A lot of little things...

[Anonymous]

So this post has a bunch of stuff, I could have posted 8 different topics, but I am going all in one.

It is time for an update on the progress, because today there was much!

So I installed the Mustang Steve Power Booster and Cable Quadrant setup...
MUCH BETTER... the clutch is smooth and the brakes are amazing... (why did I wait soo long to install power brakes...) The cable quadrant has a much smoother action than the RMP kit... I think the pulling vs. pushing has a lot to do with it... also this cable is half the length.. the clutch is still tight, but a new RAM clutch will be for a while... however it feels THREE times better than before. NOT the easiest of installs, lots of bending and drilling, tight spaces... but it went as well as I could have hoped. and I had to bail on the adjustable stop it would not fit between the cowl lip and the brake booster... almost but not quite?

On the engine front, I stripped it down to basics... plugged all the vacume ports and set the timing and curb idle and air/fuel ratio... I got down to idle at 800, timing at 15degrees BTDC, and one complete turn out on each mixture screw. It idles pretty nice there... still a little lopey, and only about 14 inches of vacume, but no shakes and no vibrations like before, and the brake booster works OK, but I am adding a vacume canister to help out... on hard slams of the brake the engine dives a little, not much... I ended up pulling it up to idle at 900 just to smooth it out.
One thing I found was the choke was adjusted really poorly... with the choke closed all the way the fast idle cam had me at 1600, but that was with the choke all the way closed... the problem was as I opened the choke, the cam completely dissengages before the choke even starts to open... I adjusted the idle screw in until a slightly cracked choke plate gave me 1400 rpms... this puts the completely closed position of the cam in a dangerous rpm range of 2400 if you fire it closed all the way... I want to change the relationship of the choke plate and not the idle cam but there is no way I can find on the 2300 to adjust the choke plate angle with the cam completely closed? if anyone has any thoughts it would be appreciated.. I would like to set it so closed completely is just right for a cold start... right now that is about half way closed..

Here are my other questions and troubles listed out...
1. I cannot get the T5 into reverse sometimes... it just grinds... others it slides in no problems? my thought is I still need to tighten the clutch, I have about 1/2" travel before it begins to press the fingers... it releases a little higher now than before, but I think I can open it up more? if that does not solve the problem? not sure? thoughts?
2. Still seems like I should have more power... it faltens out around 2200-2600 rpms... then kicks again over 3000... second gear is the worst. Maybe I am a little too lean on the mix... I am going to open out 1/2 turn more to 1 1/2 turns and see whay happens...?
3. I have an unusual problem? something in the rear passenger side is making a terrible bang when I go over moderate bumps... it almost feels like the wheel is loose or the shock is bound? the drivers side is fine, front has no trouble... but the passenger rear has something a miss? if the exhaust was hitting on a bump that might feel like this? it sounds almost like the hubcap is loose or something? I am going to check over everything carefully in the morning and see?



All in all I am much closer to a place now where I can start to drive it every day..
Also the smoke on shifts was not present today after I got the timing and idle setup, maybe that was a rich mixture... or the rings are starting to seat better... but I only drove a short distance... tomorrow I am driving out for a longer run... see what happens then.

 

[rbohm]

8) for the problem shifting into reverse, try putting the trans in first, then reverse. that will stop the gear motion. i find it works on my 2.77 to put the trans in second(it has the synchro) to stop teh gears then put it in first or reverse.

 

[CobraSix]

Jimbo, my T5 has the same problem. Do like rbohm said. Works everytime for me.

I think you are on the right track for the lean problem.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

The biggest pain is the rear axle...

I cannot see what is causing the hit... everything looks fine.. and if you pull the car, bounce on it nothing.. but over bumps in travel it feels like it will fall off...

The Maverick 8" axle is shorter.. but I cannot find anything there? I need to check the shackle bolts on the spring again.. I may have left one loose? has me baffled?

I need to wait till daylight now.. I wish the sun would stay up longer... days are getting shorter

 

[MustangSix]

The carb sounds lean. adjusting the idle screws probably won't help much though. At those speeds you are past the idle circuit and onto the main jets. You may need to go up a number or two.

