Angela III - Daily Driver Build Thread

[2017GBGTPP]

A better gauge mount

It's time to upgrade from the suction mount to something more integrated into the car. I went with a cheap but nice looking option, the Glowshift 52mm Universal Single Pillar Pod.

To install it the A-pillar needs to be removed. First, a push pin needs to be removed from inside the door to allow the molding to come out.

Once the molding is out of the way pulling at the top of the A-Pillar releases a couple of clips. You don't want to pull it away too far though since there is a lanyard holding it on. This needs to be twisted a couple of times to get it through and release it.

Further down is the electrical connector for the tweeter.

Disconnect that and then the entire cover pulls up and out. Now to take it inside and test fit the gauge pod.

It's not quite a perfect fit, but that was expected as it is "universal" and not specifically made for Mustangs. By heating it up with a heat gun the edges can be bent into shape to get it to follow the curve of the pillar properly.

This bent the opening a bit, but the gauge still fits ok. I then drove the four included screws into the corners by hand and it shaped perfectly to the pillar. The only issue this caused is that now there are four sharp screws poking through the back side.

I confirmed the location of the curtain airbags to make sure that these sharp points didn't stick directly into them, but I figured I should play it safe and cover them. The pod came with a thick piece of foam that is supposed to go between the pillar and pod but didn't seem to work well, so instead I cut pieces off of it and taped them over the screws.

Finally, I drilled a hole big enough to feed the cable through.

I then installed it back onto the car, first feeding the cable through the hole, reconnecting the tweeter and lanyard, then clicking it all back into place. After pushing the molding and push pin back into place, I added some double sided tape to the back of the gauge to make sure it was secure and installed it into the pod.

The position is closer and more in my line of sight then the suction mount, and it looks much cleaner. The plastic of the pod is a darker and shinier black than the A-pillar, but since most of it is hidden behind the gauge it's barely noticeable. It was cheap and easy to install, and I think it looks great.

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[WaffleMix]

Your build is inspiring! Great work! Thanks for sharing the detailed write ups.

 

[2017GBGTPP]

The shifter rattle was annoying me

After installing the FTBR shifter bracket the shift collar would occasionally rattle. It wasn't consistent, but when it happened it sounded like cheap plastic rattling against the shift handle (which is exactly what it was). The rubber o- rings that came with the bracket helped, but didn't get rid of it completely. To fix the rattle I bought a Barton Industries brushed billet Reverse Lock out Adapter.

I removed the shifter boot, then pried apart the stock plastic lock out piece with a flat head screwdriver. This photo shows where it separates from underneath.

The top piece comes right off after breaking the glue, then the leather just needs to be pulled away from the bottom piece. Comparing the stock and the Barton piece, it is obvious how much more quality the new piece is.

I then had to cut a few stitches in the leather to allow the new piece to fit and forced it through the hole. The part was supposed to come with a zip tie, but mine was missing so I bought a pack of cheap ones that worked well enough. If you can find smaller ones they will work better as the lock head on these ones were a bit big, the first time I zip tied it the head was off to the side and the boot didn't sit right. By placing the head towards the curve of the boot surround it looked fine.

Initially I took out all of the extra o-rings and reinstalled, but there was still some rattle at high revs. It was less cheap sounding, but still more than I wanted. I ended up putting the large o-ring on the bottom back in and that solved the problem. No more annoying rattle, and the shifter looks much nicer too.

 

[2017GBGTPP]

If you can't fix the disease, fix the symptom

I have had a persistent issue with the parking brake handle not staying down all the way while driving. The brake itself doesn't engage, but a warning light comes on and the car starts yelling at me. Adjusting the brake cable under the car doesn't fix this issue, it does it no matter how tight or loose I make it. While installing the reverse lock out collar I decided to open up the center console and see what the problem was.

To get the center console out the shifter boot comes out first, which was easy since I had already removed it for the lock out collar. The side panels in the wheel well easily pop off by pulling from the front, revealing two 7mm bolts that need to be removed, take these out on both sides.

