i just picked my car up from shipping and its been in transit for 50 days. when i dropped the car off to be shipped it was running fine besides my HVAC fan being INOP.

First problem with my car was a nut was missing on my X-pipe...i had an exhaust leak so i stopped at a mom and pop shop to have it looked at. i paid 50 bucks for them to fix that problem.

second issue was the hesitation from the motor when i took off from stoplights...my car is supposed to have 400hp but my speed 3 is pulling harder than my mustang. thats a huge concern of mine.

3rd my car was running real hot...i ran the A/C once and the ****** nearly over heated and i was down about a 2 liters on coolant. if you dont remember i blew my coolant crossover on my old 2000 intake...i now have a 2001+ intake from another mustang. i blew the old one 3 days before shipping and i did the job right torqued everything down all connections were connected and the car ran pretty good afterwards.

4th issue...i still have blue smoke coming out of the exhaust on start ups...this only happens during start up so i dont think oil is getting past my rings.


my intentions on correcting these issues is to run a can of sea foam...change the oil, change the front o2 sensors, ohms check the COPs, find a place to check my 42# injectors, change the fuel filter and change my plugs once again.

the shipping company put 4 miles on my car...the fuel gauge was in the red, so i filled up at a gas station less than a block away and it took 15 gallons...maybe these ******** drove the **** out of my car for the 4 miles because i dropped it off with a 1/8th tank. they could have had detonation and now a plug is shut closed or worse. i smelled raw fuel in my car during my 6 hour drive in 100*+ heat.

 

Sounds like you know what you need to do to make sure the car is running well. All I can add is get on it. Oh and the oil just on start up is a classic sign of valve seals starting to leak a bit. Not a big worry really. Do you have a PCV system on the car?

 

i still have my PCV system but i think im going to buy a 03-04 cobra check valve though. i been running my stock one ever since i put the blower on. i still need to hook up a catch can system to see if i even have blow-by...

i will add this, if you guys remove your bumper support your front bumper will get pushed in while driving at highway speeds. i didnt realize this happened. if i had known i would of put mine back on because i think that would of helped from overheating.

my car passed emissions testing today in arizona...all they did was OBD check.

 

i took a small amount of my time and did some work with the car.

First i checked the plugs and they all looked like this pic:


so i just left threw them back in.

I ran a can of sea foam into the fuel, oil and vacuum line. the can of seafoam eliminated all of my stutters and hesitation on low rpms. now my car runs pretty good and doesnt blow any smoke on start ups. i havent changed my oil yet because i only put about 100 miles on the car since i done this treatment. i'll go another 100 miles or so.

i still need to put in the new bosch o2 sensors, fuel filter, automatic fluid flush (PITD), change out my front brakes with the stuff i bought over a year ago (13" powerslot rotors ceramic pads) MM C/C plates, MM bumpsteer kit. i still need to permanently wire up my wideband and wire in this 4 channel amp so i wont have the tweeters pop when i turn the car on.

when i get the money my converter is getting yanked out and sent to BC auto for a overhaul.

i also have issues with the car running warm when the A/C is on at highway speeds...took about 20 minutes of driving in 115* weather to get this warm.


my HVAC fan is only blowing at low speed or not at all. i checked the fuse and its good...i havent checked the actual adjusting **** for power because its just to friggin hot to work on my car during the day here. im wondering if anyone else has had this sort of problem?

i blew my plastic intake coolant crossover while in germany and i got a replacement from a local...i think its from an 2001-2002 mustang...i need to know what kind of fitting i need so i can properly plug up the big *** hole thats near the thermostat housing. you can see the plug in the spark plug pic above. i have a plug in their now but its slowly seeping out coolant while driving. i already tefloned the **** out of it and its on their "man" tight. still leaks.

this thread has turned into my dry erase board that i have on my refrigerator.

 

If the a/c is only blowing on low then its normally a problem with the switch panel its self. Or do you hear the fan speed change and feel no difference in airflow?

Don't use the Bosch 02 sensors by the way. Justin at VMP did some testing and found that they very alot from the Ford OEM sensors. They aren't as good basically as the Ford ones.

For the over heating problem, I guess since the bumper is compressing in at speed that would explain the heating problem. Just not getting enough air with the bumper pressed in.

 

NTK should be what you want, since they make the sensors for Ford.

As for the over-heat, I'd check the condenser to make sure the fins on it are letting air through into the radiator. Also double check that there is no air in the system and the t-stat is opening fully.

 

First things first, dont put crap in your engine to try to fix a problem and snake oils and elixirs wont fix anything so stay away from OTC cans of crap that you put in your car...they dont work period and can cause worse problems.

If you are blowing blues then you need to check your valve seals, this is a very common problem and is easily fixed for as little as $30 to $45 bucks if you only have to replace the seals.

The car running hot is a big concern and I'm not sure I can help here but some old school issues used to be with thermostats sticking shut and it could be that simple or worse case that new manifold you put on doesnt line up perfectly and is restricting water flow but again ask someone else on this one as I've never run into cooling problems on a 1997+ Mustang which is what I work on.

 

the fan is on...blows really. the fan doesnt change speed when i move the switch to different settings...guess im going to try to find a replacement panel.

bosch sensors are a bad idea...i kind of remember people talking bad about these.

ford wants 2.50 a bolt for the bumper support! they are not in stock either. i think they are 6mm by 20. im going to try some hardware stores and get these bolts a little bit cheaper.

