94 Mustang GT: Drivetrain Upgrade: Clutch and Other Goodies Installed!

I had a chance to finally get this done. I had a wedding to go to this weekend, left on Friday night and came back on Sunday. I had Friday off so I tore the car apart on Friday. put it back together last night and its PERFECT. Let me get into the details.

First, the throwout bearing came out in 4 pieces. The pilot bearing needles also crumbled. The pressure plate, disk and flywheel looked pretty good, but they got replace anyway. I saved the flywheel, pressure plate and disk since it is already matched. The trans already had a steel bearing retainer on it, and that was pretty well worn due to the TO bearing failure The steel bearing retainer should be standard equipment on these t5s. 

Here is what I learned: 

1. to get out the pilot bearing, soap is probably not the best stuff to use. Play Doh is probably best, and you want to use the alignment tool to force it all in there and eventually pop out the bearing. i broke two alignment tools using the soap, and eventually wound up using a T5 broken input shaft that someone had laying around the shop - came out of a busted t5. solid steel worked better with soap than the hollow plastic alignment tools. there's plenty of vids on youtube about this using grease, so I wont get into details. 

2. my engine is going to come out soon - there's another thread on the upgrade to the 306 - so I didnt bother doing the rear main when it probably needed it. I cleaned it up really good and smeared it with black RTV. when the motor comes out I'll let everyone know how well that worked.

3. The steel bearing retainer does not come with a race for the input shaft bearing. luckily my parts store had the bearing / race in stock (part number A5 from national bearing). I should have shimmed the back of it so that there was no end play. spec is 0 for end play. the trans was so sloppy that I'm just going to shop for a rebuilt one for when I do the engine swap. Use RTV on the back side of the bearing retainer and DONT spin the trans while the bearing retainer is off. it holds everything in place.

4. Test fit the throwout bearing on the steel bearing retainer. If its tight, use some sandpaper to get a good fit. make sure to lube the contact surfaces of the clutch fork after you clean that up really good.

5. I had a freshly surfaced flywheel going in. make sure you test fit the pressure plate / disk on the flywheel before putting it in the car. there was one of the three dowl pins that needed to be hammered straight before the pressure plate fit right on the dowls. 

6. loctite the flywheel bolts. this does two things - prevents them from backing out and acts as a thread sealer. there's oil behind the crank! 

7. having a plug for the trans will save you from having to drain it / refill it. OR use a stock yoke from an old driveshaft. I had one, should have used it, but figured I would replace the trans fluid anyway. 

8. Doing this job with a friend makes it go exponentially faster. geting out from under the car every time to get a tool is a pain, but will double as an ab workout.

9. make sure you have a firewall adjuster and a good quadrant. The HDX I put in required the firewall adjuster to come almost all the way out. It would have helped to have the triple or even a double hook quadrant. I had the Maximum motorsports kit (cable, FW adjuster, quadrant) and that was only a single hook. Good thing that firewall adjuster had enough thread! 

10. the clutch will be grabby to start with, and will eventually let the pedal raise up a bit once its broken in. 

I'm really happy with the way it shifts now. and the aluminum driveshaft makes it feel like there's more power. I'll be commuting with this on thursday so I'll report back with how it feels on the highway.

- - - Updated - - -

one more thing. the RAM 501 bearing seemed OK. if it shows any signs of failure - i'll report back!

- - - Updated - - -

one more thing - the sn95 clutch forks are completely different than the foxbody forks. 

94 Mustang GT: Drivetrain Upgrade - Clutch and other Goodies: Intro and Background

I have owned and driven my 94 gt for over 115k miles now, and never touched the clutch. I did replace the driveshaft with one that I put fresh U joints in some time ago when I rebuilt the rear. I also replaced the cable / quadrant and added a firewall adjuster (maximum motorsports kit). The t5 has a tri-ax shifter in it. from the engine to the tailshaft of the trans was never touched. 

over the past few months, the clutch release bearing (throwout bearing) has been chirping... then chattering, now its even shaking the clutch pedal unless I adjust the firewall adjuster enought to keep pressure on the fork. I can do the same thing by resting my foot on the pedal. obviously not good signs. The other day, I couldnt get the car into gear so I adjusted the cable to make it a little more loose. that worked, but I can tell the days are numbered. the pedal grabs lower, and the release bearing is still making noise / rattling the pedal. That means that the fork is jumping around. 

over the past few months, I have been buying parts to prepare for my 306 build. I was planning on doing the clutch along with the engine swap but it looks like the clutch is going to happen before then. Good thing I got some parts stockpiled! 

