Just bought a sharp 96 4.6 Bird!!

hydroracer100N

Registered User
Wifes 2002 ZX-2 was get'n rough and my SC is not gonn'a be back together in time for our trip to Florida tomorrow. (Didn't want ta ride in the Escort that far anyway!!) http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1022373&postcount=49
http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1022478&postcount=50

Was at "Fastenal" look'n for a long bolt to make a install'r for my new JHB balancer.
On way back I saw a mint look'n, Pearl white V-8 bird sit'n at a lot in Marion, NC.
Sold new in Shelby, NC (about 1 hour South of Marion) and 1 owner.

Its as clean and white underneath as on top!!!.....Must never been North where I'm from In Erie, Pa.!!

Wow!, What a ride.
On way home I stop'd and bought a K+N cone filter for it.
What is the lttle sensor in the stock air box for??
I just zip tie it to the ajoin'n harness and put the air box+ filter in the trunk in case it sets engine light or a code on way to Florida?

Changed Oil. with Wall mart 5W-20 Synthetic and head'n South in da AM!

Bone original (except air filter).

What are some decent mods for this??
I see several programers, some with two stage setings for reg/prem fuel. http://www.supercoupeperformance.com/partBrowser.aspx?partId=320
Would also like to stiff'n up the shift points (Nice and smooth but.....) Anyone try this? http://www.supercoupeperformance.com/partBrowser.aspx?partId=228

and this thing http://autochipsdirect.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=15

And this http://www.gfchips.com/

Also do the underdrive pulleys help the 4.6? http://www.supercoupeperformance.com/partBrowser.aspx?partId=332

Thanks Ya'll!!
100N/Steve French
 
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Likely the intake air temp sensor that you are seeing. On a 96, it is OBD-II, and a lot of the IATs are remote mounted in the air cleaner box, rather than being in the intake manifold like earlier cars.

Congrats on the purchase. I just picked up a 94 4.6 LX myself, not as clean as yours, but still a reasonable condition car for a good price.


cheers
Ed
 
I had a 95 LX V8 years ago. The best daily driver I ever had minus my current 90 SC. I put a cone filter on mine, ripped out the stock air box and air silencer, took the mufflers off and put straight pipes on it, as well as taking off the resonator and hollowing out the 3rd cat (mine was an OBD I car so I could get away with hollowing the 3rd cat) With 74k miles on it I could run the quarter mile in 16.0002 at 87mph. Not bad seeing a big car with a few simple changes run the 1/4 in that time. I would've done more to the car but I sold it. And trust me, these cars sound great with no mufflers in my opinion.
 
Let's see some pics, I've got a 96 pearl white 4.6 Bird.

I'm not a fan of the K&N filter personally, I don't bother with them. You're gonna want to hook that sensor back up before it causes you grief.

How many miles on yours?

Stay away from those crappy chips like GF, they're garbage. Get a real tune, an SCT x3 tuner, a place like Don Lasota and 5StarTuning can help you out there.
 
Pics

Took a couple pics before head'n south to the kids in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
1 1/2 hour later roll'd in'ta Fort mill with a FULL GRIN on our faces.......Better ride than any Town Car I've rent'd!!........My red S/C will kick it's stock 4.6 butt but what a sweet, tight, No-RATTLE, quiet ride!!!:D (The Dyno-Max X-40 3" no-cat exhaust and 5-speed, in the S/C wears on the woman on a road trip...I LUV it!!)

Then 3-inches snow hits here.:eek: (flash backs to home base in Erie, Pa.!!)........DIDN'T see/hear a salt truck all night so will head fer Florida Monday morn........:D
 

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Let's see some pics, I've got a 96 pearl white 4.6 Bird.

I'm not a fan of the K&N filter personally, I don't bother with them. You're gonna want to hook that sensor back up before it causes you grief.

How many miles on yours?

Stay away from those crappy chips like GF, they're garbage. Get a real tune, an SCT x3 tuner, a place like Don Lasota and 5StarTuning can help you out there.

