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S550 2017 Mustang GT Track Build Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
Tuned, but the only time I ever heard my car ping was with the Ford Power Pack 2 tune which I removed from my car when I installed the headers in 2018. I believe the ring land damage initiated when I was running that tune.
 
141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
That's somewhat surprising to me. The Coyote's do a pretty good job of pulling timing on their own when knock is detected. I'd love to see the minimum timing table for the PP2 tune.
It would ping pretty bad during high load conditions immediately after loading the tune but the car would eventually "learn" the fuel and driving conditions because the knock would go away after a few miles. The octane adjust option didn't really do anything.

There are numerous people who've complained about spark knock with those power pack tunes and I wish I would have just avoided it entirely.
 
141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
So I picked up my freshly machined block from the engine shop a couple weeks ago but didn't make any progress due to being out of town last weekend. So after work on Friday I've basically been at it nonstop.

No more cylinder scoring! The block was honed .010" over, the deck was skimmed, and the main journals were align honed.
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I supplied my engine builder with King XP rod and main bearings and had him check all the clearances. He balanced the crank for the new Manley H-beam rods and Wiseco pistons and then polished it. The only clearance I had the ability to double check was the crank end play which came out at 0.0045" which is less than I was expecting based on the Ford manual stating "0.0110 MAX". I measured the stock thrust bearings and they measured the same as the King bearings and Ford doesn't list a minimum so I moved on.
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My fingers were sore after doing 8 sets of circlips.
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Short block went together with no hiccups.
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I replaced the rear main seal and pressed the new seal into the cover plate deep enough that it covered all the witness marks of the original so I was surprised to see the seal extending out past the crank flange. I looked at the stock pulse ring and it had witness marks that were the exact diameter as the seal so I guess it is intentional. I'm surprised it doesn't melt during operation. At least it's replaceable with the engine in the car if I have issues.
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Got the Moroso pan bolted up and turned the engine over to work on the heads and get the new GT350R phasers and L&M intake cams timed. I used new followers and the GT350R lash adjusters.
It is hard to see in this picture but the machinist knocked out the oil galley plugs to clean the block out so I had to install new ones. The replacement from Ford was way too loose so I went to a few different auto parts stores and of course no one has the correct thing. I got a very slightly larger one from NAPA and sanded down to OD a bit. This ended up being super hard to get installed so I went back to the Ford plug and used my vise to slightly "squish" it so that the OD swelled up. I installed it with some retaining compound. It wasn't as much of a press fit as I wanted and I've read of these loosening up on here. So I sanded the NAPA one a bit more and installed it on top of the first one. This ended up working perfectly as it was a very tight fit and it was the perfect length to sit perfectly flush with the hole so these plugs can never back out. The rear oil galley plug fit fine but I used a random nut with some RTV to fill the void to prevent it from ever being able to back out.
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One thing that annoyed me was my new secondary cam chain tensioners were not the same as the original ones so I was stuck using the stock ones. This was one of the very few things that didn't get replaced. I used the FP chain sliders.
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And here is the finished long block. I installed the FP high strength VCT solenoids but they look identical to the original ones. I decided to leave the GT500 valve covers off and cover it until I get some oil as I want to drench the valve train just in case any debris or dust settled in there while I was working. Probably not needed as I kept everything clean but it will make me feel better. I still need to drill and tap a plug to insert my oil temp sensor on the the diver side of the pan where the oil level sensor would go if my car had one.
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141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
Hey, don't forget to torque your crank bolt.

JK, looks great!
The crank bolt and oil filter adapter are the only things left, I made sure I don't forget!

Today I drilled and tapped a M20-1.5 drain plug to install my oil temp sensor in the pan. Then I bolted up the GT500 valve covers and filled it with oil. It took 10 qts, no leaks but I'm not sure the oil reaches above the oil pan gasket 🤷‍♂️. Should be around 11.5 once installed and the oil filter and oil cooler and lines fill.

Tomorrow I'll clean up the wiring harness and get it installed.

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141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
Dropped the motor in on Saturday. First start was short lived as I didn't get any oil pressure indication. I put a T in the pressure sensor port and hooked up my pressure brake bleeder to pump oil in. Well as soon as the car started the line on my bleeder ruptured and sprayed oil everywhere, so obviously there was pressure but the gauge still read 0. Then it hit me; I am using a new tuner and forgot to mention the car is a PP with the dash oil pressure gauge. Got the revised tune in today and fired it up and got good pressure. No leaks or odd noises. But I guess I won't know if my first V8 build was a success until I accumulate some miles.

