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My '05 MGM

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    Changed out the water pump a few hours ago. Was much easier than I thought it would be. And the air impact ratchet made it much easier. Much like the idler pulley; the water pump pulley felt very rough when I spun it; even worse when I took it off the engine and played with it. I can feel a bearing (guessing needle bearings?) or two grinding as I spun it. All in all, the car is much quieter now and runs smoother than it did when I first got it. Now I need to get back into exhaust install mode again.

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      yeah... mod motors make water pumps stupid easy.

      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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        I discovered over the weekend that even with the a/c compressor out of the way and access to the exhaust manifold bottom front passenger side stud; I still have to extend my left arm to get in there with the air impact ratchet. And then have to hold a 10lb tool steady with one hand as I attempt to zip the stud off. I also can't remove the starter. I can't get any tools on that one top bolt in the 2o'clock position. And there is some sort of metal tab thing that I can feel interfering with access to that bolt. So after spending a good amount of time getting to that point; I called it quits. I determined that I need a lift to do this work. Just not young enough to do this on the ground. So I will be hunting down exhaust shops that will do this work for me; or at least just get the headers on there; and I do the rest of the exhaust.

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          So I couldn't find any place that would install the headers; but the shop in the next town purged my a/c and loosened the bottom studs. That was a couple weeks ago. Last weekend I re-loosened most of the bottom studs on the driver side. One of the nuts started backing out; which I was hoping not to have happen; especially since it's the stud that sits next to the steering shaft; which is parallel to the frame. So the ratchet would get jammed up against the frame as it loosened the nut. If I get a shorter extension, the steering shaft will interfere and prevent the socket from getting a grip of the stud/nut. So I will come back at it next weekend and remove that portion of the steering shaft so I have better access to that stud. Yesterday I tried loosening the top studs; the ones I thought would be easy. I thought wrong; as they are jammed tight into the head. I rounded the first 2 nuts off and promptly gave up. Spent an hour in the basement hunting up my socket set that is made specifically for rounded nuts. I will buy another set in case I kill my current set trying to remove those studs. I will make another go of this next weekend; weather permitting. I guess this is going to be another one of those long-term projects :-/

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            I'm guessing it's a similar setup on the exhaust manifolds as my V10. All the V10 peeps cry when they have to replace them. Lots of horror stories of welding on nuts, stud extractors, and drilling with reverse drill bits. I have one broken stud on mine but so leaks so far... so it stays put! I wish you luck.
            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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              I got home early from work today; so I used the time to figure out why I rounded off a few of the exhaust stud nuts. I discovered that my 1/2" deep socket was hitting the manifold; which caused the socket to engage the nut at an angle. I went out to Harbor Freight and got a short 3/8" impact socket set and a set of 3/8" impact extensions which remedied the problem. The short socket fully engages the stud nut and the extension is skinny enough to not hit the exhaust manifold. I also realized that I will need to remove the steering shaft in order to get to the top-rear stud; and the bottom-foremost studs. Otherwise, I have access to all of the studs. I have some PTO later this month; so I am hoping that I will have some good weather to attempt (successfully) the full exhaust on this car.

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                This past weekend was a "no go" with the exhaust. I got home early from work on Friday in an attempt to try to get a head start on this and I spent that time and a good portion of Saturday afternoon figuring out what tools will fit the passenger side studs. I discovered that I will need a swivel socket extension to get at a couple of the studs. So I went to Harbor Freight and bought 3 of them. One for each of the problem studs. I am assuming that I will shatter the swivel extensions with the impact ratchet. I hope they survive to remove the 3 studs that are an issue. Beyond that, I should hopefully be able to install the headers.

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                  I managed to remove 9 of the 16 studs (actually 4 of the nuts backed off); and loosened another 2 underneath the passenger side exhaust manifold. I will move the a/c compressor out o the way to get at the other 2 studs. I ran back into the problem that I had the last time I attempted to remove the exhaust studs; the 2 that I rounded off. I will come back at them tomorrow with the rounded nut remover socket. I hope that works as I am almost done removing the exhaust manifolds.

                  Kind of unrelated note: I was underneath the car with the earmuffs (impact ratchet + noisy compressor) and felt extra vibration and a slight rumbling. Popped one of the muffs off and realized it was an extremely low-flying airliner. Barely got out from under the car to catch the tail going behind my neighbor's backyard. That was the lowest flying jet that I have ever seen/heard; and that's with Newark airport only being 10 miles away. I will be watching the news tonight to see if there is any mention of it.

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                    This project is dead in the water. I got 15 of the 16 studs and nuts loosened. One of the rounded nuts reamed itself out and I can't even get the rounded-nut remover socket to work on it. At this point, I will have to get a nut welded onto the end of that stud and remove the stud itself. So, it's back to working on the Crown Vic and the house. Bright side of this is I didn't break any studs.

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                      Got the car back from the mechanic last night. I mentioned in the tech section that the CEL and wrench light lit up Monday afternoon because I failed to fully plug the mass air sensor connector back in. After plugging it back in, I reinstalled the stock air cleaner and sent it to the mechanic to have that galled stud removed. Since the car is acting normally with the CEL still lit; I reinstalled the cleaned up K&N. The car is a little snappier now for whatever reason. Though the air cleaner was pretty grungy. Now I will wait for decent weather to do the exhaust now that everything has been loosened up and replaced.

