testing to see if I can now post
There, I guess I can. I just wanted to introduce myself, and my car. My name is Sean. The car, I inherited from best friends wife after he was killed in a motorcycle accident. It is a 1996 3.8L Automatic with just shy of 90K on the odometer. It was his intention that his daughter inherit the car but since he passed away, she inherited his truck. My 16 year old son drives the Mustang as he finds it way more cool than my 1995 Nissan pick-up that he inherited from me. I do drive it some and that brings me to why I'm here.

I've driven the car enough to find some noises, rattles and squeaks that I'm somewhat concerned about. There is an annoying hop from the right rear when cornering. I assume it's likely the shocks as I don't know when they were last replaced. I've also been looking at a Steeda rear shock tower brace. Has anyone who's installed one tell me what "some welding required" means. Is it just a tack weld or two or am I going to have to do some major welding? Also, I've noticed a "whine" that seems to emanate from the tranny when off throttle. Any thoughts? I'm hoping it's just a shitty tranny filter bypass valve or something and not a major tranny rebuild. Finally, there is a "groan" from the power steering that comes around anytime I'm cornering off throttle. Any thoughts there?

My driving preference is "road race" oriented, I'm not into drag racing nor do I want my son to be tempted into any of those shenanigans on the street. What I'd like to achieve with the car is to set it up so it handles pretty decently and yet is still comfortable enough to be a daily driver.

Finally, I'm pretty handy with tools......I was a heavy equipment mechanic for a long time (nearly 20 years) and I'm (or was) ASE certified in brakes, steering and drive train. I was usually the GM specialist in the shops I worked in for the Air Force but I've got plenty of experience with Fords....mostly trucks and diesels. Currently though, I'm a boom operator in the Air Force. So, that's me and the car. Thanks for what knowlege you can impart to me.....sean

 

sorry about your friend...i read a article that a airman recently passed away in valley joe after a vehicle accident. im not sure if this is the same person but its sad to see fellow troops passing away.

the whining of the tranny i dont know if my car did it when i had the stock tranny but it does it now with a built auto. you could also have aftermarket gears that are whining, i know mine do. the wheel hop your getting is probably from worn quad shocks, i had wheel hop when i was running bald tires only around turns, i dont know if you have the same problem. the years i been around the forums i have yet to see someone that installed one of those. sub frame connectors will really change the way the car feels around turns and it will get rid of the acoustic sounds inside the car.

how you diggin the boom operator deal? i see travis KC-10's out here seldomly, i work on AGE equipment so you know that deal. im getting a flight physical next week so i can x-train into FE or loadmaster job. i just have to play the DEROS game with my packages im at 15 months but there are no 2009 class dates so by november i should know for sure if im going to enlist another 4 years in a new career field. i know fairfield is ghetto but i would like to be stationed around my hometown and if im a flyer than i wont be around that much any way.

welcome to the board... crazy crowd here.

 

Well, that wasn't my best friend.....but he was one of my airman. It sucked. I've got 20 years in, and I've seen it happen before...just never to me.
Fairfield isn't so ghetto....I've lived here for 12 years.

The boom thing is awesome. I have to retire in a couple of years and to be honest, I'll never have another job this cool again. Good luck with your re-training. Seriously. It was a long road for me and many others that I know. Just make sure you stay on top of everything. Don't take "no" for an answer...ever. Even if it comes from an 0-6. Everything is waiverable. Don't accept any answer as final. A buddy of mine recently retrained to be an FE. He was initially told that he couldn't fly by the Flight Surgeon. He kept at it and finally a Senior Airman in Flight Medicine found a reg that would allow him to fly....like I said, everything is wavierable. It took me over 6 months to get my flight physical. It took nearly 2 years to get the retrain. Not to finish, just to get selected. So where are you in "GERMANLAND"? I was at Spangquentin back in the late 80s....watched the Berlin Wall come down and all that. Seriously, good luck with the retrain effort and don't give up, EVER......sean

 

i know fairfield isnt so bad my folks live in suisun city. i say fairfield isnt that bad because i was raised in richmond .

i think im on the better part of the bubble to get picked up for a flying job. my deros is about 9 months after the october list comes out. if i dont get it than i have one more chance to do it once i get to a stateside base in july 2009. if that falls through im just going to get out and find something to do. im first term still and i sew staff on in feb or march. C-5 or bust... im down for another tour in delaware but rather be at travis. i would like to get the FE position a co-worker (tech select) just got a class date for fixed wing FE but he has worked at wing level so he probably got some help. spangquentin LOL i went there to help a friend out with car he sold me a few years ago, it smelled like *** out there. i live in landstuhl just outside of ramstein and 5 minute walk from my favorite hole in the wall PUB. i love it out here.

i know to keep on the docs for my flight physical paperwork. i know too many people that have let it slide and when they needed it the hospital lost their paperwork.

people are going to read all of this and they are gonna be like WTF are they talkin about LOL its awesome. cept for those surprise weekends i have to work.

 

I could be wrong.....but that really shouldn't matter for selection. The fact that you're overseas will help. At least I think so. A number of folks I know submitted from overseas and got selected. All that should really matter is that you're in your retrain window when you submit. Submitting after the end of a Fiscal year is better as there are more available flying billets to fill. The longer into a Fiscal year you wait, the fewer are available. For instance, if there are 40 Boom Operator slots available for all of FY08 and they fill by February or March, then anyone applying after March won't have a slot (billet) available to them. The boards meet once a month. So if the individual applying meets the board (package not physically) and there is no billet, their package will move on to the next crew position board, IE if there are no available boom slots, the Flight Engineers board is next. The big advantage with applying for FE is that there aren't enough of them to go around. There is (or was) a rather large need for C-130 FEs but KC-10 and C-5 are nearly fully manned. C-5s in particular since the Active duty squadrons have reduced. There is only one left at Travis.
HOLY CRAP! Richmond is GHETTO! My next door neighbor is from there and he's told me some stories.

So you're at Ramstein. That's cool. I haven't flown into there since 2004 or so. Ever since Rhein Main closed you guys have been so busy, we usually end up flying into Spang. I've got a couple of buddies who are FEs there now. Both on 130s I think. One is a guy named Don Beahm, he's a SMSgt and then theres Tim Macallum, he's a TSgt, or possibly MSgt by now. I knew Tim at Spang back in the 80s. Anyway, if you need any advice or anything on the subject of being an FE, both those guys are good ones to talk to.....sean

 

Stanger,
Here's little video one of my crew chief shot earlier this year.
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...t=P1000485.flv
Enjoy.......sean

 

So for anyone else reading, no one has installed that Steeda shock tower brace? All I'm curious about is how much welding is "some welding required" I have all the tools and equipment to do it, including the welder. Lastly, does it do what it says it will?....sean