Boosted and InterChillin'

[SH!FT]

Nice. I need one of this maybe the 5000 tho.

The 5000TL and a cheap set of Pinch-Weld Blocks should do it. TLX frame is a bit long for the S550.

Sponsored

 

[SH!FT]

Oil change and tire rotation:

DIY oil change cost me $158. Motorcraft 5w-50 is up to $14 per quart from my local dealer.

The UPR Easy Oil Drain Valve works great with a 1/2" ID hose. A must have to avoid a mess with the K-member brace now installed. It does take a bit longer to drain the pan. It was empty within the time it took me to rotate the tires.

With tires out of the way, it was a good time to replace my cooked fender liner. I burned a few holes through the passenger's side doing a WOT pull with the front bumper off.

This was a $127 oops: Fender Liner - Ford (JR3Z-16102-E)

I rotated the tires in a rearward cross pattern and retorqued the 25 mm wheel spacers to 110 ft-lbs. A set of Harbor Freight 1/2" Lug Nut Impact Sockets and Torque Limiting Extension Bars with the Ryobi High Torque Impact Wrench made it quick work.

I noticed uneven wear on the inner tread of the rear tires. Hopefully the toe correct during that recent alignment corrects this. If not, I'll have the rear negative camber reduced.

It's currently -1.7° and -1.9°.

My local shop recommended that we not mess with the S550's shoddy rear camber adjustment unless necessary. I'll be purchasing the 555-4126 Steeda Rear Camber Adjustment Kit to help dial it in next time.

 

[SH!FT]

Last Fall I started having all sorts of intermittent issues at high rpm WOT.

The PCM would aggressively pull timing around 5500 rpm:

• If I Immediately let off the gas: CEL might flash and put me in limp mode for ~10 secs.
• If I punched it through the timing dump to redline: A p0300 (random misfire) code might log.

I've been on the hunt for chewed wires because the car sits. I was starting to think that the chiller and Roush calibration weren't getting along. It's very apparent that the Roush ACT sensor reads chilled IAT2's untrue as engine heat builds.

I finally caught a pattern in March. AFR spikes. Battery was shot. I installed a Duralast Platinum battery on March 16th. All better.

 

[SH!FT]

I had a brain fart yesterday... Forgot I parked next to a narrow curb border on my passenger's side. No damage to the bumper, but I clipped the front DS mounting point of the 555 5532 Extreme G-Trac K-Member Brace while leaving the parking spot. The brace held up shockingly well.

I have the tools available to correct and confirm the twisted brace. Shot a message to Steeda to see if warranty or replacement is the better move.


The subframe still seems square based on a tape measurement. I'm going to order a tram gauge to confirm. The frame mounting point definitely bent. I'll be making a clamping jig to correct that. Front end alignment coming soon.

Super annoyed with myself.

 

[SH!FT]

Got the brace off. Let's see how tweaked it is.

Roughly locating the undamaged front PS mounting point:

Roughly locating the damaged front DS mounting point:
FDS to RDS is out ~1/2".
FDS to RPS is out ~3/8"
Flatness is out ~1/8"

Rough game plan:

• Twist counterclockwise 6 degrees
• Pull down 1/8"
• Pull away from rear DS mount point 1/2"

 

[SH!FT]

Playing catch up July 27, 2024:

Swapped out a my 25 mm spacers for YHTAUTO 5x4.5 Hub Centric Wheel Spacers 20 mm from Amazon. Paid $75. Quality seems equal to the ACCELATEC Hub-Centric Wheel Spacers 25mm.

Rims must have counterbores.

I purchased the 555-4126 Steeda Rear Camber Adjustment Kit to hopefully help correct my rear tire wear.

 

[SH!FT]

Sept 2, 2024:
I was able to straighten my damaged G-Trac brace and Steeda sent me a replacement updated version for dirt cheap. Thanks Steeda!

Fixed the minor frame damage and installed the new brace.

I had a minor alignment panic attack before realizing the label plate was welding crooked.

 

[SH!FT]

Oct 1, 2024:

Oil change

I won't wait 5,000 to empty the catch can again. The driver's side can was bone dry.

Note to self: Rotate tires before Spring

 

[SH!FT]

Found what looks to be a mouse nest under the supercharger today. No sign of the little bastard. Car idled for a couple minutes with no CELs. It's packed too dense to inspect the knock sensor harness.
Lifting the SC seems to be the only way to clean it. I'll be spraying the engine bay with mint from now on. Mighty Mint Rodent Repellent Spray

Might as well add some improvements while the blower is out of the way. I ordered the FI's Blower Spacer Plate kit. The spacers are 10 mm. Kit includes a thermal blanket to stick to the belly of the IM to reduce radiant heat.

The strut tower brace will need to raise at least 5 mm. Don't know if I have hood clearance.

 

[SH!FT]

Operation FU Mouse:

• Weekly Mighty Mint hose down until nest is removed.
• FI's Blower Spacer Plate kit has shipped.
• Waiting on data from Jokerz about the PWR coolant brick.
• Considering Steeda adjustable motor mounts to continue running the strut tower brace once the spacers are installed.

Blower disassembly:

• CJ Pony Roush SC install video
• Roush 422184 Install manual: https://www.roushperformance.com/cd...E-Mustang_20230816.pdf?v=12456078069995145428
• Replacement knock sensor harness: JU5Z9D930C

Steeda Adjustable Engine Mounts:

• Lower in 1/4" intervals. Max lower is 3/4".
• Install instructions
• Install write up
• Install video
• install video w/ LTs
• 2020 Repair Manual link
• Engine support points:
  • 
• torque specs:
  • LH and RH engine mount bracket, bolts and stud bolt
    Torque : 41 lb.ft (55 Nm)
  • LH and RH engine mount nut
    Torque : 46 lb.ft (63 Nm)
  • LH and RH engine mount bolts
    Torque : 52 lb.ft (70 Nm)
• Hood clearance at SC center is just over 1" with the hood insulation installed.
  
