S197 s197hpde3v Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

[GT4Pop]

Got the finned Ford Racing rear-end cover installed and relocated breather from the axle tube to the top of the cover. Filled it Amsoil 75w-140 severe duty gear oil. The panhard bar clears with room to spare. Reinstalled rear rotors and brackets and changed rear pads to Hawk DTC30 to complement the DTC60 on the front.

 

[blacksheep-1]

nice, I just bought one myself along with a set of 3.73s
what sway bar is that?

 

[GT4Pop]

nice, I just bought one myself along with a set of 3.73s
what sway bar is that?

Whiteline, it was in a kit with f&r swaybars & springs. Came with the endlinks too.

 

[GT4Pop]

Removed the heavy factory leather-ish power driver's seat and installed a Sparco mounting base and OMP seat brackets to mount an OMP GTE-R racing seat. I also mounted a 2.5 lb fire extinguisher under the front edge of the seat for easy access if I need it.

 

[GT4Pop]

Removed the stock exhaust manifolds and h-pipe. Went fairly well except for one bottom nut/stud on passenger side above engine mounting bracket. Eventually it yielded and I went on to install some Pypes stainless 3/4 length long tube headers. Steering shaft had to be detached from rack u-joint and engine raised to slide the driver's side in. I also installed a pair of Steeda urethane adjustable engine mounts while access was good. The headers fit well even with the engine sitting 1/2" lower. Thankfully it came with new bolts. Mocked up the catted h-pipe too but still need to tighten all that.

 

[JDee]

You're going to want to double down on heat shielding around those Steeda mounts. I had them and with stock exhaust manifolds they deformed badly, even the black ones. And that was with foil heat shielding. I would think with headers there's going to be even more heat?
I went with BMR mounts with foil heat shields and have had no problems since. I also tried solid aluminum mount inserts and the NVH was nuclear grade, definitely not streetable.

 

[GT4Pop]

You're going to want to double down on heat shielding around those Steeda mounts. I had them and with stock exhaust manifolds they deformed badly, even the black ones. And that was with foil heat shielding. I would think with headers there's going to be even more heat?
I went with BMR mounts with foil heat shields and have had no problems since. I also tried solid aluminum mount inserts and the NVH was nuclear grade, definitely not streetable.

I would prefer to not go solid mounts if I can avoid it. I put the rubber bootie heat shield things back on for what they're worth. I'll run it at the next event like this and fab up shields after that.

 

[GT4Pop]

Finished the header installation with the supplied catted h-pipe. Everything seems to fit well. It's louder than stock but not as loud as the 2-chamber Flowmasters were. It started raining hard and although I was dry, water began to flow in under the side curtains and create a shallow lake under the car. That seemed like a good time to retire for the evening.

 

[GT4Pop]

I used a little bit of Genesis brake temperature paint on all four rotors. My wife helped me bleed the brakes, no issues, just maintenance. I went back over the exhaust bolts to check for loose ones. Then I plumbed a moroso oil separator between the valve cover and intake manifold. Tomorrow I'll put the tires back on and go for a test drive.

 

[GT4Pop]

Finally got to test drive the car to and from the body shop. The long tube headers seems to have uncorked some power and sound nice. No droning either. At my friend's body shop he removed the front and rear bumper covers to install the Ford Racing tow loop brackets. We trimmed the front bumper pinch weld off, welded on the bracket and slotted the foam bumper and cover for the front bracket. It comes through just above the license plate. We welded on the rear bracket and slotted the rear cover and it comes out through the roll pan below the license plate. I also noticed 2 of the 3 rear cover bottom supports were broken, add that to the list for next time. Next is emptying the car, quick wash job, load it on the trailer for VIR.

 

[GT4Pop]

Day 1 of track advantage at VIR. No brake fade with the dtc-60/30 combination, but they definitely make noises. Car is running 131-133 in the straightaways with the headers. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing but I have gotten a couple 2:19.xx lap times which I'm pretty happy about. I did notice in traffic sometimes coolant reads 225+ but drops back to 215 without a car in front of me. It's supposed to be around 15° cooler Tuesday for day 2. Here's a couple of pictures my friend took of me, one on pit lane, the other just before the bridge.

 

[JDee]

Race Louvers hood vents will drop those engine temps back down. Sooner or later you're going to have to do that, you just can't get enough air flow without a properly designed hood vent. Side benefit it produces downforce.