See pics of sensor below...What does it do?.....No codes yet....If air temp sensor, won't it work the same outside of the stock clean'r box?:confused:

Car shows 121K....But sure drives like>NEW!!:D

Any links to a hand-held "Tuner"?
"PI intake"??.....New-be here.....any links to a PI intake??

Thanks,
Steve
 

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See pics of sensor below...What does it do?.....No codes yet....If air temp sensor, won't it work the same outside of the stock clean'r box?:confused:

No, because instead of measuring the temp of the inlet air, it's measuring how hot the air is inside the engine bay. And as you may guess, that can be QUITE a few degrees off.

NOT a good thing - screws the tables up.

Be like sticking your oral thermometer into the hot coffee you were drinking, and expecting the doctor to properly diagnose your chills :D

RwP
 
I think you would be better off putting the stock air box back on the car and just driving it like it is. Save the go fast stuff and custom tuning for your SC.

David
 
I think you would be better off putting the stock air box back on the car and just driving it like it is. Save the go fast stuff and custom tuning for your SC.

David

David and Ralph,

Thank you and I agree!....This bird is too SWEET ta modify.........will put the stock air box back and git a K+N replacement filt.

But, I think a hand held programer would still be worth working with.
I had a early Holley "Pro-Jection" on a 5.0+T-5 and 3.55 gears in my 1979 Mustang Cobra after the Turbo 2.3 4-cyl went south. Had a manual, dial in, computer that you could adjust start-up, mid-range, WOT, and one other fuel mix.
Worked good, and you could really see an improvement over a carb for dailey commute economy or performance drive'n.......was fun to dial it while drive'n too!

Besides that I agree........take care of this one and keep the L'l woman happy....It's mostly her ride anyway and I'm in TOO deep in the Super Coupe ta change course now!!...

As soon as we're back from Florida, will put the JHB harmonic, Marsh under-drives, and SCP's 10% jackshaft pulley on the SC and make a mountain road-run to Lake Lure for wings and then the "Dragon's tail" to the casino in Cherokee:cool:

Now that's my kind'a "Road-Trip!!":D

100N/Steve
 
No, because instead of measuring the temp of the inlet air, it's measuring how hot the air is inside the engine bay. And as you may guess, that can be QUITE a few degrees off.

NOT a good thing - screws the tables up.

Be like sticking your oral thermometer into the hot coffee you were drinking, and expecting the doctor to properly diagnose your chills :D

RwP

Great analogy! Loved it. LMAO
 
If your looking for a little more power, throw a k&n cone filter on and make some sort of air divider and cut off the rear mufflers and weld on exhaust tips in place. That made a noticeable difference in sound and speed. A sct chip wouldn't hurt either as mine runs rich at idle and low rpm.

My dads stock sc gets me off the line and then I just go right past him once I get in 2nd and I keep pulling away from him till I govern at 105 and then he passes me back. I'd like to race my sc vs my lx and see how slow my lx is compared to my sc
 
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The car looks real clean. I would keep it stock.


If I couldnt help myself I would do a complete exhaust. I do that first to all my cars. Maybe some tranny work and some gears.

Or a aluminum 427 small block. Never mind I got carried away.:eek:
 
The car looks real clean. I would keep it stock.


If I couldnt help myself I would do a complete exhaust. I do that first to all my cars. Maybe some tranny work and some gears.

Or a aluminum 427 small block. Never mind I got carried away.:eek:

GOT to put a shift kit/valve body plate in it!! Way too soft/slow on shifts!

NEW PLUGS REALLY HELPED...Pulls like a freight train now!!:cool:

Would do the exhaust but it's the woman's rig and the Super Coupe is mine and the X-40 exhaust on the S/C is loud enough for both rigs!!:rolleyes:
 

JMod only, stay away from TransGo it will cause you problems.

PCM improvements - get an SCT x3 tuner from Lasota Racing

The SuperCoupePerformance kit is basically the JMod. However with a few specific size drill bits you can take your old valve body separator plate off and enlarge a few holes. I did it last summer, it's not hard, just take your time. You will need to buy the springs, gaskets, and accumulator pistons though. It would be cheaper than the SCP kit you see there but if you want it all shipped in one box that's not a bad choice.
 
