Intake, Valve Cover, and Cylinder Head Inspection

Last night, I decided relatively last minute to remove the upper intake from the Mustang.  In part, I wanted to look under it and inside the runners to evaluate the condition.  Additionally, it would allow me access to remove and look under the valve covers.

The intake removal was rather easy except two of the screws to remove the 5.0 plaque on top simply would not come out.  I've been working on them for several days now with PB Blaster without any success.  The T20 provision on the top ultimately stripped out and I had to drill them out.  It worked but that left me with the project of what is removing what is left of those screws at some point.

The upper intake was still sealed with a stock Ford gasket (E6SE-9H486-CA).  In my research, this is the original gasket and not the service replacement (E6SZ-9H486-C) sold if it had ever been replaced.    There was a bracket that connected the passenger side rear intake bolt to the lower driver side of the block that didn't appear as it had ever been touched.  These all lead me to believe this intake has never been off the vehicle.

The intake runners are rather dark on the upper and down into the lower side of the intake.  I expect this is from 181,000 miles of slight oil entering through the PVC and perhaps some type of carbon buildup over the years from the EGR setup.  It doesn't feel particularly oily and doesn't really smell like oil or fuel.  

I loosened the valve cover bolts next to check the condition of the rockers and tops of the heads.  The bolts had that snap feel when you break them loose that tells you they have been through many heat cycles without being removed.  When I removed them, I was very happy to find the engine condition is immaculate.  It certainly seems to have received regular oil changes as the is no oil buildup or even dark residue.

The valve cover gaskets are a metal version that has a thin black rubber style gasket on the inner edge.  The metal portion was rusty all the way around and rather hard to remove.  I could not find any part number on them but I imagine they are original.  The part number should be on the metal portion but the bottom edges are rather rusty so they have likely just vanished to the rust process.  You can't remove the vale covers on this car without removing the intake which certainly seemed to have never been removed.  

I love that this car is a time capsule that some lady owned and cared for since she graduated college.  You can't replace originality.  This originality is a little different in that it is 181,000 originality so it is appropriate to maintain and improve the condition as it is aging.  

Since I had it removed, I weighed the stock upper intake, EGR spacer, and throttle body as removed and complete.  It weighed exactly 26 lbs.

Dragy Performane Meter - Baseline Testing

I went out to do some driving in the Mustang and decided to get another baseline performance test on the car using the Dragy.  The car is largely unchanged since the last test except I swapped the fuel filter and confirmed the throttle opens fully.  The car has 3/8 tank of gas.  I made four runs but the Dragy only logged one of them.  The 0-30 was faster but otherwise the times were largely the same.  

 
0-30 2.85
0-60 7.91
1/8th 10.20
Quarter 16.44 

The previous time I did this, I left at about the same RPM (2,000) and shifted around 5,500.  That is the same approach I used for this test.  My results from last time are as follows:

0-30 2.96
00-60 7.98
1/8th 10.04
Quarter (EST) 16.1 - 16.6

There is quite a bit to do here with a starting 0-60 time of essentially 8 seconds and a quarter mile of 16.44.

Looking at the second, quarter mile graph, you can see that I'm letting off the throttle before reaching the quarter mile.  I think it isn't a great deal faster but the quarter mile time then isn't very accurate.  I think I'm likely closer to a 16.1.  Ultimately, since I'm just testing on highways around town, I'll need to consistently focus on 1/8 mile or other data points as I'll no doubt soon go fast enough that a quarter mile time is completely impossible.

Fuel Filter, Wheel Locks, and Wheel Cleaning

With the car completely on jack stands to make some of the brake work easier, it makes sense to go ahead and take advantage of the space to replace the fuel filter.  

I ordered a replacement fuel filter (WIX 33097) quite some time ago but have not put it on as I know I'll smell like gas and didn't want to tackle that job after working all day.  As a result, it has just sat in my cabinet waiting for the right opportunity.  Additionally, I'd already looked under the car and noticed the original bracket was in bad shape so I found another original on eBay to use during the replacement.   