Now nothing but clips holds the whole thing on. Opening up the center console shows where you can begin prying it up, start at the back here.

Then just lift up popping the clips. Remove two electrical plugs from underneath then pull back and out to remove the whole thing.

The parking brake boot is held on by two more 7mm bolts, one at the front and another at the rear to the side.

Pulling that back revealed the issue. When lowering the brake handle the parking cable slides through a narrow hole enough to release the brake, then gets caught. The cable then bends creating a spring which pushes the handle up.

I tried adding some grease but to no avail. The cable simply does not want to push through the hole more than it needs to. I would think that tightening the brake adjustment would shorten the cable and eat up the slack, but it doesn't help. I made an attempt to create a splint to keep it from bending, but the cable is too strong and just pulled itself away from it and bent anyway. After a few failed attempts to fix the problem itself, I decided that the real issue was the brake light coming on and causing the car to think I'm driving with the brake on. Mechanically it all worked fine, so I decided to remove the brake light switch, which you can see in the above photo just to the right of the cable with the silver bolt head sticking out from it. Remove that and it comes right off, then flipping it over shows the release for the electrical plug. I unplugged it and threw the switch into the center console for safe keeping.

After putting it all back together everything works as it should except the brake light never comes on. Driving a manual I am always aware of whether the parking brake is on or not, so the light didn't really serve a purpose anyway. The brake handle is still a bit loose at the bottom, but the brake doesn't engage when down and the car doesn't freak out thinking that it is. Problem fixed I guess.

 

[BeastAR]

Keep up the good work.

 

[Roy_Steeda]

anymore updates on this build.

 

[2017GBGTPP]

A little pick me up

Wow, it's been 2 years since I've done anything with my car, huh? Since COVID I've been working remotely, and everything about that is awesome except for the fact that I now have little reason to drive my car every day. I don't necessarily miss the commute, but I do missing driving. Because of that and other factors my modding has taken a back seat. While I think it will still be slower than before, I have decided to restart, and to help out I decided to splurge a bit and finally get the easy way to raise my car that I have wanted for so long - the Quickjack 5000TL.

It lifts the car up to 24" much easier and much steadier than a floor jack and stands. With this I now have 6" more clearance at the push of a button. Each part weighs about 100 lbs each, but slides on the concrete easily when down and fits nicely under the car for storage.

So... now it's time for a shameful admission. I haven't changed the oil in 3 years. It's only been about 9,000 miles, so it's not too terrible, but still longer than it should be. Since removing the filter was so messy last time, I decided to try punching a hole in it with a nail and hammer to drain it. It only took a few taps and worked wonderfully, making very little mess.

Some oil still spilled into the undertray when removing the filter itself, but far less than before.

Now I just need to do a full maintenance check of the car and I can get back into adding parts. I missed this.

 

[2017GBGTPP]

Battery check

One thing I have never tested myself is the battery. It's typically pretty apparent when it is going bad, the little gremlins in the electrical system start getting weird. Since it has been a few years since it was last replaced, I'm sure that we're not too far off from needing a new one even though the gremlins haven't popped up yet.

I got a super cheap 7 Function Digital Multimeter from Harbor Freight. It is cheap for sure, but it should do the job. The first test is to set the multimeter to 20 DCV and test the battery after leaving the headlights on for two minutes to let off any surface charge the battery may have. Ideally you should get 12.6V, every 0.2V below that is about 25% of the battery charge with 12.0V being dead.

I got 12.2V, meaning that I have about 25% charge left.

The next is to test Cold Cranking Amps. With the multimeter connected, have somebody start the car and note the lowest reading you get while the car turns over. A good battery will get between 9 and 10V, 5V is basically dead. I got 9.48V.