Heres the list:

ford racing aluminum driveshaft

RAM HDX clutch and pressure plate

new ford racing dowl and pressure plate bolt kit

ARP flywheel bolts

freshly resurfaced stock flywheel

RAM 501 clutch release bearing

Ford Racing pilot bearing

Ford Racing steel bearing retainer for the T5 - I'm sure the stock one will be mangled with all the noise thats happening. 

timken tailshaft seal for the T5

I also have a few clutch forks just in case. This is still a daily driver car and this setup should maintain drivability. It should be nice and smooth when its all done! 

94 Mustang GT: Daily Driver Motor: Valve Springs

Update:  I got a package from Flow Tech Induction!  Package included the custom grind cam, new set of lifters and a new set of valve springs.  Forgive me, but I didn't take any pics.

I took the heads over to my buddy's place and we removed the springs / retainers / locks / shims.  After looking at the new valve springs and the specs on them we measured the installed height.  Then we tested the springs to find out if they would need any shimming to have the correct seat pressure at the installed height.  It was really close.  It turns out that we used shims on the intake side, but the exhaust was OK.

There are two different sets of locks that come with the retainers.  one set is for the intake and the other for the exhaust.  When we were done, everything looked great.  We also found that some of the guides were not seated correctly.  This was also corrected.  After seeing the new spring package installed on the heads, and the specs on the cam - I'm pretty excited to make some more progress!

I also received the main and rod bearings, and the piston rings.  Here they are, summit racing part numbers for reference:
Clevite Rod Bearings:  CLE-CB634P
Perfect Circle piston Rings:  PCR-3150036-030
Clevite MS590P main bearings

Next step is to clean all the gasket surfaces on the block, and get the block cleaned up.  Then we will correct the cylinder walls and give it that nice cross hatching.  At that point, re-assembly can begin!

94 Mustang GT: Daily Driver Motor: Crankshaft Polish

Another update!

I was finally able to sync up with my buddy who has his own machine shop. We got a LOT done this sunday. before that, I modified my parts washer so that I could clean up the crank. I used a basin for a hot water tank, plumbed a drain, and ran an extension on the spicket. This gave me a much bigger basin to work in.

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/D8551E41-27BB-4315-8567-539FDDB6998C-12533-000006734DF8F7F6_zps0e4d7885.jpg[/img]

After the crank dried, I coated the journals with some WD40. A few days later it was off to my friends shop!

The first thing we did was mic the journals. they were all in spec but needed to be polished. The crank was put into the lathe and turned at a slow speed. the journals got 600 grit first, then crokus paper - which is 8-900 grit. this polished everything right up. That is a boot lace he is using to work the paper back and forth while the crank is turning.

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/A8E7EFB7-193F-4E75-960F-B9D59A4960E8-12533-00000672F80F051B_zpsa53e6269.jpg[/img]

once all the journals were done, we used a main bearing to hold the last journal in whats called a steady rest. the snout was chucked int he lathe. We needed to clean up the bore where the pilot bearing lives. some idiot must have chiseled the last one out. we basically removed the high spots without removing any material from the bore. We cannot remove any material because the bearing wouldn't seat right - its a press fit.

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/7C3DCF3D-2A83-4E5C-9F00-2AC4B7EBCE3B-12533-000006730893C96C_zps5456a2e0.jpg[/img]

While the engine was there, we used a bore mic and checked all the cylinder bores. they need to be corrected due to some scoring, but they are still in spec! this was great news. We also used a straight edge and made sure the main journals were in line. Everything looked good.

then we drilled out a broken WP bolt and removed it using an easy-out. inspection told us that the bolt had bottomed out in the hole. whoever built this motor was really sloppy.