I removed the original hose clips which broke almost immediately upon trying to take them off.  The mounting bracket then came off without much stuggle along with the filter.  The filter has not been replaced in a while as the case has some rust marks on it.  There are a few light words but not much that can be made out except for the numbers 097 at the top of the first string of characters and EEUU at the end of the second.  I assume it is many years old.

There was a considerable amount of what seemed to be dirt but was just undercoating on the underside of the car around the filter.  Once some gas got on it, I was able to start wiping some off.  I used a little brake clean, a small brush, and some towels to clean the surface the filter bracket mounted to and a little beyond but didn't get too carried away.

I'm glad I swapped out the mounting bracket.  I wouldn't have been able to clean it up enough to make me happy with the final product.  I also decided to buy OEM off eBay rather than some cheap reproduction on LMR.  I used the original bolts which cleaned up fine with a little wire wheel.  

With the wheels all off, I decided to work on the tires a little.  The previous owner used some form of black paste on the tires to keep them looking new.  While they looked nice, if you touched any wheel with your hand or clothing, they would immediately be covered in the black substance which was rather hard to get off.  I've cleaned some of it off before but this time used some citrus car wash and wheel cleaner that seemed to remove the rest. I don't need to but will go ahead and rotate the tires too.

I'll be reinstalling the wheels with some McGard 24130 locking lug nuts.  These are far better than what is presently on the car.  I'm concerned with the fragile looking current setup that the socket might break and leave me stranded.  

I don't know where the current locks came from as they have no identifying marks on them.  As a result, I was not able to get a spare socket.  I'll keep them in a box of original parts that I have in the attic but I don't think they will see active duty again.

Flushing the Power Steering System

The previous owner paid to have the power steering system flushed when the new rack was installed on October 23, 2024.  If anything, I think they just added a little fluid to replace what was lost when the rack was removed.  The fluid certainly looks old so not much was done as that was certainly less than 1,000 miles ago.

As I researched it, I found that Ford indicates you should use Type-F ATF in the power steering system instead of power steering fluid.  Additionally, you do not need the additional friction modifiers in Dexron and Mercon.  I picked up some Valvoline Type-F from Summit along with a few other things so I could do the flush with the best fluid possible.

I took the hoses off the bottom of the cooling line and let them drain for a bit.  I then plugged the line coming from the bottom of the reservoir, filled the reservoir, and then took of the belt.  I operated the pump by hand while filling the reservoir periodically.  This slowly pumped new fluid throughout the system.  I then turned the steering wheel from one side to the other about four times with the front jacked up which flushed the system further.  With that done, I reconnected everything, started the car, and let it run while turning the wheel from side to side.

The power steering fluid was the normal bright red until I started the car.  I guess it worked loose some other sediment in the system.  The fluid doesn't look bad but it isn't the bright color it was originally.  I ultimately worked a full quart through the system so I think it is far better than it was before.  Over time, I'm sure it will probably darken as everything flows through a bit more.  If it bothers me, I can always do this job another time as I have two more bottles of the AFT Type-F on-hand.

Before:

After:

While I had everything apart, I took some time to clean all the lines and clips.  The car must have had an oil leak at some point as some of the components are rather nasty.  Doing the job now and with each other item I touch will just make it better to work on in the future with whatever job comes next.  

Headlight Replacement & Adjustment

A while back I was driving the Mustang late in the evening and turned on the headlights.  I was immediately greeted by some poorly aligned and very yellow lighting.  I mentally put it on the list to address at some point and ended up buying some LED headlights on Amazon this week.

I purchased some relatively inexpensive Sealight LED 9004 bulbs as I've used some of their other smaller LEDs before.  The bulb seems be rather well constructed and the led panels are placed appropriately to work with the halogen lens.  They cost $35, have a 6500k light color, and are rated at 70,000 lumens.

When I pulled the bulbs from the car, I found they are already a slightly upgraded model made by Pierce.  They are rated to have 6000k light color but they seem far more yellow than that suggests.  These can be purchased on Amazon for around $25.

I should have taken a before an after picture but didn't.  I was so shocked by how much brighter they were, I did take this picture after installing them.  As you can see, some adjustment of the headlights is needed.  

