DrFishbone Engine Build Thread 2017

Hmm....these don't look like the picture....:confused:

Oh well!

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In all seriousness....it feels weird putting such shiny stuff on my car...lol.
 
Radiator and FMIC will be ordered this weekend I think. I need to get the engine buttoned up and set in the car before I can start on all of this, but I wanted to make sure it was "on-site" well before the Shootout. Don't want to be waiting on parts during crunch time!

The radiator is going to be wider and shorter than the old one...hoping to tuck it under the core support to free up some room.....for no reason at all.... ;)
 
Decided to take the clean-up and tidy-up a few steps further....should be ready to pressure wash the engine bay and then move it into the garage for paint and the start of "crunch time".

Decided to rebuild the steering rack and rework the power steering hoses and cooler with AN fittings and stainless hoses. I'm getting a newer, slightly larger power steering cooler and the new lines....just because I hate all the those lines bolted to the subframe :rolleyes:...well, and the original ones leak pretty bad.

Besides selling and delivering the old FMIC and radiator setup, the only thing I was able to get done this weekend was getting the brake lines around the master cylinder cleaned up. Back when I did the conventional brakes swap, I was too nervous to try to do any bubble flares on the lines. Looks alot better now, but it was well past dark when I finished up last night, so no pictures yet. I think I shaved 0.25lbs off the weight of the car by shortening the lines! lol If -100lbs leads to -0.1s in the 1/4.....I guess that's good for -0.00025s. ;)
 
Ordered a bunch of stuff for the SC and the Navigator from Rockauto....5% discount was over $20!! lol

One thing that I've not heard of any giving a shot is a DIY power steering rack rebuild...I'll probably discover a good reason the hard way.... :rolleyes::D

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It looks simple enough....probably should have checked the Shop Manual first though.
 
I have a section of stainless tubing on my return side. It is ridiculously heavy compared to the rest of the aluminum tubing. If i remember correctly, stainless is almost 3 times more dense/heavier that aluminum. The only reason I have the stainless section in mine is because the guy that built mine ran out of aluminum mandrel bends. doh...

By the way, Derek...the new tubing assembly is going to weight ~18lbs I think....vs. ~5lbs if it was aluminum. :(

The old routing/size that I had probably weighed ~3lbs.

I guess the ABS/Ride Control wiring that I finally took out will offset that part. I'm not going to try to figure out my net decrease/increase with all these changes though...it'd drive me crazy I think. FMIC and radiator will weigh more....custom brackets will weigh less....maybe it will be a wash overall.
 
it only matters if it bothers you!!! Science is cool though.

Yeah...it DOES bother me a bit. Maybe I'll have a TIG setup in a few years and can redo it in aluminum. :rolleyes: If it turns out as good as I think it will, it should sell pretty easily!

Or maybe I'll just start exercising and lose 13lbs instead. :eek:
 
You just want to be like Jeff Bratton and have 80lb worth of intercooler plumbing lol on the upside you can tighten it until the clamps break and never smash a tube
 
You just want to be like Jeff Bratton and have 80lb worth of intercooler plumbing lol on the upside you can tighten it until the clamps break and never smash a tube

WWJBD....I thought about Jeff when I bought them. I remember him telling me about his IC piping (I think it was in the parking lot at work several years ago..) I thought it sounded awesome. I have a little bit of an obsession with SS.
 
WWJBD....I thought about Jeff when I bought them. I remember him telling me about his IC piping (I think it was in the parking lot at work several years ago..) I thought it sounded awesome. I have a little bit of an obsession with SS.



We need wwjbd t shirts lol
 
Made some good progress this weekend, although very slow moving. Removed the steering rack on Thursday night to get a jump on it on Friday. Greasy and nasty…the rack would leak out of the billows a bit, but really, being original and high-miles, it was holding up pretty well. Most of the oil and dirt is from leaks in the old and older engine.

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Got it cleaned up and ready to disassemble!

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Sunday, in between family activities, I got the rack disassembled….yes…that’s all I was able to get done. As I expected….I discovered a reason why most people just buy a rebuilt rack now…. The inner oil seal is near impossible to get out! Ford has a special tool of course, but even with the right tool it seems like this would be a pain to get out, since you can’t push it out and getting underneath of it is very tough. My dad sacrificed a long flathead screw driver after the blind hole bearing/seal puller from Autozone failed too. He put some heat to the tip of the screwdriver, bent about 3/8” of the tip to a 90°, then I sharpened it as thin as possible. With this and some prying help, I was able to work the tip of the modified screwdriver underneath the seal, then pry straight upward to get the seal out. This seal blew about 4 hours of work altogether….:rolleyes: Can’t have any more of that non-sense or the car will not be ready for the Shootout!!

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Cleaned all the steering rack parts very well last night, removed all of the o-rings, so it’s all clean and ready to assemble tonight!
 
Also…finally degreased and pressure washed the engine bay.

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Upon closer inspection, I have a problem that needs addressed. :( No time for that battle now though. If I can’t get the '66 Mustang out to work on next spring, maybe I’ll do some bodywork on the SC….

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Got the rack assembled on Monday night...assembly went much smoother than disassembly. The inner oil seal was the only trouble...I couldn't get it to seat as far down as the factory one did...it was close though...probably 1/16"-1/32" from the bottom. I think it may fully seat (if it's even supposed to...) once there is pressure in the rack. The rebuild directions included with the kit AND the 89 Shop manual seem to be incorrect on the parts though....perhaps there are different variants of rack internals? I ended up with a couple extra o-rings (as detailed in another thread: http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?139192-Anybody-else-DIY-Steering-Rack-Rebuild&highlight=power+steering)

The "bushing" in the picture on my rack accepts the "seal" shown to the left of it on the diagram....except on the righthand (pressure chamber side) of the bushing. There is no separate "plate" either....the c-clip sits against the bushing. :rolleyes: The shop and rebuild instructions both show the diagram like the picture below.

Also...I found out (too late) that the service manual says the hardlines to the pressure chambers must be replaced if removed. I'm not going to do it. We'll see what happens, I guess. There are teflon washers and a special flare that form the seal at these connections. I really think it will re-seal just fine...the washers are nice and thick and don't look to be deformed in the least.

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BTW...the instruction with the rebuild kit make is seem alot easier than it really is...need to be careful driving in the inner seal too...the spring popped out of mine once it was part-way in....had to use three long screwdrivers to gentle put it back....lol.
 
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