It is hard to believe that the last time I wrote about the Big Bore 347 build was November of 2017. But yes, it really was that long ago! Things are moving along again now that I pumped some additional funds into the motor. There have been some other changes also! I thought it would be a good idea to outline those. The 94 GT is for sale since we've picked up a 94 Cobra. The 94 Cobra is where the engine will eventually find a home. I've built a pretty stout 8.8 rear - read about it in another blog post. And the TKO500 will be the transmission.
Block is a Dart SHP, bored to 4.120.
Rotating assembly: Probe crank, CP Billet Rods and Pistons. Looking for 10.5:1 Compression.
Heads - AFR 185s, resurfaced and ported. LGM shaft mount rockers, PAC racing springs
Cam - Custom grind by FTI
Balancer - Romac Gold, 28oz
The rotating assembly is being balanced, and the head work is in progress. Once that is done the final assembly will begin. Before I take delivery, it will be broken in on the dyno! I was told this should make around 460 on the engine dyno. I'm hopeful!
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Clutch and Related
I see a lot of questions come up about clutch and related components. I thought it would be a good idea to share my personal preferences since I’ve been through a lot of different venders and combinations.
Let’s start with the flywheel.
I prefer a billet steel flywheel. The lightweight aluminum ones are nice, but there’s just something about the billet steel that feels ‘sturdy’. Also the aluminum ones come with a wear plate that is often hard to remove if it needs to be surfaced.
Clutch / pressure plate
I’ll preface this by stating that most of my builds have been less than 500HP, so that is where my experience is. I’m a big fan of RAM clutches. I’ve had their muscle car clutch, HDX, and power grip setups. When in doubt, call their tech line or email them. They will recommend their clutch that is right for you. Comes with the TOB, which I’ve also had good luck with.
Pilot bearing
Dont skimp - just get the Ford Racing pilot bearing (M7600A is for the 5.0L Windsor).
Clutch Cable
The maximum Motorsports cable is the one to have, its the OEM cable and it will work absolutely perfectly for years. There is also a spacer MMCL17 - make sure you get that too as some clutches will require it.
Quadrant and Firewall adjuster
Not all are created equally. I like the UPR speed release quadrant (UPR-3004-08). And I’ve been through a LOT of different quadrants over the years. It has a great pedal feel and travel. The firewall adjust I use is also UPR called a quick click (3004-17).
Things to check - make sure you check the wear on the clutch fork and pivot ball. Also maker sure to check out the rear main seal, although without a sleeve they typically continue to leak even after replacement.
Let’s start with the flywheel.
I prefer a billet steel flywheel. The lightweight aluminum ones are nice, but there’s just something about the billet steel that feels ‘sturdy’. Also the aluminum ones come with a wear plate that is often hard to remove if it needs to be surfaced.
Clutch / pressure plate
I’ll preface this by stating that most of my builds have been less than 500HP, so that is where my experience is. I’m a big fan of RAM clutches. I’ve had their muscle car clutch, HDX, and power grip setups. When in doubt, call their tech line or email them. They will recommend their clutch that is right for you. Comes with the TOB, which I’ve also had good luck with.
Pilot bearing
Dont skimp - just get the Ford Racing pilot bearing (M7600A is for the 5.0L Windsor).
Clutch Cable
The maximum Motorsports cable is the one to have, its the OEM cable and it will work absolutely perfectly for years. There is also a spacer MMCL17 - make sure you get that too as some clutches will require it.
Quadrant and Firewall adjuster
Not all are created equally. I like the UPR speed release quadrant (UPR-3004-08). And I’ve been through a LOT of different quadrants over the years. It has a great pedal feel and travel. The firewall adjust I use is also UPR called a quick click (3004-17).
