cloud9
Gary
You won't envy me when I'm getting 8 mpg and only traveling 65-70 mph down I-90 for 8 hours :'(LS110 said:
The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts
Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.
- Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!
Northwoods Shelby Club Annual event Road America 6/28-6/30
- Thread startersteveespo
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
cloud9
Gary
Lol can't wait to feel and hear the top of 5th three times a lap 8)VTBoss302 said:
cloud9
Gary
Well if there was ever a track event that wasn't meant to be.........
It started out planning to meet steveespo for 3 days of fun at RA. Then John LS110 and KRost were going to join in with us. A month out Steve gets his entire rig wiped out 5 miles from home on the way back from VIR and Kevin's motor decides to drop a valve at MPH. Two down. John and I soldier on being really bummed those guys weren't going to make it. The 8 hour tow from Sioux Falls is totally uneventful as is John's 6 hour pull from the Twin Cities. Great dinner Thursday night with the wife, and John and his son at Lola's on the Lake in Elkhart thinking about 3 days of hammering it at RA.
I ran the first two sessions at what I felt was 7 or 8 tenths not wanting to overcook the rotors on the first day. Late in the second session I started to get a "weird" brake pedal.....not exactly a soft pedal, just weird. It seemed the pedal would travel a little farther than normal in Turn 8 a couple times so I started left foot breaking Turns 1, 5 and Canada well before the braking zone just to make sure I had pedal, but it was rock solid every time. I'm just thinking to myself this is odd because I had just flushed with fresh Super Blue, installed new rotors and pads and seasoned them and bed them for a week before the event. Not willing to take any chances with brakes at RA, I decide I'm going to bleed them just for peace of mind. I no sooner get the car up on stands and get all four wheels off when I notice what looks to be fluid in the driver front wheel well and on the bottom of the K-member. I'm like WTF???? I quickly check the overflow reservoir and it's right at the bottom of the cold fill line where I started and oil is at the top hole on the stick so I'm baffled. Upon initial inspection the fluid looked brown but it was from the dirt on the car. Upon closer inspection sure enough it's coolant. I also determine that I must have been getting coolant on the rotor causing slippage before burning it off which gave me the weird pedal feel. So I inspect all the hoses up top and nothing at all. I drop the plastic tray covering the oil filter and start seeing small amounts of fluid but can't find the source. I started it and let it run and still nothing so now I figure the only way I'm going to find it is get it on a lift and I'll likely need parts. I call up the Sheboygan Ford dealer and he says he can get me in but it's already mid-afternoon on Friday. We load it up and haul over there and once on the lift we're still stumped. I started it again and after giving it some throttle to build pressure we find it........
So now I've found a new show stopper part......the factory water to oil cooler sprung a leak. Coolant is being forced out around the two aluminum elbow fittings that appear to be press fit into the cooler "brick". They obviously didn't have one in stock and both Chicago and Minneapolis distribution were out. The nearest one was in IN and wouldn't be there until Monday. I was pretty bummed as I knew I was out at noon on the first day of what we'd planned on being a nice 5 day vacation.
Mark Wilson was a hero yet again. I texted him just to let him know I was down and he calls and says he thinks he knows where there might be one laying around and decides to just overnight it to the track to get it out the door, then starts making some calls to find someone to help install it. I called the Sheboygan dealer back and tried to get them to do it Saturday morning but since the part wasn't coming until 10 and they closed at 12 they weren't willing to take it on. I didn't get the sense that any of their techs were comfortable messing with it either. Mark tried a couple guys with race shops in Milwaukee but they were at the track and couldn't help either. He did find a dealer down in IL that could do it but Mapquest showed it was 2 and a half hours away through Milwaukee and Chicago traffic with a 28' trailer
My wife is a good sport but I figured putting her through 5 hours round trip to the shop plus a few hours waiting around would be pushing my luck so I threw in the towel. I can't say enough for the help we get from Mark and Ford Racing.
It's probably repairable at the track if Steve or Kevin are there, but at a minimum you're draining the coolant and I'm assuming dropping the oil too since you'd have to unscrew the FRPP oil cooler from the factory cooler which I assume means disconnecting the lines running to it. All in all not a fun job to do at the track on jack stands.
To add insult to injury as I'm working through this issue, John's car won't shift. The clutch pedal is staying down and he also finds his brake reservoir is way low. I'm guessing he'll find a failed slave cylinder once they get it apart tomorrow. So just like that by noon of the first day we're all out.
