The Smile on my face, .... lets you know my car is running again

Finally, after having the SC parked for over 2 weeks, I finally got around to doing the water pump. Before when the pump was going, every time I would idle or speed up, the thing sounded like an airplane taking off on one cylinder. At first we figured the sound came from a loose shield on the (sorry to say) still stock cat converters. Ever since the water pump was changed though, the car is sounding like its old self again. Still shopping for a decent exhaust system. What a job to do just the water pump. First pulling out intercooler tube, battery, washer fluid box, fuse box, intercooler, then air box, fan shroud, power steering pulley and bracket, then HB cover, then finally the pump itself. Took me 4.5 hours to do the entire job in my dad's shop. Being he is a mechanic for the Ford Motor Company, he can buy the parts more easily for me, but I was on my own when it came down to the labour, which in my case is a good learning experience anyway. By the time I am done with everything on the car, I will know every inch of these things inside and out.

By the way, if I plan to install a 3.5" mass air intake with a 9" K&N cone filter with heat shield, is it still worth it to remove the air silencer, or would it make a difference. This looks to be a big job. To me the air silencer ducts the air into the air box, wouldn't you want to keep it in? If I am out to lunch on this I would like some input on the topic. thanks,

Brett

when i did my waterpump i didnt remove anything but the power steering
only took a few hours but that was over 150k miles ago so i forget the small details , i would still remove the silencer its easy to let more cool air in