Things to check - make sure you check the wear on the clutch fork and pivot ball. Also maker sure to check out the rear main seal, although without a sleeve they typically continue to leak even after replacement.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
1994 Mustang SVT Cobra
Well, it finally happened. I came across a 1994 SVT Cobra that was worth buying. It is now in the garage undergoing some upgrades and maintenance. It already had some tasteful upgrades, but some were not really done correctly. I've created a trello board to track the work on the 94 Cobra. If you're not familiar with Trello, check it out, it is a fantastic organizational tool.
To start with:
The suspension is stock.
The brakes have been upgraded to cross drilled and slotted.
Engine has aluminum heads and a cam.
Stock T5 trans, with king cobra clutch
Rear has 3.73 gears in it, but I don't think that anything else has been done to it.
30 lb injectors and mass air calibrated for 30s. T4M0 ECU.
Other than the little things that need to be addressed, its a great starting point for a project car! Here's a quick list of the upgrades that are going to happen over time.
Engine - dart SHP, about 460HP. More details on this to come.
Trans - TKO500 with RAM HDX clutch. will be upgraded to billet flywheel and powergrip with new motor
Rear - just built welded and braced 8.8 with TruTrac and strange 31 spline axles, 3.55 gears.
Suspension - tokico D-spec shocks struts, eibach pro kit springs with MM isolators. UPR double adjustable upper control arms, maximum motorsport weight jacker lower control arms. Subframe connectors, full length maximum motorsports powder coated.
Fuel system - new tank, quantum hanger with 450 pump, 80's, aeromotive rails and regulator, new feed / return lines.
Stereo system - two JL w6 10's with zapco power, new head unit. Mach system is already in place and sounds nice.
Exhaust - ceramic motorsport shorties and offroad H pipe pre-motor swap. post will be BBK 1 3/4 primaries to 3 inch exhaust.
Tune with the quarterhorse
Various other things will be changed along the way. Here's the trello board!
Trello Board 1994 Cobra
To start with:
The suspension is stock.
The brakes have been upgraded to cross drilled and slotted.
Engine has aluminum heads and a cam.
Stock T5 trans, with king cobra clutch
Rear has 3.73 gears in it, but I don't think that anything else has been done to it.
30 lb injectors and mass air calibrated for 30s. T4M0 ECU.
Other than the little things that need to be addressed, its a great starting point for a project car! Here's a quick list of the upgrades that are going to happen over time.
Engine - dart SHP, about 460HP. More details on this to come.
Trans - TKO500 with RAM HDX clutch. will be upgraded to billet flywheel and powergrip with new motor
Rear - just built welded and braced 8.8 with TruTrac and strange 31 spline axles, 3.55 gears.
Suspension - tokico D-spec shocks struts, eibach pro kit springs with MM isolators. UPR double adjustable upper control arms, maximum motorsport weight jacker lower control arms. Subframe connectors, full length maximum motorsports powder coated.
Fuel system - new tank, quantum hanger with 450 pump, 80's, aeromotive rails and regulator, new feed / return lines.
Stereo system - two JL w6 10's with zapco power, new head unit. Mach system is already in place and sounds nice.
Exhaust - ceramic motorsport shorties and offroad H pipe pre-motor swap. post will be BBK 1 3/4 primaries to 3 inch exhaust.
Tune with the quarterhorse
Various other things will be changed along the way. Here's the trello board!
Trello Board 1994 Cobra
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
JLT Oil Separator Installation - 2017 Expedition Limited
I have a 2017 Expedition Limited, which has the 3.5L ecoboost engine. I've been reading a lot about using an oil separator. A little background - the design of the direct fuel injection can lead to oil buildup on the valves. I'm not going to get into the details of direct injection and PCV in this post. There's plenty of info out there on this topic. However, in 2018 Ford added injectors back to the intake as well as the direct injection - not sure if this is admitting there's an issue or not... you can decide on your own.
What I am going to talk about is how I now have a JLT oil separator installed for 55$. For reference, the JLT kit is about 150$ new. There's very elaborate oil separator kits out there that can cost up to 500$. Some people argue that the separator isn't even needed. My thought was that I'd like to have something in place, not crazy expensive, for piece of mind. So, I started combing the online world for pricing.
