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S197 Eric's Candy Red S197 Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

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117
275
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Auckland, New Zealand
I don't remember if the tow hook install is documented in the build thread or not. Some forum members are really good at documenting their builds, I am not one of them. I hit the easy button on this one. I bought the kit from from Cool Tech LLC. They used to make tow hooks, oil cooler kits and some safety items primarily for the Boss 302. They are still in business, but they discontinued their line of products for the S197
Thanks Eric, appreciate the info.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
I didn't make it to NCM in March due to some health issues with my aging German Shepherd. She is recovering and I am starting to look at getting the car in track shape. Next phase is swapping the Trac Loc and 3.55 gears for a Detroit TrueTrac and 4.10 gears to correct the gearing for the T56 Magnum XL. I think I have accumulated all of the parts at this point:


Ford Performance 4.10 ring and pinion
Motive master rebuild kit with Timken bearings
An extra Timken inner pinion bearing to wallow out for set up
Ford Performance axle bearings and seals
New ARP wheel studs to replace the 5-6 year old ones
Detroit TrueTrac carrier

Is there anything that I am forgetting?
 
1,156
2,111
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal
I didn't make it to NCM in March due to some health issues with my aging German Shepherd. She is recovering and I am starting to look at getting the car in track shape. Next phase is swapping the Trac Loc and 3.55 gears for a Detroit TrueTrac and 4.10 gears to correct the gearing for the T56 Magnum XL. I think I have accumulated all of the parts at this point:


Ford Performance 4.10 ring and pinion
Motive master rebuild kit with Timken bearings
An extra Timken inner pinion bearing to wallow out for set up
Ford Performance axle bearings and seals
New ARP wheel studs to replace the 5-6 year old ones
Detroit TrueTrac carrier

Is there anything that I am forgetting?
May want to grab an extra crush sleeve & pinion nut - just in case you go past the sweet spot on the 1st attempt. It took me 2 extra, but slow learner 🤣
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
The ring and pinion and the master rebuild kit each have a pinion nut and crush sleeve. I also bought a Yukon crush sleeve eliminator (solid pinion bushing). I am going to try the solid bushing first. If I have trouble setting the preload with it I will use the crush sleeve.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Got started today in between other things. Driveshaft is unbolted, diff is drained and the cover is off. Tomorrow I will finish tearing it down.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Wheels, speed sensors, and brakes are off. The axles are out. I ran a straight edge down the bearing surface and don't see any wear, so I plan on reusing the stock axles. One interesting thing, the outside pad on the passenger side looks to have disintegrated. The rotor isn't scarred up and it wasn't making any noise. This is the side that was hit back in October. I plan on checking the back lash and patterning the stock gear set for reference before I I finish disassembly. I am out of time today, have some things to do with my wife this afternoon.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Axle seals and bearings are out. Factory gear set backlash measures right in the middle of the spec at 10/1000's. That's it for tonight. Got home kind of late.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Made some more progress today, but not as much as I would have liked. I removed the carrier, pinion and pinion bearing races. The pinion fought me the whole way so did the races. The outer pinion was stuck on the pinion shaft. There was some rust over the years and it was really stuck. I gave up on the dead blow hammer after about fifteen minutes. I ended up threading the pinion nut back on and beating it out with a 3lb sledge. I didn't think it was going to come out. I flattened out the end of the pinion nut so bad that I can't use it for set up. At least I have a spare one to use.

I also cleaned the case, made a set up bearing, and made a pinion flange holder out of some 2 1/2 by 1/4 flat stock to help with set up and reassembly.

