Frankenstein T-5 Waggin' Chronicle (vast doesnt do it)

[gadget73]

should I scrape the gasket surfaces before assembly? I don't imagine it'd cause exhaust leaks, but I also haven't done this in two years...

Any and all sealing surfaces should be clean prior to installing new gaskets. Doesn't take much time and better to be safe than sorry.


And the instances I've seen with snapped head bolts were a 1986 Towncar and I believe a 1990 Mark VII. Pre-TTY bolts. That said, I'm using old bolts in my motor and its OK. I guess it depends on what happens. If the motor is overheated or otherwise majorly stressed I guess the bolts take a beating and can break. Its probably not the most common thing so I guess you're ok.

[Freshmeat]

Looks like I'm not swapping the valve stem seals. The ones that came in the kit are entirely different from anything on the cylinder head, so I'm gonna keep the old ones and hope for the best. Anyone have any arguments? By the time you respond, it'll probably be too late, but respond anyway. Please. God knows I'll be checking this every thirty seconds to see if anyone said something.
My only fear is that the engine degreaser compromised the seals on the heads.

[89LincolnTWNcar]

good luck on starting your engine mang..........mine won't start after 3 1/2 months of work on the HO conversion.

[89LincolnTWNcar]

uuh if you soaked your entire heads in degreaser like I did.....the seals will be shot and they will smoke. sorry to tell you that man but the degreaser is hard on the seals and when they dry they will crack and fail. Best to get them changed for the measley $6-$8 bucks per at a machine shop.

[Freshmeat]

I'm broke.
$6-8 x 16 seals = $96-128.
I didn't soak the heads in degreaser- I sprayed them, let them sit for a few minutes, then blasted the Hell out of them with a high-pressure water hose. They've been sitting up for two days and haven't cracked/shown signs of anything bad...

[89LincolnTWNcar]

ahh good you didn't drown them like I did, they should be ok then.

[Freshmeat]

To be honest with you, I'm gonna just do them. I hope to be back inside there in a couple of months with 1.7 RRs and some Comp Cams springs. I can re-inspect at that point.
No one would notice smoking exhaust around here, anyway- it's so humid a brand new BMW would smoke on a regular basis.

[Freshmeat]

When deleting the smog pump, do I keep the tensioner or find a way to make the A/C a tensioner? What belt do I use?

[Archangel]

You keep the tensioner, and if you wanna go fancy you can cut the plate a little so it doesn't look like you lost the smog pump in the last pot-hole. Belt was 560 I think, better off to just measure it yourself.

[Freshmeat]

Yesterday was very productive.

Here is my original injector next to the Explorer injector... the grey one is actually a lot larger... I guess they found a better design for the internals that allowed them to be smaller. The new injectors are the four-hole, but I couldn't get a good picture of it. Sorry, guys.


Here's the current progress. The header and valve covers are mocked up, just because I wanted to see how they look. I'll be installing the header momentarily, but I need to find some bolts that are 1/2" - 3/4" longer for the valve covers since they're aluminum, not stamped steel.

What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Have you tried plugging those new injectors into the stock harness? my understanding is the connectors are different.


~ 88grandmarq

[Chevyguy]

Sweet looking

You painted inside the oil filter boss?? I always put a Fram filter on for painting

[Mercracer]

Have you tried plugging those new injectors into the stock harness? my understanding is the connectors are different.

You are correct. The difference can plainly be seen.

[Mercracer]

What do you think?

Need more solvent and a rag...

[gadget73]

If you have the Exploder harness I suppose you could change the plugs to work with the new injectors....

Are those new new or new to you?