What I learned is that there's really nothing used for sale for the expedition. There are oil separators for sale used, but they are typically for Mustangs (very common application). When I was looking at the connectors that the mustang separator uses, they were similar to the same kit for the expedition. It got me thinking! Then I came across one for sale, used, on the FB marketplace that a guy took off of his 2014 mustang. He is local to me, so I could check out what he has in person before actually handing over the cash. So we met, and it is the JLT kit, and there's NO WAY the hoses were long enough to install on the Expedition. The fittings looked similar though, so I bought it for 50$ cash.
I knew I would need to change the hoses out, so first step was to see what size I needed. That meant disassembling the hoses and fittings from the JLT kit.
I used a heat gun on the low setting. I rotated the heat gun around the fitting so one spot wouldn't get too hot or melt. After about a minute, it was warm enough that I could work the fitting out of the end of the hose. The hose is a semi rigid plastic that is shrunk onto the fitting. Anyway, this method worked perfectly and I was able to remove the two fittings (Pic Above). Now I was able to measure the hose. It was about 1/2 inch, so off to the parts store I went. At the parts store, we landed on 15/32 hose (closest they had to 1/2 inch), and I bought 4 foot. Looking back, I didn't need that much, but I didn't know at the time where the separator was going to be mounted. I had a lot of hose left over at the end.
Next step was to remove the hoses from the separator itself. They are metal clamps - reminds me of a pex fitting clamp. I carefully cut the metal pinch, and the clamps were removed. Again with the heat gun I softened the ends and pulled that off the separator. In the pic above you can see the JLT hoses disassembled, and the stock PCV hose that I did not yet disassemble. I did eventually disassemble the stock one because I used the straight fitting for the intake connection. After everything was installed, I still had two 90 degree fittings left over. So actually I didn't need the JLT fittings or hoses at all, and could have just used the ones removed from the stock PCV hose.
The next thing I did was install the straight fitting into the new hose. Its tight. I used the heat gun again and it worked great. I positioned the separator where I wanted it - somewhere that I could easily unscrew the can and empty it. That gave me a good length and I cut the hose. I did the same thing for the valve cover fitting, which is the 90 degree. Then installed both hoses on the separator. Again, its tight, so I didn't use any clamps. If this winds up being a problem, I'll clamp all four connections. The pic above is where the oil separator lives. The bottom of the separator is resting on a bung from the intake tube and its pretty stable there. I'm going to drive it a bit and check for any wear marks. I'm particularly concerned with the area that the engine cowl contacts the separator hoses. I may add something there to protect the hoses.
So that's how I got a separator installed in my expedition for 50$ plus the cost of the hose. I hope this helps someone out sometime!
What I am going to talk about is how I now have a JLT oil separator installed for 55$. For reference, the JLT kit is about 150$ new. There's very elaborate oil separator kits out there that can cost up to 500$. Some people argue that the separator isn't even needed. My thought was that I'd like to have something in place, not crazy expensive, for piece of mind. So, I started combing the online world for pricing.
What I learned is that there's really nothing used for sale for the expedition. There are oil separators for sale used, but they are typically for Mustangs (very common application). When I was looking at the connectors that the mustang separator uses, they were similar to the same kit for the expedition. It got me thinking! Then I came across one for sale, used, on the FB marketplace that a guy took off of his 2014 mustang. He is local to me, so I could check out what he has in person before actually handing over the cash. So we met, and it is the JLT kit, and there's NO WAY the hoses were long enough to install on the Expedition. The fittings looked similar though, so I bought it for 50$ cash.
I knew I would need to change the hoses out, so first step was to see what size I needed. That meant disassembling the hoses and fittings from the JLT kit.
