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SN95 DSG New Edge-blown 4.6 to Coyote! Build Thread Profile - SN95 Mustangs

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Well.. I figured I should create a place to gather thoughts, ask questions (mostly the dumb kind), and receive feedback..

This car is new to me, but has spent plenty of time at local tracks throughout the last 10+ years of it's life. It is a 2003 DSG GT, it used to have the 4.6L SOHC engine with a Vortec V2 at 8 psi as well as a few other engine modifications. That setup was good for just over 400 bhp. See that term, 'was'? Well, the engine gave up toward the end of last season. At a NASA HPDE event, the engine started ticking towards the end of day 2.. by the time the car got home, it was not loving life.

Okay, the rest of the story is better explained through pictures:

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A few pictures of the car before it broke... I am realizing I actually do not have a lot of pictures of the car, that will change once it is running again!

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First indication that we have a problem... first picture is plug from cyl #5, second is comparison, third is cyl #3 plug....

At this point, I am preparing myself for the worst, considering another 2V, while the little devil on my other shoulder is whispering, "Coyote.."

After a quick boroscope check revealed severe pitting in at least two pistons, I realized the best thing to do would be to tear the engine down..

So, let's pull the engine!
 
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So, plans change.. while pulling the engine, I fully convinced myself that a Coyote was going to go in this car. So, the stockpiling began. Among the tasks that were / were not worth the time, 'tearing down the old engine' was in the 'not worth the time' list. Found someone local that offered a fair price for the broken motor, said he only wanted it for spare parts and did not care about condition of the internals. Also said he would send pictures of findings upon engine teardown.

Sure enough...

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Things are not happy. See that piston ring? Yeah, the problem is you can see it..

For the past 6 months, the wallet has been near-dry. But, progress has been happening. The pace has been relatively slow, due to my work constantly requiring the need to travel out-of-town.

Anyway, short list of plans:

-Gen 2 Coyote crate engine (no aluminator, just a stock 2015-17 motor.)
-Re-use TR3650, Spec aluminum flywheel and Stage 2 clutch
-Return-style fuel system (already installed, just need to run return line to engine bay & regulator)
-Keep rear suspension same as it was (MM torque arm & PHB), convert spring/damper to coilover springs over Koni dual-adjustables
-Torsen T2R in rear axle
-MM Front tubular subframe, tubular LCA's, coilover springs over Koni dual-adjustables
-Keep rear gear same as it was before (3.73:1)
-Relocate battery to trunk
-Remove A/C, radio, carpet, center console (Car is a toy car, will be a dedicated track car by the time it is done. NASA AI is an aspiration, but we will see.)
-Install oil cooler, remote-mount oil filter
-Re-use current brake setup (late S197 Track Pack front brakes, mix of Terminator Cobra and '13 GT500 parts in rear)
-Utilize existing interior safety parts (MM 4-point roll hoop & harness bar, Sparco EVO II driver seat, new Crow 5-point harness)


Above is the Sparknotes... I know I am missing little details here and there.
 
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So, what has happened, and where am I today?

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Removing the axles and Track-lok required this to happen... I foolishly rounded the head on the cross pin bolt. Good thing a Torsen was in the plans already..

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Axle rebuild in progress, waiting on hydraulic press to show up (Thank you, Amazon Prime Day!)

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New engine, before it was unloaded. Second picture is how the engine sits today, it has the subframe mocked up on it for now. Subframe still needs to be installed and squared up, before final installation with engine.

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Recent (ish) picture of garage, but this was before I went out of town. The difference is you can see the garage floor in this picture...


Had a minor injury this evening while working on wiring and oil filter, so that is it for now.

I will be updating this periodically with progress, as well as a dump of questions.

Appreciate any and all feedback / advice / answers! Once the car is done, the goal is to drive the wheels off it, current (very) aggressive target is to have a running & driving car by mid-September. That way, I can run a few events for shakedown & setup before this winter. Next season will be the first full season for the car.


-Matt
 

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*cough* coyote ;)

Quick on the reply! Yes, going down the Coyote rabbit hole. Hoping that going with a Gen 2 motor will spare me from at least some of the issues I have read about with tracking the Coyote.

Once the engine is in the car, I'll then be able to work through the roughly 1000 other small things to do in order to get the car running.
 
We love build threads and I believe this is the first SN95 build thread on TMO. Welcome to TMO and good luck.
 
So, buttoned up a few things over the past week as well:


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Accessory drive is almost bolted up, PBH makes a great kit for it. A/C delete pulley is all set, all that is needed is the alternator....


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Broke the groundstrap that normally goes with one of the bolts that is utilized by the alternator bracket... a bit of solder and tape, should be all good.


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Most recent update, remote-mounting the oil filter using the MMR kit. I like this particular piece, as it allows you to keep the spot for the OE oil temperature sensor.

