Finally!

[piece-itpete]

Well over 10k trouble free miles out of her now, and just yesterday I ran down to Summit and picked up Energy's poly greaseable sway bar bushings - the very last part on the front end to change. It should tighten it up nicely, handle more like a private yacht than an ocean liner lol.

Still need to change the heater core, find buttheads' vacuum leak and replace the lines, get the starter changed, get the top done, get the glovebox back in, find an intermittent short under the front dash, paint the dash, get the a/c charged, change the timing chain/water pump/harmonic balancer/fan clutch, replace the rear bearings/seals, fix the power locks, replace the heater lockout, install the aoooga horn, replace the back rubber brake line, burn the horrid cheap pioneer rear speakers, other things I can't think of right now....

But that's just minor stuff.

I wish

I also picked up some old school studded snow tires, monster 235s. Haven't seen these for a while.

Pete

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I also picked up some old school studded snow tires, monster 235s. Haven't seen these for a while.

Those should give you a nice smooth, quiet ride.

[piece-itpete]

Lol yeah, I've been rolling studs for years, it sounds like you're driving on a gravel road, like a crackling kinda. These are different in that they're the old 'high void' style while most new snows just have a more meaty but more normal tread pattern.

But I drive in weather that scares SUVS

Pete

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

But I drive in weather that scares SUVS

Pete

You'd probably scare a monster truck with those tires.

[piece-itpete]

I just need a sticker of Calvin peeing on a Cadillac crest now, I'd be all set

I changed the sway bar bushings last night, it's a cheap & easy job and I HIGHLY recommend it, it should make a noticable difference even on a new car. Poly is just so much better than rubber I can't believe they don't use it new.

Pete

[d-ray657]

Congrats Pete. You gotta admire someone who takes the initiative to make something last. You've heard my diatribes about the throw-away economy before, and you are a shining example of the cure for that. Now if you could just get a small nuclear reactor to run the beast, we might be able to keep the ozone layer intact.

Regards,

D-Ray

[piece-itpete]

My dad's into nukes, he believes each city block should have a mini reactor, all linked to a grid....

Engineers lol.

I've been fighting this thing now since almost my last post on it. I put those monster snows on (they BARELY fit), and man do they work in the snow!, but they are indeed a bit noisy. Turns out they're actually bias truck tires, I've never owned a pair of bias before. Very, very smooth ride on smooth roads, goes south quick on bad pavement though! Understandable - they've got a 1 ton sidewall rating I think I accidently backed over a Prius the other day lol.

I also installed a larger front sway bar (1-1/8" vs the 7/8" factory, found it on a Colony Park wagon) and a 1" rear sway bar off a Crown Vic cop car (vs none factory). A huge difference.

Changed the starter and the main wires, the ground particularly was in very sad shape. Now I go to turn the key, the starter rips off the car and drives away without me

Also changed all 4 sealed beam headlights and changed them to a relay system. Most excellent, the brights particularly are almost on par with my previous 97 grand marquis.

I've done a ton more mostly smaller jobs and am down to just a few major things left, and 1 million little things. Timing chain (including chain, gears, water pump, harmonic balancer and fan clutch). On the 80s 302s apparently they used plastic teeth on the gears, so they develop a little slack that in turn causes a slight very weird miss that has been getting worse.

Heater core, slight smell of antifreeze with the heat on. Have to pull the dash on full size Fords for this.

And intake gasket, not so bad. Every time I think of it I want to go second amendment on my neighbor.

Then pay for a mid paint job (rust preventive) and the top, and can work on the little things. I swear, I'm a glutton for punishment.

Anyway the whole problem. I had a wobble after I got the snows on, started going after it. Remounted/balanced/changed tires like crazy, couldn't touch it. Changed the upper ball joint, it was SHOT, but did not fix the problem (although it made a difference).

So I thought, maybe the lower's bad and grenaded the upper. Go to change it (with a press from Autozone, it's a press fit lower ball joint, very common), can't seem to get it seated properly, I can move it a little. Finally I realised - it was definately in, and still a bit loose.

Picked up the hammer, tapped it - plink! thud. It fell out. So the problem was a loose lower ball joint! No WONDER it wobbled and tracked weirdly (which I was blaming the snows for).

For the unknowledgeable, it can't fall out when bolted in, but can be loose, allowing your tire to move in and out, up and down, front to back a bit as you're driving.

I thought, jeez, I have to change the lower control arm, I just put new bushings in it, have to take the spring back out etc etc, not expensive but time consuming, and I'm getting discouraged with this.

Then a thought, didn't hillbilly say someone welded a caliber on?