I used a heat gun on the low setting. I rotated the heat gun around the fitting so one spot wouldn't get too hot or melt. After about a minute, it was warm enough that I could work the fitting out of the end of the hose. The hose is a semi rigid plastic that is shrunk onto the fitting. Anyway, this method worked perfectly and I was able to remove the two fittings (Pic Above). Now I was able to measure the hose. It was about 1/2 inch, so off to the parts store I went. At the parts store, we landed on 15/32 hose (closest they had to 1/2 inch), and I bought 4 foot. Looking back, I didn't need that much, but I didn't know at the time where the separator was going to be mounted. I had a lot of hose left over at the end.
So that's how I got a separator installed in my expedition for 50$ plus the cost of the hose. I hope this helps someone out sometime!
Saturday, July 13, 2019
1994 Mustang GT - Air Bag Code 12
This morning I got into the 94 Mustang GT and started it up. The air bag light starts flashing and then stayed on. I thought maybe it had something to do with replacing the 9 year old battery recently. This started my investigation.
The light flashes to reveal a code, which repeats until the light stays on constantly. The code it flashes is 12, which means the air bag has lost power. A quick check of the fuse showed it was blown. Easy fix right? I shut off the ignition and replaced the fuse. Turned it back on and same code. Checked the fuse again and it was blown.
Searching the internet showed me that if code 12 happens, its either the fuse or the diagnostic module itself. Being that I went through 3 fuses, it was safe to assume it was the module. I called a friend of mine who owed me a favor and in a day or two the ‘new’ air bag module arrived.
First step in replacing it was to disconnect the battery. Then inside the car i moved the carpet a little bit to reveal the module under the center console. It’s blue. There was two green 8mm screws holding the mounting plate on the drivers side. I unplugged the two plugs and removed the screws. Then on to the passenger side where I removed those screws. Now the module was able to come out by coercing it through to the passenger side.
On the bench, it was clear that the module was mounted to a bracket. I had to gently remove the cover to the module which revealed two security bit screws. I removed these two and the module was free from the bracket. I removed the cover to the new module and mounted it using the security bits to the bracket and put the cover back in. Installing it back into the car was pretty straight forward. I replaced the fuse one last time and reconnected the battery. Started the cart and success! No more air bag light. Note that I did not need to use the grey plug under the dash that is used to reset the air bag diagnostic module.
Monday, April 15, 2019
Ford 8.8 build: Setting Pinion Depth
This is a write up about how I obtained the value of the shim to set the pinion depth. It will be part of a larger post about the 8.8 rear I'm building, including part numbers. I have a lot of the info in my notes, but I wanted to get this done as it was fresh in my head.
Tools used:
Depth micrometer with 2-3 inch rod installed
Precision ground piece of flat stock, 0.250 thick. This has holes drilled at the ends and off center for the depth mic to hit the pinion head.
Dial calipers for measuring the pinion head and shims
An inner pinion bearing that has been honed by a machine shop to be a slip fit on the pinion gear.
Note: Inner and outer pinion races have already been installed in the 8.8 housing. Also, there are a few MHD floating around on the net. By recommendation I'm using the one below (Thanks Lou!).
Variables:
FS = Precision ground flat stock = 0.250 thickness (Known and verified)
MHD = Master Housing Dimension = 4.415
PH = Pinion Head
M = Measurement
ADJ = Adjusted measurement to account for the thickness of the flat stock.
Process:
1. Using the dial calipers, I take measurements of the pinion head. This will include the 'shoulder' that the shims rest on. I measure without any shims. I took about 10 measurements from various different places on the pinion head, then added them all up and divide by 10 to get the average. For me, the average was 1.8745. So PH = 1.874.
2. I installed the slip fit pinion bearing onto the shaft of the pinion gear with no shim and installed this into the rear housing. I give it a few revolutions and a light tap with the rubber end of a hammer to make sure it's seated. I installed the flat stock using some cap screws (the stock main cap bolts are too long) and tighten it down. I made sure that the flat stock and the surface its resting on are clean and free of debris. Using the depth mic, I take a few measurements. Measure, turn the pinion head, take another measurement. I found that one measurement kept coming up. This is the measurement I will use. So M = 2.822.
