1997 MM 5.0 c-n-p conv. *IT RUNS! 1st CL drive Problem with Overdrive*

[97Sandbox]

If you don't want to wait for the fancy wrenches, I've had good luck in the past using a wrench that's slightly too big and putting electrical tape on the jaws. It's trial and error to find the right size, but the tape is enough to not scratch the anodizing on the fittings as long as you don't crank too hard.

 

[allmyEXes]

@97Sandbox Thanks for the tip. I did a variation of that with a thin rag but I didn't think of tape even as it was sitting there in front of me. I got the -6 AN snug for the moment until the wrenches arrive. I picked the adjustables because I figured that they were the most versatile.

 

[allmyEXes]

Yesterday, the last of the AN fittings arrived and today the pair of special wrenches. I finished the 8 line, and installed it to check the fit. I've now removed them in order to install the power train harness. I have purchased many fittings and hose.
Upper connections.

Lower line connections.

And removed again...

I purchased several items.
$36.00 (2) 4 foot sections of braided hose, used 12.5" -8 and 19" -6
$27.46 (2) Fragola -8 AN swivel straight fittings ended up with an extra after needing 45 degree
$22.88 (2) Fragola -6 AN swivel straight fittings, used both
$19.20 (1) Fragola -8 AN to Ford spring lock 1/2"
$24.25 (2) pair of Billet -6AN and _8AN Ford spring lock fuel rail adapters, used 1 pair after discovery, Save -8 one for '54/Ranger project
$11.28 (2) Chinese 45s 2Pcs Swivel Hose End Fitting Adaptor AN8 8AN 45° Degree For Oil Fuel Line Black Cheap! one for '54
$27.-00 (1) Racetronix from Canada fml spring-lock to AN-6 male
$18.00 (1) pair of AN adjustable wrenches
I would need to add up just what I have used of all of this on the 97 Mountaineer. It would be nice to find Ford braided lines with spring lock fittings on both end the length that they would need to be after removing them from the valve covers instead of the AN conversion.
~$107 (ouch) on the Mountaineer with enough parts leftover to make a single rail (non return) braided line for '54 project.
Wrenches I didn't include in that total. That will leave one -6 AN to Ford spring lock leftover.
I will still need another $19.20 Fragola part for the 1/2" spring lock fuel line for the '54. (ASA Col/Phnx)
I'll be in over $200 by the time that I get that last made in USA Fragola (Connecticut) part, but that is for duel lines on one and a single on the other. There will be few feet of hose leftover.

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[allmyEXes]

Unfortunately, the Mountaineer project is on a temporary hold. I'm at the point of being able to put the powertrain harness back on but before I do that, I want to use the oxygen/acetylene torch set to heat up the exhaust manifold nuts or studs to get the out of the flange/s of the header type manifolds. I don't want to damage the wiring while I use the torch set. I have a lot of brain power and labor modifying the harness.
I read that Gordon had to do some old-fashioned garage detective work to find his cast iron manifold. I'm beyond that as I look for 3 missing oxygen and acetylene gauges. Dad's old set had a leaking diaphragm on the oxygen gauge and my old set had a leaking acetylene gauge. I made a working set out of two sets. I'm at the point of "archeological dig" as I search for the missing tools. I looked all the way back to post #60 on April 13th, 2022. I used the torch set to remove a broken water pump bolt. In the same season, I used the set to attempt to straighten the old 4x8' trailer tongue, so the gauges have to be going on 2 years deep. Somewhere 3 out of 4 gauges are together and they ARE NOT in the front half of the old shop. The back half of the old shop is where a "big dig" is about to have to happen.
Last week, the white '97 blew a hose and I have been working on that vehicle fixing that and going ahead and changing out most of the rest of the old rubber. Late in March I collected up some more parts for the 5.0 for the '54 F100 project now that the Mountaineer will not be coming apart. The original plan was to fix the Mountaineer then later use the powertrain for the '54. Not now. I want to keep "Tow Mo'" together.
As soon as I find the gauges and rearrange some, I will be able to remove the front half of the exhaust system and replace it with manifolds and the other cat delete hardware.
Wish me luck on the "dig".

 

[410Fortune]

Good luck!
I’ve helped my buddy get his shop organized over the last two years. He is old and has a huge shop it has been very interesting to see all the old tools and hear the history.. most of it was his dads going back to the 30s and 40s boy those were the good ol days I only Missed it by 30 years hahaha

A clean shop is an efficient shop I always say
My shop is also buried in projects
Time to work through them one at a time

How do you eat an elephant?

 

[allmyEXes]

@410Fortune At me and brother's shop, multiple projects and the lack of indoor space are one thing. Back in 1985 when we bought the shop and property, we moved out here with 15 vehicles, 2 30 ft flatbed loads of loose 1965-68 Mustang parts and numerous pick-up loads of stuff. There is more now.
3 to 4 years ago, we moved what was left of Dad's garage stuff here and the next summer helped a high school friend go through one of his deceased relative's garage and of course we got some stuff from that too. When he got halfway through the project, he found a 1964 Chevy truck, complete in that old garage. He has it running now. The garage was so full that none of us knew about the truck.
I/we constantly remind ourselves that everything that we have acquired got in here one piece at a time. I need to put on some latex gloves and get to sorting. That's all I really feel like doing today after blowing out my back being bent over under the hood of the white '97 earlier this week and once last week.