So my neighbor, an expert welder/fabricator, is going to tack weld the ball joint onto the control arm. When I asked him about changing the ball joint down the road, he said well if it bothers you, wait till you have some free time in the spring, and change the control arm, but he'll make sure the tacks can be easily ground off if neccessary.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my neighbor?

Soooo, once that's done I should be truly mobile again. Almost 15K on it now, no problem starting in the single digits.

Blah, blah, blah :-)

Pete

[Charles]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

My dad's into nukes, he believes each city block should have a mini reactor, all linked to a grid....

Engineers lol.

I've been fighting this thing now since almost my last post on it. I put those monster snows on (they BARELY fit), and man do they work in the snow!, but they are indeed a bit noisy. Turns out they're actually bias truck tires, I've never owned a pair of bias before. Very, very smooth ride on smooth roads, goes south quick on bad pavement though! Understandable - they've got a 1 ton sidewall rating I think I accidently backed over a Prius the other day lol.

I also installed a larger front sway bar (1-1/8" vs the 7/8" factory, found it on a Colony Park wagon) and a 1" rear sway bar off a Crown Vic cop car (vs none factory). A huge difference.

Changed the starter and the main wires, the ground particularly was in very sad shape. Now I go to turn the key, the starter rips off the car and drives away without me

Also changed all 4 sealed beam headlights and changed them to a relay system. Most excellent, the brights particularly are almost on par with my previous 97 grand marquis.

I've done a ton more mostly smaller jobs and am down to just a few major things left, and 1 million little things. Timing chain (including chain, gears, water pump, harmonic balancer and fan clutch). On the 80s 302s apparently they used plastic teeth on the gears, so they develop a little slack that in turn causes a slight very weird miss that has been getting worse.

Heater core, slight smell of antifreeze with the heat on. Have to pull the dash on full size Fords for this.

And intake gasket, not so bad. Every time I think of it I want to go second amendment on my neighbor.

Then pay for a mid paint job (rust preventive) and the top, and can work on the little things. I swear, I'm a glutton for punishment.

Anyway the whole problem. I had a wobble after I got the snows on, started going after it. Remounted/balanced/changed tires like crazy, couldn't touch it. Changed the upper ball joint, it was SHOT, but did not fix the problem (although it made a difference).

So I thought, maybe the lower's bad and grenaded the upper. Go to change it (with a press from Autozone, it's a press fit lower ball joint, very common), can't seem to get it seated properly, I can move it a little. Finally I realised - it was definately in, and still a bit loose.

Picked up the hammer, tapped it - plink! thud. It fell out. So the problem was a loose lower ball joint! No WONDER it wobbled and tracked weirdly (which I was blaming the snows for).

For the unknowledgeable, it can't fall out when bolted in, but can be loose, allowing your tire to move in and out, up and down, front to back a bit as you're driving.

I thought, jeez, I have to change the lower control arm, I just put new bushings in it, have to take the spring back out etc etc, not expensive but time consuming, and I'm getting discouraged with this.

Then a thought, didn't hillbilly say someone welded a caliber on?

So my neighbor, an expert welder/fabricator, is going to tack weld the ball joint onto the control arm. When I asked him about changing the ball joint down the road, he said well if it bothers you, wait till you have some free time in the spring, and change the control arm, but he'll make sure the tacks can be easily ground off if neccessary.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my neighbor?

Soooo, once that's done I should be truly mobile again. Almost 15K on it now, no problem starting in the single digits.

Blah, blah, blah :-)

Pete

My God man, you are ambitious!

And I'm bummin' because I've got to replace the vacuum actuator on my crummy Blazer in the morning. $50 bill and it's not even JAN rated!!!

I'm sure you already know this, but those plastic tipped timing gears are bad about causing your motor to jump time when they get bad enough. I'm sure your 302 is an interference mill like a GM 350, and I've had a couple of them get really screwed up when they jumped time. Generally bend half of the pushrods, sometimes half of the valves.

I've been told, and also experienced the oil pickup tube on a 302 having the screen get plugged up. If all you have is one idiot light (one idiot, one idiot light per the FoMoCo engineering dep't) like my 80 model LTD had, you might want to install a set of gauges. Might save you from cooking the motor by assuming that you had a faulty water temp sensor like I did.

Good luck and watch out for uninsured drivers!!!

Chas

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Charles

My God man, you are ambitious!

And I'm bummin' because I've got to replace the vacuum actuator on my crummy Blazer in the morning.

yeah and I have a light bulb to change in the AM

[Charles]

Originally Posted by noonereal

yeah and I have a light bulb to change in the AM

Automotive or residential?

Chas