So I have about 25% charge left, but the battery is still working properly. I will likely need to replace soon, but there is still a little bit of life left in it so I'll leave it for now. Even though I have never tested a battery, I have replaced them multiple times so I know how easy that is.

Update:
I decided to just swap it out since I was having some A/C issues that could possibly be linked to electrical problems. I went with the cheap Interstate 96R battery from Costco. The only thing that needs to be done other than simply swapping the battery is to reset the BMS like this;

Procedure must be carried out within 10 seconds:

1. Switch ignition on (engine off)
2. Pull and release high beam 5 times.
3. Press and release brake pedal 3 times.
4. If successful the battery light will flash 3 times within the next 15 seconds
5. BMS reset completed.

You have to do it real fast after pushing the ignition button, don't wait for everything to boot up. This didn't fix the A/C issue, but it works fine.

 

[2017GBGTPP]

Stay cool

Just as fall was ending and the temperatures were starting to drop, I heard a whine coming from the engine bay that I have heard before. Last time, this whine was quickly followed by warm air coming from the vents when the A/C was on. At that time the car was under warranty so I took it in to the dealership, who replaced the A/C Compressor and recharged the system.

That was 3 years after I bought her, and it has been about 3 years since then. Am I supposed to replace the compressor every 3 years? After some research, it seems that leaks in the A/C system are very common on this gen of Mustang. I saw stories of it being the Evap Core for some people, the compressor for others, or a bad batch of service valves for others yet. The dealership in these cases tended towards very expensive repairs, but individuals said they had success with recharging the system or replacing the valves. I'm going to try the former, and if it happens again I will try replacing the valves.

Because I noticed it when it was cooling down for the year, I decided to wait until Spring to recharge since it needs to be more than 55 degrees out to do properly. I bought a can of Arctic Freeze 18 oz Refrigerant from good old cheap ass Harbor Freight.

It comes with a reusable gauge and hose and nicely matches my car. I then located the low side service valve, which is tucked on the passenger side of the engine.

I think it's supposed to have a cap on it, but apparently that is gone now, as well as the cap on the high side valve next to the coolant tank.

With the car on and the A/C on max at the lowest temperature, I connected the hose to the low side service valve. It initially read just below the green zone, but slowly lowered for about 30 seconds before settling here;

Yep, that's low.

You then need to disconnect, take the cap and hose off of the bottle, remove a plastic plug, and put the cap back on. Then, reconnecting to the low side valve, pull the trigger to charge. It only took about 2 short pulls before I was in the green zone again. This gauge has a large area that is green, but the amount of pressure you want is based on the ambient air temperature, I found this handy chart to tell where you should be;

Since it's 68 degrees out today, I needed to be in the low side of green.

This was much easier than I expected. I will probably test it now and then to see if it stays charged and see how it goes. Hopefully I don't need to install a new Compressor anytime soon as long as I keep the system topped up.

Update:
A couple of days later and it seems to be working better but when I check the pressure the gauge reads zero. Either the gauge on the recharge hose is bad or the valve is, so I'm going to keep an eye on it and rent some real gauges to check soon.

FYI, the A/C Compressor can be found on the passenger side of the engine, below and behind the coolant tank.

When the car is on but the A/C isn't running the belt will move but the wheel, which is the compressor clutch, won't. When the A/C is active the clutch will spin too.

Currently the clutch seems to be working well and is less noisy than before. The sound is barely noticeable, only a slight difference can be heard when turning the A/C on and off. Since it's still cool out I don't need to run it, so I'll keep it off until I get those gauges and check for sure.

Update:
Full evacuation and recharge here

 

[2017GBGTPP]

What happens when you don't spend a monthly car budget for 2 years?

You get to splurge a bit. With my saved up car budget, and given that my back tires were in need of replacing anyway, I finally decided to just get some new wheels. My goal was to get as much rubber on the road without needing spacers or other modifications while still looking nice. Losing some weight would also be great.