I had trouble driving in the new outer pinion bearing race. It kept wanting to go crooked on me. The inner bearing race was worse. It kept going crooked as well. I gave up with it about 1/2 way in. I plan on pulling the pan hard brace tomorrow to see if I can get a better swing at it. Does anyone have a trick for seating the new bearing races?
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
The trick for getting the bearing races in for me was to place in freezer, tap around the edge with a brass punch to get started straight and run a bolt through two bearing/race drivers and pull in with a 1/2" bolt and an impact wrench. Trying to drive them in with the bearing/race driver they wanted to go crooked on me. I guess if I had the housing out of the car I could get a straighter swing. Ring gear and bearings are on the carrier and have the shims figured out to get what looks like a good pattern to me. I'm about ready to pull out the set up bearings and final assemble. Just one more inconvenience. The inch/lb dial torque wrench I borrowed for the job is a 175 in/lb model and I can't get consistent measurements in the range needed. I ordered a new 50 in/lb model from Precision Instruments so I can set pinion bearing preload and final assemble it.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Diff is back together. Here is a quick list of things I learned along the way
  1. Yukon solid pinion spacer doesn't come with the right assortment of shims to get the pinion bearing preload within spec. I guess I could have tried filing down half of the clamshell spacer to get it right, but decided against it. If .002 increments won't hit it I don't feel confident trying to file less than that myself.
  2. Buy extra carrier shims. The Motive rebuild kit didn't have enough of the sizes to get it right.
  3. Measure the shims with a micrometer, not a caliper. The shims appear to be stamped and are not perfectly flat. A micrometer lets you measure the shims in the center avoiding the burred edges. Also, measure shims individually and add up the total. Do not stack them up and measure. Due to the lack of flatness previously mentioned you will not get accurate readings.
  4. Make sure you insert the front pinion bearing and oil slinger before installing the pinion seal. I realized the slinger was missing after installing the seal and had to run to the auto parts store for another one.
  5. When tightening the pinion nut to set pinion bearing preload go in very small increments once the slack is taken up. About a 1/16th of a turn at a time. Anymore and you will go from almost no preload to too much. Have extra crush sleeves and pinion nuts to avoid another trip to the auto parts store. FYI many auto parts stores don't stock these items, so have fun trying to find them quickly.
  6. The crush sleeve takes a lot of force to crush. You really need some kind of pinion flange holder. A pry bar between two bolts doesn't work well for final assembly.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Here is the crude pinion flange holder I made during the gear swap.

IMG_1020.jpg
It is about 2 ft long to get plenty of leverage for crush sleeve.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Got the brakes, wheels, exhaust, pan hard bar, etc. back on the car. New ARP studs and EBC rotors. I also installed the new RXP pads that I have been wanting to get on the car.

IMG_1016.jpg

With the car back together I ran it for a few minutes on jack stands in each direction. No gear whine up to 2,000 rpms in first or reverse. I will recheck everything in the morning and take it for a ride to start breaking in the True Trac and 4.10 ring and pinion.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Took the car out a few times today running various errands. Put about 85 miles on it. No gear whine or unusual noises so far. The speedometer is off about 10 mph. I will continue to do some around town driving to break in the gears then get it in for an alignment and speedo correction.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Drove it some more this weekend. I'm up to a little over 220 miles now. So far everything is good. I'll try and get it in next week tp correct the speedometer.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
I have about 400 miles on the Truetrack and the new ring and pinion. Everything is good so far, so it is time to start getting it ready for the track again. Today was check the front suspension and grease everything. One of the rubber boots on the the Howe ball joints was torn, so I put in the spare ball joints and new boots that I had in the garage. I will clean and inspect the old ones, replace any worn parts and reassemble so I always have a spare set. I will call my tuner tomorrow to see when he can adjust the tune for the new gear ratio to correct the speedometer and check the alignment. Not sure if I am going to get it on track somewhere before Gingerman in August.
 
1,105
1,102
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Alignment and tune correction done last Friday and oil change Saturday. I made a l ate decision to go to NCM Motorsports Park this weekend with 10/10ths Motorsports. Cobra seats are back in, EBC RPX pads on the front (RPX rears went in a few weeks ago when I did the ring and pinion swap since one of the GLoc R12's disintegrated). Track wheels are out of the storage bags and aired up ready to go back on. I still need to flush the brake fluid tomorrow after work and load the truck and trailer Thursday. Hopefully no issues and I will be ready for Gingerman in 3 weeks.
 
Alignment and tune correction done last Friday and oil change Saturday. I made a l ate decision to go to NCM Motorsports Park this weekend with 10/10ths Motorsports. Cobra seats are back in, EBC RPX pads on the front (RPX rears went in a few weeks ago when I did the ring and pinion swap since one of the GLoc R12's disintegrated). Track wheels are out of the storage bags and aired up ready to go back on. I still need to flush the brake fluid tomorrow after work and load the truck and trailer Thursday. Hopefully no issues and I will be ready for Gingerman in 3 weeks.
Cool see you at Gingerman
 
98
143
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Olsburg, KS
Alignment and tune correction done last Friday and oil change Saturday. I made a l ate decision to go to NCM Motorsports Park this weekend with 10/10ths Motorsports. Cobra seats are back in, EBC RPX pads on the front (RPX rears went in a few weeks ago when I did the ring and pinion swap since one of the GLoc R12's disintegrated). Track wheels are out of the storage bags and aired up ready to go back on. I still need to flush the brake fluid tomorrow after work and load the truck and trailer Thursday. Hopefully no issues and I will be ready for Gingerman in 3 weeks.
Good to hear you'll be at Gingerman. I'm signed up, too. I think my car will be pretty much identical to what it was last year with the exception of new cats and an updated Roush tune.
 

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