93 Splash in SC, V8-Swap version

[scotts90ranger]

There are downsides for using stainless in tricky situations: it work hardens when you don't want it to and is annoyingly hard to drill, and it's generally softer than grade 5 in bolt situations... oh and if you use stainless nuts on stainless bolts, if you hear a squeak or look at it wrong you now have a galled mess that will no longer be reusable. It has it's place but has a tendency to be annoying when the process should be simple...

Annoyingly here the fastener company we used to use got bought out and no longer allowed walk in customers and ordering got harder so we switched, back in the day it was great though... I haven't asked any dumb questions about weird hardware lately so haven't experienced the new company yet... lol

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

There are downsides for using stainless in tricky situations: it work hardens when you don't want it to and is annoyingly hard to drill, and it's generally softer than grade 5 in bolt situations... oh and if you use stainless nuts on stainless bolts, if you hear a squeak or look at it wrong you now have a galled mess that will no longer be reusable. It has it's place but has a tendency to be annoying when the process should be simple...

Annoyingly here the fastener company we used to use got bought out and no longer allowed walk in customers and ordering got harder so we switched, back in the day it was great though... I haven't asked any dumb questions about weird hardware lately so haven't experienced the new company yet... lol

This is the reason I try to stick to “passivated” stainless when possible and use them where it’s ok to. As much as I like stainless living here in the rust belt, it’s really not good for all situations. I use them wherever I can, but certainly not everywhere.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I snapped one off in my cylinder head when I was trying to use them for valve cover bolts. Normal hardware SS store stuff.

I went to ARP stainless and never looked back.

That said I have regular hardware store GR5 bolts for my timing cover/water pump.

 

[Curious Hound]

There are downsides for using stainless in tricky situations: it work hardens when you don't want it to and is annoyingly hard to drill, and it's generally softer than grade 5 in bolt situations... oh and if you use stainless nuts on stainless bolts, if you hear a squeak or look at it wrong you now have a galled mess that will no longer be reusable. It has it's place but has a tendency to be annoying when the process should be simple...

And that is why I avoid stainless. I'm in South Carolina and I'm getting old. I don't think stainless was worth the aggravation in this particular case. If I used good parts and did the job right, I should never need to disassemble it in my remaining lifetime.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And that is why I avoid stainless. I'm in South Carolina and I'm getting old. I don't think stainless was worth the aggravation in this particular case. If I used good parts and did the job right, I should never need to disassemble it in my remaining lifetime.

Dang, you just jinxed your water pump...

 

[Curious Hound]

Dang, you just jinxed your water pump...

I thought about that.

 

[Curious Hound]

SPent the afternoon cleaning up my exhaust manifolds. Nothing great. I just wanted to knock the worst of the rust off mating surfaces. I have a "porting and polishing" sanding roll set. So I tried my hand at smoothing things up on the inside just a little bit. The passenger side manifold has/had a buildup of something inside. I don't know what it is. It's light gray and bumpy and pretty hard. Reminds me of calcium deposits in plumbing pipes. I attacked what I could reach with the little sandpaper rolls and even a rotary burr. But I can't reach a lot of it. I sacrificed 3 steel tube brushes I had by chucking them up in my drill. That got some of it. But the brushes were really too small and too soft to knock it out effectively. Eventually, my mandrel bent. I have more mandrels on order, one of which is 10" long. It probably won't do a prefect job. But will hopefully make me "more satisfied".

Also found a crack on one of the ears for a mounting bolt. I don't think that's a major issue. The bolt will still clamp down on it and hold adequately. Heck. I've had a broken stud on one of my 3.0l manifolds for years and it hasn't affected anything.

I still need to finish inspecting the transmission sub assemblies and order parts for that rebuild. Although the 4r70w is fairly common, the 96 and 97 model years seem to be slightly oddball, caught in transtion from the AODE years and that variation of kits are less common. Any recommendations on where to order the transmission rebuild kit from? Best brand to look for? Brands to avoid?

 

[Curious Hound]

2 steps forward and one step back? Some boxes from Rock Auto have been arriving. So, I worked in finalizing the front end accessories. Replaced a small ribbed idler pulley that was getting wobbly. Replaced the tensioner pulley because I don't want to do it after tje engune is in the truck. Tightened down the mounting bolts for the alternator bracket and tensioner and passenger side idler. Shortened 2 of the water pump studs I had made so they won't interfere with belt routing. Replaced another stud with a longer one so it could help fasten the mount for the upper driver side idler pulley. Cleaned, painted and mounted the timing pointer which mounts along with the crank sensor. Installed the harmonic balancer and drive pulley.

