48 chevy truck

[chimp koose]

      

[kb426]

O&S is tinkering with small things to get it where it needs to be. Yesterday's care package had 3 items. 2 won't work. LOL. I jacked it up today and put 90 degree elbows on the exhaust to point to the rear of the truck under the rear suspension cradle. They end in front of the rear axles. That killed the sound in the cab so unless your on it, it's pretty quiet. I have more wind noise around the doors than I want. Not from leaks. I'm wondering if I should have removed the drip rails?

[idrivejunk]

I thought you were going to remove more than just the drip rails.

[kb426]

That would require a decision. I think locked up might be a good description.

[kb426]

O&S did a little work today. The mass air meter was mounted next to the throttle body. I had read that the turbulence caused from that location could cause problems so I ordered elbows and tubing to move it. I wanted alum. but bought 4 times the length in 18 gauge stainless for the same price as the alum. ? While I was doing this, I checked resistance on the new sensor and the 4.6 unit I have been using. That brought up a question so I checked 2 others I have. A stock mustang gt from 1989, a 1999 explorer 5.0 and the afore mentioned 2. You will get resistance from the ground, sensor ground and the sensor return. Nothing when connecting the positive with any of the 3 other connections. The 1989 read 3.7. The 99 explorer was 3.95. The 4.6 read 4.03. The new sensor reads zero. The positive and sensor return have been reversed. No wonder it didn't work. All of the factory sensors are marked a,b,c,d from left to right. The new replacement isn't marked. With the research that I did, Ford hasn't changed the location of the wires in the sensors. I think I'll purchase a different brand.

[kb426]

The new mass air sensor arrived today. O&S installed it in the cold and went for a test drive. It's better. I didn't kill the ecu memory because of working in the cold so it will be a few heat cycles before I know if everything is correct.

[kb426]

O&S did the 1st oil change at 125 miles today. I drained the break in oil out and filled it with regular stuff. I watched it drain with a light and saw no particles. I'm still having an issue with an occasional part throttle stumble. I hooked up a pressure gauge and found that the pump is down on pressure by 5 lbs. I'm ordering a new pump to make me quit thinking about it if nothing else. This one has surprised me that it wasn't good from the start. As I remember, these systems idle at 36 psi and hit 40 with throttle. I had between 30 and 31 at idle. I used a new Airtex pump that I had laying on the shelf. I used it on the 8 stack injector project and put it back in the box. The performance isn't bad enough to put up ob2 codes but it isn't right, yet.

[kb426]

O&S is pleased to report that the new fuel pump cured the stumble. It sounds a little different at low rpm under a light load so I'm optimistic that something is crossed off from the list.

[kb426]

I took a look at the non-moving windshield wipers this afternoon. The arm has a pinch bolt. Try as as I could, I couldn't get a wrench in that place without removing a bunch of parts. When I figured out that taking out the gauge clusters was the only way to get to it, I passed on it for now. The replacement stereo arrived late yesterday and I installed it. So far, it's working. Then it got interesting. There's a long story that I won't get into now. I purchased 2 Ridetech shocks with lighter springs for the front. After removing one shock and doing some measuring, I realized that I would have to re-profile the lower mounts. I trimmed one a little and could see that I will need to find a way to clamp that mount in the mill to do it nicely. It was late enough by then that I put the original back in and put the truck back in the shed. We have some serious cold coming in so it's going to wait.

[kb426]

O&S put in several hours today. I had to remove both gauge clusters to get access to tighten the pinch bolt on the wiper arm. I took a pic so you can get an idea of it's location. The wipers are working now. I can't say for how long, though. I went to work on swapping the front shocks. I removed the lower mount on both sides and put them in the mill. I removed .200" from one spot and another .200 on a different angle to have clearance for the shock body. I went from 700 lb. springs to 575 lb. springs. I didn't drive very far but it did make a very noticeable difference. I will play with adjustments if the weather ever warms up again.

[kb426]

It warmed up a miniscule amount today so I heated the shop and did a little work. I started off with replacing the ignition coils and the TPS. Now all of the sensors and ignition parts are new. Time will tell if that was a good idea. The pigtail on the V.S.S. was poor. I purchased a replacement and installed it. I had purchased a specific size tool for replacement of the tailshaft bushing on the trans. I jacked up the rear end of the truck, removed the drive shaft and used the tool to remove the bushing. It worked as it should. It came with a driver to install the new bushing. It took longer to remove the driveshaft than to remove and replace the bushing and install a new seal. Now, I'll see if that fixes the problem. I installed mirror set number 4. I think this is as good as it gets. They are black plastic and will be painted to match after it warms up. The driver's side is pretty good and the right side is useful. I will tinker with adjusting it some after driving in traffic and finding out where it needs to be aimed.

[jaybee]

I like having a right side mirror, and I don't mind the symmetry.

[kb426]

It warmed up into the upper 40's today. O&S put the 48 in the shop and played with alignment. I purchased a wheel mount for caster and camber and a set of the toe in plates that I could buy cheaper than make. The wheel adapter needs an adapter to fit my camber gauge to it. This thing is a spook to drive on ice which we've had plenty of the last week. I found the rear to have almost an inch of toe in. The rear came from a salvage yard. I should know that anything I get from a yard is beat up somehow. I set the rear and changed the front some. Both ends need camber adjustment. After I get an adapter made, I'll tackle that. I went for a drive and all seems well but it was on dry pavement. The mustang irs is simple to adjust except for one item. The upper arm which sets camber is under the bed floor. It isn't easily accessible from underneath. In hindsight, I should have checked it before I put the floor down. The rear was spotless when I got it. Not any sign of damage. I checked it for wheel runout but not alignment. I have purchased 2 rear ends from salvage yards. Both had bent axle flanges. The Mustang rear is heavier than the earlier versions that I have used. Another lesson learned.

[jaybee]

That's a TON of toe in, no wonder it was spooky. On the other hand, with all that toe, the tires would never last long enough to ozone rot.

[kb426]

O&S has been entirely too boring lately. I have been working on interior panels and finding things that don't work. I've been chasing an occasional stumble at low rpm and small throttle openings. Sometimes acts like a lean stumble. All of the sensors are new. All ignition components are new. I decided to swap out injectors to see if that could have some effect. I pulled the top of the intake and put a newer set in. They have a different plug but I had adapters left over from the 32. I reassembled and went for a test run. Same as before. I decided to swap them back. The originals are in and I fire it up. I have a leak. Turns out an oring on the top of an injector has a chunk out of it. Thats the 3rd time the intake is off. I have a spare oring and have it back together in short order. Now I've added one more item that doesn't appear to be related to the stumble. Back to thinking.