S550 HPDE Prep - Need advice

[Wotfun]

Problem solved. I originally mounted it to minimize how much it sticks out towards the front of the car. Today, I did the opposite - mounting it so it stuck out towards the front as much as possible. That resulted in the tow hook loop clearing the painted surface below it by about 2 millimeters.

 

[blacksheep-1]

The factory wheels are cast, as are the FP replacements. I don't see the point in the FP wheels because they are only 9.5", heavy and are almost the cost of a flow formed Apex wheel which you can get in 11" if you want a track wheel. Spending $1000 for stockers vs. $1200-1400 for a track wheel is really not a budget discussion. I'll let you know when my $125 wheels crack from track use

Better you know before they tell you, I'd inspect them before, during, and after every track day. CCW is the M1 Abrams of Race wheels, we crack them now and then, I don't see a cast wheel lasting more than 10 track days, if driven to the extreme.

 

[Wotfun]

My first HPDE with the mustang is coming up - 3/31/18. So I’m preparing the car. Adding brake cooling ducts now. Wil post some pics when done.

Several members recommended high temp brake fluid. When you replace the stock fluid with high temp fluid, is it necessary to bleed the clutch slave too? If not, I’ll have high temp fluid in the brake lines and stock fluid in the clutch lines and, I think both brake and clutch lines connect to the same reservoir. I just don’t know if that matters.

As always, I appreciate your advice.

 

[Grant 302]

Before you bleed the brakes, you can swap out the fluid in just the reservoir. Clutch action (slowly) exchanges the fluid every time the pedal is cycled. I'd do that once or twice before you bleed the brakes. If you already bled the brakes, I'd just change the fluid in the reservoir before your track day.

That might all sound counter-intuitive, but 'junk' from the clutch slave eventually shows up in the reservoir so it actually travels from the slave all the way up.

You could also go to a separate clutch reservoir. There should be a couple of threads on that if you want to go that way.

 

[Wotfun]

Before you bleed the brakes, you can swap out the fluid in just the reservoir. Clutch action (slowly) exchanges the fluid every time the pedal is cycled. I'd do that once or twice before you bleed the brakes. If you already bled the brakes, I'd just change the fluid in the reservoir before your track day.

That might all sound counter-intuitive, but 'junk' from the clutch slave eventually shows up in the reservoir so it actually travels from the slave all the way up.

You could also go to a separate clutch reservoir. There should be a couple of threads on that if you want to go that way.

Thank you! That sounds simple enough. (I haven’t bled the brakes yet.)

 

[Wotfun]

While I was under the car securing the brake cooling duct work with zip ties, I noticed what I’m afraid is an oil leak. In the picture below, you can see the oil filter in the top right corner. Towards the middle of the frame is a hard black plastic 90* elbow. There’s a bit of glare from my flashlight but, below that you can see a white spot on the elbow. There was a drop of oil where the white spot is. After wiping the off, no more oil appeared. But I wondered if that spot might be a defect in the plastic elbow that’s just waiting to fail and dump my engine oil. I searched for information on this but didn’t find any.

Has anyone seen this before? Think I should be concerned about it?

 

[Grant 302]

You should figure out where that oil came from. That line is for coolant that's routed to the oil cooler block. Seems strange that oil would be on it.

 

[DocWalt]

Seems like an easy place for oil to end up after taking the filter off and having oil drip down... Just saying.

 

[gtorpedo]

Check that your oil pressure sensor is tight!

 

[Wotfun]

Thanks guys. My biggest concern was that oil might be flowing through that black plastic piece and it might be defective. @Grant 302 clarified that it’s a coolant line. That relieves my big worry - thanks Grant 302!

@DocWalt, you’re right. I changed the oil and filter about 600 miles ago and it was kind of messy. The most likely answer may be that some residual oil just drained down to bottom of that plastic tube.

But, I would’ve thought any residual mess I didn’t wipe off would’ve found it’s way down over the course of 600 miles. So now I’m wondering if maybe I didn’t tighten the filter enough and a small amount of oil is leaking out.

I’m going to make sure the car has enough oil in it; drive it a bit; and check the area in the picture again.

I appreciate your responses!

 

[Wotfun]

Check that your oil pressure sensor is tight!

Sorry for my ignorance. I’ve worked on my previous cars - older BMWs - but this is my first mustang. Can you tell me where the oil pressure sensor is located? Is it close to the oil filter?

 

[gtorpedo]

Its above the oil filter and you will see the sender unit threaded into the engine block. If it was loose (which is not uncommon) you will definitely see some oil leakage in that area below. This article may be helpful. https://www.autometer.com/resources/index/guide_view/id/19#TK4yMxBamw6PkrAp.97

 

[Wotfun]

Its above the oil filter and you will see the sender unit threaded into the engine block. If it was loose (which is not uncommon) you will definitely see some oil leakage in that area below. This article may be helpful. https://www.autometer.com/resources/index/guide_view/id/19#TK4yMxBamw6PkrAp.97

Thanks for the additional information and link! I’m guessing it’s going to be a little hard to reach from under the car, but the article gives the impression it can be done. Thanks again!

 

[TMSBOSS]

Did you torque the oil filter? The GT350 has an adapter/wrench for the filter and a torque spec.

 

[Wotfun]

Did you torque the oil filter? The GT350 has an adapter/wrench for the filter and a torque spec.

Interesting. No. I’ve always just hand tightened oil filters. Never considered needing to use a torque wrench on an oil filter. Just checked the manual and didn’t find anything related torquing the filter. Actually I didn’t even find any details about the oil filter. I’ll search online and try to find something. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[TMSBOSS]

This thread may be helpful.

https://trackmustangsonline.com/threads/check-your-gt350-oil-filter.11190/page-2#post-169175

 

[Wotfun]

This thread may be helpful.

https://trackmustangsonline.com/threads/check-your-gt350-oil-filter.11190/page-2#post-169175

Thanks for the link. I remember now that read that before. It seems specific to the GT350. Since mine is a regular GT, I didn’t think it applied to my car. But you’ve got me wondering. I’m gonna see if I can get a look at my filter to check for torque specs. If not, I’ll just go by the dealership and get a new filter. If it has torque specs (or it doesn’t), I guess I’ll have my answer. Thanks again!

 

[gtorpedo]

Thanks for the additional information and link! I’m guessing it’s going to be a little hard to reach from under the car, but the article gives the impression it can be done. Thanks again!

It's not too difficult to get to with the car on jackstands and the plastic undertray/access panel removed. You will see it right away now that you know what to look for.

 

[Kevin Guzniczak]

Thanks for the link. I remember now that read that before. It seems specific to the GT350. Since mine is a regular GT, I didn’t think it applied to my car. But you’ve got me wondering. I’m gonna see if I can get a look at my filter to check for torque specs. If not, I’ll just go by the dealership and get a new filter. If it has torque specs (or it doesn’t), I guess I’ll have my answer. Thanks again!

You won’t have torque specs for the GT. The GT350 is unique with that as it sees 150 psi and needs the filter tighter than normal to not blow out the seal. The filter is special. It’s a more robust housing as well.


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[VoodooBoss]

I had my dealer change my oil, and make a complete mess in the tray area, and it started and stopped leaking a few times until I took it back and made them clean it up.