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/F2EB0999-58FB-45A3-893E-B64F9A129215-12533-000006731042C1A1_zps05eff757.jpg[/img]

So the crank is ready and the block has been checked. Now I can order the main / rod bearings and the new rings. The perfect circle rings are what are used by most of the engine builders on the corral. The clevite bearings are stock replacement bearings. Clevite makes all sorts of bearings for different applications (billet / forged crank for example) and in a variety of different sizes. These below are stock replacements only. I'm not racing this car, so I won't waste the money on the high end race stuff.

Here are the part numbers and cost:
Mahle Perfect Circle Rings: PCR-3150036-030 - 109$
Clevite 77 Rod Bearings: CLE-CB634P - 4.25 each - 34.00$
Clevite 77 Main Bearings: CLE-MS590P - 39.97$

The next step is to clean the crank again and prep the engine. for the engine prep, I need to chase all the threads, clean the gasket surfaces, clean the block with the parts washer and then coat it with WD40 again. then we can fix the cylinder walls and double check the main bores when the caps are torqued with the new bearings. then it needs to be cleaned again. at that point the re-assembly can begin!

94 Mustang GT: Daily Driver Motor: Disassembly

Finally got started last night. I cut a piece of plywood to span the two legs of the engine stand. that does two things - place to put the tools and a makeshift oil drip tray.

First thing I did was remove the oil pan. I noted which bolts were missing - the 4 for the timing cover, and two on either side of the rear crank, one or two from the pan itself. good thing I have extras of these! I got out a package of zip lock bags and labeled one "oil pan bolts" and put them all in there. I removed pan rails - they go between the pan and the bolts - and the pan and set it aside. Next was the oil pickup and the pump. I remove the two bolts from the pickup to pump, and the main cap nut that holds the pickup. then I removed the pickup. two bolts for the pump and that came off too. another zip lock for the oil pump bolts. i put the pickup in a big cardboard box along with the oil pan rails that live on either side of the pan. This oil pan is tapped for an oil return - likely from a supercharger, so I wont be re-using it. I wont be re-using the oil pump either.

next up, I checked the orientation of the pistons as they sit in the block. the bottom of each of the TRW pistons is scribed with a number, and an arrow. the arrow points to the front of the motor (good idea!). I'm not exactly sure what the number is for. The number 1 cylinder piston Rod and Rod cap were stamped with number 1 (the other 7 are correct as well - rod and rod cap stamp match the number of the bore), but the scribe mark was number 3. I'll disregard the scribe mark unless I figure out what that is for.

motor is upside down. I set number 1 at TDC - piston closest to the deck, rod centered in the bore. then I removed the rod nuts and carefully removed the rod cap. I put some nylon tubing on the rod bolts so that they wont nick the crank. this part is super important! if that crank gets nicked - its a very expensive mistake! I plan to polish the crank - not replace or turn it. back to the pistons - i used a 1/2 inch wooden oak dowel - about 2.5 ft long and a hammer. I put the oak dowel on the piston and gave it a few taps. someone was on the other side of the motor ready to catch the piston when it came out. it came right out with just a few taps. I put the rod cap back on the piston, along with the rod nuts. then I did the same thing for number 5, which is across from number 1. Repeat for the rest.

had about 2 hours into it, which included pulling everything out - tools, stand, etc, making the plywood piece, labeling everything and eventually putting it all back away. The engine lives in a plastic garbage bag while its tucked away.

