Bad roadtrip 10 days ago.

[djfordmanjack]

Awesome efforts Rich ! Now go for the rest of it ! Fingers crossed !

[djfordmanjack]

Hugh, knowing this is getting off topic, but may still be worth 2 cents to some of our members, this is how I do the process of weld- extracting broken or frozen studs, bolts, screws. Works all the time. May be a bit work and time consuming.

Never thought of that. Excellent idea. I'll keep that one in mind! 

[RICH MUISE]

The one I had snapped off was a small metric bolt...about 12-28 sae size. I just used a centerdrill to get a hole started as close to the center as I could with a hand drill, then a 1/8 drill down through, followed by a #7 for 1/4-20 (I don't have metric drill/tap sets). took longer to gather the bits together than to do it.
I'm going to take 2 or 3 days away from it, maybe take a road trip up to Colorado after my son leaves.

[djfordmanjack]

Rich, of course drilling out , until you reach the threads will work just fine, as long as you can get there with a drill. There are so many ways to get it done.... Glad you got it out and will be able to get it running asap after your road trip break.

[mustang6984]

Thanks G...I like the idea...and will use it going forward. 

[Ford Blue blood]

Rich I have found when the frustration level tops off I just sit back and ponder my belly button.  Can't tell you how many times it took more than a week to resolve ( ponder ) a problem when building the Ranchero.  Yup, take a break, think, get revved up and hit it with new resolve!

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks, Bill, but not really a frustration break.......more of a "can relax for a bit now that the engine is in".
This time when I pulled the engine, I left the tranny in place. I was able to get to the top two bellhousing bolts by removing the intake manifold first. On my intake, the throttle body actually extends out over the back of the engine making those bolts inaccessible unless the intake is removed. To get that off, I had to bend the pipe that connects the EGR valve to the exhaust. I had it wrapped in heat shield, and didn't realize until last night that I actually broke it, so that repair is first on the list. Gotta go out and find some correct size tubing to do that, and get my MIG welder tank refilled.
BTW, It would have been nice to be able to just unbolt the EGR valve from the throttle body with that pipe left attached, but I couldn't get to the back bolt on the EGR's flange  Gonna put some thought into making it more accessible before I reinstall it.

[RICH MUISE]

I took a break and drove to Colorado yesterday. Beautiful drive up thru some mountain passes, but  too late in the season for a fall foliage show. Maybe just as well, as there was next to nothing for traffic on any of my chosen roads. I did find out later last evening, after paying for a motel room, my COPD has apparently progressed to a point where I can't tolerate the high altitude if exerting myself at all ("exerting" meaning in my case getting out of the car and walking 20 feet). At midnight, I decided I couldn't do it, and loaded my Subi back up for a 3 hour drive towards home to get to lower altitude where I could actually get a few hours sleep.
I guess all-in-all, a second bad road trip, except this time it was me, not the cars. Gettin' old sucks.
Anyway, I think I found cures for the two issues discussed in the previous post. I made an "extended bolt" for the EGR valve that should allow access with a wrench for removal while still on the intake manifold. Also, I found some flexible conduit that should do the trick of patching up the EGR pipe. I need to get the intake stuff cleaned up, new gaskets attached, and installed on engine so I can check out my "fixes" Pics will follow if they work.

[Ford Blue blood]

Yup, getting old sucks and it aint for wimps......mean ol Mr. Arthur has invaded my hands, no longer have the old grip I used to have.  Makes holding a paint gun fun.....

Sorry to hear about the altitude thing.  I know your love of CO and being unable to enjoy it must be hard.  But, we gota do what we gota do.

[hiball3985]

I'm in the same boat Rich so I know how you feel. At 4,000 ft I'm really struggling.

[RICH MUISE]

At 4000, I'm ok. I was in several 10,000 locations, and where I tried to sleep, but couldn't, was 6350.
I should know within a few hours if I'm able to get the EGR valve on and off with the intake still on the engine.

[RICH MUISE]

Bill, PM sent.

[RICH MUISE]

OK.....now my frustration level is rising! Trying to get the lower end of the EGR's pipe attached, I rebroke it. The old pipe is just too fragile to withstand much bending. New ones are not available, and would still need mods to connect it to the Mustang exhaust manifolds's egr port in a different location than the oem Lincoln's..
With that said, I'm considering eliminating the egr valve, at least elinate it's function. I know we discussed this in years past, but I have no memory. Some of the egr elimination kits are pretty complicated, so I'm wondering what would happen if I just found a plug for the exhaust manifold and left the egr valve in place to suck in outside air instead of  the exhaust?? I do not want to have the computer reprogrammed even if the obd1 can be. I'm guessing how the engine runs would be not much different. I understand it may send codes, but any other problems?

[mustang6984]

Can a new pipe be made?

[RICH MUISE]

Yes, but it should have been done when the engine was out. I had the pipe wrapped in heat shield, so I didn't realize it was broken at that time. Would be very difficult to make even if I had room to work/shape.
This would be even more frustrating if it happened this past summer, missing all those roadtrips. I'm leaning towards doing as I posted above so I can get the rest of the engine wired and plumbed, and looking for a replacement down the road if it's a problem. Heck, right now, I don't even know for sure if I've got a good engine. I'm anxious to get her up and running.