  
  

Jokerz PWR coolant brick:

• Install video
• Torques specs for IM belly pan and intercooler brick: 12 Nm (106 lb-in)

FI's Blower Spacer Plate kit:

• 10mm (0.394")
• Buy (qty 6) M6 x 1 x 50mm Flanged Hex Head Bolts
• Find part number for longer belt: K060806 is 81-1/16".
  • Ideal is + 5.6mm (0.22").
  • K060807 is 81.5"
• Solve upper fead bracket alignment issue. (page 45 Roush install manual)
  • Elongate the holes or simply don't use the bottom 2 block mounting points.

 

[SH!FT]

Components purchased: $2,100

Steeda Adjustable Heavy Duty Engine Mounts
$247.22 shipped from CJ Pony with a 5% discount code. They're backordered with estimated lead time of 4 weeks.
Steeda has them in stock for $271.08 shipped. I plan to lower the motor 1/2".

Jokerz PWR coolant brick
$1,469.00 shipped. I used Affirm's 3 months @ 0% APR payment option. No lead time was provided. There was no response to my email regarding gains with a chiller installed.

M6 x 1 x 50mm Flanged Hex Head Bolts (qty. 10)
$9.56 from Amazon



FI's Blower Spacer Plate kit
$410.90 shipped. Ordered on Feb 1st. It arrived today. The spacers and blanket shipped separately.

The included thermal blanket is 12" x 21" x 3/16" thick.
My spacers are 0.387" (9.84mm) thick. Variance in thickness is 0.0005" based on my cheap calipers. Spacer material looks to be Teflon/phenolic. Machining quality is good. No sharp edges. The O-ring seals are not made from cord (no breaks). I'm happy with the purchase. This would be quite expensive and time consuming to make it yourself.

 

[SH!FT]

Boost and the OEM catalytic convertors are not friends. Starting to build a gameplan in case mine fail.

As of now, the MAK pipe install seems to be my best option. Everything seems to be included.
It would be best to remove the S550 header: cut, reshape, and tack flange alignment myself. Pay shop to make it airtight.



Reference threads: (thanks Robottrainer!)
boosted-gt-and-fried-cats.195076/page-3
Boosted GT and Fried Cats #32
cat-converter-option.204314/page-6
oem-exhaust-shorty-headers-material
post#24 and gsport-cat-replacement.

MAK pipe install instructions
Robottrainer's DIY 2M instructions

• 2M Cat Deletes kit $290 (add $1350 to $1550 for cats + labor)
• G-Sport Gen2 HO cats PN: 50230; HP rating: 500 (per bank I assume)
• G-Sport Gen2 UHO cats PN: 85230; HP rating: 850
• MAK pipes w/ G-Sport HO $2.1k
• MAK pipes w/ G-Sport UHO $2.5k
• BR3Z-9431-C S197 driver's side header (flange orientation 90 degrees from GT500, 2M, and MAK pipes)

Install tools:
Home made pipe expander using off-the-shelf parts (Harbor Freight, etc)

Flange notes:
Robottrainer flange-pdf.866956/
amazon.com/PALOZO-Exhaust-Flange-Connection-Stainless/ (must confirm fit)

 

[hlfbkd420]

Boost and the OEM catalytic convertors are not friends. Starting to build a gameplan in case mine fail.

Agreed and can verify. Melted the cats on both of my cars. First car had about 5,000 miles of boost and then it started throwing a CEL. Second car I installed headers at 900 miles and removed the cats. Had to put them back on when a replacement engine went in, and it promptly killed them in the first 2 weeks. May have had about 1500 miles on them before they were "fixed" by ford. I don't know what they did for sure, but I still have the manifolds, and it looks like they reused them. They have a copper "wrap" around one of the exhaust runners and the cat itself looks to have been replaced. Apparently, Ford is not replacing the whole manifold setup any more for warranty claims when boosted.

 

[SH!FT]

Agreed and can verify. Melted the cats on both of my cars. First car had about 5,000 miles of boost and then it started throwing a CEL. Second car I installed headers at 900 miles and removed the cats. Had to put them back on when a replacement engine went in, and it promptly killed them in the first 2 weeks. May have had about 1500 miles on them before they were "fixed" by ford. I don't know what they did for sure, but I still have the manifolds, and it looks like they reused them. They have a copper "wrap" around one of the exhaust runners and the cat itself looks to have been replaced. Apparently, Ford is not replacing the whole manifold setup any more for warranty claims when boosted.

Were all those cooked cats OEM? I think I have my plan.

Assuming the G-Sport HO "500 hp rating" is bhp per bank, I can justify the cost of the MAK pipes w/ G-Sport HO due to ease of install.

I can align and tack header flange myself. I would need a shop to seal it up. Taking a welding class and buying a half decent 3 in 1 welder are on my bucket list.

 

[hlfbkd420]

Were all those cooked cats OEM?

Yessir. In my case, I burned out 3 sets of OEM cats on 2 cars. After the new engine went in the original stock cats were melted in less than a few weeks. They were cut out and replaced as well as one of the exhaust manifold runners... After about 4,000 miles they were failing too.

Sponsored