Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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well.....I wanna try and make the cruise-in this Saturday night.
I believe that there is an electrical issue going on under the dash though,...specifically a loose connection.
That means that the dash top has got to come off.
No easy task by any means, but do able. There has been a "crackling" noise coming out from under there for a while now, and it's best that I see if I'm just hearing crap, or I actually have something critically loose.
Besides,...I need access to the AC evaporator...There also has to be a loose connection under there as well, it has to be where I lost my Freon..hopefully I'll find an oily connection, and that'll be the telltale.
I'm outta here in a little less than an hour, and I'm getting after it. If it goes to plan, that top should be off in an hour,..then a small test drive (if it isn't immediately obvious) to try and determine where the hell that weird noise is coming from, Then back together again,...and a couple of days sitting....
Isn't just the dumbest thing that we take these cars apart HOPING that we find something wrong?
I believe that there is an electrical issue going on under the dash though,...specifically a loose connection.
That means that the dash top has got to come off.
No easy task by any means, but do able. There has been a "crackling" noise coming out from under there for a while now, and it's best that I see if I'm just hearing crap, or I actually have something critically loose.
Besides,...I need access to the AC evaporator...There also has to be a loose connection under there as well, it has to be where I lost my Freon..hopefully I'll find an oily connection, and that'll be the telltale.
I'm outta here in a little less than an hour, and I'm getting after it. If it goes to plan, that top should be off in an hour,..then a small test drive (if it isn't immediately obvious) to try and determine where the hell that weird noise is coming from, Then back together again,...and a couple of days sitting....
Isn't just the dumbest thing that we take these cars apart HOPING that we find something wrong?
Yea, well I spent about 5 hours taking apart the dash in my truck once, all try'n to find a mysterious chitzzzz that I just knew was an electrical short, only to find leaves in the ac ducts 
my friend even swore he smelled a burnt wire 
I won't bore you with how long I chased a mysterious engine ping only to find that it was wind noise generated by some misfitting windshield trim...
The saying goes: The best laid plans of mice and men....
Seems appropriate for me now days.
The upper garage is about 1 million degrees kelvin,.....and all of my tools are in the lower garage. It just made sense that I move the car down there,..even though it's still a disaster.
I cleaned up the floor, and moved junk around (since there's no where to put it, I just moved it from one place to another)
Once I got the car in there i realize that it's still gonna be a tight fit front to back despite moving the wall..
The visible line is where the wall once was,...now I got a bench 4' in front of that.
Plenty of room on the sides though, and that's what I needed for tonight's work.
But after getting the dash top off,....there's absolutely nothing wrong that I can see....maybe a slightly loose ac hose end,...but nothing electrical that I could see.
The only thing I can think of is that the evap unit hangs from straps that allow it to move around a little,....and all of those duct hoses and convoluted wrap have to be rubbing against each other..
Not finding anything, and having tore the whole dash apart ended up having a negative effect on me w/ regard to any left over motivation to put the damn thing back together,...The fire wall is now exposed,...if there was ever a better opportunity for me to add some of that thick sound barrier, it's now. But I don't have any of that,..I don't get paid until Friday, and I'm working Saturday...If I want to make this cruise-in saturday night, the car's gotta be back together tomorrow.
Everytime I take the dash apart, I scratch a little more of the vinyl dye off of the plastic parts,...each time, I make the interior that much more distressed...
So I got a decision to make,....forego the cruise-in and add the insulation/sound deadener, or put the thing back together and deal with it till winter time when I may decide to do a more thorough touch up on the pieces that are getting scratched up.
Seems appropriate for me now days.
The upper garage is about 1 million degrees kelvin,.....and all of my tools are in the lower garage. It just made sense that I move the car down there,..even though it's still a disaster.
I cleaned up the floor, and moved junk around (since there's no where to put it, I just moved it from one place to another)
Once I got the car in there i realize that it's still gonna be a tight fit front to back despite moving the wall..
The visible line is where the wall once was,...now I got a bench 4' in front of that.
Plenty of room on the sides though, and that's what I needed for tonight's work.
But after getting the dash top off,....there's absolutely nothing wrong that I can see....maybe a slightly loose ac hose end,...but nothing electrical that I could see.
The only thing I can think of is that the evap unit hangs from straps that allow it to move around a little,....and all of those duct hoses and convoluted wrap have to be rubbing against each other..
Not finding anything, and having tore the whole dash apart ended up having a negative effect on me w/ regard to any left over motivation to put the damn thing back together,...The fire wall is now exposed,...if there was ever a better opportunity for me to add some of that thick sound barrier, it's now. But I don't have any of that,..I don't get paid until Friday, and I'm working Saturday...If I want to make this cruise-in saturday night, the car's gotta be back together tomorrow.
Everytime I take the dash apart, I scratch a little more of the vinyl dye off of the plastic parts,...each time, I make the interior that much more distressed...