 

[410Fortune]

Do you have a topside creeper? Really helps w the back
Brother from another mother!
We moved 1400 miles… never again!

 

[allmyEXes]

You may have mentioned the topside creaper before. I didn't use my 2" thick phone book "belly pad" either. It was under the hood of the Mountaineer.
I'm going off topic a bit. I spotted my old Super Tuner that quit working and another one that I picked up for parts. That might be my old late 1970's 8 track tape player too. I wore out a RUSH 2112 8 track with that thing. I may add other pics to this post through the day instead of it bumping to the top constantly.

 

[Josh P]

Seeing those 8 track units, first thing to pop into my head is the old K-Tel records commercials.

 

[allmyEXes]

I didn't waste too much time searching for the gauge set. My shop neighbor came over with some fresh eggs. While we were talking, I told him about our misplaced set. He said he might have a set that is still good. I've used up alot of time searching. They will be the last place that I look.
The logical thing to do now is go back to the front of the line of vehicles and finish that one and get it back to the customer. It was at our shop
to have the interior finished including restoring the gauge set and making them work. I won't go into any details of the work on this
'69 Mustang Sportsroof. 351 Windsor powered with a 4 speed. Simple, but effective. Car arrived running.

Instruments.

Front view.

Right side interior pic.

Soon this '69 will leave and the '66 coupe on the lift will move to this carport spot. Then the Mountaineer can go onto the 4 post lift.

 

[410Fortune]

Oh man I bet that is a hoot to drive

 

[allmyEXes]

@410Fortune Jamie, Yesterday I/we drove it for the first time. The '69 runs well. The 4 speed needs to come out and be gone through like most 50 yo manuals need. New shift rail detents and blocking rings. I may later be able to convince the owner of this vehicle, as it has to do with two of his 4 speed Mustangs.
I'm happy to report that the MM is in motion again. Not under its own power, but we got it onto the 4 post lift. Hopefully today, I'll be able to remove the 4R70W pan and perform the solenoid wiring upgrade that Jamie gave me a heads up about. Thanks Jamie. Many of you with 5.0 Explorer projects know that the he's the main go to guy about what to do and what you might run into as you maintain or even modify you 5.0. There are other guys here too that are gaining experience as they work on their own.
Earlier this a.m., I was contemplating what I need to do with the exhaust system. I hadn't put an extreme amount of thought in to it though.
When I was working on the powertrain harness, I eliminated the rear O2 sensor wires, actually repurposed them to add the missing transmission wires needed for the switch upgrade. It turns out that 1997 5.0 trucks and maybe early '98 5.0 Explorer/Mountaineers have the old style wiring inside of the transmission pan. I'm set to do that upgrade.
I intend to remove the front half of the exhaust system intact, not torching anything, to later be able to install on a '98 5.0 parts truck that an experienced "cat hacker" removed. If I can find the picture of it, I'll add it. They were nice enough too leave ALL FOUR O2 sensors connected and wired them to the frame. I guess that they didn't want to "confuse the computer". DUH! I bet it is confused now. Jamie said that I bet that they were cooking. I didn't touch them and find out after 15 minutes of run time. Back to the '97 MM.
It wasn't until this morning that I was 'exploring' the internet via google that I found a 4 page discussion from 2007 that involved some not seen lately members and some of you guys that are still here. @CDW6212R Don to be one in particular.
I have come to the conclusion that for Federal regulation and performance issues that I will need a pair of front "cats", (catalytic converters for you newbie 16 Yō's reading this). I have located some that seem to very affordable, and they include the bung holes (ok @donalds Don in NC, I hear you laughing), to be able to reinstall the front O2 sensors. It is my understanding that with the bin file and xdf file/s that I have for the 1999 Crown Vic pcm, that I will be able to switch off the rear O2 sensors that I deleted. Sometimes it's hard to get a straight answer about this.
I'm assuming that this is 2 for $47. 2.25" cats with 18mm bung holes

 

[97Sandbox]

Sensor bung in the cat is an awesome idea! It'll be nice to do whatever you want/need to with tubing and not have to worry about adding bungs.