Replacement Motor Mounts

Tonight, I replaced the motor mounts with a few Anchor brand mounts (#2725 and #2726).  This is a fairly straightforward job as these are mounted with one nut and two bolts per side.  That said, this job fought me a bit more than I expected.  

To replace these, I had the car with jack stands under both the front A-arms.  I then used a jack to raise the engine to create clearance to remove the mounts.  The problem I experienced was lifting the engine using a block under the oil pan was not enough.  I could only get the engine high enough by lifting it from the harmonic balancer.

I was able to raise the engine quite high.  The only time there was some interference was with the fan inside the shroud.  I loosened the shroud and nothing else seemed to really become a hindrance to raising the engine.  Even with the motor raised as high as possible, these barely came out and the new ones were equally challenging to manipulate back into place.  

The originals are certainly 34 years old but the rubber seems to be in better condition that I expected.  There are some small cracks but they are not completely falling apart.  I don't there will be any perceivable difference with this change but it was good insurance for the long term.    

The bolts into the engine are tightened to 55 ft-lbs. and the larger nut connecting the mount to the K-member is tightened to 94 ft-lbs.  Maximum Motorsports suggests leaving the block bolts finger tight, lowering the engine, tightening the K-member bolts, and then saving the block bolts for last.  I used that process so as not to preload the rubber bushings.

While working under the car, I noticed there was a missing header bolt.  It is the most obvious bolt at the front on the driver side but somehow I never noticed until now.  I have a Stage 8 header bolt from the 1967 Mustang that I installed for now.  I'll have to decide later if I want to get a new set of bolts.

While finishing up the job, I noticed the starter is a mini starter and has a label on it.  I took a quick picture which isn't great but does show the part number.  I had AI try to help identify it and the best information I could find is that it is just a replacement Motorcraft PMGR starter that was likely remanufactured on the 264th day of 2006.  This would fit with when the vehicle was actively being driven before going into storage and being purchased by the last owner.

Brake System Flush and Front Hose Replacement

For whatever reason, I'm not very motivated to continue with the installation of the front passenger side speaker set.  I've been procrastinating starting for a bit but remain interested in working on the car.  Rather than force myself to complete the speakers now, I'm going to move on to something else that does interest me and I'll come back to the speakers later. 

I decided the next project would be to work through replacing the front brake lines, engine mounts, and flushing the power steering system as one project.  For the brakes.  I'll be using a set of replacement lines made by Dynamic Friction (#350-54045 and #350-54044).

I decided to replace the brake lines due to rust on the metal portion of the original lines.  The rubber wasn't cracking excessively but I need the car to be safe.  After the old lines were off, I searched for a part number without success but found a date code of 5/29/92 on the rubber so they are original.

The new lines went on easily but it was quickly apparent the copper washers which came with the new lines were thinner than the originals.  I measured and confirmed the originals were 2mm thick while the new ones were 1mm.  I don't think the old ones will seal so I used the new, thinner washers. 

I pulled the caliper and brake pads since I had them accessible.  The brake pads look to be in good condition but there was no disc brake lubricant on the pads where they contact the piston or caliper housing.  The pins didn't use disc brake lubricant but some type of standard black grease.  I addressed those things and put the calipers back together using some blue Loctite.  

The pads are blue and have WAG MX-1-EE31381.  I suspect they are some form of Wagner brake pad but it isn't any number actively used.  I used Chat GPT to research it and based on the MX-1-EE part, it could tell these were made between 2002 and 2005.  The rotors are not particularly smooth so the entire package is a little dated.  It works so I expect to leave it alone for now as it is working and invest the money in an upgraded option a little later.

Since I had the front wheel off the car, I weighed it and the wheel and tire combination is exactly 53 lbs.  The General G-Max 255/40R17 weights 24.1 lbs so the wheels are roughly 29 lbs each.  

A few days later after work, I performed the same job on the passenger side of the car.  Two days later, I decided to tackle bleeding the brake system.  When I walked out into the garage, a significant amount of brake fluid leaked out of the front passenger brake hose where it connects to the caliper.  I suspect the issue is the 1mm thick copper washers is causing the banjo bolt to bottom out before the washers are compressed enough to seal.