Pics:

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/306Build/0B69471B-634A-45B1-8337-09164A685231-920-000000B1B1B5EBD1_zpse72b92d2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/306Build/E1808E02-F423-4771-86E3-AB9FD11DEDBA-920-000000B1AA90E644_zps40b9f62c.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/306Build/BC13F868-DEFA-43A4-8612-AB4D1FFB52EC-920-000000B1A30D27E4_zpsc1818b83.jpg[/img]

94 Mustang GT: Daily Driver Motor: Intro and Background

A little bit of a background here. My daily driver 1994 GT has 212k miles on the clock. I drive about 150 miles a day, three times a week into work. This doesnt include any driving on the weekends and other trips outside of my commute. Needless to say, they add up quickly. Thinking ahead, I have been planning to give the motor a bit of a refresh. I picked up a genuine Ford 1994/5 cobra intake and GT40 iron heads for CHEAP. that is what started this whole thing. I got the heads cleaned up / upgraded / rebuilt / heli - coil some threads / and milled a bit. they are perfect! I also had the intake cleaned up and powdercoated. I picked up the gaskets necessary for the intake and heads, and even a set of scorpion 1.72 pedestal rockers for those heads. I was going to do the head and intake swap last winter - but the car lived in the body shop instead, so that project got held up.

I'm glad it did! Along came this:

[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/920CEF96-7DBA-4F73-B546-B54BEBE2FE33-3239-0000022D5C0D0556_zpsa7178c02.jpg[/img]

its a 306 with low miles on it. TRW forged pistions, stock everything else with all ARP hardware. For the deal I got on it, I couldn't say no.

It looks like when it was rebuilt the crank wasn't polished. The cylinders could also use a good hone - maybe they didnt clean the block correctly. So I'll disassemble, freshen and reassemble with new rings and bearings. I plan to keep a running journal of the work that gets done. The idea is to get this into the car BEFORE mustang week next year! I'll keep this first post updated with the parts on hand / ordered and I'll also keep a spreadsheet with the total $ spent.


PARTS on hand

Cobra Intake - powdercoated
GT 40Heads, with trick flow springs fresh
scorpion 1.72 rockers, and shim kit
ARP Head Bolts
head, intake, exhaust gaskets
intake bolts
Timing Cover


Total so far (includes work done below): $1775

Work Done

heads rebuilt
heli coil heads
powder coating intake

94 Mustang GT: Upgrade the plugs and wires!

I've been through a few sets of wires / etc lately and I thought it would be good to share my experience. I originally went with the motorcraft replacement wires. they worked great for a while until one of them melted on the header. my fault for not separating them correctly! 

I've ben running autolite 24's for a plug since I had the car (one heat range colder). I picked up MSD's street fire wire set thinking that this would be an economical replacement for the motorfcraft wires. I also replaced the plugs with the same ones again. 

The street fire wires didn't really fit well - they were tight. they also have a straight boot rather than an angled boot. By the time it was all said and done, they were installed and worked just fine… for a while. 

After a few months, the straight boot on the number 4 cylinder had gotten hot enough to crystalize the boot and eventually cause the spark to jump. I also found that since the wires were stretched so much, there was some other 'jumping' going on. I replaced the bad wires with some spares I had, and ordered a new set.

I took the advice from Mr Shifter, and the set I ordered is the Moroso Ultra 40 MOR-73718. It is a shielded wire set, numbered. I also needed to make the coil wire. I replaced the plugs and in the process found that the porcelain on number 8 was cracked. good thing I was replacing them. At a dollar a plug, its cheap! I installed all the wires and made sure they were separated nicely.

I also borrowed the MSD wire crimping tool (thanks again man!) for the coil wire. I cut the coil wire to length. Then installed the shrink wrap. Then I stripped the shielding and scraped the wire (it has a coating on it) to make sure it made contact with the metal end. I tested it to make sure it was good and installed and crimped the end. Then I had to push the boot on there and take a heat gun to the shrink wrap. Fits perfectly! 

I also want to add that this made a NOTICEABLE difference! its a lot more snappy now, for sure! I have a MSD coil, but other than that its a stock ignition. 

one more thing - I cut and dripped the street fire wire and put it beside the ultra 40. it is now engrained in my head that not all wires are created equally!

