What did you do to your Boss 302 or S197 today?

[efaultless]

I installed the Ford Racing transmission cooler scoop and a Boss 302S grille, then went for drive to nowhere so I can listen to the awesome sound.

 

[302BOB]

Drives to nowhere are the best kind.......you can't get lost.. ;D

 

[Tri-bar]

New pads and Rotors all the way around. Testing out a set of Ford Racing Sachs rear coil overs with 300lbs springs. On full soft on both rebound and compression. The high speed compression sucks. You feel every bump, every joint in the road. However the low speed and the Rebound are dead on. It really plants the rear and removed my little mid corner push I was having with the JRI rears on my Grand Sport setup (no anti-squat brackets, 1/2 inch rear sway bar.)

Changed the front spring to 500lbs to keep the balanced rate in check. then I had to sotfen up the rebound on the front so the front didn't want to push, now it just plants, turn in is swift, grip is balanced from entry, mid and exit with full power from apex. The down side is, it's not friendly for day to day driving if you have bad roads with bumps or pot holes. The JRI's are much better for that. I'll see how long I can put up with the Sachs. Might just do the swap back and forth for street and track.

 

[Fabman]

New pads and Rotors all the way around. Testing out a set of Ford Racing Sachs rear coil overs with 300lbs springs. On full soft on both rebound and compression. The high speed compression sucks. You feel every bump, every joint in the road. However the low speed and the Rebound are dead on. It really plants the rear and removed my little mid corner push I was having with the JRI rears on my Grand Sport setup (no anti-squat brackets, 1/2 inch rear sway bar.)

Changed the front spring to 500lbs to keep the balanced rate in check. then I had to sotfen up the rebound on the front so the front didn't want to push, now it just plants, turn in is swift, grip is balanced from entry, mid and exit with full power from apex. The down side is, it's not friendly for day to day driving if you have bad roads with bumps or pot holes. The JRI's are much better for that. I'll see how long I can put up with the Sachs. Might just do the swap back and forth for street and track.

What springs were you running before?

 

[Tri-bar]

What springs were you running before?

450 front 250 rear, only went up 50lbs front and rear so not a big jump, It helped with the little bit of front dive I had.

 

[MNG_BOSS302]

Changed the oil and filter Saturday afternoon (Redline 5W50), got it all cleaned up and ready for a ride. We headed out to gas up and go to dinner. At the station filled it up, jumped in to leave, pushed in the clutch turned the key and got the dreaded "click" and then total lights out, zip. Looked around the engine compartment like I would find something obvious. Had to call the Ford 1-800 24hr emergency service. They sent out a jump service, great service I might add. Car started fine with the jump and got home ok... dinner out was a bust.

As we were sitting there waiting, was thinking took delivery 7/11 - so battery is almost 5 years old (90% on a Battery Tender when in the garage). No previous indication something was going wrong with the battery (instantly shorted cell??), does not charge up at home now. Have to get a new battery Tuesday, am going with an original Motorcraft BXT-96R-500 (or 590). Am outside the 3 yr free replacement, will see what Ford pro-rate will be, but getting one either way. Would prefer to just bring the battery and not the car for a service check.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Changed the oil and filter Saturday afternoon (Redline 5W50), got it all cleaned up and ready for a ride. We headed out to gas up and go to dinner. At the station filled it up, jumped in to leave, pushed in the clutch turned the key and got the dreaded "click" and then total lights out, zip. Looked around the engine compartment like I would find something obvious. Had to call the Ford 1-800 24hr emergency service. They sent out a jump service, great service I might add. Car started fine with the jump and got home ok... dinner out was a bust.

As we were sitting there waiting, was thinking took delivery 7/11 - so battery is almost 5 years old (90% on a Battery Tender when in the garage). No previous indication something was going wrong with the battery (instantly shorted cell??), does not charge up at home now. Have to get a new battery Tuesday, am going with an original Motorcraft BXT-96R-500 (or 590). Am outside the 3 yr free replacement, will see what Ford pro-rate will be, but getting one either way. Would prefer to just bring the battery and not the car for a service check.

Very similar situation for me. I keep my Boss on a battery minder when she is sitting. I had issues starting in April, her jumped right off. Drove the car for about a week, same issue again. Dead Cell. Apparently the break in the one cell cured itself for a short time, then died again permanent like.

I went with the Ford replacement, same part number as original. $112.00 and change.

 

[Grant 302]

Changed the oil and filter Saturday afternoon (Redline 5W50), got it all cleaned up and ready for a ride. We headed out to gas up and go to dinner. At the station filled it up, jumped in to leave, pushed in the clutch turned the key and got the dreaded "click" and then total lights out, zip. Looked around the engine compartment like I would find something obvious. Had to call the Ford 1-800 24hr emergency service. They sent out a jump service, great service I might add. Car started fine with the jump and got home ok... dinner out was a bust.