So I got a decision to make,....forego the cruise-in and add the insulation/sound deadener, or put the thing back together and deal with it till winter time when I may decide to do a more thorough touch up on the pieces that are getting scratched up.
The perfect winter project.
The LJK can help you out with the noise in the meantime.
When is the cruise?
The LJK can help you out with the noise in the meantime.
When is the cruise?
Button it up, go to the cruise in. Enjoy it over the summer, fix it up in the winter.
stangboy
Founding Member
See...when the consensus overwhelmingly advises me to do something one way, who am I to argue with that?
(Other than the owner of the car,.....I mean,....other than that...... Who am I to argue?)
I padded the potential areas that I thought might be rubbing together and making that noise (with pieces of cut up black T shirt no less), and put the thing back together this morning. I only have to put the end cap on the driver's side of the dash, and it'll be back to where I started last night.
I clocked the wipers better, and aimed the headlights up...I have an AC question....
If this system was evacuated,..oil injected, charged and then lost it's freon,...will it be a bad thing if I go get one of those "all-in-one" large cans of freon w/ the leak finder green dye and just pull the trigger with the engine running, and the AC compressor on?
I didn't buy the Snow cooler system. Even though they were offering me about a 75.00 discount,..they charged back 20.00 to ship it,...it just wasn't that big a deal for me. I just don't know if I need it yet,...10 p.s.i. is the target,....I'm wondering if that is "tuneable" w/o the need for the addition of the water meth system? Of course, all of this is mute,..I cannot get it to ten pounds until I figure out the boost controller..and before I can do that,.......I need some unencumbered time.
With out needing to finish the man cave, with out needing to put more junk together for the "significant other",...with out having to go to work.
(Other than the owner of the car,.....I mean,....other than that...... Who am I to argue?)
I padded the potential areas that I thought might be rubbing together and making that noise (with pieces of cut up black T shirt no less), and put the thing back together this morning. I only have to put the end cap on the driver's side of the dash, and it'll be back to where I started last night.
I clocked the wipers better, and aimed the headlights up...I have an AC question....
If this system was evacuated,..oil injected, charged and then lost it's freon,...will it be a bad thing if I go get one of those "all-in-one" large cans of freon w/ the leak finder green dye and just pull the trigger with the engine running, and the AC compressor on?
I didn't buy the Snow cooler system. Even though they were offering me about a 75.00 discount,..they charged back 20.00 to ship it,...it just wasn't that big a deal for me. I just don't know if I need it yet,...10 p.s.i. is the target,....I'm wondering if that is "tuneable" w/o the need for the addition of the water meth system? Of course, all of this is mute,..I cannot get it to ten pounds until I figure out the boost controller..and before I can do that,.......I need some unencumbered time.
With out needing to finish the man cave, with out needing to put more junk together for the "significant other",...with out having to go to work.
My only concern would be about the amount of oil already in the system when you add the can of refrigerant/ leak detector
@madmike1157
You can fill, and hunt it that way, but my experience has shown that the UV fluorescent dye doesn't do a very good job. I am currently chasing very large leak that makes the system go flat in just a few days and haven't found any glowing evidence of the leak. I am using a UV fluorescent light out of an aquarium, and it does make the spots where I spilled the UV dye glow brightly. I would recommend that you use a better tool than what I am using at this time.
You can fill, and hunt it that way, but my experience has shown that the UV fluorescent dye doesn't do a very good job. I am currently chasing very large leak that makes the system go flat in just a few days and haven't found any glowing evidence of the leak. I am using a UV fluorescent light out of an aquarium, and it does make the spots where I spilled the UV dye glow brightly. I would recommend that you use a better tool than what I am using at this time.
Last edited:
- Mar 2, 2015
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The can won't overcharge the system as long as it has a gauge on it...keep it in the blue and you're OK.
The dye does work provided its in an area you can see with the light. Sometimes you can spray the connections with soapy water and get results ( like a leaky tire ).
You can also take the system and pressurize it with shop air...if empty. Don't run the car while doing this and release the air before starting the car. I've even seen guys do leak down tests on just the evaporator or condenser by taking the hoses apart and using clamps, hoses, and a pressure gauge. If you can isolate the leak its easier to find.
Jrichker should make a how to find an AC leak thread.... I'm not smart enough for all that...I stay I'm my league. Lol
The dye does work provided its in an area you can see with the light. Sometimes you can spray the connections with soapy water and get results ( like a leaky tire ).
You can also take the system and pressurize it with shop air...if empty. Don't run the car while doing this and release the air before starting the car. I've even seen guys do leak down tests on just the evaporator or condenser by taking the hoses apart and using clamps, hoses, and a pressure gauge. If you can isolate the leak its easier to find.
