Epiphany
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The 2020 GT500 was delayed so much it pushed dealer deliveries into the winter months. I had planned on driving the car home (~1,000 miles) if the roads were clear and pretty much salt free. I got lucky there, able to drive a car like this in January which normally isn't possible where I come from. What drove me nuts was the "Hold" though where it sat outside for a month. On my mind was corrosion/oxidation in areas that wouldn't be simple to address. And this isn't something that should be on your mind on an 80k+ car that you haven't even taken delivery of yet.
I grew up working on the underside of rusty cars and always hated it. Shit in your eyes (safety glasses or not), rotted exhaust systems, and bolts that snap way too easy as they've been eaten up by rust. I really like the idea of starting off with something clean. So the second I saw the engine on my car I cringed at the oxidation I saw already at work on various aluminum engine and accessory castings. Bare steel items underneath already showed signs of rust as well. Well, thanks to the pinched hose issue at the rear of the engine that needs to be addressed, I'm starting to clean up Mother Nature's work.
This is what I saw pretty much everywhere in the engine compartment on any bare aluminum...
It's also why I have waited to do the oil separator that came with the car so I could clean things up first. My apologies to anyone that thinks this is being too anal. Sorry but I like my gear clean. Easier to service and to identify an issue such as a leak, etc. If you let it go too long things get nasty, fast. I spent last winter building an engine for a Fox body I'm doing and I had hoped my GT500 engine would be near as clean. Lol, that was sure wishful thinking. Nothing like this...
So while I had the strut tower brace off for the pinched hose I started removing other topside components to be able to access said oxidized aluminum.
So I removed the two fasteners holding the coolant reservoir to the fan shroud, set it aside and tested a couple of different cleaning/polishing compounds on the thermostat housing.
Yes...
I used these two. They worked equally as good.
The viscous fluid filled, aluminum bodied harmonic dampers on these cars are works of art. No way I'm having mine look like shit in short order and here it is with the onset of cancer.
Five minutes later...
I then removed the entire intake tract to access the alternator case, driver side valve cover, etc.
Gonna pick at this as I can, eventually pulling the undertray at the front and rear as well. I suppose an anti-corrosion coating on these bare parts would have been too much to ask for.
I grew up working on the underside of rusty cars and always hated it. Shit in your eyes (safety glasses or not), rotted exhaust systems, and bolts that snap way too easy as they've been eaten up by rust. I really like the idea of starting off with something clean. So the second I saw the engine on my car I cringed at the oxidation I saw already at work on various aluminum engine and accessory castings. Bare steel items underneath already showed signs of rust as well. Well, thanks to the pinched hose issue at the rear of the engine that needs to be addressed, I'm starting to clean up Mother Nature's work.
This is what I saw pretty much everywhere in the engine compartment on any bare aluminum...
It's also why I have waited to do the oil separator that came with the car so I could clean things up first. My apologies to anyone that thinks this is being too anal. Sorry but I like my gear clean. Easier to service and to identify an issue such as a leak, etc. If you let it go too long things get nasty, fast. I spent last winter building an engine for a Fox body I'm doing and I had hoped my GT500 engine would be near as clean. Lol, that was sure wishful thinking. Nothing like this...
So while I had the strut tower brace off for the pinched hose I started removing other topside components to be able to access said oxidized aluminum.
So I removed the two fasteners holding the coolant reservoir to the fan shroud, set it aside and tested a couple of different cleaning/polishing compounds on the thermostat housing.
Yes...
I used these two. They worked equally as good.
The viscous fluid filled, aluminum bodied harmonic dampers on these cars are works of art. No way I'm having mine look like shit in short order and here it is with the onset of cancer.
Five minutes later...
I then removed the entire intake tract to access the alternator case, driver side valve cover, etc.
Gonna pick at this as I can, eventually pulling the undertray at the front and rear as well. I suppose an anti-corrosion coating on these bare parts would have been too much to ask for.
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