/orange.

I do feel your pain about how one change means another means another. Everytime I walk in my garage I am like, damn I am such a schmuck. I should driving this beeotch. But then, I am like, I need to rewire the engine harness...and I need to replace the fuel line from the factory hard lines to the TBI...and I need to swap the 351 in and I need a new transmission because the 351 is going to destroy the T5Z. Then I say eff it and leave the garage on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I don't know how I could ever take a car down to the shell and put it back together without therapy.

From what I know of you, you'll never convince yourself to go do the required work regardless of the outside motivation/prodding you may get from other influences....

Do yourself a favor, and sell it...the money you make on the proceeds, and the money you won't have to spend on therapy will put your kids through school.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

I called Lokar early last week to see if they'd have a recommendation to fix that leaking dipstick tube. The guy asked me if I had used a small amount of RTV above the top O Ring like the instructions said?.....

Uhhh,.....no...I didn't see that in the instructions.

Well if you'll do that, that should fix your problem.

Here's the problem with that.....After the last time this thing was filled and leaking, I drained that pan, cleaned the hole where you install the dipstick tube, and added a thin layer of the right stuff to the whole male part that goes into the hole in the case. I didn't even know that the instructions supposedly told me otherwise.

The damn thing still leaked...I suspect that I didn't get the hole clean, and that sealant didn't work because of the remaining transmission fluid still in the hole.

Here's the other problem with that...I'm looking at another thread here, and another guy posts a pic of his Lokar dipstick, and it looks like his dipstick is different on the end...it appears to have some grommet on the end. When I go on Summits website, and find my dipstick tube, you can download the instructions for that part....which I did.

Upon reading the instructions, you find that there was, or has since been a grommet that they call a "top hat seal" added to the part that is supposed to "plug into" the transmission case before you add the dipstick tube...

#1. Do you spose they included this grommet thing when I bought this thing 5 years ago, and I somehow decided that I just didn't need it in my particular case?
Cause not bothering to use a thing that looks like a grommet is so like me.....id just say " What's this extra piece of junk I wonder?"
#2. If they did include it, and if it is what is required to properly seal the damn dipstick tube into the case, Why didn't Lokar dude ask if I had installed this thing just to be sure?
I'm thinkin they added this thing as a fix for a problem,....but again it would seem that Lokar dude would've been up on his tech since he was in the TECH department after all.
#3. The instructions don't say one damn thing about adding a bead of silicone above the top O ring... At least not the NEW instructions...they tell you to be sure to install the top hat seal.

So I'm thinking.....it's Junk...ill call Summit when I finish this and see what they say.....Whadya wanna bet they send me a new one?

The larger part of this whole problem is that I gotta remove that stinkin down pipe because it blocks my access to the transmission case hole..Even though I have used V-band clamps to secure this stinkin thing,..tryin to get the upper v band on is A PAIN IN THE DICK! Even if I do that,...the dipstick tube snakes behind the newly installed braided cooler lines, which make it hard to manhandle the tube into the case..which should be what I'll have to do, if this grommet thing makes the dipstick tube fight tightly. Removing those lines to facilitate that means that I'll get covered in stinkin, red, trans fluid...Second only to gear oil on my least favorite to be covered up with list.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I was right...they offered to send out a new one..I declined. The new one uses the same two o rings that mine does..the top hat seal is for some other trans....Not an AOD, or 4R70w.

So then...the good and bad of it is that I'll still have to remove the down pipe...and I'll still have to drain and remove the pan...but the cooler lines can stay..I'm told that I have to goop above the top o ring..

Oh,...it's gonna get gooped alright...

 

[droopie85gt]

From what I know of you, you'll never convince yourself to go do the required work regardless of the outside motivation/prodding you may get from other influences....

Do yourself a favor, and sell it...the money you make on the proceeds, and the money you won't have to spend on therapy will put your kids through school.

You sound like my wife. Unfortunately, my half of his college is going to run at least 5 or 6 or 10 times of what the old 85 would draw. So you're stuck for at least 4 more years of me saying, dammit I need to get out in the garage. I've admitted defeat on convincing the wife to move before the kids go off to college. So know more dreams of just wait til I get a 40x40 metal building with a lift.
:lcoff:

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Things turned out a little better than I had expected...Firstly, I was able to get to the hole in the transmission w/o having to remove that stinkin down pipe. And, between the dipstick tube hole, and the tail shaft leaks, the transmission had drained out enough to drop the level to where adding a bead of goop at the top of the dipstick would seal on clean metal.

The fittings sealed adequately in the iron lung, with only the two at the front needing additional reinforcement. (They are "T'd" at both fittings, so there was extra stress on the metal on those fittings.)

All in all, if you count the regulator, the map sensor, the vacuum modulator on the trans, the 6 throttle bodies, the BOV, and the power brake booster,...there are 11 holes piped into the iron lung that are either blowing or sucking air..and there are 6 holes in the intake ( one under each ITB throttle blade) All potential vacuum leaks. I redid the ITB fittings using a liquid Teflon sealant, so hopefully this restart will give me positive results,...namely a 900 rpm idle in park.

This time around the Monster gets himself a new water pump, and one of those hi-flow t stats...we'll see if my cooling in traffic gets better.

I started the process of prepping the passenger side of the car for the Cyclone Spoiler decal that's already installed on the DS. That means that I wet sanded the entire side with 2000, then 3000, then machine buffed it with meguires #1 and #2 compound.
I really didn't spend too much time after it was painted polishing the sides, so this time, before I bury that finish under a decal, I figured I'd do that first. I still have to go over it with a sponge pad to make it purdy.

