Off to a rough start with 2016 GT

[Johnny Rockit]

Glad to see your post. I doubt the foreign object could move from one runner to another unless it was done purposely but to go so far as to actually do it would be an act of insanity.
I hope your heads can be salvaged. It would take some of the sting out of this whole adventure.

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[Canuckican]

Sounds like I should be able to pickup my repaired pony in another week or so, depending on the builder's daily progress on other project cars and of course the wonderful northern Michigan weather this time of year. The replacement heads from my nephew arrived at the doctor's office last week along with a few ancillary parts and the original heads are on their way to my nephew's shop for evaluation. Shipping heads is not exactly inexpensive, but at least I have a very capable blood relative in my corner.

 

[HKusp]

Sounds like I should be able to pickup my repaired pony in another week or so, depending on the builder's daily progress on other project cars and of course the wonderful northern Michigan weather this time of year. The replacement heads from my nephew arrived at the doctor's office last week along with a few ancillary parts and the original heads are on their way to my nephew's shop for evaluation. Shipping heads is not exactly inexpensive, but at least I have a very capable blood relative in my corner.

Awesome to hear things are turning positive on this for you. I am excited to hear of you enjoying your car, like you should have before these scumbags screwed you.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

I would be surprised if he says the heads are junk. Post them up for sale and they will be gone fast.

 

[Canuckican]

I saw this and felt a certain bond with it.

 

[Canuckican]

Good news... Oliver is back from the hospital and so far seems to be running well. All 8 cylinders are now between 230 and 245 PSI and no sign of any blue smoke. It starts right up and idles fine. No odd noises or glitches in throttle response.

The bad cylinders had a mix of damaged valve stems, seals, guides and a few showed signs of foreign object damage. He was skeptical the heads on it were the original ones and definitely looked like they were removed at least once before. A suspicious person might end up thinking that a different set of good heads was removed and a junked pair installed before the car was put up for sale. My nephew has the heads from mine and is going to see if they are salvageable. I hope so because that will save me some $$$$.

I hope not doing a removal and total teardown of the engine doesn't come back to bite me on the ass but I was told the bottom end looked good and I have already sunk more into this gem than I ever imagined I would.

For now I am just going to try to put some miles on it before winter closes in. I have a few goodies to install on it too.

Fingers crossed it really is fixed and I can put this nightmare part behind me and just enjoy the hell out of having adventures with Oliver.

 

[HKusp]

Great to hear that it's running strong.

 

[luca1290]

Fingers crossed it really is fixed and I can put this nightmare part behind me and just enjoy the hell out of having adventures with Oliver.

I don't know which tires you are running but last winter I went very close in making significant damages to mine because I felt too comfortable with it.
Let's say I understood very quickly how the equation of "locking differential + cold and wet road + inadequate tiers for the weather" turns out "= somewhere you don't want to be".

Car was a few weeks old and I managed to not spinning it into the guard rail by counter-steering it, but the scare taught me a lesson.
Not implying that you don't already know better than me, just be adequately prepared for the cold conditions.

 

[Hoofer]

Good news... Oliver is back from the hospital and so far seems to be running well. All 8 cylinders are now between 230 and 245 PSI and no sign of any blue smoke. It starts right up and idles fine. No odd noises or glitches in throttle response.

The bad cylinders had a mix of damaged valve stems, seals, guides and a few showed signs of foreign object damage. He was skeptical the heads on it were the original ones and definitely looked like they were removed at least once before. A suspicious person might end up thinking that a different set of good heads was removed and a junked pair installed before the car was put up for sale. My nephew has the heads from mine and is going to see if they are salvageable. I hope so because that will save me some $$$$.

I hope not doing a removal and total teardown of the engine doesn't come back to bite me on the ass but I was told the bottom end looked good and I have already sunk more into this gem than I ever imagined I would.

For now I am just going to try to put some miles on it before winter closes in. I have a few goodies to install on it too.

Fingers crossed it really is fixed and I can put this nightmare part behind me and just enjoy the hell out of having adventures with Oliver.

Good to hear.

Was the exhaust system checked for foreign debris? Just wondering if some of the debris you found in the head may have made it into the exhaust system and got caught up in the cats, resonator, or mufflers.

 

[Canuckican]

I don't know which tires you are running but last winter I went very close in making significant damages to mine because I felt too comfortable with it.
Let's say I understood very quickly how the equation of "locking differential + cold and wet road + inadequate tiers for the weather" turns out "= somewhere you don't want to be".

Car was a few weeks old and I managed to not spinning it into the guard rail by counter-steering it, but the scare taught me a lesson.
Not implying that you don't already know better than me, just be adequately prepared for the cold conditions.

Yup, one definitely needs to be especially careful this time of year. I know it's a similar thing on cooler mornings on my motorcycles. The lack of grip can catch you out if you're not careful. High-siding a bike at my age is not on my bucket list.

I drove my 1968, 1973, 1987, 1995 and 2004 Mustangs year round and this was in an area with a whole bunch of snow. Good winter tires and extra caution go a long way to increasing safety margins. Plus staying off the roads when you know the weather is going to suck.