So now that everything seems good to go I will wrap up installing everything and take it for a test in the next couple of days. Then wash it, it's amazing how filthy it got siting in the garage for 3 months.

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141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
I've put about 300 miles on it so far, breaking it in pretty hard. Changed the oil and filter after the first 200 miles and it seems relatively clean. Dark from the ARP fastener lube but no big shavings or copper colored debris that I could detect in the oil or when I cut open the filter.

It is running strong, is a bit noisier than it was stock, but I was somewhat expecting that with the forged pistons. It gets quieter the hotter it gets so not too worried about it. I had put in a Reische 170F thermostat when the engine was apart but I feel like this is a waste for track use so I went back to stock. The car is going to be operating way over the stock 180F set point so not sure it offers any benefit besides making my motor noisier running the block 10-15F cooler around town.

Been a long time since the hood was on....
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I always though the way the evap line was routed along the driver side cylinder head to the intake manifold was dumb so I decided to take advantage of the unused passage inside the 2018 IM (no vacuum required with IMRC locked out). I plumbed the evap connection under the brake master cylinder to the back of the intake manifold and then cut the tabs of the evap solenoid to clean up everything at the front end. Less clap-trap, and blend in nicely.
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I originally left the oil cooler disconnected but hooked it up after the first oil change. It is an Earls 85000AERL 50 row cooler. I used -12AN lines and fittings since I did not want to add a lot of resistance to the system. I drilled out all of the fittings except the 90 degree elbows with a 9/16" drill bit and then used a flex-hone to smooth it out and get rid of most of the tool marks. I enlarged the ports on the Mishimoto sandwich plate by hand since in/out ports were smaller than the ID of the fittings that thread in.

Something I am unsure of on my setup. This cooler is pretty big, and the way I mounted it gave me a super clear shot to the sandwich plate but the elbows are only about 1" above the bottom of the belly pan. Too little clearance in case of going off? I cleaned all the bugs out before the bumper cover went back on.

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One thing I do not like about this is how cool the oil stays on the freeway even though the sandwich plate has a 185F thermostat. I was cruising at 80 mph in 6th which is around 2500 rpm and oil temps creeped down to 154F before I exited. I reached out to Mishimoto to see if this is expected behavior of the thermostat, not sure when I will hear back. Oil seems to be around 175-180F in stop-and-go traffic around town.

Next time I change the filter I need to remove a bit of material from the -12 fittings on the sandwich plate. The fittings just barely rub on the extra large FP FL820 filter, you can see the paint scraped off.
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My BMR front subframe brace wouldn't go back on with the Moroso pan so I got a Steeda 2-point brace to take it's place. Passenger side headers are close, about 3/8" clearance. Steeda includes shims to drop the brace for additional clearance but not needed in my case.

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I used some P-clamps to routing the wiring hardness along the new oil pan since it doesn't have mounting points like the stock pan. I used some plastic loom to route my oil and water temp sensor wires up to the sound-tube hole in the firewall. Whatever cheap junk loom I used the first time was totally melted after 200 miles so I had to redo this with flame retardant wire loom. What a PITA getting the melted stuff out since it shrunk up like shrink wrap.

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Here is my ritual after every one of the first few drives to make sure nothing was leaking. So far not a drop of anything...
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The car sounded great with the catless headers...

...but the stink was too much for me since I still drive this on the street time-to-time. Everytime I started the car the house A/C unit would pick up the fumes and circulate them around the whole house. Cats are back on as of yesterday, sound is neutered a bit but still sounds nice.

Need to get the car cleaned up and get some good photos of it. I feel like every square inch is covered in hand prints.

Used, like new Reische thermostat and BMR front subframe brace coming up for sale!
 
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141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
Kudos on the engine work with doing it yourself. I haven't had to dig into a Coyote yet besides timing equipment /oil pan, just modulars (knock on wood I hope I don't have to anytime soon). Did you have to clearance the oil pick up stand off for the pan?
I didn't have to do anything to get the clearance where it should be. I used ARP main studs and they include a sketch to shorten and counterbore the oil tube spacer so it sits on the stud correctly. I did that and the clearance worked out to be 0.270". Moroso recommends 3/16" to 1/2". No oil pressure issues so I guess it is fine.
 

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