With all of this in mind, I opted for the SVE SP2 Wheel and Firestone Tire Kit - 19x10/11 - Gloss Black from LMR.com. This package comes with 19x11 rims on the back with a 50mm offset and 19x10 rims on the front with a 35mm offset. Those rims come with 325/30 and 285/35 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires, a fairly new offering that is supposed to perform almost as good as Michelin P4s but at about $100 less per tire. All of this pre-installed and balanced with TPMS sensors, so all I had to do was take the old wheels off and put the new ones on.

Although looks were a secondary consideration, I really liked the open design of these. Not only do they show the Brembo brakes and discs better, but these should be much easier to clean than the PP wheels.

The rims are also about 8 pounds lighter than the PP rims, so even with the extra rubber there is still a solid weight reduction.

You also can't argue with the prices that LMR offers these for, SVE are among the most reasonably priced wheels on the market. Oh, and if you don't have a discount code and aren't shopping during a sale, just make sure you are signed up for emails and drop these into your wishlist and cart. Three days later I had a 6% discount code.

They came with Gorilla lug nuts, which are black and require a key socket which is included. There is also a sticker that goes in the glovebox with an ordering number in case you lose the key.

With these new wheels the back tires now sit about 1" lower while the front are only 5mm lower. This evens out the stance a bit to have less of a front rake than the PP wheels had. With the shorter tires in the back, there will be a small error in the speedometer, but fortunately that is fixable with the Ngauge I have for my tune. Under Tuning>Module Config you can easily set the rear tire size and it will fix the speedometer automatically.

Now I have big fat tires for more traction!

I expected some poke, but they actually sit pretty flush with the fenders all the way around. (Please ignore the dead bugs, she is definitely in need of a wash).

Clearance from the shocks/struts Is tighter now, but there is still enough that there is no rubbing. I have taken her for a couple of test drives, and even though it has been cool and rainy it takes quite a bit more to get loose than the PP wheels, I have only fishtailed when trying to go full throttle shifting into 2nd, even launching in 1st gear with aggressive clutch feathering was solid. I think I'm going to like these.

And if you are looking for a good deal on used but good condition PP wheels and tires, they are up for sale on the M6G market!

 

[DadzMach]

Nice detailed write up!
I have often wanted a steering wheel, with a flat bottom, for looks. But, that would also mean giving up the heated steering wheel option. I am know, sad, but...

I know this kind of old now but if you have not replaced your wheel yet due to the heated wheel, they are available now. Let me know if you want the information.

 

[DadzMach]

Yea, sometimes it's the little things that you don't want to lose, I get it. Fortunately I didn't have heated steering, and living in AZ I don't have much use for it anyway. I would think that Beith would make wheels that keeps the feature though, check it out if you don't mind the price.

This^^^. They are making me a heated wheel now.

 

[Cux211]

I know this kind of old now but if you have not replaced your wheel yet due to the heated wheel, they are available now. Let me know if you want the information.

I would like the info if you don’t mind

 

[DadzMach]

I would like the info if you don’t mind

Here you go:
https://beithperformanceparts.com/

 

[2017GBGTPP]

Fully Charged

Even after recharging the A/C system the compressor was still working erratically and still whining quite a bit. I borrowed some manifold gauges from Autozone (part #57375) so that I could test the high side pressure since the low side seemed fine. Once connected I got these readings when the car/compressor was off;

And this when on;

When off both pressures should be about equalized around 100 psi. When on, pressure should be as shown in this chart from the Workshop Manual:

That high side pressure is definitely too high. That screenshot of the Workshop Manual also has a handy table to tell you what the most likely causes of the pressure readings are. With normal-low side and high-high side pressure, the culprit is likely air in the system causing it to be overcharged. This makes sense since a leak could allow air in as well as refrigerant out.