Oh well despite a rough weekend car-wise here are a few pics of the fun we did have
It started out planning to meet steveespo for 3 days of fun at RA. Then John LS110 and KRost were going to join in with us. A month out Steve gets his entire rig wiped out 5 miles from home on the way back from VIR and Kevin's motor decides to drop a valve at MPH. Two down. John and I soldier on being really bummed those guys weren't going to make it. The 8 hour tow from Sioux Falls is totally uneventful as is John's 6 hour pull from the Twin Cities. Great dinner Thursday night with the wife, and John and his son at Lola's on the Lake in Elkhart thinking about 3 days of hammering it at RA.
I ran the first two sessions at what I felt was 7 or 8 tenths not wanting to overcook the rotors on the first day. Late in the second session I started to get a "weird" brake pedal.....not exactly a soft pedal, just weird. It seemed the pedal would travel a little farther than normal in Turn 8 a couple times so I started left foot breaking Turns 1, 5 and Canada well before the braking zone just to make sure I had pedal, but it was rock solid every time. I'm just thinking to myself this is odd because I had just flushed with fresh Super Blue, installed new rotors and pads and seasoned them and bed them for a week before the event. Not willing to take any chances with brakes at RA, I decide I'm going to bleed them just for peace of mind. I no sooner get the car up on stands and get all four wheels off when I notice what looks to be fluid in the driver front wheel well and on the bottom of the K-member. I'm like WTF???? I quickly check the overflow reservoir and it's right at the bottom of the cold fill line where I started and oil is at the top hole on the stick so I'm baffled. Upon initial inspection the fluid looked brown but it was from the dirt on the car. Upon closer inspection sure enough it's coolant. I also determine that I must have been getting coolant on the rotor causing slippage before burning it off which gave me the weird pedal feel. So I inspect all the hoses up top and nothing at all. I drop the plastic tray covering the oil filter and start seeing small amounts of fluid but can't find the source. I started it and let it run and still nothing so now I figure the only way I'm going to find it is get it on a lift and I'll likely need parts. I call up the Sheboygan Ford dealer and he says he can get me in but it's already mid-afternoon on Friday. We load it up and haul over there and once on the lift we're still stumped. I started it again and after giving it some throttle to build pressure we find it........
So now I've found a new show stopper part......the factory water to oil cooler sprung a leak. Coolant is being forced out around the two aluminum elbow fittings that appear to be press fit into the cooler "brick". They obviously didn't have one in stock and both Chicago and Minneapolis distribution were out. The nearest one was in IN and wouldn't be there until Monday. I was pretty bummed as I knew I was out at noon on the first day of what we'd planned on being a nice 5 day vacation.
Mark Wilson was a hero yet again. I texted him just to let him know I was down and he calls and says he thinks he knows where there might be one laying around and decides to just overnight it to the track to get it out the door, then starts making some calls to find someone to help install it. I called the Sheboygan dealer back and tried to get them to do it Saturday morning but since the part wasn't coming until 10 and they closed at 12 they weren't willing to take it on. I didn't get the sense that any of their techs were comfortable messing with it either. Mark tried a couple guys with race shops in Milwaukee but they were at the track and couldn't help either. He did find a dealer down in IL that could do it but Mapquest showed it was 2 and a half hours away through Milwaukee and Chicago traffic with a 28' trailer
My wife is a good sport but I figured putting her through 5 hours round trip to the shop plus a few hours waiting around would be pushing my luck so I threw in the towel. I can't say enough for the help we get from Mark and Ford Racing.It's probably repairable at the track if Steve or Kevin are there, but at a minimum you're draining the coolant and I'm assuming dropping the oil too since you'd have to unscrew the FRPP oil cooler from the factory cooler which I assume means disconnecting the lines running to it. All in all not a fun job to do at the track on jack stands.
To add insult to injury as I'm working through this issue, John's car won't shift. The clutch pedal is staying down and he also finds his brake reservoir is way low. I'm guessing he'll find a failed slave cylinder once they get it apart tomorrow. So just like that by noon of the first day we're all out.
Oh well despite a rough weekend car-wise here are a few pics of the fun we did have
Sorry to hear that! Been there....about 3 years ago we were at this event. Had my parents and brother and his wife there and staying at the Ostoff for a nice mini vacation and siezed my motor heading into turn 5 during the 2nd session of day 1! Man was I disappointed.
Saw you guys there this weekend, but never got around to coming over and chatting. I was not running my Boss, but a white '97 Cobra with #100 on the side. I have been attending the NWSC events for several years now and really enjoy it. They always put on a nice event. Next time I will stop by and say hi. Take care and good luck at your next event!
