In reply to Patientzero :
A few months ago, we had some friends over who had brought over their dog. I was playing with the dog, yanking a rope back and forth with my arm when I heard/sensed a 'tearrrrring' sensation in my shoulder followed by searing pain. After a few weeks of letting it heal on its own and not really getting totally better, I went to the Dr. who said I had bone spurs and a torn labrum - and here I am.
In reply to FatMongo :
Awesome. I tore mine with a dislocated shoulder while skateboarding, I have 3 titanium screws in mine now. Good luck
Well,
Its been a while since my last update. Not a ton of eventful stuff has happened to the Mustang. I've been busy with my other cars and got another project car (another future GRM thread).
The only real big thing since the clutch replacement has been replacing the Pypes off road H - pipe and catback (which didnt clear my Maximum Motorsports panhard bar) with an SLP catted X and catback - which just barely clears my panhard bar.
i had originally intended to get an X pipe but accidentally ordered the H and didnt want to eat the shipping to exchange it. In addition, the offroad H turned out to be really loud and hard on the ears at highway speeds. So I figured, I would try a different route - maybe Im just getting old.
Anyway, while the SLP product turned out great, SLP fisted me good and hard...
Turns out, for whatever reason, SLP recommends pulling the studs from the driver's side exhaust manifold in order to install the x-pipe with bolts. Despite my best judgement, I figured I would do the project the 'right' way and follow the manufactures instructions.
Well, that got me this:
IMG_4100 by emanookian, on Flickr
Yes, that is a severely broken stud in the exhaust manifold. Despite the way the photo looks, it is really not a feasible option to drill it out when the car is on jackstands.
So then, that led to this:
IMG_4117 by emanookian, on Flickr
And if you know anything about Modular Fords, you know that exhaust manifolds coming off the car, with the OEM k-member in place are an absolute bitch. Luckily, for the New Edge Mustang, the driver's side manifold is easier to get to than the passenger. So this came off without too much drama.
Small but valuable tip for working on exhaust manifolds to avoid broken studs - dont remove exhaust fasteners as you go. Break torque, turn them loose and then snug them back up. Do this until every bolt or nut has been loosened and re-snugged. This prevents the manifold from flexing as the fasteners are removed and putting alot of pressure on the remaining fasteners - making them much more likely to break. You know how everyone complains that the last stud or bolt was the one that broke? Well, this is why.
Anyway, on the bench, it proved futile to drill out the remnants of the stud - mostly because I center punched poorly and the hole I drilled into the remnants of the stud was off center. So I ended up boring out the manifold hole kinda like this:
IMG_4126 by emanookian, on Flickr
So I still had to installed the SLP X pipe with the M8 x 1.25 mm bolts - however, I now had nearly an M10 hole in the exhaust manifold. Desperate for a solution, I was able to use my nearly non-existent welding skills to barely stick and M8 x 1.25 nut at the back end of the exhaust manifold.
IMG_4130 by emanookian, on Flickr
This allowed me to utilize an M8 x 1.25 bolt as the SLP instructions intended to get the SLP X Pipe piping on:
IMG_4127 by emanookian, on Flickr
Ultimately, once the exhaust manifold was back on, the rest of the install went super smooth:
IMG_4139 by emanookian, on Flickr
IMG_4136 by emanookian, on Flickr
A now, finally, my full exhaust from end to end can be bolts on to the car, clearing all my rear suspension components (in some cases with fractions of a millimeter to spare). And I have tailpipes again!
IMG_4132 by emanookian, on Flickr
For what its worth, the SLP stuff sounds glorious. Its significantly quieter at idle, but at open throttle it screams delectably. There is no drone on the highway though - which was one of the reasons for the change in the first place. While I would like a little more growl at idle, this setup is perfect under throttle - I love the aggressive growl that is neither too quiet nor too obnoxiously loud. The best part is that it all clears my suspension setup.
No, I know some might ask: if you pulled the manifold on the driver's side, why the hell didnt you pull the passenger one and go with some aftermarket shorties? Well, here are the reasons why I didnt in no particular order:
Time - did not want to mess with the passenger side and risk a broken stud nor did I want to wait for headers to come in
Cost - I wasnt looking to spend another $500-$800 on headers at the moment
Teksid build - Im building an aluminum Teksid block motor that I plan on putting in this car in the next year. Didnt want to go to the effort of installing headers only to pull the engine in a few months.
I didn't realize you were just a few hours down the road in KC. I'm up in Omaha.
Good looking new edge and I like the build.
I went from a Mac off road H to a bbk catted X years ago. Bbk stuff didn't have the stud change.
That sucks on having to pull the manifold
bmw88rider said:I didn't realize you were just a few hours down the road in KC. I'm up in Omaha.
Good looking new edge and I like the build.
Thanks - if you ever bring that old girl down here, let me know, you'll need to swing by for a beer or three.
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