 

[allmyEXes]

@97Sandbox @410Fortune I will still need to install one 18mm bung for the wideband sensor gauge and the signal will be split to the pcm. I considered 2 wideband bungs and wire them separately to avoid issues.
The MM project has been sitting since April when my wife's white '97 Explorer blew an upper radiator hose. I snapped the nipple off of the 4.0 SOHC thermostat housing and decided it was a good time to install an aluminum one. She had abnormal time off from work and time off for Dr visits, so I was able to do several things to her truck. Most of the hoses, screw type clamps instead of the cussing spring clamps. A PITA front bumper removal and installed the good one off of the certified beater. A new 2' long fuel filler hose, the gross fuel leak code went away? AND wouldn't you know it, the rack&pinion steering rack finally went all the way out, while I was working on the other things. It blew a seal internally, no outside leaks. I had her truck for almost four weeks. I wish that I had time to fix the air conditioning but it will have to wait for a bit.
The month of May was spent on the 1969 Mustang 351 Windsor 4 speed car. It actually VINs out as a Red Mach 1 but the owner wanted it plain black and had a body shop do it as such. We installed the interior and mostly all new wiring. Located rare AC ductwork pieces. Sourced good used individual instruments to restore his instrument cluster. The car is badazz with the 10.5 to 1 compression 351 Windsor and a 4 speed. I got to drive it back to the owners house. I was baking in the black on black interior car and brought back memories from 45 years ago when I had a '65 Mustang coupe, 302 with a 4 speed. Neither car has/had working AC. click on this link and scroll down to Album 1969 Ford Mustang. This Facebook page is our work Facebook page. Me and my brother do this as our day job. We bought our first Mustang in 1973. I was 14 and he was 12. It's been a few years. Ala-Tenn Mustang on Facebook Picture taken in front of RaceTrac gas that has 111 octane fuel. The Dragstrip is 5 miles up the highway. The owner has 107 octane in it now.

The '97 MM is on the four-post lift and the finish up list is fairly long. I'll be updating a few times this week.

 

[allmyEXes]

Last Friday I sounded like it was going to be no problem working on the solenoid wiring. This is Wednesday and the trans is open and waiting on a part before I put it in and close it back up. It shouldn't be as messy next time; I installed a drain plug in the pan. It's about time for a rechargeable electric hand ratchet and maybe a 3/8 drive electric impact combo. I hear Milwaukee makes a good set.
Tomorrow I will start heating up various exhaust system bolts to remove and save the original 5.0 exhaust parts. No pictures today. Things have been a bit slippery with all of this transmission fluid out. I installed a drain plug and hope that it doesn't bump the filter.
ADDED and BUMPED: I do have 3 pictures; the extended heat is temporarily causing me to forget some details. It was a long day. The two
minute sprinkle came at the right time.
First is 92-97 AOD/4R70W soft wire solenoid harness.

2nd picture of the 1998 to 2008 hardwire style for the solenoids.

3rd. Transmission pan before cleaning. 250k miles. Very little metal on the magnet. The fluid is more to the red side than burnt brown.
I'm going to reuse the old fluid and top off with about 12 to 16 oz to make up for loss. I didn't want to spend $40 to $50 on new fluid
possibly causing the fluid to "wash" the transmission leading to earlier than later failure. The tell, tell piece is in the pan. It may not have
been removed before.

 

[allmyEXes]

This morning, parts have been arriving. 1st USPS, catalytic converters; 2nd FedEx, exhaust manifold gaskets and hopefully soon UPS with the transmission part that I need after a little break here. I have removed 6 out of 7 old rear converter bolts. One of the bottom ones the head of the bolt keeps rounding off. I can get it with the grinder. But, I am waiting to do that until I have the transmission all closed up. It doesn't need any additional metal shavings in it.
I could get by here in my state without cats. however, If I ever want to sell it out of state, I'm making it 45? 46? state legal. Really the main reason is, if I ever need an exhaust man around here to do any exhaust work, as long as he sees some kind of catalytic converters on it, then he will work on it.

 

[Josh P]

There's a 65 out back with my name on it. I enjoy reading about the progress on this project.

 

[Josh P]

@Josh P Coupe or convertible ?

Coupe

 

[allmyEXes]

I've been on site at the shop since 5:30 a.m. central. This afternoon we will have heat indexes around 103 to 105, so I opted for a cooler time.
80 degrees with 90% humidity.
~8 a.m. I'm inside of the 4R70W transmission pan. I've had to keep going through the 24 valve body bolts. One end gets tightened then the other is loose again. After about 4 or 5 times going through them, they are now tight to spec.
Now I've encountered something else as I'm set and attempting to install the 98-08 hard-wire part for the solenoids. I think that it may be a fluid temperature sensor. It interferes with the hard-wire plastic piece.
ADDED: 15 minutes later. The hard-wire piece will not snap on to all of the solenoids properly. Also the spot that I thought was for the temperature sensor is not a plug. It is a diode surrounded by plastic. Back to researching for the correct parts. Some people say that the solenoids are the same, some say the they are different.

When I look at the bottom of this piece, you can see it in the picture to the far left across from my thumb. There is a two pin connector
pointing what will be facing down. Anyone of you that has been inside of there 1998 to 2008 4R70W know if this might be the spot to plug
temp sensor piece in to here? It is in the way of the hard-wire bridge to the solenoids.

Thanks for any input.

 

[allmyEXes]

So far I have determined where the 4R70W transmission temperature sensor is on a 1999 Crown Vic 4R70W.

I'm still working on the solenoid differences between 1996 and 1999 vehicles with 4R70W transmissions.
I must go mow now before we get to 99 plus the heat index. I don't like getting the running 4 cycle air cooled engines much over 85, 90 at the max. It is 88 now. We pooped a valve off of the stem of the old engine this time last year.