Saw you guys there this weekend, but never got around to coming over and chatting. I was not running my Boss, but a white '97 Cobra with #100 on the side. I have been attending the NWSC events for several years now and really enjoy it. They always put on a nice event. Next time I will stop by and say hi. Take care and good luck at your next event!
cloud9
Gary
Cool I'm pretty sure I remember seeing your car. Would have been nice to meet up but the way things were going Friday I was pretty busy! Greg Miller called me late Saturday and asked if we wanted to connect with their group for dinner and I told him we were almost home already. I said I hope your car's running good and he says "Nope it broke again. Had a drop in oil pressure but couldn't locate it without getting it up on a lift so he was done. He said of the roughly 200 cars about half were down with mechanicals! That track is so much fun but tough on the cars.9Cobra7 said:
Anyway you know the feeling of heading home after tw sessions on the first day of a 3 day event. I did attend another one of their events at Autobahn 3 years ago with my GT500 and had a great time. They do put on great events. I'm sure I'll be back there with them again at some point.
That really stink. I wish I would have been there, we would have fixed your right up. I had a lot of friends there and I'm sure they would have pitched in too.
cloud9
Gary
Appreciate that Dean. I should have known better than to go without my mechanic palsDean#4AI said:
ls110
John
Gary - Thanks for posting all those great pics and thanks to Theresa for taking them. She is very good at that. Below are a couple that I took and I need to learn a thing or two from Theresa. Despite our weekend ending way too quick, I am still glad we went and were able to run a couple sessions on that fabulous track. My clutch repairs will be completed this week and then back to BIR on the 15th and then again on the 28th to chase Porsches.
cloud9
Gary
I hear ya certainly could've been worse so I'm blessed that it was just a broken part. It's been a tough season on BMO members it seems. I got the car back yesterday and had them do the crankshaft position sensor TSB while they had it. I was getting a "check charging system" error and the red battery light during the two sessions I did get to run. My Aeroforce gauge was showing 14.5v on the battery so I figured it was just hot wiring again. Well apparently under revs it was dropping charge and they found the alternator was toast so had to replace it.......again. I'm betting on better luck next trip!VTBoss302 said:
Looking good out there, you guys!
FWIW, my factory oil cooler had a similar failure about 6 months (?) ago. It was replaced under warranty at the time.
I'm not sure if those fittings have a finite life span and will have to be replaced multiple times, or if Ford just had a run of parts that were bad.
And it looks like this is a little bit late, but it just arrived in my inbox: http://www.windingroad.com/articles/blogs/track-guide-road-america/
FWIW, my factory oil cooler had a similar failure about 6 months (?) ago. It was replaced under warranty at the time.
I'm not sure if those fittings have a finite life span and will have to be replaced multiple times, or if Ford just had a run of parts that were bad.
And it looks like this is a little bit late, but it just arrived in my inbox: http://www.windingroad.com/articles/blogs/track-guide-road-america/
cloud9
Gary
That's interesting. I wonder how many have failed. When was yours built? Mine was Feb '11.ArizonaGT said:
cloud9 said:
June '11.
Not sure if this may be the cause of the cooler failures, but I just dropped out my Bumper bar to swap for the steeda and noticed that there is very little clearance (maybe 4mm) to the swaybar from the stock cooler hose. In fact the aluminum flange on the RH cooler hose flange is worn from contact with the swaybar (presumably as the engine moves on the mounts). The clearance is further reduced with the lightweight Steeda bumper bar -- so it's staying off for the time being.....
cloud9
Gary
Interesting. Two events prior to RA I had a front sway bar mount let go and the bar pushed up into one of those cooling hoses forcing it into the A/C belt and cutting through the hose. It's possible that may have stressed that fitting at the same time where it was weakened. I will have to look at that closer after BIR this weekend.Black Boss said:
- Thread starter
- #57
Good diagnosis, I will check this this afternoon.
Steve
Steve
Was the swaybar mount failure on a lightweight radiator support?. I'm interested as I'm looking to install the Steeda if I can increase clearance to the hoses. I have compared it to stock and the sway bar mounts are 3mm higher, so I'm contemplating sandwich plates at the frame mount.cloud9 said:
cloud9
Gary
Stock radiator support. The first bracket that failed was an FRPP bracket (Strap). Then used a billet Steeda bracket that is thicker and the bolt head "walked" out of the hole. Mow the bolts are "studs" as tthey're welded in place.Black Boss said:
- Thread starter
- #60
I have the Steeda radiator mount and no issue with the stock sway bar bushing bracket or the mount. I did add an extra larger diameter washer on each nut and cap screw to prevent pull through like Gary had.
So far so good.
Steve
So far so good.
Steve
TMO Supporting Vendors