I searched for some 2mm washers but none of the local stores seem to have them.  I did find O'Reilly sells a new banjo bolt with two washers and those are 2mm thick (Brake Best H9469-2).  Unfortunately, the store only had one bolt in-stock so I had to order the other one online.  When it arrived, it was the right part number but a completely different bolt with 1mm washers.

The brake fluid had not leaked since installing the parts I found at O'Reilly on the passenger side.  It seems the banjo bolt was bottoming out due to the thin washers.  Luckily, that wasn't happening on the driver side so I didn't require the new banjo bolt but I thought it would be good to swap them both.

I ordered Russell Speed Bleeders for both the front (#639590) and back (#639540) brakes.  They make bleeding the brakes especially easy which was important.  The brake fluid in the car was especially dark.  While it is certainly overkill, I ran a full quarter of Prestone DOT 4 through the system to fully flush it.  That required over 100 pedal depressions across both back wheels and 40 or so on each of the front.  By the time I was done, what came out of the brake system was the same light yellow that was going in.  The following is a picture is how much I bleed from the passenger rear and the color.

I'll ultimately end up upgrading the front and rear brakes but I don't know when that will be so replacing the front lines now and the fluid is a good safety measure.  I probably should have just done the front pads and rotors too but what is there seems fine and I didn't want to waste money on something I would not use for the long term.

I took the car for a drive and found the pedal was soft.  I expect that when the passenger front brake leaked out, it resulted in air in the master cylinder that despite my rather heavy bleeding of the front brakes didn't full address.  I bled the master cylinder making a huge mess of everything.  The mess resulted in pausing the project to wash the underhood area, floor, and then consequently the rest of the car.

Decibel Meter Baseline Testing

At the beginning of the week, I found a YouTube video where a guy recorded decibel ratings in his Mustang comparing the FlowMaster Delta Flow 50 mufflers to the Super 44s that I have on my car.  This gave me the idea to do the same as a baseline before I perform any additional sound deadening.  At this point, I already have Luxury Liner on the front floors, under the rear seats, and have sound deadened the driver door (but not the passenger quite yet).

For the most part, my tests were done with the db meter in the cup holder of the center console.  I have my phone in the second cup holder recording video so it was easy to drive around, state out loud the test, and then just record all the figures later.

Cold Idle (A/C Running) - 65.0-66 db

Warm Idle (A/C off) -  62-63 db

2,000 RPM in 3rd - 35 MPH (A/C Running) - 79 db
... At ear level 82 db

3,000 RPM in 3rd - 50 MPH (A/C Running) - 79 db
... at ear level 81 db

2,200 RPM in 4th - No Load (A/C Running) - 79 db
.... at ear level 84 db

2,000 RPM in 4th - 50 MPH - Light Load (A/C Running) 82 db
... at ear level 87

2,500 RPM in 3rd - Light Load (No AC) - 77

3,000 RPM in 3rd - Under Load (No AC) - 80

2,003rd gear 2000 RPM under load 80 db

1000-2750 medium acceleration runs - 85 db

Acceleration Up to 5,000 RPM - 87 db

What is fairly apparent is the decibel level is fairly consistent with the meter in the console but there is more variability when at ear level.  With some of these test, the console showed 79 db for them all but when lifted to ear level, the db was anywhere from 81 to 84.  

Replacing Glovebox & License Plate Bulbs

When I recently replaced some of the instrument cluster lights, I replaced them with some Diode Dynamics Cool White bulbs.  I had three left over and decided to replace the one in the glove box.  Unfortunately, these bulbs almost project light straight out rather than all around.  This didn't work for the glovebox as the light then shined straight into the dash.  

I ended up buying another variety of LED 194 bulb on Amazon that would shine out in all directions.  I received it in the mail and installed it this evening.  It works perfectly and has a bit more modern color to the light.  

Since I have the extra Diode Dynamics bulbs, I checked the lights on the license plate and found they are the older style bulb with the yellow appearing light.  I decided to go ahead and swap them out as these Diode Dynamics bulbs will be well suited for this use.  The work considerably better than what was installed.  