Two issues I saw on our trip to Florida and back with the 96 4.6 T-Bird (SWEET ride!!);
1. Trans lock up (clutch) engages in third gear....Normal I assume....But a little load from throttle and it shutters......I can git around it with a bit more throttle till it dis-engages and comes in with more speed then locks in 3rd till it goes to 4th normally with immediate lock-up and falls on it's face, or with manual O/D button on shifter if I want 4th later (ta smoke a rice-burner challenge;)).....also I can git around the shutter with a slight 2-foot'n (Throttle+ brake pedal) touch to the brake pedal so I assume (again) that it has a dis-connect switch on the brake light switch like a GM 700r-4?

This style of drive'n I understand and can live with till I put a switch in the power to the lock-up like I did on my GM vehicles with the 700-R4.....but the woman can not co-ordinate it let alone hold a steady cruise speed on the thru-way while talk'n or think'n, without engage'n the cruise control (drives me NUTS ta let her drive!!:rolleyes:)
But, when I Test my slight brake pedal dis-engage of the lock up.....It seems to re-apply shortly after while still hold'n brake pedal.....which I'm hope'n wont matter cause by then speed is up enough ta git by the shutter?
I'm kind'a excited to have control of the Lock-up around town cause for the woman it might cure the shutter and make the car stop falling on it's face with early lock-up application in 3rd and 4th and give me a little more control and performance till I want lock-up on the thru-way.
Or. am I all wrong with a interrupt switch in the brake pedal switch to control elect. application to the lock-up? (If there is one?) (I use a old style floor dimmer switch on the GM 700R-4's)
Will the shift kit plate/accumulator/springs/etc. from Supercoupe performance help/cure this.....Or, am doomed to a rebuild/new converter?......Or is there a chip ta help and a link to find it? .......I'm not familiar with all your Ford abbreviations yet, so Non high-tech/abreviated advice appreciated for this new-be.:eek:
"PCM improvements - get an SCT x3 tuner from Lasota Racing"............??......Thanks but a link? (I don't have a clue were ta look)
I will order the Supecoupe performance plate and hardware kit today to stiff'n up 1-2 and hopefully 2-3 shifts...http://www.supercoupeperformance.com...spx?partId=228. Unless another route is need'd for the 3rd gear shutter?...........Will order anyway cause these limp shifts scare me with pedal to da wood!!:eek:
There are several 96-97 police cars at the local pic-a part....would a valve body out'a them help?

2. I'm also get'n a hard code/steady check engine light on the thru-way after 15-20 Min's (on way home it was 200 miles before it set) for Banks 1+2 for "too lean" codes p-0171+ P-0174.
I borrowed a scanner from my old job at the Post Office fleet garage to check and clear (Or dis-connect battery at home).....On the Postal windstars we would often git that code and just tell the driver to live with it and clear it on the next PMI service.

Is this related to the gas having alcohol in it and I need to find stations that sell Non-alky gas for lawn mowers/weed-eaters etc.....Or could I have a manifold leak (1996 4.6 ) and need to upgrade to new'r style manifold that seems to be a popular sell issue on E-Bay ones I see listed?........I have spray'd carb cleaner around the manifold and have not detect'd a leak yet.....will try some more with brake clean which I hope is less flamable...
EGR checks ok with scanner but could it be block slightly open with carbon??....Will check/clean seat today.
...I also make sure the gas cap is tight with several rotations cause that often set a E-vap system code when some females would fuel their Taurus postal admin vehicles and not fully tight'n the cap........ but I think that is not related to these P-0171+P-0174 codes?

Thanks in advance to any advice!

And thanks to the EPA(?) for OBD-2:mad: !!

Also I got the 90 5-speed S/C back on the road with the JHB balancer/a new crank sensor/Marsh under drive pulley's and a 10% O/D jack shaft pulley......grins again in da S/C !!.........:D

Steve/Hydroracer100N:cool:

PS Include'd pic of "The woman"....It's good ta be ME!!....Help me keep her smile'n?;)
 

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