 

[blacksheep-1]

FWIW I've been talking to our old Ford engineer about 05 to 07 cooling issues. Seems our cars use the thermostat on the " cold" side not the hot side, so your temps are prolly higher than you think. The ultimate fix is to convert the car over to the 08 to 10 system which is the normal " hot" side for the stat. Problem is, virtually every 4.6 3 valve coolant crossover pipe in the universe is being used. We are working on a plan B.
@Fabman has been through this as well
Of course he overcame it in his usual way of spending butt loads of cash, outstanding amounts of fabricating expertise, virtually annihilating the problem ( lol) so his car works awesome, I'm a bit more reserved. So I'm searching for a low budget work around, so stay tuned.

Easy Power Plays for 4.6L 3V Mustangs (Part 1): A 20 Minute Meziere Electric Water Pump Upgrade & 2007-10 Cooling System Swap

Learn how some basic cooling system upgrades can help unlock more horsepower in your mod motor-equipped Ford Mustang.

www.onallcylinders.com

 

[GT4Pop]

FWIW I've been talking to our old Ford engineer about 05 to 07 cooling issues. Seems our cars use the thermostat on the " cold" side not the hot side, so your temps are prolly higher than you think. The ultimate fix is to convert the car over to the 08 to 10 system which is the normal " hot" side for the stat. Problem is, virtually every 4.6 3 valve coolant crossover pipe in the universe is being used. We are working on a plan B.
@Fabman has been through this as well
Of course he overcame it in his usual way of spending butt loads of cash, outstanding amounts of fabricating expertise, virtually annihilating the problem ( lol) so his car works awesome, I'm a bit more reserved. So I'm searching for a low budget work around, so stay tuned.

Easy Power Plays for 4.6L 3V Mustangs (Part 1): A 20 Minute Meziere Electric Water Pump Upgrade & 2007-10 Cooling System Swap

Learn how some basic cooling system upgrades can help unlock more horsepower in your mod motor-equipped Ford Mustang.

www.onallcylinders.com

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I knew about the goofy t-stat & hose routing, reminds me of Mercruiser sterndrive cooling. I was looking into switching over to '07-'10 upgrade but more seriously now. It was 15-20° cooler on 2nd day and it never got above 210 that I observed.

 

[GT4Pop]

Race Louvers hood vents will drop those engine temps back down. Sooner or later you're going to have to do that, you just can't get enough air flow without a properly designed hood vent. Side benefit it produces downforce.

I did something similar with my YJ years ago, helped a lot. My only hesitation is the car lives outside and not sure how it'll like letting the weather in through the vents. On my YJ it goes through tps every 12-18 months since the hood louvers.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I knew about the goofy t-stat & hose routing, reminds me of Mercruiser sterndrive cooling. I was looking into switching over to '07-'10 upgrade but more seriously now. It was 15-20° cooler on 2nd day and it never got above 210 that I observed.

The problem is, the parts to do that swap no longer exist, not in Ford's global parts inventory, nor can I find them in any salvage yard parts source, which is basically all of north America. The aftermarket does not provide a source either, so unless you are standing there when someone blows up a 07 to10, and can snag the crossover, you can't get it done. I know it's aggravating since Ford made a crap load of mustang and explorers, but there is simply none around.
But if you find one, grab two..
Lol

 

[JDee]

I did something similar with my YJ years ago, helped a lot. My only hesitation is the car lives outside and not sure how it'll like letting the weather in through the vents. On my YJ it goes through tps every 12-18 months since the hood louvers.

Everybody worries about this, but I've sat through a couple of absolute gulley washer rainstorms and nothing has ever happened. Been on track in some heavy weather as well and it never skips a beat. That's with 3 good sized louvers in the hood.

 

[blacksheep-1]

here you go....

mustang 05-09 cooling mods

let's see how this goes... The 05-07 mustangs have a goofy coolant flow scheme, basically the thermostat is on the cool side of the engine, where most thermostats are on the hot side. The problem with this (well one of them) is that the temperature is always "delayed" or inaccurate, if the gauge...

trackmustangsonline.com

 

[PatientZero]

My car sits outside all summer, rain or shine.

 

[GT4Pop]

My car sits outside all summer, rain or shine.
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Looks like you have more louvers than hood.