94 Mustang GT: 8.8 Upgrade

when I recently replaced the clutch in my 94 i realized that the rear was leaking at the pinion seal.  I completely rebuilt it about 102k miles.  The car now has 220k on the clock.  I know from experience that just replacing the pinion seal doesn't work - it almost always leads to issues with the preload / crush collar.  I enlisted Shifter for help and he suggested that we install the ratech solid spacer instead of the crush collar on the pinion.  Make no mistake about it, he did all the technical stuff and is absolutely THE MAN when it comes to building an 8.8.  Here is what went down!

With the help of my lovely fiancé, we pulled the rear out of the car.  I also proceeded to mash one of the ABS sensors in the process.  Best is to tap these out with a brass punch or something soft - maybe a wooden dowel?  I tried to twist it - don't do that - 55$ mistake here.  The other side I tapped out with no issue.

here is the rear on saw horses:
[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/AF0FB261-D74A-4DB7-9EC5-BF8F6B12299F_zpsvc2jl1zn.jpg[/img]

and the brakes - marked per side so they go back on correctly
[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/0FDBF007-358A-47EC-AAC4-64A9BDA4B680_zpsuavlezus.jpg[/img]

sometime later I was able to get it over to Shifter's place.  We pulled out the carrier and he got to work welding the tubes and then straightening the axel tubes.

Heres a shot of the jig installed and the tubes prepped for welding
[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/C02A9402-1183-4FF4-9030-D6320F7BC481_zps5zdhdmf5.jpg[/img]

Verified with the jig- they were perfect after being corrected / straightened.
[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/EDD94D11-BA1D-4133-868B-319D5AA66514_zpsdgeiqg62.jpg[/img]

Next we pulled out the pinion gear and found out that the bearings / races were done.  The carrier bearings / races looked ok, but the pinion was pitted and needed to be replaced.  Luckily this guy keeps spare parts on hand.  Installed the new races and bearings for the pinion.  Then he went though the process of finding the correct shims for the solid spacer that gave the right preload on the pinion.

the surgery table, also the solid spacer is on the pinion gear
[img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/8E5B5B53-9EA8-485F-9D74-627E0E64F4A8_zpsagyderei.jpg[/img]

Once that was established, the new pinion bearing was pressed on and installed in the rear.  then the carrier was installed.  This was also shimmed to tighten it up against the spacers.  At that point we were done for the night.  I took the rear, cover, axles and parts back to my place.

I put it back up on the saw horses so I could clean it, paint the welds, and install the axels.   I have a 2 gallon parts washer.  I also got an aluminum pan for under a hot water heater.  I plumbed it to return back to the parts washer.  I also installed a flex hose to the spicket of the parts washer so I can get the fluid up into the housing.  here is a pic of the setup when I used it to clean the crankshaft:  [img]http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/geargambler/MyCars/1994%20Mustang%20GT%20Convertible/D8551E41-27BB-4315-8567-539FDDB6998C-12533-000006734DF8F7F6_zps0e4d7885.jpg[/img]

I installed the axels, c clips, shaft and shaft retaining bolt.  Then I got to spraying the fluid into the rear to flush it out.  You wouldn't believe the shit that came out of here!  Once I was done and it was dry, I installed the fluid.  I used 75w140 synthetic.  One of them already had the friction modifier added.  the other quart did not have the friction modifier.  I installed the cover with some black RTV and it was ready to be installed.  With the help of my neighbor, I was able to install the rear into the car and get all the control arm / shock bolts torqued to spec.  I also made sure to grease the bushings in the 8.8 housing as well as the ones in the lower control arms.  I also reinstalled the brakes lines.  I installed the busted ABS sensor and the ABS light came on.  I installed the brakes, hub centric spacers and the wheels.  Everything looked good!

when the new motor craft ABS sensor came in I replaced this (drivers side) and it worked perfectly - the connection for the ABS is under the rear seat.

A very HUGE thank you to Shifter for all your help!  Let me know if anything here needs to be added / changed for accuracy.  I think I got it all though!

I also have to thank my Fiancé and my neighbor for the help on the rest of the surgery.

Good Times!