A member from grandmarq.net hooked me up with the missing trans linkage piece. Cleaned it up some and put on a coating of POR15. When the weather dries up; I will spray some Royal Blue on there and call it a day.

I got 5/16"-24thread stainless nuts only to find out it doesn't fit the timing cover stud. Internet says 5/16"-18, but that was the first thing I tried and that didn't fit. Also tried M8-1.00 and M8-1.25 without success. There are a couple threaded holes that I may try to find bolts for; otherwise, I'm stumped. So yeah, more annoying little delays. I will give the engine a final spraying of WD-40; wait for it all to drain into the oil pan; and drain the oil pan sumps. Then I will start filling the engine with vital fluids.

Also going to return the Central Pneumatic compressor I got last year and get a small compressor from Home Depot so I can blow out the trans cooler lines; since the Harbor Freight special can't be found (in-stock) in any nearby stores. Maybe remove the dipstick and blow the tube out...............................maybe.

 

I couldn't get motivated to go out and work on the Crown Vic today. So I decided to tackle the Grand Marquis PCV catch can project. Since the ports on this Steeda catch can are 1/4" NPT; and the PCV valve and throttle body ports on the 4.6 Ford are 5/8"; I initially tried to step it up with adapter fittings from Home Depot. That made the hose run way too long and I couldn't get it to fit. Last week I was ordering house supplies from Amazon and remembered to look up and order 1/4"NPT to 5/8" barb fittings. That made the hose run much shorter. I had forgotten that the fuel supply line is in the way; so I routed the hose around it. Doesn't look too bad; and it should serve its purpose.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring better weather to work on the Crown Vic.

 

Man, that looks good. I think you did an excellent job with the routing.

 

Thank you It's looking like a typical Ford with wires and hoses all over the engine compartment. Even the Crown Vic with the cleaned up engine bay still looks like a jungle.

As such, I got some time to work on the vehicles yesterday. Started by soaking the Grand Marquis exhaust manifold bolts with Liquid Wrench. Hopefully by the Fall, the Crown Vic is on the road and I got the Explorer running like a top. Then I can take the Merc off the road for a week and do the full dual exhaust conversion.

Then I turned my attention to the Crown Vic. I bought a Rigid air compressor from Home Depot on my way back from work on Friday. I was too lazy to break-it-in over the weekend; so I went to do that yesterday. Only to find it had 100psi in the tank already. I'm thinking this is a previously enjoyed compressor. Still gonna break-it-in though. So, I used that 100psi to blow out the trans cooler lines; since my Harbor Freight special failed to do that a few months ago. Reinstalled the trans cooler lines and put 4qts of type-F into the AOD. Which reminds me that I got to make a dedicated box or something for the ATF fluid funnel and adapter for the aftermarket dipstick. Moved to the rear of the car and cut off the stripped muffler hanger and replaced it with another couple of aviation clamps. Went back up front and pulled the plugs and sprayed the cylinders down with WD-40, hopefully for the last time. I will turn the engine over by hand and let that drain off; then drain the pan next weekend. I went ahead and put coolant into the radiator. I was almost a gallon into it when I heard liquid hitting the cardboard underneath. I discovered that there is a threaded freeze plug that is missing. I will need to ID the thread size of that plug and plug it up. So that is going to be this week's mission. Oh, I painted the trans linkage rod last night.

 

My friends over at grandmarq.net immediately confirmed that those freeze plug threads are 1/4" NPT; when I asked a few days ago. I had a plug from Home Depot of the same size, but wouldn't thread into the hole. I realized that the hole hadn't been touched and needed to be tapped. Even so, the HD plug still had a hard time going in. Frustrated, I threw it across the yard for the archeologists to find a millennia from now. My Dad sensing the anger, reminded me that I still have the plug from the oil pressure port. I grabbed that yesterday and with a little effort, it threaded into the hole. Feeling triumphant, I started to fill the radiator again with coolant; and nearly 2 gallons into it, I hear coolant hitting the cardboard underneath; but this time, it was the rear driver side of the engine block. I found the open port, but it is right next to the header collector and I couldn't get a tap in there. I concluded that at least the driver side of the exhaust has to come down so I can remove the header and tap that hole. A bit annoyed, but that is now par for the course with this car.

 

Is the issue that you cannot source a replacement plug and therefore are re-tapping them to match what you have?

Also, I've always wondered how you keep the tiny metal shavings/rust crud out of the cooling channel when tapping. Yes they are small, but you wouldn't want them in there.

 

Remove the engine and flush it? Or perhaps magnets at the ports? I'm not sure.

 

I had planned on getting some work done to the CV after work today, but a busy week at work and getting stuck in 2 hours of traffic (due to weather) made that impossible. Only managed to install 1 a/c and put bushings on the trans shift linkage. Had to put the bushings in boiling water in order to soften them up for the install. Looks pretty good for something that will be hidden underneath the chassis. Hope to do more tomorrow.

 

Sorry; I failed to answer the 1st question. The speed shop didn't touch those threaded holes. The builder told me that it had been a while since he last built a sbf. Not the most encouraging conversation, but we will see what happens when it comes time to start that engine up.

 

I knew this project would involve duct tape at some point.....
j/k