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I finally did it!

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Posted by: Kbob

I finally put on all the parts I've been gathering for my car. Here's what I did:

1. Took out air silencer (no problems)
2. Replaced fuel filter (no problems)
3. Replaced front air strut (no problems)
4. Painted brake calipers (no problems)
5. Replaced PCV valve (no problems)
6. Replaced air filter (no problems)
7. Did Seafoam treatment (no problems and no smoke)
8. Glued regular custom-cut mirror ($6) over cloudy factory drivers side mirror
9. Replaced spark plugs with 2 step colder plugs (broke 2 boots and replaced those as well)
10. Installed underdrive crank pulley and water pump pulley (thermactor was a nightmare, but I unhooked the drivers-side line, cut the passenger side line, and worked the valve off the line with some big wrenches and liquid wrench. I wire brushed the screwed up threads with a drill brush to remove them. Not enough room for the thermactor bracket so it was omitted. After removing the bad threads, there was thankfully enough threads left to reattach the valve back to the line. Then I reattached the cut line with compression fittings.)
11. Replaced thermostat with a new 180 t-stat (T-stat location sucks, but it can be done. Couldn't get the coolant fill plug off so I improvised the coolant filling procedure. )
12. Installed transmission cooler (needed 5 1/2 ft. of transmission fluid line and a different fitting to attach the cooler to the radiator)
13. Upgraded 1-2 accumulator piston in transmission (it already had the new style piston installed but the white plug for the dipstick was in the pan? I guess they were lazy. Cleaned the pan, replaced the filter, and refilled with 12 qts Mercon V)
14. Replaced broken drivers-side door handle (I'm most proud of this. It was definitely a learning experience.)
15. Repaired drivers side door panel (leather was seperating at the top; fixed with industrial craft glue and clothes pins. Broke 1 guide/fastener during reinstallation.)
16. Changed oil and filter and replaced with synthetic (15 minutes to figure out how the filter comes out even with instructions)
17. Sensor lowered 1 1/2 to 2 inches (one readjustment in the rear)
18. Replaced bad tire (broke stud, replaced)
19. Installed performance chip (I thought I cleaned the contacts good enough, but I was wrong. So I ignored the instructions and scraped the contacts with a sharp pocket knife, being careful not to scratch anything.)

I decided to wait and install the new 255 lph fuel pump when/if I put in 2 1/2" exhaust and an x-pipe.

My car runs great and I'm very pleased with the results. I plan on having it dynoed just for kicks and I'll take it to the track this spring.

Posted by: seanklsc

Damn. You have a lot of time. You did that all at once? Must feel like a completely different car. I don't like to do 20 things at the same time like that, if something goes wrong you never know what caused it...

Posted by: MrWilson

muahaha, takin out that air scilencer makes the car realy sound nice done it?

Posted by: mespock

Now what are you going to do!!! You'll be Bored!!!

Posted by: MonsterMark

Wow. A lot of work. Congrats. How do you like the chip? Except for the pullies, I've done all that and more. It's not a struggle if you make it your hobby.

Posted by: 1wykdmk8

Damn, that is alot of things to do at once......

One thing to note, before you put that fuel pump in you will need a pressure regulator also......if you do not already have one. The factory regulator can not hold up to the pressure from a higher volume/pressure fuel pump, at least not for too long. If you have not purchased one depending on what year you have you will need this. If you have a 93 you will need the one for the 86-93 Mustang, and if you have any other year you will need the 94-98 Mustang.....since I have been down this road with my 93 already.

Posted by: Kbob

"Damn. You have a lot of time. You did that all at once? Must feel like a completely different car. I don't like to do 20 things at the same time like that, if something goes wrong you never know what caused it..."

Time (haha)? Uh . . . no, I don't have a lot of time. That's why I decided to do all this in stages. I had the car on jack stands for a week and a half and worked on it when I had free time, mostly on the weekends. I actually did #7 first. Then I put it on stands and did 1-6 and 8. Did 9 the next day and I didn't realize how critical the boots were, so I just taped the 2 broken ones together with electical tape. It ran fine after the spark plug change so I proceeded to the pulleys. After that was installed it again ran fine. So I did # 11 and it ran fine after that was completed as well. Next was #12 and 13, completed and worked fine after test. I did #14 and 15 over 3 days. Did 16, 17, and 18 and again it ran fine. Then I took it off the stands and went on a test drive. It did fine for a few minutes, then it started running rough. I did some research and made a list of possible problems. I figured the broken boots were the most likely culprit so I ordered some and replaced them when they came in; that did the trick. I drove it for a few days and then installed the chip yesterday.

I would recommend that everything not be done all at once like Sean said, though. Too much could go wrong. I just got lucky.

It does feel different and the chip seems to be doing its job with the shifting and everything. It shifts into OD sooner than I would want, though. I've got rubber laid down over half my town, so I'll be getting those new tires sooner than I was expecting (hehe). I'm curious to see if there will be a difference in gas mileage after I calm down. I'll be washing it up and I'll post some pics soon.

Posted by: Kbob

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1wykdmk8

Damn, that is alot of things to do at once......

One thing to note, before you put that fuel pump in you will need a pressure regulator also......if you do not already have one. The factory regulator can not hold up to the pressure from a higher volume/pressure fuel pump, at least not for too long. If you have not purchased one depending on what year you have you will need this. If you have a 93 you will need the one for the 86-93 Mustang, and if you have any other year you will need the 94-98 Mustang.....since I have been down this road with my 93 already.

Thanks for the info. I've seen your recent posts suggesting the same. After seeing firsthand how much work was involved with the fuel pump swap from underneath the car and with your recent posts on fuel regulators, I decided not to do it. I'm sure you saved me some extra work. I appreciate your input.