Off to a rough start with 2016 GT

[Canuckican]

I'm starting to try to track down and fix the rattle I hear when the car is cold and I'm driving at between 1500 and 2000 RPMs. Sounds like my old beater did when a rusted out catalytic converter shield was lying against the muffler and vibrating away. That was an easy fix.

I'm not seeing any what I would call hard metallic exhaust shields whacking against anything so that's that, for now at least. Nor do I see anything metallic in an interference position with another metallic object.

Time to break out the trusty rubber mallet. Nothing obviously loose on the header collector to mid-pipe or mid-pipe to resonator/catback exhaust sections.

However, when I hit the passenger side connection between the header collector and mid-pipe or mid-pipe to resonator, I hear a vibration further forward. Interesting. I kept tapping this area and reaching forward until I got to where the engine and trans join. I do believe the source of the noise is the metal plate that goes between the transmission and engine. If I push this plate as hard as I can toward the transmission while I tap the exhaust with the rubber mallet, the noise lessens and nearly disappears if I press it hard enough. And I mean a good, hard push, not a mamby-pampy pinky push. There are no loose or missing fasteners to be seen on this plate. I've read on this site that Ford stopped using this plate between the engine and transmission at some point but I don't know if that's true. But the folks with this as the source of the issue had this happen on a fully warmed-up driveline and RPMs > 4K, not my scenario at all. I also read that someone is using Dynamat in an attempt to quell the rattle so I may give that a go. I do have a tig welder... Nah, never mind.

This may not even be the rattling noise I am hearing when the engine/trans/exhaust is cold and I'm between 1500 and 2000 RPMs. This particular vehicle must have missed school the day they did the NVH lessons.

But at least the passenger window now seems to have stopped opening and closing on its own. So I have that going for me, which is nice!

Here's a link to a video I shot trying to do three things at once. At least you can hear the rattle and the hammer was rubber so that greatly reduced the danger to myself and parts of me that still have great use to me.

The melodious sound of the transmission plate rattling when stimulated by a rubber mallet.

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[Johnny Rockit]

Take the cover out and see if it goes away. If it does, bend it a tad and that should fix it. Or maybe jam a rubber ball between the pan and the cover and try again. Just don't leave the ball in there when done.

 

[Canuckican]

Take the cover out and see if it goes away. If it does, bend it a tad and that should fix it. Or maybe jam a rubber ball between the pan and the cover and try again. Just don't leave the ball in there when done.

It didn't look like just this bottom piece would come off but I also did not look at it very closely. I'm going to have it back on the jack-stands later this week when I take the brakes apart to give them a good cleaning and lubing so I'll make sure to see if that bottom part of the plate between the engine and transmission comes off. It sure does vibrate like a deranged tuning fork when I strike the exhaust with the rubber mallet.

I thought about sticking a bunch of weighted tape I used on golf clubs heads to the plate and see if that changes its tendency to vibrate. It will probably just end up having me duck-hook or push-slice my car into the woods like the tape does on my golf club heads.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

It is a harmonic vibration. Don't beat the exhaust with the mallet, that us how the core material in the exhaust cracks. The plate is just an inspection cover and it is how we used to access the converter nuts on the old Fords. I would probably try a popsicle stick in between the plate and bell housing horizontal to the ground.
Whenever a transmission was put back in the car the cover always got a small tweeking for this reason. I also looked at the heatshields as well as any bolt that was in a flange.

 

[Canuckican]

Okay, so today was the day to remove the wheels and check out the brakes, lube the pins, etc.

The rears were no problem. The tires will need replacing soon but the lug nuts had last been tightened with a torque wrench, no removal issues whatsoever.

However, the fronts... The front tires had been replaced just before I bought this car from "Mint" Auto Sales in Orlando, Florida. They're some off-brand type that are not even the same size as the rears. The new front tires are 255/45/18 and the old rear tires are 235/50/18. Later this year I will be replacing all four with a brand name in the same size, assuming I have not sold this one and moved on to an older one like a 67/68. I've always wanted a 69-70 fastback like the 1969 390 GT my brother had back in the day but I seem to be lacking funds to do that. I guarantee I will be roasting the rears to the cords when it's time for this replacement, just like I did with my yellow 2016 GT Premium.