The headlights still need to be replaced at some point.  They are rather yellow in appearance.  In addition, The headlights are aimed poorly more towards the ground and towards the center of the vehicle.  I suspect they were not adjusted at all when the previous owner installed the new headlight lenses.  That is something that I'll ultimately address at some point but it isn't urgent.  

Rear Speaker Installation

The installation of the rear speakers should have been a simple project... but it was not.

I've historically been a big fan of Polk speakers.  When I found the front Polk component speakers and they were one of the only styles mounted with the stock three screws, I was sold.  To have similar sound coming from the front and back, it is best to have as close to the same speaker as possible.  That caused me to select the Polk MM572 5"x7" speaker (no DB version is made) for the rear.

The speakers arrived and looked great.  I quickly noticed they changed up the basket from how they were produced years ago.  Instead of a thin metal basket, the entire basket was made of plastic and the mounting tabs were all 1/4" thick.  It was quickly apparent the original speaker screws would not work as they were not long enough. 

I took the original speaker off the grill, put the Polk speaker in its place and found the shape and thickness of the basket caused other problems.  The speaker was spaced over 1/4" off the grill due to the thickness of the basket and design relative to the stock speaker grill.  After some research, I decided I would use some thick 1/4" closed cell foam tape to close the gap.  I wasn't convinced this would solve the problem but it ultimately worked far better than I expected.  I ultimately put foam on both the speaker and the grill so that when screwed in place there was a solid seal and good compression of the foam.

I was able to get the speakers mounted to the grills only to find they are not so spaced back from the face of the grill, they barely fit in the car.  This was really a surprise as they have such a small magnet.  Regardless, there is a support bracket that they make light contact with.  That said you can get them installed but can tell the bottom of the speaker grill is bowed out just a bit.

Strangely enough, they also decided to use unique sized speaker terminals on the back.  Instead of the normal large and small speaker spade, the negative is a medium size.  It wasn't a big deal as I just took their provided wiring, soldered it to the Metra speaker wiring adapter plug and everything connected fine.  It is just one more instance of Polk departing from normal with these and causing some problems with the installation process.

I installed stereo systems for years and installed many 5"x7" speakers.  It is surprising to me that 25 years later, Polk decides to start changing up a design that has worked forever.  With the old metal baskets, the speaker would protrude out from the basket more, seal better against this type grill, and provide more space behind the speaker.  Regardless, they are installed, sound good, and look fine.  It is just unfortunately that even small things like this take far more effort and are not as seamless of an installation as they should be with a speaker design that has existed for well over 30 years.

I weighed the stock and Polk speakers for comparison.  The stock speaker weights 1 pound and 7 oz while the new speaker weighs only 1 pound and 4 oz.  The total across the two of them is then only 6 oz lighter with the new speakers installed.

Door Refinement & Speaker Installation (Part 2)

With the driver door complete, I turned my attention to the installation with the associated tweeter and crossover.  The stock dash speaker is a 3.5" speaker which provides an adequate spot for the tweeter installation.  Unfortunately, the shape of the dash makes aiming the tweeters appropriately rather difficult.  The driver side is the worse as you are contending with the gauge cluster blocking almost any ability to point the tweeter at the passengers.

A really easy way to make this style mount is to simply use 1" wide piece of 1/8" thick aluminum stock.  The speaker mounts are directly across from one another allowing you to simply run it from one side to another.  You create a little a few bends in the bar to recess the tweeter into the opening.  Lastly, you can bend the bracket created to angle the tweeter a bit.  The angle of the bracket combined with the angle mount for the tweeter provides you a reasonable amount of adjustment.

With the bracket formed, I painted it quickly with Rustoleum black automotive primer and then with a VHT flat black engine paint.  I mounted the tweeter to it and then folded up some of the SecondSkin closed cell foam sheet and stuffed it into the dash behind the tweeter.  I figure the foam will block any light blacking out anything you would see through the grill and could cut down on some noise.

The original 3.5" speaker weighs 8 ounces and was replaced with a 2 ounce tweeter and 5.5 ounce crossover so there isn't much change in weight from these items.