I put a class I hitch on my 1995 Mustang GT right after I bought it new and used it to tow a 15 foot fishing boat in the summer and a 1994 Polaris Indy XLT 580 on a single snowmobile trailer in the winter. I must say I enjoyed the puzzled looks I got from people seeing me tow a snowmobile with a Mustang. But it can be done.

But my first 2016 GT was a three season car only and I expect this 2016 will be too right after I am able to convince myself that the major mechanical defects this car arrived with have been sorted.

 

[Canuckican]

Good to hear.

Was the exhaust system checked for foreign debris? Just wondering if some of the debris you found in the head may have made it into the exhaust system and got caught up in the cats, resonator, or mufflers.

Nothing specific was mentioned about the exhaust but the MBRP catback exhaust that came on the car has already been replaced with an OEM resonator and mufflers. I have not heard any rattle or any other odd symptoms coming from the BBK long tube headers or catted mid-pipes.

I just hope I don't end up down the road finding another CAI nozzle shoved down a header pipe. Maybe I should see if a plumber friend of mine can slide his pipe scope up the exhaust to the cylinder heads and see what he finds. Probably tree roots.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

Happy to see you are finally able to enjoy the car. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

[Canuckican]

I am taking PTO now until the new year so lots of extra time to muck about.

I took Oliver out on an extended drive today and overall things went well. There is a metallic vibration of some sort at about 1700-1800 RPM when the car was cold but it sounds like a loose shield or something else minor. Also an annoying rattle from somewhere along passenger side door. Some clip or the like is probably loose or broken, again nothing big.

The 3D MAXpider Custom Fit Kagu floor mats fit well and look fine too. I figured I'd try something other than Husky and WeatherTech this time.

Looks like I may have the CEL turning on issue due to the LTH/O2 sensors sorted out. Or maybe the CEL bulb is just burnt out. Hmmm.

Removing the MBRP cat back and replacing it with the factory resonator and mufflers has put the sound right about where I like it when combined with the LTH and hi-flow midpipes/cats.

The Steeda jacking rails and IRS subframe support braces have been installed. I'm told Santa is bringing me a Steeda Extreme G-Trac K-Member Brace for Christmas. I had one on my last 2016 Mustang GT and installation was easy but that one did not have LTH on it. For this 2016 Mustang with the BBK LTH, I have been told it should still fit okay (Kooks are the biggest challenge) and also have been told that it won't fit. I guess I will find out, assuming the elf that ratted out Santa has the right dirt on him. I had already bought but not yet installed a Steeda Ultralite 2-point G-TRAC K-member brace and it's still sitting unopened.

The temperature was in the upper 30s here today, the roads were dry and it was sunny. Traction was not bad but I was definitely taking it easy. I'm not sure why this car has the strange tire combo on it that it does, but it's par for the car. I think 235/50R18 is the original tire size for this specific Mustang. The fronts look a lot newer than the rears.

Front:
Dunlop Conquest Sport A/S
235/50R18
Treadwear: 500
Traction AA
Temperature: A
97W

Rear:
Federal Super Steel 595
255/45ZR18
Treadwear: 240
Traction: AA
Temperature: A
103Y

The stereo in there now really, really sucks. The one in my F150 did too until we tore out the interior and wired in a nice amp and new speakers. So maybe I'll do something similar to Oliver down the line. But really, the Coyote running well is music enough right now.

I think the window tint on the door glass is much too dark both for Wisconsin laws and sunlight. I can see why that dark a tint was used in South Florida. I will leave the tint alone for the time being.

I also need to get a phone holder of some type and figure out a safe and secure pistol mount. I will probably pass on installing a trailer Hitch on this Mustang and stick to using the F150 as my tow vehicle.

 

[Canuckican]

Santa did end up bringing me a Steeda Extreme G-Trac K-Member Brace for Christmas. It installed just fine with the BBK long tube headers in place. The biggest challenge was getting the compression cylinders located inside the frame when mounting the rear bolts. I ended up having to grind about 1.5 mm from each cylinder to get them to slide in place. Other than that, no real issues. Now I have to see if I can return to CJ Pony Parts the brand new, unopened Steeda Ultralite 2-point G-Trac brace I bought after Steeda told me the Extreme brace would not work with the long tube headers. I'm glad Santa did not know about this potential fitment issue with the Extreme brace and brought it for me regardless. Santa for the win!

Whilst under Oliver installing the brace, I found a few new things to address. There are only two clips holding the passenger side rocker panel in place where there should be about 10 of them. I ordered the Christmas tree style clips to get this properly mounted back in place.

I also found something strange on the bottom part of the fender liner on the front right fender. An opening about 2 inches tall by 8 inches wide has been cut off the bottom of the fender liner at the rearward part of the liner. I can only assume the previous owner did this to run something through the bottom the fender liner. What, I don't know. Oh well, nothing some 2-stage epoxy and spare plastic won't rectify.

The engine still seems to be running well. No check engine lights, misfires, overheating, hard starting, etc. I still have the low rpm metallic vibration but have not yet found the source of it.

 

[Canuckican]

Lots of room between the Extreme brace and the BBK long tube headers. The headers are rather sad looking. Maybe 7 years in the humid southern Florida climate is as hard on them as it is here in NE Wisconsin.

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