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                        I guess all those frustrating attempts at the exhaust paid off. I got home with a little sunlight left to get a head start on this. So I loosened all the fasteners on the driver side exhaust manifold. Took only 20 minutes. One of the stud nuts that was coming out, got caught at the end and ended up unthreading that stud. When I brought it in to put it among the other studs that came out; I noticed a metal shaving dangling. The stud is in good shape; so I guess it was from the head. My Dad told me to be really careful threading the replacement bolt. Maybe just snug it a little until I get a properly sized tap. So that will be the plan for this.

                        Tomorrow I will unbolt and move the a/c compressor out of the way and unbolt the passenger side exhaust manifold with the impact ratchet. I hope all goes well.

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                            Got the passenger side header installed. Driver side won't go in unless I remove the oil dipstick tube (thread about this in Tech section). Tried dropping from the top, but the bellhousing thwarts me every time. When I get the headers installed, the next problem will be the mid-pipes. The Stainless Works mid-pipes have a slight bend at the flange. Not sure if that is there to straighten the exhaust; or it's SW effort to ensure I purchase their exhaust. If that's the case; I will make my own mid-pipes.

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                              So, I have been trying to login for a week without success. Something about a modifier not being supported. I can no longer post pics. So this will be all words.

                              I am still stuck with this project. In fact, I went a little backwards. I bought a scraper/prybar from Home Depot and cut a notch into the ends to fit around the oil dipstick tube. I then beveled it a bit so I could wedge it under the tube shoulder/flange. It must have been too sharp because what I ended up doing is biting into the shoulder and when I tried prying the oil tube up; it severed the tube instead. I was told that this was highly probable and that I should have broken the tube a week ago and extracted what's left. That's where I am at now. I ordered a Promaxx Ford oil tube extractor kit; ETA Monday. I hope it works as good as the YouTube testimonials claim.

                              I spent the rest of the afternoon to fit the driver side header. I wanted to see what I will have when I reach this step. Discovered a few things in the process:

                              1) One of the studs is too close to the primary tube. I will have to put the header in place and screw the corner nuts and bolts a couple threads. While the header is away from the block, I should be able to thread that one nut onto the stud.

                              2) While the header is away from the cylinder head, I will try to install the oil dipstick tube. If I install the header before the oil dipstick; it will not fit, as it hits the primaries and/or the engine mount. With the header loose, I should have some wiggle room; hopefully.

                              3) Two of my allen bolts are blocked by the middle primary tubes. I have 2 options; buy another 6mm allen key and cut it down to fit in the small space; or use the header bolts that came with the headers. I may use the header bolts and in the meanwhile, go get me a 6mm allen key and cut it down.

                              I went on the other side and found a few of the bolts and studs loosened. I tightened them down; but I had already applied copper gasket sealer and reused the stock Ford gaskets. The gasket sealer has been dried for a week, so I hope by my tightening those bolts/studs late; I still have a seal. We'll see when I eventually get around to starting this car up.

                              Tomorrow I will go over the passenger side header again to make sure it's all cinched up. I will then go about reinstalling the a/c compressor and accessory belt. At least that will be out of the way when the time comes.

                              Comment


                                So, I have been trying to login for a week without success. Something about a modifier not being supported. I can no longer post pics. So this will be all words.

                                I am still stuck with this project. In fact, I went a little backwards. I bought a scraper/prybar from Home Depot and cut a notch into the ends to fit around the oil dipstick tube. I then beveled it a bit so I could wedge it under the tube shoulder/flange. It must have been too sharp because what I ended up doing is biting into the shoulder and when I tried prying the oil tube up; it severed the tube instead. I was told that this was highly probable and that I should have broken the tube a week ago and extracted what's left. That's where I am at now. I ordered a Promaxx Ford oil tube extractor kit; ETA Monday. I hope it works as good as the YouTube testimonials claim.

                                I spent the rest of the afternoon to fit the driver side header. I wanted to see what I will have when I reach this step. Discovered a few things in the process:

                                1) One of the studs is too close to the primary tube. I will have to put the header in place and screw the corner nuts and bolts a couple threads. While the header is away from the block, I should be able to thread that one nut onto the stud.

                                2) While the header is away from the cylinder head, I will try to install the oil dipstick tube. If I install the header before the oil dipstick; it will not fit, as it hits the primaries and/or the engine mount. With the header loose, I should have some wiggle room; hopefully.

                                3) Two of my allen bolts are blocked by the middle primary tubes. I have 2 options; buy another 6mm allen key and cut it down to fit in the small space; or use the header bolts that came with the headers. I may use the header bolts and in the meanwhile, go get me a 6mm allen key and cut it down.

                                I went on the other side and found a few of the bolts and studs loosened. I tightened them down; but I had already applied copper gasket sealer and reused the stock Ford gaskets. The gasket sealer has been dried for a week, so I hope by my tightening those bolts/studs late; I still have a seal. We'll see when I eventually get around to starting this car up.

                                Tomorrow I will go over the passenger side header again to make sure it's all cinched up. I will then go about reinstalling the a/c compressor and accessory belt. At least that will be out of the way when the time comes.

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