Then I slipped the valve cover gaskets into place under the valve covers and loosely bolted them in place. Loosely stuck some brand new spark plugs in the holes to keep dirt out. Then, tried to put the oil pan on. At that point I realized that the original oil pan was cast aluminum. The new one is stamped steel. I need a shorter set of bolts. Doh!

The end for today.

That is NOT the power steering pump I will be using. Still need to get a pump.

passenger side looks nice and neat. I may bolt the mounting brackets on tomorrow.

 

[Curious Hound]

Slow day here. It's rainy and dreary and ambition levels are low. I started working in the garage. Decided to loosely mount the engine mounts. That led to a search for 2 of the bolts. Finally realized they were in the bag in my hand. The issue originates from the fact that I disassembled both sudes differently. So I had 2 plain bolt/studs and I had 2 with nuts on them that made them look different. It took a while to figure that out. In the mean time, as I was cleaning up "empty" boxes, i found the new engine oil dipstick and tube. Thought I better install that.

Whoa, cowboy! That ain't so simple. I had to make it clear the exhaust manifold. Got my tubing bender out and made some small adjustments. Got it where I thought it was good. Re-bent the mounting bracket so it would line up with an exhaust bolt/stud. Then I figured out the engine mount bolt issue and put the engine mount in place on that side. Yeah. That's close, too and the dipstick tube has to clear it. After all that, the dipstick didn't want to make the last bend into the block/oil pan. So, I fiddled with the shape of the end of the dipstick. I ended up putting a tight little curl in it and giving it a slight twist. I've seen old dipsticks like that. It works, with heavy resistance. Maybe it will be easier once everything is coated with oil.

I think I'll just watch transmission rebuild videos for the rest of the afternoon.

Hey, look, everybody! Here's the end of my dipstick!

twisted, bent and adjusted the mounting bracket.

The hole in the block is behind the exhaust outlet.

And, the engine mount in place. I hope all this fits and works. The dipstick tube comes out between the engine mount and exhaust manifold.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

What did you use for a dipstick assembly?

I have a Ford Racing one, I wish it would come up higher like yours.

 

[Curious Hound]

What did you use for a dipstick assembly?

I have a Ford Racing one, I wish it would come up higher like yours.

It came with the double sump oil pan I ordered. So I guess it's probably for Fox Body Mustangs? And it was almost bent the way you see it. I only needed very minor adjustments to get it around the manifold.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It came with the double sump oil pan I ordered. So I guess it's probably for Fox Body Mustangs? And it was almost bent the way you see it. I only needed very minor adjustments to get it around the manifold.
View attachment 144324

Mine runs parallel to the valve cover and the ground, about even with the top of the valve cover. Its way down in there which is fun when the engine is hot.

 

[Curious Hound]

Mine runs parallel to the valve cover and the ground, about even with the top of the valve cover. Its way down in there which is fun when the engine is hot.

I wouldn't say that it's significantly higher than the valve covers. Looks to me like it would easily clear your air cleaner housing. I don't remember how all your front end accessories are arranged. It will be a few inches behind my power steering pump and I'm sure it would easily clear the AC compressor if that was mounted in the normal spot.

Here are a few other views for reference.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I wouldn't say that it's significantly higher than the valve covers. Looks to me like it would easily clear your air cleaner housing. I don't remember how all your front end accessories are arranged. It will be a few inches behind my power steering pump and I'm sure it would easily clear the AC compressor if that was mounted in the normal spot.

Here are a few other views for reference.
View attachment 144326View attachment 144327View attachment 144328

Its the chrome loop behind the PS pump.



A "better" view of it all buttoned up



My headers are for a Falcon/Comet so I fought fitment as well. Older SBF's had the dipstick in the timing cover so they gave no thought to routing manifolds/headers around a dipstick that went into the block.

I started out with a pretty braided stainless one. After the header pinched it against the block it would simply wipe the oil off for me when I checked it.

 

[Curious Hound]

Its the chrome loop behind the PS pump.



A "better" view of it all buttoned up



My headers are for a Falcon/Comet so I fought fitment as well. Older SBF's had the dipstick in the timing cover so they gave no thought to routing manifolds/headers around a dipstick that went into the block.

I started out with a pretty braided stainless one. After the header pinched it against the block it would simply wipe the oil off for me when I checked it.

If your driver side air inlet was horizontal instead of pointed down, this would probably be perfect.

This reminds me. I still need a new dipstick and tube for my transmission, to replace the one that some moron cut with a sawzall.