As we were sitting there waiting, was thinking took delivery 7/11 - so battery is almost 5 years old (90% on a Battery Tender when in the garage). No previous indication something was going wrong with the battery (instantly shorted cell??), does not charge up at home now. Have to get a new battery Tuesday, am going with an original Motorcraft BXT-96R-500 (or 590). Am outside the 3 yr free replacement, will see what Ford pro-rate will be, but getting one either way. Would prefer to just bring the battery and not the car for a service check.

Did you check the hydrometer/indicator on the battery? If it's not green or red, then it might be low on water. Spotted low water this weekend on two of my friends cars. One '12 and one '13. If the water is low, open the fill covers with a screwdriver and fill with distilled water to the bottom of the 'tubes'. Do not overfill. Top off on your charger and see if the indicator goes green. If not, you can try to 'cycle' the battery one more time (slight discharge then recharge). Otherwise, it's not worth recovering.

 

[drano38]

Changed out my battery this weekend too (58 months old). Battery tender all winter. Worked fine this spring. Last weekend -- click. Battery tender brought it back, but I have no confidence in a battery ones it dies. And don't want to be at a track event missing track time. So I went to my friendly Carquest store and picked one up. Put black electrical tape over the decal on top for a stealth look.
Put my last can of ATE Super Blue into the brake system.
Also got my Simpson Hybrid Sport custom tether installed for using the Quick Click system. I couldn't stand the metal rings and helmet D-rings clanking every time I turned my head.

 

[MNG_BOSS302]

Did you check the hydrometer/indicator on the battery? If it's not green or red, then it might be low on water. Spotted low water this weekend on two of my friends cars. One '12 and one '13. If the water is low, open the fill covers with a screwdriver and fill with distilled water to the bottom of the 'tubes'. Do not overfill. Top off on your charger and see if the indicator goes green. If not, you can try to 'cycle' the battery one more time (slight discharge then recharge). Otherwise, it's not worth recovering.

Thanks for the tip, you can chalk another one up on your list. Indicator is green. Water was low, about a 1/4" low in 5 of them and the 6th one by the positive post was lower than the others (able to see the plate). All this time having this car and have never checked the battery. I put it back on charge, but figure it is going to be bad (I should have checked it a year ago). Will get a new one - doubt I would trust it anyways, just like drano38.

 

[drano38]

My old battery is still in the garage, so I checked the indicator, and its red. This is a couple days after the battery tender gave me a green Charged light.
So glad I installed a new one.
Looks like a few of us ended up with 5 year Boss batteries. The factory one on my '02 Dakota lasted about 12 years. They're always a wild card.
Good post about checking the indicator and water levels. Sometimes we need a reminder to check the simple things.

 

[MNG_BOSS302]

Battery replacement done, everything works again. Must have gotten ours from the same lot. As you guys found out Ford only warranties the original battery for the 3/36, no pro-rate after that. Only the Motorcraft replacement is 3/36 and pro-rated.

 

[Silver LS]

Where is the hydrometer/indicator? I have a motorcraft BXT-96R-590. Would this part number be the original battery? If so I am getting close to 5 years. I had the battery last 10 years in my 04 F150.

 

[k98dave]

Rainy all week (again) :-\ so went ahead and installed rear P springs, rear lower control arms & relocation brackets, Adl track bar, and bump stops. All Ford Racing parts. I will pull front struts tomorrow and have springs installed by a shop and then put it all back together and get it aligned Fri or Sat. Only took it around the block to settle in but obvious improvement in feel.

 

[MNG_BOSS302]

Where is the hydrometer/indicator? I have a motorcraft BXT-96R-590. Would this part number be the original battery? If so I am getting close to 5 years. I had the battery last 10 years in my 04 F150.

The indicator is located on the top of the battery, between the two posts. The 590 is a replacement part number, the original is 500 (number indicates CCA). Supposedly both are the same dimensions, 590 weighs a lb more and has 90 more CCA. On my new one there was a Motorcraft sticker that was covering the indicator, is there a sticker on the top of yours? My original battery did not have a sticker on the top.

 

[Fabman]

I walked under it today, looked at the pile of parts that need installing, looked at the temperature in the shop and then walked back into my office.
I'll do it later

 

[Silver LS]

Thanks MNG-BOSS302, Mine has the sticker. I will check under it.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Since there is a battery replacement discussion here, I have one question, Does Optima make a replacement battery for a Mustang 302 V8 application? If so, I will have to consider this option. I like the Optima battery design.

Thanks,
2HP

 

[thehueypilot]

I like the Odyssey batteries for long life and no free acid. These batteries were developed first for military applications and spread into the civilian market. They are pricey but if you have ever kept a car long term you will see a lot of rust develop around the battery tray from the free acid filled battery. I have these in all my hobby cars with 10 plus years of staying power. The part number below is supposed to fit a 96R BCI battery group which fits the Boss. Note: the price I got was $247 from the manufacture but Summit will match it.

http://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/ody-pc1200mjt
http://www.batteryweb.com/bci.cfm
http://www.odysseybattery.com/battery_search.aspx

Tim

 

[Tri-bar]

Made spacers and mounted a Steeda GS wing.