Jrichker should make a how to find an AC leak thread.... I'm not smart enough for all that...I stay I'm my league. Lol
well alrighty then,..I'll get one of those big assed cans w/ a longer hose, and a built-in gauge and have at it. I don't know how much if anything is left in the car currently, I think the compressor cut off has kicked in, so it's probably really low. I don't know for sure about the compressor,..I'll have to start it and turn on the AC and look at it..
It's probably a loose fitting. Between the evap, the bulkhead fittings, the dryer, and the condenser there are a bagillion places (all literally inaccessible) that it could be.
* segway into nonsensical rambling....
On my way home from work last night, I was thinking that it would sure be nice to be able to eliminate some of the NVH from the engine as a result of my custom mounted solid engine mounts...Not a lot of room left there for a rubber cushion style mount,..do you guys know of any mfg that I can send those mounts to, and have them custom build a sandwiched style performance mount?
In other news, the car is back together, and one more "car" saturday night is gonna have to slip by due to bad weather...This was one of the big ones,...An entire small city center dedicated to keeping it's entertainment/dining/shopping venues open with a bunch of custom cars as the attraction/draw. Now, just looking out the window this morning, it's so freakin grey and wet,..there's no way any of that's gonna happen. I tell ya,..this has been the wettest year I've ever been through down here,....and it all manages to fall in and around the end of the week. Last year we were so dry here that our water source for the city dried up. You could literally walk across the dry lake bed that they drained dry...they had to pump water from a river as an emergency source. They imposed a water restriction on the residents, and didn't lift that until winter...Now this year, that lake filled to capacity by April, and has been enjoying some of the highest water levels ever....(The sky knows that there is a Monster in a garage down there somewhere, and is doing it's damnedest to keep him in there)
When I can ever get this thing back out again,..I'm gonna re-focus on the 10 p.s.i. goal....(That means that you and I will be talking real soon Steve)
I'm wanting to get that tune perfecto, so that I can take him up the street to the dyno and see what kind of Monster power he's making...
At 7 p.s.i. I can tell that the engine is making a bunch of torque because it has grunt,..but when it comes to pulling you in 3rd gear, it's lackluster at best....probably about 200 to 250 hp now would be my guess....But the torque,..
I really think that the engine will make 400 or more ft lbs at 10 p.s.i.
So I gotta make that work,......safely.
It's probably a loose fitting. Between the evap, the bulkhead fittings, the dryer, and the condenser there are a bagillion places (all literally inaccessible) that it could be.
* segway into nonsensical rambling....
On my way home from work last night, I was thinking that it would sure be nice to be able to eliminate some of the NVH from the engine as a result of my custom mounted solid engine mounts...Not a lot of room left there for a rubber cushion style mount,..do you guys know of any mfg that I can send those mounts to, and have them custom build a sandwiched style performance mount?
In other news, the car is back together, and one more "car" saturday night is gonna have to slip by due to bad weather...This was one of the big ones,...An entire small city center dedicated to keeping it's entertainment/dining/shopping venues open with a bunch of custom cars as the attraction/draw. Now, just looking out the window this morning, it's so freakin grey and wet,..there's no way any of that's gonna happen. I tell ya,..this has been the wettest year I've ever been through down here,....and it all manages to fall in and around the end of the week. Last year we were so dry here that our water source for the city dried up. You could literally walk across the dry lake bed that they drained dry...they had to pump water from a river as an emergency source. They imposed a water restriction on the residents, and didn't lift that until winter...Now this year, that lake filled to capacity by April, and has been enjoying some of the highest water levels ever....(The sky knows that there is a Monster in a garage down there somewhere, and is doing it's damnedest to keep him in there)
When I can ever get this thing back out again,..I'm gonna re-focus on the 10 p.s.i. goal....(That means that you and I will be talking real soon Steve)
I'm wanting to get that tune perfecto, so that I can take him up the street to the dyno and see what kind of Monster power he's making...At 7 p.s.i. I can tell that the engine is making a bunch of torque because it has grunt,..but when it comes to pulling you in 3rd gear, it's lackluster at best....probably about 200 to 250 hp now would be my guess....But the torque,..
I really think that the engine will make 400 or more ft lbs at 10 p.s.i.
So I gotta make that work,......safely.
Nearly 6k posts and counting, I tell ya, put this in book form and it would sell thousands of copies. Some creative editing and you have:
'Mikey Built a Monster, Then it Rained'
Chapter 5:
Will the cat still like him after the cooling fan test?
Chapter 7:
The Monster takes it on the chin by a flatbed driver!
Pre order now
Send money order or iTunes gift card to:
Karthief
BR549 Notheir Sreet
Monigon, Nigeria
'Mikey Built a Monster, Then it Rained'
Chapter 5:
Will the cat still like him after the cooling fan test?
Chapter 7:
The Monster takes it on the chin by a flatbed driver!
Pre order now
Send money order or iTunes gift card to:
Karthief
BR549 Notheir Sreet
Monigon, Nigeria
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