Anyway, the sadistic, lazy asshole that installed the front tires in Florida obviously tightened the lug nuts with a 500 PSI commercial impact gun. Of the 10 lug nuts on the front, I had to take the impact socket to the vice on the workbench with the socket still in it to pound the lug nut out of the socket. It was all my 180 PSI compressor / Dewalt impact gun could do to budge these. One of the lug nuts had to be cut and ground and drilled out of the impact socket, it was torqued in there so tight during removal. None of them would budge a millimeter using a 4' cheater bar and my 240 pound frustrated mass. The 10th socket is still on the front right wheel. It came pre-stripped so the same impact socket I used on the other 19 lug nuts just spun around on this one. In all my many years working on cars, motorcycles, ATVs, dune buggies, etc, this was a first for me. Then again, I never, ever use an impact gun to tighten anything. I may use a cordless drill and 3/8" socket to run something up snug, but then finish the job with a good torque wrench.

I am definitely replacing all 20 lug nuts when I reinstall the wheels.

But first I have to figure out how to get this remaining lug nut off. Like the saying goes, every 15 minute car project is one issue away from being a 15 hour ordeal.

You know, I'm really trying to grow to like this car, but it just keeps pissing on my foot and making me want to take some of my larger caliber tools to it.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

You know those are locking lugs, right? Gorilla by the looks.

 

[Canuckican]

You know those are locking lugs, right? Gorilla by the looks.

Yes, I was using the spline-type socket that came with the car. The back ones were fine, not overtightened. The fronts that had been installed using am impact were a different story.

 

[Canuckican]

You know those are locking lugs, right? Gorilla by the looks.

Definitely looks like the same lug nuts. The socket is a bit different but is still longer inside with the splines and hollow through the center at the top.

I am going to walk away from this for the time being and try it again when I'm not so tempted to do something foolish out of frustration.

 

[Canuckican]

The lug nut situation has been resolved and the brakes checked out. Everything looks good on the brakes, other than it has slotted/driller PowerStop rotors and pads on the rear and what look to be OEM rotors and pads on the front. Anyway, other than a slight squeal coming from the fronts in the morning, it's all working fine so I will just leave all of that alone.

This moved me on to my next item on the list, which is to sort out where the small exhaust leak is coming from. It sounds passenger side somewhere between the header collector to catted mid-pipe section or catted mid-pipe to resonator section. Over the past month or so I have been hitting all the nuts and bolts holding this part of the exhaust together with rust penetrant. Much to my delight, the nuts on the studs connecting the header collector with the catted mid-pipe turned quite easily but it was only 1/8 of a turn at most before I ran out of room to maneuver. All of my sockets were too fat to fit on the nut (see picture below) and I could not get the box-end of any wrench to fit. The open end is what I used to loosen it the 1/8 turn but then I could not get purchase on it after that. Not enough nut was being grabbed by the wrench. I'm either missing some obvious technique to use when tightening these flange nuts or I need a much skinnier socket or different style of wrench. But, all was not lost. After all, I was concerned that I would not be able to budge these nuts but alas I can.

I'm going to see what's out there for skinny sockets or another way to loosen/tighten these header collector to mid-pipe nuts.

 

[Canuckican]

When this car was delivered to me, it only came with one key fob. Despite assurances from "Mint" Auto Sales in Orlando, Florida that they would be sending me a second, programmed key fob right away, this never happened. After about three months of asking, I gave up. I bought an new, un-programmed one myself and after not getting around to it for the past few months, I figured it's time to hit up one of the local Ford dealerships to get it programmed. Before going to the dealership, I popped the back off the new key fob I bought to make sure the manual key was in it and it was. So far, so good. Then for a reason I don't know, I decided to check the one key fob I did get when I bought the car to make sure the manual key is in it. The good news is it was there. The bad news is, it's a blank. Never been cut. So, I have one working key fob, one key fob that needs to be programmed, and zero manual keys to use if/when I can't get in the car using the key fob. I do, however, have many hammers of different masses that I can use in an emergency.

