What have you done to your wagon lately? (Let's keep the thread going!)

If it is goig to leak it will be down low by the bottom. They never rust up high, it's always right at the bottom on the seams

 

Thanks Swan I should be OK then... hopefully. lol. I didn't get much done today, at least mechanically. I did clean the windows, lol.

My cousin is very ill (they think he may have Crohns Disease, so we have been dealing with that, so not much progress this weekend... in this family, when it rains, it pours!!

I have a family b-day party to go to tomorrow after work at the lakes, so nothing tomorrow either since I work until 5:00.

 

1991 Ford crown Victoria wagon, 5.0 L EFI from DAD; As a new comer, I'm hoping someone here has suggestion to keep car running at idle. Once running, I can encourage a higher rpm only by pumping accelerator- even though it is fuel injection. Has sat long time( I drove it 4 miles here last year) but has fresh gas, new gasline filter. but does not keep running by itself..each time I leave it, I disconnect battery, so computer should be resetting itself.

 

It may need a new IAC valve. I think that is what it is called. I have that problem about once every 9 months on my '95 Town Car with the 4.6L. Its common on these, I am sure that it may be the same with the 5.0L, but not sure. Mine will want to stall when coming to a stop... it will do this for about 4 days, then stop and will be fine for about 8-9 months... this has went on for 4 years. lol. It will occasionally want to stall when the engine is hot and I come to a stop after first starting the engine.

 

What is IAC in words? intake air control or similar? something on the air throttle body? Dad had several shop manuals and detailed notes of all his repairs/ care over the years, but there is not much with simplistic trouble shooting...(I was weaned on " how to fix VW-manual for the complete idiot; and my first 63 rambler was pretty basic) Hmmm looks like IAC is idle air control and the 4.6 has it low down on a long throttle body and my 5.0 has it at the side of a short throttle body. If I remove the screws, is this one of those things that they expect I use new screws when I reassemble?

 

I think it is called the idle air control valve. I didn't look too much into it when mine was doing it, because it stopped before I changed it, so I put it on the back burners. It seems fairly easy to replace, at least on the 4.6L.

 

Reskinning a door...

Well, I'm almost finished with reskinning the driver's door. My door was just to beat up to get really straight, and after a good deal of fighting with it, and a lucky find of a rust-free replacement, I decided to give reskinning a shot.

Why reskin vs. replace? Because the replacement doorwas from a hardtop, so there were no window frames. Also, the door frame was a little different in places, so it just wouldn't work.

I'm going to do one more door. When I do that one, I will take some photos of how I did it. There were a few challenges, but the door is soooo much better looking that before.

 

score nos AC fuel tank sending for my 62 Pontiac Bonneville wagon !

 

excellent!

 

Idle air control valve. Usually they get carbon'd up inside and stick or the diaphragm tears. There should be two or three screws holding it onto the side of the throttle body. You can reuse the screws. Pretty easy removal/install.

 

Well I tinkered on the wagon last night. Fuel gauge has not been working. Traced the wires from tank to gauge, everything looks good. Verified power to the A(pink) wire at the gauge, no issues there. Verified B(ground wire) no issues there. Grounded C(Tan) wire that comes from sending unit and gauge drops to empty like it should. I found the studs on the back of the gauge feel loose. I ordered an aftermarket gauge this morning to use as a test gauge. I will run wires from the factory harness to this gauge to see if it reads. If so, I know I have a gauge problem. I don't have any extra factory gauges at the moment

 

Entered BlackBird in the Gumout contest on Spacebook yesterday. Hoping to get into the top 10 for A CHANCE at winning! Posted needing votes (begging shamelessly) earlier. Does that count?

 

Just put in a new wiper switch. The old one was a little vague about connecting or disconnecting.

 

I'Ve been working on converting the way-back rear vent windows into power units. An option that never was and should have been on the whale wagons.
I hate having to stop on the freeway and get out of the car to walk back there to close them when it starts raining cat and dogs.
I'm not about to crawl across the seats to close them, could break something...namely me.
Just have to do some finish trim work and they're done.
I'll get pics and all that when she's decent.

 

New front springs and headligh-leveling motor

I attempted getting the spring out, without removing the strut, after having lost a bout with the bolt securing the strut body to the spindle:



I ended up having to order these new, after the local junkyard gave me static when the used motor didn't work. I asked them how much they wanted for one and she told me 5€. I then went in the yard and took one off of a headlight I removed. I then layed the bill on the table and asked what happens if it doesn't function. She said I get to keep it. That's why it only cost 5€. Sure enough, it didn't function. I then pried off the cover and took a whiff. It smelled burned. That ruffled my feathers and the wife got on the phone. The lady further refused exchange or refund and the wife asked what she wanted for a set of front springs. She wanted only 10 a piece. But, I was interested more in not feeding one single cent more to these people. Too bad. Because, this car is one of those drive-it-til-it-dies types. The old springs held out for more than 200.000 kilometers and one car in that yard only had a little more than 100.000. Which means that spring would have easily done 100.000 more. Now, I have to plan on getting the most out of these new springs I didn't need.

Here are the parts:



I had to go out and get an offset combination 16 and 18 millimeter wrench, to get the upper strut fastening nuts to turn. This bolt is also 18 mm. It's so stubborn that I'm going to run out and seek a six point socket for my 1/2 inch breaker bar and hope that the bolt doesn't bust. I've got my acetylene torch at my parent's old house . I don't have an 18 mm socket in my set, because this is the first car besides a modern Opel which uses this strange size. That's another reason I prefer older cars.
This seems like a high amount of sprung weight. Look at the massive spindle. That's just one reason why I don't particularly like front wheel drive. Especially, when they concentrate so much weight in front of the axle. if you think this is tight, they used to offer these models with v-6s



My brakes are almost down to metal and there's rust and scale behind the rubber caliper bellows (see also above image). I ended up freeing the bellows from the caliper piston and turned the assembly so that the scale could fall out. In this case, if I was to install new pads, the piston would be pushed far enough within the caliper to where the corroded end would find itself on the wrong side of the rubber ring, ensuring a leak. But, if I was to get some used pads, I could drive without worry. What I'll likely end up doing is to get a set of new pads and install one where the worst of the 2 now sits. Then wait until the older one wears fully out and then try the second new pad in its place, hoping that the wear-in of the new pad combined with the further wear of the disc will keep the corroded piston safe on the outer side of the caliper

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