Gary Lewis

Is there an annual mileage limit on that policy? Last one I checked into you if you used it as a daily driver you were pretty much having to go to standard insurance coverage. I would love classic coverage that actually allows me to use the vehicle. This is what my company has in their policy: Used only for exhibitions, club activities, and occasional pleasure/leisure (not primary transportation) AND Stored in a fully enclosed and locked structure No limit on mileage or when you can use it. As they say they want you to use and show it off. Look into Hagerty Dave ---- On the steering box, mark where the adjusting screw is and then back if off ever so slightly to see if the high spot goes away. It will increase the slop, but might restore the feel.

Oddly enough, the factory shop manual doesn't appear to say anything about lubricating 460 head bolts. But it does say that 4.9L head bolt threads should be lubricated by engine oil. That seems strange. But Scotty said to lube the threads and under the head with engine oil. And, my comparison of using engine oil vs the ARP lube seemed to get the same results - the bolts torqued to the same positions.

I really love this site, getting more educated on the mechanical stuff every day. That also gives me some insight to my sister in laws issues after throwing a random misfire code. I think she may have some valve lash(clearance?) issues typical for her 99 CR-V. I did a quick compression test and got 170-155-155-170 across the cylinders, need to drive it a bit and try again. I wish I had a leak down test set to play with and learn how to use, my understanding is this is a more accurate tool for diagnosing issues. But her engine is making a good bit of noise, combination of a rattle can and a knock like it wants to be a little diesel. Back to the 4.9l if it is not throwing the code for a misfire but sounds like it I was told you could ground the spark plug wire to ground cylinder by cylinder and listen to for that cylinder to misfire, if it doesn't that is the suspect cylinder. Not 100% sure how to ground it out, at the distributor? Moving on to using a spark plug tester to look for good spark, then fuel, then compression. Glad you like the site! On pulling a plug wire, I wouldn’t truly ground it. Instead I’d pull the plug wire and slip a plug in it, and then ground the side of the plug to the block. That way the ignition system isn’t working into a dead short, but is jumping across a plug just like it should.

There are several sounds, like misfire, backfire, pinging, and detonation that one might hear. But a misfire is when the wrong cylinder fires, and that usually causes a bang in the intake as the intake valve is frequently open then. A ping, which is a mild form of, or the precursor to, detonation is a mild tinny sound. And it’s big brother detonation is a clatter. But neither will be a one-time occurrence. Instead, they usually continue as long as you keep the throttle at the same position or shift gears.

Gary is out and about to see Ford vs Ferrari, so can’t look anything up until tonight. But it looks like all the parts are there and, if a T-Bird harness will work, it should be plug and play.

I forgot the coolant question. A name brand antifreeze is what I use, and I tend to buy the premixed stuff rather than worry about mixing it. But if you are going to flush with distilled water, which is a good idea, you’ll have some left in the system which will dilute the 50/50 mix a bit. However, unless you live where it gets REALLY cold that probably won’t be a problem.

I’ve never drained a cooling system while the engine was running, and don’t see a need to do that. But, I can see that doing so would tend to push out more of the old coolant. However, do NOT pull the cap when the engine is warm, much less hot, as the pressure is likely to spew hot coolant everywhere. Concerning burping, I find that topping up the system as the engine warms up helps. But there’s a point where the expansion due to warming is quickly going to cause an overflow, so I put the cap on then and let the system build up pressure. Then I turn the engine off and let it cool, during which it will suck coolant in from the recovery reservoir- so make sure that is about 1/2 full. After doing that a couple of times the system should be full.

I agree. That’s what Ford put in all of them. And my reading shows that the engines are more efficient at that temp. Plus they boil off the moisture that collects in the oil much better. As For the A/C, these systems can use some insulating of the Underwood components to improve their performance.

Yep, it is messy. So were I to do it again I'd order this, and the text with it says:

Good point. The oil I used used is a 10W30 synthetic mix, but it took a lot of it to get the bolts to go in smoothly. And then it made a mess. So, I like the ARP stuff. But, I'd recommend a container with a brush as the little packet I had was messy. And that grease is very black and is hard to get off your fingers.

Thanks, guys! On the lube, I liked the ARP lube's results. Seemed like the bolts went in more smoothly than with lots of engine oil.

Yes, a pulley swap can make quite the difference - if you don't throw the windings off from too much speed. As for the 2.3 TD, I didn't see that in the list until you pointed it out. Interesting. I've never seen one.

Ok, thanks.

Looks great!

Isn't that the sought-after set of brackets? $80 isn't bad.

Was chatting with Chris McGaugh on Messenger this afternoon and he was wanting information on sun visors. So I created a new page: Documentation/Interior/Sun Visors. But you'll quickly see that there's no info on that page regarding the visors themselves, just the brackets. That's because I realized that we needed a page that gives the part numbers for ALL of the interior soft trim. (Documentation/Interior/Interior Soft Trim.) That page has a new pdf that's been created by extracting the 112 page Soft Trim Section from the MPC and then stripping out the info on the A, B, E, & R-series trucks from it. That cut the page count down to 56, which should be much easier to wade through. The soft trim document shows the various color options, part numbers, etc for the seat covers, sun visors, floor mats, carpet, arm rests, door panels, roof trim panels, etc.

Yes, I understand the physics involved. But you aren't saying I damaged the fasteners - right? Basically, the head wasn't clamped as tightly to the block as it should have been. Let's say the bolts averaged 105 ft-lbs (the mid-point between 90 and 120 that I measured) of torque instead of the 140 they were supposed to have. That's exactly 75% of the torque. Anyway, I did some painting today. I'll let it set up for a couple of days, and then on Wednesday I'll install the push rods and shims that came in today. (Tomorrow we are going to go see Ford vs Ferrari and sit in D-Boxes. )

I put the stress or strain generated by between 90 and 120 ft-lbs of torque on them. In other words, less than that generated by the normal 140 ft-lbs. I say that because while I put 140 ft-lbs of torque into the bolts, the fact that they weren't well lubed means that something between 20 and 50 ft-lbs of torque was being used to overcome the extra friction. And that comes from having marked where the bolts were and then tightening them to that point after they were lubed. It took between 90 and 120 ft-lbs to get them back to that point. Then I tightened them to 140 and the bolts turned an additional 1/8 to 3/16's turn.

That bumper though... piece of art work there. Holier than thou?

That's certainly true of the dash pads. One company makes them and all the others sell them. You can buy from the manufacturer, but it costs more.

All - I did my running around and got the bolts and paint, as well as more RTV. Am now painting the engine and will post pics later when done. David - Thanks! I'm having fun. Bill - Interesting story. I'm sure you know a lot more about torque than I do, but I have found that it takes a lot of oil to get consistent results. On the other hand, just a bit of the ARP grease gets the same results.

Yes! Don't get too close to TDC. Stop in the range of your balancer's marks, but as far out as you can.

My tranny jack has a really small plate on it and that causes problems, so I usually add a piece of plywood to increase the area and spread the load out. Then I strap the tranny to the jack. But it is a delicate operation.

I was talking about engine RPM, although there are charts in there for alternator RPM. Here are the charts I was using:

On the RPM issue..... The page here (Documentation/Electrical/Alternators) has info on the alternators and loads and shows that headlights on high beam pull 11 amps, but the other lights will pull a couple of amps, so that's about 13 amps total. And A/C pulls 26 amps. So it would be easy to have a load of about 40 amps. But the alternators don't put out that much current until at least 800 RPM for the 351W w/a 60 amp unit and more like 1200 RPM for the 40 amp unit. So it'll have to be on a true fast idle to bring the voltage up with much load on.