Hopefully if I bring the Mustang's title with me when I get the new key fob programmed they will be able to cut both manual keys based on the VIN. If not, not sure what to do.

Life's an adventure but I am slowly overcoming Oliver's surprises with my own stubbornness.

 

[Canuckican]

The decklid panel is really beat up so I ordered a MP Concepts replacement from AmericanMuscle.com. Not sure yet if I will be putting the GT letters back on the new one, leave it blank or do something else. While I was at it, I also ordered the RTR rear diffuser from AM too. I had one on my yellow 2016 Mustang GT and liked it so what the hell.

And I'm now into week 2 of the passenger side window completely behaving itself after spraying the connections with the special corrosion removal juice.

The car is getting very close to what it should have been when it first rolled off the trailer last October. But, onward and upward... I only regret not being able to find another screaming yellow GT just like my last two (2004 and 2016) but they're just not that common. Race Red will have to do.

 

[Canuckican]

Well, the MP Concepts decklid panel I ordered from American Muscle arrived today. Talk about full service, it arrives effed up to save me the trouble. This thing is worse than the 8 year old one I have on there now. I don't know what they expect to happen during shipping when it's not even protected by a single layer of bubble wrap.

To be fair, this is the first time I've had a problem with anything I've bought from them. The RTR diffuser arrived today too and at first glance it looks okay.

 

[Canuckican]

Seeing how this panel does not come with the mounting clips, the gouges in the alignment tabs look to be made by someone installing the clips, which leads me to think that I received one that someone else returned. I talked to American Muscle and am sending them these photos so hopefully I can get a replacement.

 

[Canuckican]

When this car was delivered to me, it only came with one key fob. Despite assurances from "Mint" Auto Sales in Orlando, Florida that they would be sending me a second, programmed key fob right away, this never happened. After about three months of asking, I gave up. I bought an new, un-programmed one myself and after not getting around to it for the past few months, I figured it's time to hit up one of the local Ford dealerships to get it programmed. Before going to the dealership, I popped the back off the new key fob I bought to make sure the manual key was in it and it was. So far, so good. Then for a reason I don't know, I decided to check the one key fob I did get when I bought the car to make sure the manual key is in it. The good news is it was there. The bad news is, it's a blank. Never been cut. So, I have one working key fob, one key fob that needs to be programmed, and zero manual keys to use if/when I can't get in the car using the key fob. I do, however, have many hammers of different masses that I can use in an emergency.

Hopefully if I bring the Mustang's title with me when I get the new key fob programmed they will be able to cut both manual keys based on the VIN. If not, not sure what to do.

Life's an adventure but I am slowly overcoming Oliver's surprises with my own stubbornness.

I have an appointment this Friday morning to get the second key fob programmed and both keys cut at the Ford dealership that sold me my 2004 Screaming Yellow GT premium back in 2004. I sure did like that car. Have lots of good memories of adventures and shenanigans in the car.

One day at the edge of a Walmart parking lot, an older man walked quite some distance out of his way just to tell me with some disdain that "That's an awfully bright yellow car for a fella to be driving." I just replied "Yeah it is, thanks, I like it too." which just served to irritate him even more. Ah, good times.

 

[Canuckican]

The RTR diffuser from American Muscle went on without too much trouble today.

And I shipped back the scratched new decklid panel I got as part of the same order from American Muscle. The replacement is supposed to ship out today. I hope they at least look at this one before they stick it in the box, and I really hope they wrap it in bubble wrap instead of just sticking a tube of paper below and on top of the panel. It does nothing to prevent the panel from moving around inside the box and does nothing to prevent scratches during shipping. The RTR diffuser was well wrapped in bubble wrap and it has a much more durable surface than the decklid panel yet the decklid panel was not properly protected. We'll see. If this one shows up packed like the first one and scratched up like it too, that'll be it for me continuing with them at least for anything body-related or in the least bit delicate.

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