Then the stripe and cyclone decal....then da done dah.

Left to do will be that freakin tail shaft leak...WTF is wrong there I don't know yet,..but I'm gonna get under there tomorrow and wipe it, then watch it.....drip.

After the stripe, and if I can figure out the leak...the car gets off of its Jack stands for the first time since last October..If I post a pic of that thing on its tires, outside of the garage all cleaned up...it'll be a big win.

 

[a91what]

Cant wait to see a picture of the Gila out in its natural habitat once again.

 

[95BlueStallion]

I too want to see the Gila come out and sun itself.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I have purchased everything that is required to finish this. Fittings, & gaskets are all that I needed to do this.

So I just need time now...

 

[xecute]

The fittings sealed adequately in the iron lung, with only the two at the front needing additional reinforcement. (They are "T'd" at both fittings, so there was extra stress on the metal on those fittings.)

All in all, if you count the regulator, the map sensor, the vacuum modulator on the trans, the 6 throttle bodies, the BOV, and the power brake booster,...there are 11 holes piped into the iron lung that are either blowing or sucking air..and there are 6 holes in the intake ( one under each ITB throttle blade) All potential vacuum leaks. I redid the ITB fittings using a liquid Teflon sealant, so hopefully this restart will give me positive results,...namely a 900 rpm idle in park.

And that's why you felt like you were missing some Mid Range Grunt. Glad you've got garry the Snail fitted back up, and that you didn't

Burn, Burn Burn
Burn the MOFO to the ground
Yeah....


Remember?

I'm also pleased as punch I was totally wrong about the transmission case , CMA.
I feel like a BPN 6750

(a Basic Part Number code for a Dipstick)


Saved a whole lotta dye penetrate on that one didn't ya

 

[droopie85gt]

Let's see the Monster come out and sun himself for a while....and maybe smoke his rear tires too.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Ok,....I snuck home and dikked off for a couple of hours.

The water pump is mounted...but not w/o it’s own needed innovations.

The pump is held onto a plate that is bolted onto a bracket, that is welded to the side cover. The bolts have nuts that are a sonofabitch to get a wrench on. This time around, I welded a little “leg” onto each of the 4 nuts that hold the pump. Once the nut is started, the leg spins until it hits something. Once it’s hits something, the thing holds itself from spinning thereafter...no more sonofabitch..

The iron lung pressure tests to 25 psi....it vacuum tested to 20 psi....no leaky.

The water neck is back on as well.

The new “ needed innovation” is the hard lower radiator hose...it hits the oil cooler line. I simply need to remove the adapter ( already done) and get a small 1/2” pipe nipple ( 2”) to extend the cooler line out from under where the hard lower radiator hose is hitting...I’ll run by Home Depot when I get off and deal with that tonight so I’ll have it...potentially fixed tonight.

Left to do while the car is up in the air tomorrow is to finish the buff, apply the stripe..hook up the exhaust pipe that I had to drop to be able to get to the dipstick hole in the trans....and of course there’s the leak....the freakin tail shaft leak. Then,...if I can figure it out,.....I fill the cooling system again, hook up the computer, test the pump, turn on the heater and force the heater control valve open so water will circulate through the engine cold... ( something I didn’t do last time) and start it...hoping for my 900 rpm idle.

I cannot drive the car till the new hood is on...there is no latch.

All the talk about relocating batteries on the other thread has me moving mine...not far, but behind a panel that will conceal the space immediately behind the seat. That’ll leave the whole trunk open for cargo and make it easier to make it all pretty in there too.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I'll tell you one thing....the Company I work for never wants me to have an open mic when asked if its a good place to work for.

They aren't gonna hit their quota. ( or at least it doesn't look like they are going to) yesterday had literally zero traffic, save for one of my customers from a couple of weeks ago. That customer is looking for their son a used 3 series, and I have the car.
I don't have that much of a problem going in on my day off to sell that car for the 2-3 hours that'll take, except...

The company I work for is telling me that I need to come in for the whole day...like, I'm some sort of rain maker, and I'm going to influence lot traffic. The company I work for has already released a memo that said that if we didn't hit a certain number before the last Friday of the month, everybody would be working the last Sunday of the month.

I know this about the company I work for:..........I'll sacrifice my day off, and still have to work on that Sunday..

So,....Fck this place........I'm going in for exactly long enough to take care of my people, and I'm turning right around and coming back home. And for some fluke that I stay longer....There'll be no way in Hell that I'm working on Sunday.

I hate to think of being jobless.

 

[hoopty5.0]

I'll tell you one thing....the Company I work for never wants me to have an open mic when asked if its a good place to work for.

They aren't gonna hit their quota. ( or at least it doesn't look like they are going to) yesterday had literally zero traffic, save for one of my customers from a couple of weeks ago. That customer is looking for their son a used 3 series, and I have the car.
I don't have that much of a problem going in on my day off to sell that car for the 2-3 hours that'll take, except...

The company I work for is telling me that I need to come in for the whole day...like, I'm some sort of rain maker, and I'm going to influence lot traffic. The company I work for has already released a memo that said that if we didn't hit a certain number before the last Friday of the month, everybody would be working the last Sunday of the month.

I know this about the company I work for:..........I'll sacrifice my day off, and still have to work on that Sunday..

So,....Fck this place........I'm going in for exactly long enough to take care of my people, and I'm turning right around and coming back home. And for some fluke that I stay longer....There'll be no way in Hell that I'm working on Sunday.

I hate to think of being jobless.

I don't get the logic there. How does having a full sales staff on hand equate to more traffic/business?