Here's a pic I took of the setup:
3. Now I can do the math to find out what shim I should add. The goal is to have the result of the math equal to the MHD. For this exercise, I'm not torquing down the pinion shaft until the final install. Because of this, I will add .002 to the final shim thickness to account for everything being torqued down.
Using the variables above, the formula is:
M - FS = ADJ
ADJ + PH = Result
MHD - Result = Shim thickness
2.822 - 0.250 = 2.572
2.572 + 1.874 = 4.446
4.415 - 4.446 = - 0.031
This means I need a shim thickness of 0.031 to raise the pinion head closer to the depth micrometer. This will decrease the measurement value (M) by the shim thickness. Remember I wanted to add .002 to the final shim thickness. So really I want a shim of 0.033. I stacked a 0.021 and a 0.012 shim to make the 0.033. I also made sure the shims were clean and no debris or rust on them.
4. Same as number 2 but this time with a shim of 0.033 added between the pinion gear and slip fit bearing. Take a few measurements. I landed on M=2.789. Time to do the math again.
2.789 - 0.250 = 2.539
2.539 + 1.874 = 4.413
4.415 - 4.413 = 0.002.
This is perfect. I expect to be off by 0.002. That 0.002 will be 'squashed' by torquing everything down during the final install. The squashing will increase M by .002, and therefore the overall result by the same (4.413 + .002 = 4.415) and 4.415 = MHD.
Even with everything I've done here, the contact pattern on the gears (after the final install, add marking paint and rotate to see the contact pattern between ring and pinion) will command if any final shim adjustments are necessary. If they are, I'll be sure to update this post with whatever is needed.
I used this as a reference: M-4209-8.8 8.8 Ring and Pinion Installation INSTRUCTION SHEET
Disclaimer - Please keep in mind that this is just an exercise. This is not how ford recommends installing gears. It is how I was taught and how I've done it the past few times installing gears. If you choose to follow the steps here, you do so at your own risk!
Tools used:
Depth micrometer with 2-3 inch rod installed
Precision ground piece of flat stock, 0.250 thick. This has holes drilled at the ends and off center for the depth mic to hit the pinion head.
Dial calipers for measuring the pinion head and shims
An inner pinion bearing that has been honed by a machine shop to be a slip fit on the pinion gear.
Note: Inner and outer pinion races have already been installed in the 8.8 housing. Also, there are a few MHD floating around on the net. By recommendation I'm using the one below (Thanks Lou!).
Variables:
FS = Precision ground flat stock = 0.250 thickness (Known and verified)
MHD = Master Housing Dimension = 4.415
PH = Pinion Head
M = Measurement
ADJ = Adjusted measurement to account for the thickness of the flat stock.
Process:
1. Using the dial calipers, I take measurements of the pinion head. This will include the 'shoulder' that the shims rest on. I measure without any shims. I took about 10 measurements from various different places on the pinion head, then added them all up and divide by 10 to get the average. For me, the average was 1.8745. So PH = 1.874.
2. I installed the slip fit pinion bearing onto the shaft of the pinion gear with no shim and installed this into the rear housing. I give it a few revolutions and a light tap with the rubber end of a hammer to make sure it's seated. I installed the flat stock using some cap screws (the stock main cap bolts are too long) and tighten it down. I made sure that the flat stock and the surface its resting on are clean and free of debris. Using the depth mic, I take a few measurements. Measure, turn the pinion head, take another measurement. I found that one measurement kept coming up. This is the measurement I will use. So M = 2.822.
Here's a pic I took of the setup:
3. Now I can do the math to find out what shim I should add. The goal is to have the result of the math equal to the MHD. For this exercise, I'm not torquing down the pinion shaft until the final install. Because of this, I will add .002 to the final shim thickness to account for everything being torqued down.
