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My '05 MGM

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    I think this car is trashed. I treid the tool and got it very snug. Pried and hammered the dipstick tube without movement. After a little while, the tool popped out of the tube; and now it won't thread in. Even if I get the car towed to the mechanic; I think they will have a very hard time getting what remains of that tube out of the block. It's almost like it's welded in there. I don't even think dropping the pan would do anything; as hammering from the bottom (if it can be done) probably won't get it to move. I have no idea how the worker at the plant that this engine came from got that dipstick in there.

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      Heat and violence is the answer.
      If it's still a problem after that, make it someone else's problem.

      The dipstick tube is attached to an engine block, they're not going to suggest an engine replacement to remove a goddamn dipstick tube.
      1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, "Maisa"
      1995 Chevrolet Caprice Classic STW, "Sally"

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        I've knocked the remnant of a dipstick tube into the oil pan on one occasion with a 302. It was an accident. It lived in there just fine since the oil pickup screen kept it from getting sucked up.
        1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
        1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

        GMN Box Panther History
        Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
        Box Panther Production Numbers

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          It's going to the mechanic. I drained the oil and flushed the dipstick tube with WD-40 to get anything that might have fell in there. I shoved paper towels in the dipstick tube and put the header back up; semi-permanent. I was going to start putting up the exhaust, but the bolts that came with the Flowmaster collectors are too short. So I will make a trip to Home Depot and get something temporary until I can find grade 8 stainless bolts of the proper length. Just gonna wait for this storm to end and begin putting up the rest of the exhaust.

          Sorry for freakin out yesterday. It's frustrating when my projects fight me tooth and nail.

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            Although things look difficult now, hang in there and when all is said and done, you will enjoy the success all the more!
            What I Own: 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis GS
            What I Help Maintain: 1996 CV / 1988 CV / 1988 Tempo

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              I got it piped back to the X-pipe. Spent a good amount of time getting the exhaust the same length on each side. My not-so-straight edge said I was 1/16" off; so I am going with that. Evening crept in fast and I had to call it quits when I realized that I hadn't eaten anything all day. When I crawled out from underneath the car, my legs were jello. After I made myself a late lunch; I felt a bit better; so I flanged the X-pipe in the basement and will put it up tomorrow if I get back early enough.

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                Going to try and put up the exhaust tonight, if it's not too windy outside. I got nothing done over the weekend. My Mom got a bad stomach bug and had to take care of her. Yesterday, the wind numbed my fingers and I could only put up the exhaust hangers before quitting. If it's like that tonight; I might just throw glasspacks up there and run it to the mechanic like that. And then deal with getting real mufflers up there when I get it back.

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                  I got some time to work on the Grand Marquis yesterday. I put the X-pipe back up and ran into the same problem I had with the Crown VIc. The exhaust is too long. So I took it back down and figured out how to cut it back a little. Went back out and put it up again. For some reason it wouldn't go up; and for whatever reason the cutouts were hitting the floor pan and the X-pipe wasn't matching up. I looked at it, scratched my head, took everything down and started cutting. My first mistake; as if I sat and looked at the mismatched X-pipe a little longer, I would have realized that I reversed the pipes at the flange because I failed to mark them a week ago. So when I went back out and put them back together; the correct way, and they didn't match up again. Then I really started scratching what's left of my hair off my head. I then realized what I had done and took everything back down. I found a 2.5" coupling and a decent length scrap pipe and made one side longer at the 45* bend. Then went back under the car, measured it out, and cut the pipe to match the X-pipe. Put everything back up and realized that it is off center (using the driveshaft as the centerline), but pointing back straight. I'm okay with that because it's not a show car. The sun was going down and I needed to get cleaned up to make my meeting. I glanced at the X-pipe as I was packing up and now I am wondering if the system is still too long. I will see tomorrow when I get back out there.

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                    What an ordeal you go through with this exhaust. You will get it!
                    ~David~

                    My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                    My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                    Originally posted by ootdega
                    My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                    Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                    But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                    Originally posted by gadget73
                    my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




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                      I went back out there yesterday and realized that I just don't have the equipment, proper place, and skills to make this work. The mufflers, although cut back quite a bit, are very close to the axle. And I don't have enough room to put the S-pipe to raise the mufflers. It's just something I can't do without a welder. That has been the problem all along (with both cars). So, I will hack what's left of this system together to get it running so I can bring it to the mechanic for the oil tube repair. Then find a place that does exhaust systems and see if they can make what I got work. That's the plan for now.

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                        The exhaust is almost up against the floorboard. I might have issues with the cutouts because they are the lowest point of the exhaust and I couldn't push them far enough back to clear the floorboards without sacrificing the mufflers that I want to run. As you can see, I like to use flanges. They make taking the exhaust apart much easier as the Stainless Works headers and cats are slip fit to one another. Hopefully this will make the oil dipstick tube removal/replacement easier for the mechanic.

                        I also scouted my current commute to work. There are a couple spots that I will want to avoid with my car. I will see what I have ins tore for me when I pout the car back on the ground; hopefully tonight if I get back early enough to load the tune and fire her up.

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                          She loud(ish)! Hooked the battery back up and loaded the tune last night and fired her up. Very rumbly at idle. Not at all what I expected; but very happy that she is running again. I will play with her over the weekend to see if I can get her out of the driveway without scraping the exhaust. That was the problem I had with the Crown Vic when I put the Speedway springs on that car. Had to use ramps to get her in and out of the driveway. I used those same mufflers (Dynomax# 17749) for the Crown Vic when the Summit turbo muffs failed. They made that car very quiet. Not sure why they are as loud as they are on this car. Could be that it's a SOHC vs the pushrod Windsor; and/or the longtubes that I am using for my car; I don't know. Surprisingly, my Dad liked the way it sounded. He is usually the one to say something/complain about the noise. He may be going deaf; which I will need to keep an eye on. As for my car; I am happy with it for now.

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                            The mod motors have a little valve duration overlap like the HO motors, so they're a lot louder than a lopo.

                            Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                            rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                            Originally posted by gadget73
                            ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                            Originally posted by dmccaig
                            Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

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                              That must be it! I got restless last night and fired her up. I tightened most of the bolts and nuts; but realized that I needed more heat cycles as they were fairly tight. So I decided to take her out to get gas. Very slowly pulled out of the driveway; and took a gander underneath when the front wheels cleared the driveway apron. I have a few inches of clearance at the lowest point; I just need to pull out and back into the driveway slowly. This car is very droney; capped up. The volume is somewhere between the Crown Vic capped up and it being uncapped. I think I can tolerate it; but I will endeavor to find a shop that can get tailpipes on this car. I have 2.5" resonators and those '90s resonated exhaust tips to help quiet it down. Kinda reminded me of the old days driving the Malibu. Perhaps it will make commuting a little more enjoyable.

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                                Been commuting with this car for a couple weeks. It's barely tolerable, but I can deal with it. I get a little exhaust smell inside the car. I think the dumped exhaust is making its way back up front somehow and getting into the hvac system. Not bad when I'm moving; but not good when I am in traffic. The Marty tune definitely richened up the mixture. Funny thing is that when I drive the Explorer now, it feels like a slug compared to the MGM.

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