Archive for May, 2011

Spring Cleaning

Posted May 19, 2011 By jack

This past weekend Dad, Charlie, and I were able to put in some time at TLG. Dad moved the trailer to his very helpful friend Rob’s house make room in the garage for us to work on our cars. I had been been storing a significant amount of parts on it before it was sold, and these were all lying around after the trailer was moved. It began to get annoying walking over my seats, rear bench, interior panels, and quarter caps, so we moved them up on a high shelf (with the help of our Little Giant ladder) to get them out of the way. Finally, I drained the rest of the ATF from the transmission, which I’ll be cleaning and selling.

With a little more space to work, I began cleaning out all accessories in the engine compartment. Removing the battery tray revealed a small, but significant, spot of corrosion (MIG welder, here I come!). I also removed the rubber hood-bumpers, the windshield washer fluid container, the starter relay, and the regulator assembly.

Next time I should be able to finish cleaning out the engine compartment and begin with the windshield and interior.

P.S. Charlie, when will you start posting?!

IT CAME FROM BELOW

Posted May 13, 2011 By jack

Finally, underside work!

Like rebuilding the engine, this is so much more interesting than normal trim and body work. Seeing the mechanical processes that operate an automobile is a privilege when compared to the usual drudgery of removing taillights or bumpers or quarter-windows. Also, I get a basic understanding of what makes the car tick.

Now that I’m done with my AP European History course and lacrosse season, I’ve been able to work at the garage weeknights with my dad. We put the Mustang up on the lift for better access to the underside, and started by taking out the driveshaft.

The driveshaft connects the transmission to the rear end, and is attached on both sides with a universal joint. In the front, it connects to a cylinder which slides right into the back of the tranny. In the rear, a slip yoke latches onto the universal joint with two retainers. I removed these and pulled the front end out of the transmission, with some help from Dad. We let the excess ATF spill into a container, then I used a garbage bag and some masking tape to seal off the end of the transmission.

After detaching the speedometer and a couple of linkage rods, we removed the C4 auto from the car last night. First, I put a panel across the lift runners to hold up jacks for supporting the rear of the tranny. (When I pulled the engine last year, we used old coathangers to hang the front from a 2×4 we rested on top of the engine compartment.) Then, I took out the final support holding the transmission and lowered the lift to the ground. Using two hydraulic floor jacks, Dad and I lifted the tranny off the jack stands and let it rest on the ground.

Note the makeshift ATF plug on the end

Big day today

Posted May 12, 2011 By admin

Major milestone achieved tonight: Jack dropped the automatic tranny and will remove the rear end tomorrow.  Details to follow…