Off to a rough start with 2016 GT

[Johnny Rockit]

Glad your girl is okay. Big suv is safer I think and aside from fuel I think she will be better off in it. Insurance will get her a new ride but she may want to keep Mom's ride.

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[Canuckican]

We've located and purchased my daughter's replacement car. We're just waiting for the title and other paperwork to catch up so the car can be shipped. The PPI showed the car to be in very good mechanical condition and just needs a good detailing. That was supposed to take place yesterday. Now to find a reliable shipping company to get the car the 430 miles to me. I have an F150 that I have used multiple times to hauls cars from one place to another. The problem now is that will leave just one vehicle at home for two working people to use for two days. And of course they work different hours so car-pooling is a hassle. And we live out in the boonies so Ubers are $$$$. And I don't want either of them driving Oliver on these cold roads.

In the meantime, the weather here in northern Wisconsin has been decent enough most days for me to drive Oliver. So far, so good with no new major issues.

I do have what sounds like a slight exhaust leak where the collector flange on the BBK LTHs connect to the BBK hi flow mid pipe. I had a brief look at trying to tighten things up but the bolts that connect the mid-pipe to the collector look like they are in no mood to be tightened or removed even after a long soak in PB Blaster. Very heavy corrosion may require a grinder or a torch to get them off. I don't know if the holes in the collector flange are threaded or not but I think they must be because I don't recall seeing a bolt on the upstream side of the bolt (which may technically make these studs, not bolts). I've seen this play out before... can't get the stuff unbolted so it has to be cut or melted out, which damages the threads in the collector flange, but there is no room to re-tap the holes without removing the headers, which takes 3 weeks to do... So I am just ignoring the exhaust leak for now.

I was out in Oliver yesterday morning when it was 5 degrees F. It was a real tip-toe act to keep the car straight and poised. The tires on it really, really hate cold pavement.

 

[Canuckican]

My daughter's replacement car is supposed to arrive within the next week. Other than a few days, it's been just fine driving Oliver. The roads have been clear and dry, but obviously a bit slick when cold.

I got the P1450 Unable to Bleed Up Fuel Tank Vacuum code again today. It does not cause any noticeable issues in how Oliver runs.I don't see anything obviously disconnected or leaking, but I'm not sure yet what it is I should even be looking at. More learning, nice!! I have had the same error come up with the original purge valve and with a new replacement one.

And there's definitely a rattle in the exhaust on the passenger side between about 1600-2000 RPM until things warm up and also an exhaust leak somewhere on the passenger side. I figure the rattle and leak are related.

I will see if I can get to the bottom of these things after my daughter's car arrives. The last thing I need to do is get mucking about trying to fix these things and end up breaking a collector bolt leaving the car undrivable.

I will also be replacing the blown speakers to start the sound system upgrade. The lower door speakers and rear speakers all seem to be bad. The after saving a bit longer, I plan on replacing the factory amp with a DSP and aftermarket amp. It turned out great in my F150, but was definitely challenging due to my partial color blindness. Good thing I have lots of female family members that a) have great color vision and b) love teasing me when I hook stuff up wrong.

Ah yes, I have also officially been told the window tint that came on the car from Florida is much to dark to meet Wisconsin laws so I will have the adjusted accordingly.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

Rattles, for me, usually end up being a loose heat shield or a cat is coming apart.

 

[GR1MxREAPER]

Man… that was a long long read… first off glad you got the car running and some people Helped you with the heads etc. hopefully you have good luck with the car in the future. It’s scary buying cars that far away when used all The time. I bought my 2019 GT from Mississippi and I’m in MN. Turned out to be great but it is nerve wrecking..

 

[Johnny Rockit]

It is hard for me personally to take seriously folks who name a vehicle. No offense, I just cannot imagine doing it myself.

 

[Canuckican]

It is hard for me personally to take seriously folks who name a vehicle. No offense, I just cannot imagine doing it myself.

No worries. Calling this car "Oliver" after Richard Hammond's car in one Top Gear episode is much more polite than what I was calling it for the first months after buying it!

It's just something silly we've passed down from my grandfather to my father to me. The kids work together and come up with suggested names for family cars, then votes are cast. My last Mustang was named "Crisis" because one of my daughters said I got it because I was having a mid-life crisis. It was the 6th Mustang I'd owned since I was 17 and I was way past mid-life age, but the name stuck. They even bought a custom license plate frame for it.

 

[Canuckican]

I had a bit of a surprise the other day when I noticed my car was sporting a new rear license plate bracket. I knew "Oliver" was voted as the car's "official" name but "Problem Child" was a close second given how much a PITA this car has been so it was given an honorary mention. Democracy in action. I was surprised how strongly some friends of my kids felt about car names even though they've never seen the car. They only know about it by my kids sharing stories and pictures. I hope they did not share the most descriptive parts of my opinions with their friends, although I doubt it's nothing they haven't heard before.

 

[furdfan2018]

Glad she's a runner. And really sorry to hear about how you were treated by the glorious Mint Auto Sales.

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