Hi,
I have an 88 T-bird 5.0 LX. I was planning on swapping the springs from an 88 turbo coupe (according to CoolCats this is a good lowering upgrade). I had also planned to swap the steering rack to with the turbo coupe to get the 15-1 upgrade. I got the rack out of the turbo coupe no problem but taking it out of the LX is proving difficult because the oil pan seems to be in the way. As I pry the rack out, it runs into the oil pan before it can clear the welded sleeves. Is there some trick to this? I assume I'm going to have the same issue trying to get the replacement installed. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Just unbolt the two bolts that hold the motor mounts to the frame, one bolt per side, they run front to back and are easily accessible...., lift the engine about an inch, and you should be good to go. Just lift slowly.
Thanks Vinnie. I assume you mean lift it with a jack somewhere underneath the engine. I'll have a look to see where the lift point should be without damaging something.
I have done it using a piece of 2x4 under the bell housing. I have done it under the pan (rear sump) as well without touching the drain plug. Just lift carefully as not to damage the hoses or anything else. An inch should be plenty. Good luck.
If you have the car far enough off the ground put a 2x4 or 4x4 under the harmonic balancer after you pull the motor mount bolts
I use the bell housing as not to put all that weight on the end of the crankshaft, and, to leave lot's of room in front of the engine to work. I have heard of many people putting something under the balancer, but never tried it. Is it safe to do that?
As far as i know. Ive done it quite a few times the funnest of those times was changing an oilpan on my old 91 f150 with an i6. Its done no damage to any of the ones ive done it to
I'd not recommend loading the front of the crank like that. A 2x4 under the pan is more than fine to lift and hold the engine an inch or so to swap a rack. Leaving it long term..probably not too good.
I've rear that a lot of the Camaro guys have propped up their Mouse II's under the harmonic....then had to get crank sensors replaced because it damages them. Or so I've read. Applies to LT1 engines too. I'm sure Renzo will come in and argue. Or try to. This be my only post on the matter.
For what it's worth it, I've lifted MANY an engine, merely enough for headers, mounts, etc. Always used a block under the pan and a small jack, lift slow, and have someone watch things up top. Never had one issue as a result. Never lifted one by the crank snout either....that's quite a load on an important piece that is somewhat pr0ne to breakage on 5.0 engines.
Thanks everyone. I put a block on my jack and carefully jacked on the pan and was able to get the rack out. Does anyone know what the rack part number should be for a 15-1 vs 20-1? I didn't see anything on the rack that seems to have those numbers.
I'm now putting stuff back together and have another issue. I purchased the KYB Exel-G shocks as recommended on CoolCats. The problem is my turbo coupe spindles (which I'm putting on my LX for the 11" disk upgrade) are actually thinner than the LX spindles where they bolt to the shock. In other words, my new shock bolt holes are too far apart for the spindle. Anyone come across this before? Should I just jam it with washers?
I've read I can't use the LX spindles for the 11" upgrade but they look pretty similar to the turbo coupe -- is that confirmed? Aside from the thickness at the shock, what else is different?
thanks again in advance.
Go to the local parts store...order a rack for an '87-'93 5.0 Mustang. '88 Thunderbird Sport (5.0) and Merc Cougar XR7 will also be the same part #.
Don't die of sticker shock when you see the price of the rack...
I got lucky, found a near new one in a salvage yard in a '90 5.0 'vert. Still had the manufacturer sticker on it. I pulled the boots back on the inner tie rods....hadn't been used too much before taking the ride to car heaven.
May as well throw in new inner/outer tie rods and align it too. Uh...do the alignment afterwards. ;)
Probably a good idea to swap the steering pump out for the quick(er) ratio...again, one from an '87-93 5.0 Stang will so. You CAN use the stocker, but if you drive the car hard, you'll have binding in the steering due to the differences.
Nothing to it...
I've never had issues with a steering pump and binding, when I swapped the pump on my TC for one with a reservoir I bought one for a 79 cougar and never had any issues.
most shocks come with a thick metal plate to be used as a spacer to take up that slack
let me know what rack you end up with and approximate cost, as I'm in the market for one on the cheap. if yours was working fine before, id love to take it off your hands.
Hmmm. I ordered from Amazon and there were no spacers. Guess it's going to be washers. Let me install this TC rack and make sure it works and then I'll get back to you on the other rack. thanks.
When I ordered my KYB's from MM, there were no spacers with the struts. I just used thick washers on the backside.
hmmm. I called the KYB factory and they said they don't make front struts for the TC -- just the other models. I called the Monroe factory and told them I had the 71803 struts (they picture with the spacers) and the guy gave me part no. P01453 but told me they (the factory) doesn't have the spacer packages -- contact a parts dealer.
Hey BadBird, did you have to elongate one of the bolt holes in the strut to get it to line up? How thick (washers) and which side is the back side? I'm a bit nervous to use washers as these struts take a lot of stress at the spindle.
The KYB's I ordered were for a rustang because, as you stated, they nor Koni makes them for our cars. No I didn't elongate the holes. When I first installed them, I used LSC spindle/rotor/caliper setup and I put the washers on the back side (side towards the firewall). I picked up some thicker washers from a home improvement store. Nothing special. I'd be more worried about the strut bending just above the mounting point. I believe Gumby had to "reinforce" his at that spot.
Now I have 2000' spindles with the 94' struts w/coil-overs, 94' TLCA's and I still had to put the washers in. Good luck with your project :D
Yes, you can space the holes with washers. Some better quality would probably be ok. Grade 8?
Got a friend who works in a metals shop? Tell him what you need, have him cut you a few spacers from some good steel.
Do the 11" brake swap (or go 5 lug) and order them for '95 GT, for example. (my route)
and fill it up with transmission fluid when done,,
been doing it for years,, works perfectly.
jcassity, fill what with transmission fluid?
the power steering pump.
trust me it works just fine ,, actually its a little smoother.
one less type of special fluid you need to have lying around.
the best time to convert is now with an empty rack,, or like when the hose blows off the fitting up at the pump.
my white & red coug, & my sons bird eventually failed all with the same fault, the keeper ring inside the fitting up at the high presure connection just gave out.
at that point the system purges itself.
i loosen up the fittings down below on the rack, turn the key forward, rotate the wheel left to right to finish dumping power steering fuid, then button everything up and add typef or dextronIII, the power steering doesnt seem to care.
I thought everyone used tyranny fluid?
every type of power steering fluid I've used makes noise like its empty.
you and i have this unpopular tendency to push the envelope of what is typcially acceptable..LOL
Thanks everyone for all the help. I want to just add some findings to my project that may help somebody in the future.
1) Lifting the engine with a block of wood on the floor jack under the oil pan (but not on the plug) to raise the engine an inch to get the rack out works just fine.
2) Get yourself an 18mm deep socket and an 18mm open end wrench. For some reason many bolts are 18mm which is a strange size (the shock tower top bolts, the rack bolts, the power steering pipe connectors).
3) I tried my darndest but I could not get the steering spline to align with the knuckle coupler -- It was very frustrating. I ended up taking the bolt out of the steering shaft by the firewall, then taking steering shaft assembly and connecting it to the rack prior to installing the rack. I then reconnected the shaft by the firewall. Ugh.
4) Not sure about using transmission fluid instead of power steering fluid even if it works since I may give my car to someone someday and they(and I) won't remember there's transmission fluid in there and they will probably add power steering fluid. (would that be a problem?)
Anyway thanks again for the help. It's on to the rear axle 8.8 change out.