Looking through all of the threads on this forum about A/C issues (of which there are many), it seemed there were three things that fixed others' issues, at least temporarily: Replacing the compressor, replacing the Evap core, or evacuating and recharging the system. The latter would clear out the air inside the system, and the first two actually involve doing that as well, so I thought maybe that's the actual solution. I ended up doing a ton of research on A/C systems and replacing components, probably much more than I needed, but at least now I have a good grasp on a system that I knew nothing about only a short while ago.

Before I started, i got some UV dye from Autozone and some yellow glasses and a blacklight from Harbor Freight. I made sure to get the dye that came with a nozzle for the service port, they also sell dye in a bottle but that only works if you have a way to get it from the bottle into a pressurized canister. I then checked all around the engine bay and underneath the car for leaks before before running the system.

There was some dye around the service port and some dye sheen on the underside below it. I realized that this meant there was already dye in the system from previous service. So I wiped it up and ran the A/C for 15 minutes to see if any more appeared. It didn't, so I was hopeful that the can of recharge and sealant had sealed the leak.

I then took it to a local mechanic to get the system recovered. Although I like to do as much as I can myself, recovering refrigerant requires several thousand dollars of equipment and a license. Vented it into the air is illegal and highly damaging to the environment. Fortunately, mechanics will typically do it for free since they get to keep and resell the refrigerant. My first option of mechanic was closed because it was the Monday after Easter, so I took it to a different place that had iffy reviews, and I found out why. It was owned and operated by one guy with no other employees, and the guy tried to hard upsell me to pay him $200 to do the recharge saying that working on the A/C without a license is illegal and I could get in a lot of trouble (even though it isn't illegal to work on the system once it is empty of refrigerant). It took some convincing that I knew he was full of shit before he agreed to just take my free refrigerant.

This is why I don't trust mechanics.

He did say that he pulled out a little more than a pound of refrigerant, and since the system was showing as overcharged but should have 24 oz in it, that means I was correct about there being a bunch of air in there. To get rid of that and any moisture, the next step is vacuuming it out. I borrowed a Single Stage Vacuum Pump from Autozone (part #57376) that connects to the Manifold Gauges I had borrowed. Opening up the low side, I let the vacuum run for several hours, giving it plenty of time to fully empty the system.

The idea is to get it to -29psi, but apparently this pump isn't quite strong enough to get there and only gets to -24. This is part of the reason I let it run for so long, to hopefully make up for the lower suction. The gauge immediately shows-24psi once the vacuum is turned on, but if you turn it off the needle will go back up towards zero as long as there is still air in the system. Once I was able to shut it off and the needle stayed steady, I let it sit for 30 minutes and it held pressure, making me very hopeful that the leak was indeed sealed.

Next step was fully recharging the system. I picked up an R134a Can Tap Dispenser at Autozone to be able to directly connect the canisters to the gauges and opened the valve along with the low side valve. I then proceeded to empty 2-12 oz cans into the system.

It was slow going and require lots of holding up and shaking, but eventually the system got to a good equalized pressure when it is time to turn on the car and get the compressor running.

After some more charging the canisters were empty and pressures looked good (it was about 60 degrees when I finished, so they should be on the low side of the chart)

I had weighed a full canister at 15.5 oz on a digital kitchen scale so I could tell how much I had used out of them, and in the end they each weighed about 3.5 oz. That means both cans were each 12 oz lighter on refrigerant, exactly what I needed.

Turning off the car and letting pressures equalized got me much better readings now as well, no longer off the charts

I then picked up some new service valve caps from O'Reillys since they were the only ones nearby that had them. Apparently nobody ever buys them anymore, but I like having the peace of mind that the service valves are protected from debris.

After some tests and a good drive in near 80 degree weather, the system blows cold air and the compressor runs like it should. The compressor whine is also severely reduced. I can no longer hear when it kicks on and off, but I still hear a bit under light acceleration. I have to be listening for it, and it no longer drowns out the lovely sound of the engine.

Hopefully this lasts for a while, but even if I have to do this once a year, at $25 I would prefer this over replacing the compressor or Evap cooler every few years.

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