NTK sensors...who would carry those? i was going to hit up a NAPA store to get better quality parts over checkers and vato zone.

i have a 3.5" deep inter cooler in front of the radiator, condensor, and stock tranny cooler. i filled up and let the coolant circulate with the cap off. i let it cool back down and refilled till it was all good. i also put in a new thermostat when i replaced the intake.

damn looks like i'll have to read up on replacing the valve seals. thermostat is new but german made, has to be good right LOL. the intake aligned up properly and was torqued in the correct sequence.

seafoam was all i used...i dont throw anything else in the car besides 10wt oil.

 

Most places carry NTK (it's the sensors made by NGK).

 

Well call me crazy if ya like but sometimes a problem can be fixed by the simplest of things. My buddy had a over heating problem similar to yours. He checked everything! He even went as far as replacing the water pump that I helped him with. After a lot of money and a lot more 4 letter words he finally found the problem when he was putting water in the car at a gas station. A guy pulls up to him and after a few short words tells him to check for the little piece of black plastic underneath the front bumper. He learned then that that thing actually deflects air into the radiator from under the car. Anyway, turns out, he replaced that cause he lost it somewhere and the car started doing fine. Maybe yours can be fixed that simple too! GL with that!

 

my HVAC fan didnt come on at all either, replaced the CCRM and a few fuses, but overall the only problem was the fan itself had a short and kept blowing the fuses. try the fan

 

i called around to checkers, napa and vato zone. i found out that they all only carry bosch o2 sensors. i suppose i will call ford tomorrow and see if i can work the military discount with them on these things. i think its normal to replace these things when they are 9 years old and your car has 93k miles.

thanks i'll keep that in mind when i start to troubleshoot the electrical system. i'll prolly just end up jumping wires and see if it turns the fan on or not.

i'll be sure to isolate the problem before i start shootin from the hip and replacing good parts with good parts which ultimately wastes time and money. i hate shootin wires its friggin time consuming especially since its on a circuit im not familiar with.

 

Hope some of this might help

Description and Operation


The heater blower motor switch resistor has the following features:

•The assembly is located on the passenger side of the plenum assembly behind the glove compartment.
•Three resistance elements are mounted on the resistor board to provide four A/C blower motor speeds.
•Depending on the heater blower motor switch position, series resistance is added or bypassed in the A/C blower motor circuit to decrease or increase A/C blower motor speed.
•An overheating protective device (thermal limiter) will open the resistor coil circuit when the temperature reaches 105°- 110°C (221°- 230°F) , interrupting the blower motor operation in all speeds except HI.
•The thermal limiter cannot be reset and is not serviceable.

 

hell yeah thanks for the diagram thats going to be really helpful.

i have a question about the guys who are experienced with NON-PI intakes. i have been looking at pictures of 96-98 mustangs and their intake manifolds and have noticed that they all have a port next to the thermostat housing. im starting to think that the intake on my car is an "improved" version but for the NON-PI heads, FML. im going to verify the part numbers soon to prove this correct or wrong.

 

okay, i got the part number and googled it and found out it is a PI intake. now the next step is to get the proper fitting for it. this is the number right on the intake manifold itself 1w7e-9424-aa.

 

 

yeah thats the one.

maybe i suck at the internet searches


okay beeen reading around and seen that people have tapped this hole with a 3/8th NPT tap. i'm going to assume that i can buy a plug with the same thread pattern.

 

I believe that is a British parallel pipe thread on that plug. If you have any industrial hose suppliers in town (ie Parker) you can get it from them or you can just retap it to 3/8 npt. Be very careful when retapping it a NPT thread because you may crack it. Good Luck!
PS You can get that 3/8 npt plug anywhere, very common size.

 

yeah the threads do taper inwards...i thought the plug i used would go down till it fit flush with the housing but its a bit too long. hmm i'll figure it out...this plug i have fits loose. maybe i can find a junk yard with some old police interceptors, thunderbirds or even mustangs that have the second sensor.

 

Mercury's and Lincoln's also, I replaced the intake on the inlaw's Lincoln Town Car about a year ago and I nocticed that it had the 2 plugs but didnt take them out, just threw it in the *******.

 

so i just returned the bosch o2 sensors and picked up OEM ones from ford and holy **** are they expensive. i bought 2 for 180 bucks...i feel like shooting myself but i have to replace them. oh 2 bosch sensors cost as much as one OEM sensor.

 

gonna get my converter rebuilt and restalled from 3200 to 4k rpms. i am getting it done at a local race tranny shop. i was quoted 300 for the work...i like that price over BC's 800 dollar price tag with core charge.

im gonna be strapped for cash after that...my mazda was involved in a parking lot hit and run and the ******** didnt leave a note just a scratch and dent in my rear passenger door. thats 250 deductible out of my pocket for the damages.

 

Hey man, you got that old rat trap running yet?

 

yeah its running...i need to order a new pulley from vortech since the one they provided with the kit is all jacked up, slightly melted and oblong. i put the car all back together with new a new tensioner belt and idler pulley. the ones that were on my car were damaged from years of abuse. the belt was new but it jumped a rib behind the vortech bracket and weakened it. now, the car feels pretty strong but still uses too much rpms on take offs.

saturday is the only day i can work on the car because i dont have my own place. this saturday is concert day but next saturday the transmission is getting pulled and the converter is getting worked on by this place called hughes performance in phoenix. the following saturday the trans will be put back in and then i will start to wire up all my electrical things and fix my HVAC fan.

my current converter has about 20k miles on it with 30 or so passes at the strip. i also ran the car to 170 MPH on the autobahn a handfull of times. i think this is the best time for some preventative maintenance.

oh valve seals still leak...i started the car for the first time in over a week a couple days ago and had smoke.