Axle rebuild incoming, as well as squaring up the subframe.


The biggest unknown with this is definitely wiring. I am a mechanical engineer by day, not a lot of experience with electrical anything... I have the control pack harness, as well as the clutch sensors..

Would anyone be able to offer advice on how the New Edge body harness and the control pack harness are supposed to tie together? What do I need to keep from the existing body harness?

Thanks in advance!


-Matt
 
Another weekend, moderate progress..


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Accessory drive successfully installed, and fixed a ground strap that broke while attempting to punch a wider hole for a bigger bolt...

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Rear axle rebuild halted, thought I could get away with tightening the pinion nut with just an impact... I was wrong.


Next items include further stripping the interior, as well as building up front & rear coilovers so they are ready when the time comes.
 
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Don't start cutting or tossing wiring off your car just yet. If you have not got your hands on the wiring guide for the Ford Performance control pack ,do so. (for the 15-17 GT motor). There is only 5 or so wires to run. You will continue to use a lot of the current wiring in your car. The control pack basically piggybacks with the factory ecu for your car. If your going track only here, there might be a lot of other options when it comes to this. And yes, there is a shitload of little things to this swap. Will be worth it in the end!
 
Don't start cutting or tossing wiring off your car just yet. If you have not got your hands on the wiring guide for the Ford Performance control pack ,do so. (for the 15-17 GT motor). There is only 5 or so wires to run. You will continue to use a lot of the current wiring in your car. The control pack basically piggybacks with the factory ecu for your car. If your going track only here, there might be a lot of other options when it comes to this. And yes, there is a shitload of little things to this swap. Will be worth it in the end!

Thanks - was a few days away from starting to strip out wires. I have the control pack for a gen 2 Coyote, and I agree - it actually isn't as intimidating as I had initially thought (Of course, famous last words.....)

Removed more unnecessary stuff from the engine bay (cruise control, throttle cables, etc).

Laid out the harness inside the car, ran wires behind dash for clutch/accel pedal/OBD port. Looking at the size of the wire bundle to go into the car versus what can stay in the engine bay, I should be able to get away with a smaller firewall hole if I go from engine bay to cabin. Fusebox will stay in engine bay on pass. side, near new PCM.
 
Axle rebuild night was a success. 0.008" gear lash, gear pattern confirmed as good, axle seals installed without goofing up.

On to installing axleshafts, then getting rear suspension ready to reinstall rear axle.

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Axle finally buttoned up (re-checked gear pattern, decided I wasn't happy, tore apart again to replace shim, now I'm happy...)

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Cold-end exhaust installed, had to remove PHB bracket to route and realized that PHB bracket is a major pain to install.

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Rear coilovers installed in support of rear axle going into car soon. Concerned about how little contact area the top spring perches have with the springs themselves... below pictures show my concern, as well as which springs were ordered.

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Another semi-productive evening.. I found the error on rear coilovers (installed front springs on rear shocks, correct springs fit spring perches perfectly.)

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Also finished getting the axle and body ready for rear suspension.. installed MM's rear upper spherical bearing kit. This car is quickly becoming a MM catalog.

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On to fitting rear suspension, and engine install to follow!
 
With the help of the little brother, I managed to get the rear suspension installed in the car. Rear coilovers, LCA's, torque arm, and panhard bar all hooked up. Also routed some of the cold-end exhaust. There was just one spot on the body where some clearancing was required for the driver-side spring. Other than that, everything was pretty painless.

Now on to finally putting the engine together with the trans and front subframe to get it all in the car and start wiring!

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ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
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Arizona, USA
Glad you figured out the spring mix-up. I hadn't checked in here in some time but that contact area issue would be dangerous, as far as I'm concerned. Glad you sorted it and keep going!
 
Agreed - no way would i have gone with the springs looking like that, luckily it ended up just being a minor goof-up on my part. Correct parts were just in other boxes.

Some progress made this weekend. Clutch/trans/subframe/starter bolted up to engine in preparation for shoving everything into the car, but missing the crucial manifold nuts to bolt headers up.

I am also out of town for a few weeks, so the build is on hold for now.

Once I return, fasteners should be delivered in preparation for installing headers and finally getting the engine in the car!

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Finally - home and ready to continue..

Made good use of the weekend.. drilled the firewall for the pass-through hole for the new harness, completed the subassembly (trans mount, driveshaft safety loop), and was able to get the subframe squared up and installed in the car. Oh, the engine/trans/headers got installed too....

Apologies for lack of pictures, did not photograph much during the install..

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I understand that there is still a lot left to do, but this is a huge step forward as I was unsure of how the new engine/headers would clearance the car. Now that it is situated in the car, it looks like it was made for this car..

Looking forward to getting this thing up and running!
 

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