Using the variables above, the formula is:
M - FS = ADJ
ADJ + PH = Result
MHD - Result = Shim thickness
2.822 - 0.250 = 2.572
2.572 + 1.874 = 4.446
4.415 - 4.446 = - 0.031
This means I need a shim thickness of 0.031 to raise the pinion head closer to the depth micrometer. This will decrease the measurement value (M) by the shim thickness. Remember I wanted to add .002 to the final shim thickness. So really I want a shim of 0.033. I stacked a 0.021 and a 0.012 shim to make the 0.033. I also made sure the shims were clean and no debris or rust on them.
4. Same as number 2 but this time with a shim of 0.033 added between the pinion gear and slip fit bearing. Take a few measurements. I landed on M=2.789. Time to do the math again.
2.789 - 0.250 = 2.539
2.539 + 1.874 = 4.413
4.415 - 4.413 = 0.002.
This is perfect. I expect to be off by 0.002. That 0.002 will be 'squashed' by torquing everything down during the final install. The squashing will increase M by .002, and therefore the overall result by the same (4.413 + .002 = 4.415) and 4.415 = MHD.
Even with everything I've done here, the contact pattern on the gears (after the final install, add marking paint and rotate to see the contact pattern between ring and pinion) will command if any final shim adjustments are necessary. If they are, I'll be sure to update this post with whatever is needed.
I used this as a reference: M-4209-8.8 8.8 Ring and Pinion Installation INSTRUCTION SHEET
Disclaimer - Please keep in mind that this is just an exercise. This is not how ford recommends installing gears. It is how I was taught and how I've done it the past few times installing gears. If you choose to follow the steps here, you do so at your own risk!
Monday, January 28, 2019
2016 Mustang Polishing
A good friend of mine asked me to do a paint correction / polish on his black 2016 Mustang ecoboost. He also asked me to trailer it to the convention center in Philly for the car show. I’ll be doing both!
Here is what I did to make the paint shine! Wash was done using the two bucket method and chemical guys Mr Pink. This was done inside the garage using 5 gallon buckets and a drill pump to create some water pressure. Then used a more concentrated soap solution and Nanoskin Autoscrub and the DA on setting 2 to decontaminate the paint. Dried using microfiber and a clean water bucket. I then taped off the trim using green frog tape. Polish was with Orange pad and Meguiars 205 with occasional water spray to unload the pad. Partial hand wipe with microfiber then buff the rest off with a terry bonnet. There were some fine imperfections still present after that step. I made the decision to use HD SPEED with the pink pad. The HD SPEED is an All In One polish / glaze and typically detailers will use this with the Orange pad as a true All In One / one step polish and protect. I used the pink pad because I did not want to be so aggressive - most of the scratches were taken out by the first step. I was really just looking for the glaze and minor polishing. This step left a very nice depth of color and as I expected almost all of the left over imperfections from the first step were gone. The last step was hand wipe after removing the tape.
Here is what I did to make the paint shine! Wash was done using the two bucket method and chemical guys Mr Pink. This was done inside the garage using 5 gallon buckets and a drill pump to create some water pressure. Then used a more concentrated soap solution and Nanoskin Autoscrub and the DA on setting 2 to decontaminate the paint. Dried using microfiber and a clean water bucket. I then taped off the trim using green frog tape. Polish was with Orange pad and Meguiars 205 with occasional water spray to unload the pad. Partial hand wipe with microfiber then buff the rest off with a terry bonnet. There were some fine imperfections still present after that step. I made the decision to use HD SPEED with the pink pad. The HD SPEED is an All In One polish / glaze and typically detailers will use this with the Orange pad as a true All In One / one step polish and protect. I used the pink pad because I did not want to be so aggressive - most of the scratches were taken out by the first step. I was really just looking for the glaze and minor polishing. This step left a very nice depth of color and as I expected almost all of the left over imperfections from the first step were gone. The last step was hand wipe after removing the tape.
Retrospective: The Nanoskin Autoscrub left some micro marring. I should have added that soap solution to a spray bottle or even used a spray detailer to mist the areas I was working on. The marring came out with the polish.
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