But before you do that, make sure your timing is good. If for some reason the advance goes flat, it will exhibit similar symptoms. As a test, bump the initial advance up a few degrees and try it out. If the symptoms go away, then don't fool with the carb - instead start investigating the distributor and the advances.

On the rear end noise, make sure the upper shock bushings are centered in the hole and are not loose. One other cause of banging is the rear shackle hitting the rear valance, so also check that out.

It may be unrelated to suspension. Look at the corner caps and make sure those are tight and that the bumper is secure.

 

[Anonymous]

Also check your tailpipes...they can cause a bad noise if they are hitting somthing when you are going over a bump!

Doug

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry this has nothing to do with the forum, but how do you guys get those pictures to work in your profiles under the text you write?

 

[Anonymous]

If you have an image hosting site... copy and paste the image URL into your profile page... plus any test you want.

I will check out the banging issue... the rear exhaust tip on the side does seem close to the valance... might be that? I am going out to get under there now!

I will try the timing first... I have to rotate the dizzy a tooth.. as I am almost against the block in the advance...

It is hard to get an accurate advance reading on the engine.. since it idles at 1000 the mark is slightly off the marking plate... I use a dial back light and it comes in at around 20 degrees initial at 1000 rpms... but it quickly stumbles and dies at anything less than that... and it has no ping at that setting... I am going to get some timing readings at various rpm ranges and see where my totals are...

Will post some results later..

 

[Ronbo]

One other thing to look at is front leaf spring bushing. Mine was worn and when I hit a decent sized bump it sounded like the frame cracking or something. Nasty noise! It wouldnt do it when you bounced the car either. Only when you hit a bump at speed.


Ron

 

[Anonymous]

Those are new... I think the more likely culprit is the rear exhaust tip on that side...

I went out earlier and pulled both hub caps... and started banging on the tires with a hammer... I also gave the exhaust a few jolts with the palm of my hand and the rear passenger exhaust tip hits on the frame edge right above it as it comes out the rear valance.. I used a jack and bent the lip up some... and took it out for a drive and it is better... still hits and Really hard bumps... but I only bent it slightly... I need to create a little arc in the frame edge right above that spot... should solve the problem.

but it is definitely the exhaust... because it was not doing this prior to having the exhaust run... and it sounds like the exhaust now that the hubcaps are out of the picture... with all the noise they make it was a wonder I could hear anything at all.

 

[Anonymous]

OK....

So I went out today and took the Mustang for a long drive and all was fine... in fact it was dang near perfect. Great day, nice drive...

wouldn't ya know it I should have just left it alone.

But I went to pull the dizzy and rotate things one tooth to get the advance can away from the block and it took me two hours to get it back together. I have it in the exact same spot... as a matter of fact... it will ONLY run in this spot. I cannot get it to go just one tooth... it will not drop in on that spot... I tried RED's trick of setting the gear in the tooth and rotate the crank till it sets down.. only it will not set down? or I am not in the gears at all? this thing is a pain in the behind.

So for now I have it back together and running... almost like it was this morning.. it has a little stumble that was not there this morning... but I need to put a light on and set it right... tomorrow. Out of energy today!

Here are the two things I noticed more than anything...
1. The dizzy can only be turned a few degrees in either direction before the engine dies... it dies in both the advance and retard directions... there is a sweet spot in the middle where it idles smooth... but too far left or right and sputter dies.

2. there is still a lot of oil on the plugs... smoke coming out the exhaust. and even some oil on the tailpipes... the plugs are fouled and the tops of the cylinders are coated in a light film of oil... I now have 120 miles on the rebuild but it is noticeably less than last week.

 

[Anonymous]

You can move all your plug wires around 1 cylinder on the distributer...I lost interest very quickly when trying to reinstall mine and did the above to get more adjustment.....

Just make sure to remark #1 on the distro with a felt tip marker in case you forget you did this!

Doug