IAC and IMRC

Posted by MaddMike1, Sep 8 2006, 11:13 AM

I replaced the IAC today(I recomend that you replace the IAC when you have the UIM off it is a lot easier) and the wandering/hanging RPM problem is gone. I also cleaned the motor in the IMRC with electric motor cleaner and now my IMRC works great. If you are having a problem with your IMRC give this a shot, it might not always fix the problem but for $6 you can't go wrong. Now that the the car is running the way it should I'm going back to the Dyno to base line it. Then the mods begin.

Dyno #2

Posted by MaddMike1, Sep 8 2006, 11:13 AM

Last run was 142hp, 148fpt and A/F 10, Now 149.5hp, 153fpt, A/F 11. The difference: New Bank 1 O2, New IAC, Repaired the IMRC. This is a totaly stock 98 SE Sport with 149,000 miles on the clock. Not bad numbers. Next up is the instal of the SVT ECM and 19lb injectors. Then it will be back to the Dyno.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Posted by MaddMike1, Sep 8 2006, 11:13 AM

Well the Dyno did not go as expected but sometimes you will have that. The Good: The HP was up alittle 151
and the TQ was down alittle 151 and the A/F 12. The Bad: The car is slower to get to the same power levels, which we did not see with the same set up on Dom's car. The Ugly: The main cat and pre-cats have 150k on them and they are going going gone. Rotten egg smell was enjoyed by all. The bottom line is not enough air in and not enough air out. So the next step is new exhaust and gut the pre-cats, also I'm going to replace the bank 2 O2, again just because it has 150k on it. Also I found out that my trans. to fender mount is broken so that needs fixed.

The new exhaust is going to consist of eliminating the y-pipe, I'm going to run 2' pipe down from each manifold into a dual 2' inlet main cat with single 2 1/2' outlet into a 2 1/2' in and 2 1/2' out Vortex muffler in place of the resinator then 2 1/2' pipe out the back. Then it will be back to the Dyno.

Trans mount fixed

Posted by MaddMike1, Sep 8 2006, 11:13 AM

Well I fixed the Trans. to fender mount, what a difference that made. No more vibration/ noise and the shifting is smoother, also the front end does not sound like its falling out LOL.

How I did it: First I removed the air box, you will now be able to see all the bolts, There are three 15mm bolts holding the fender piece on and three 18mm nuts holding the trans. piece on. after removing both upper and lower pieces I removed the broken thru bolt from the upper piece with vise grips after heating it with a torch. Went to the hardware store and bought a grade 8 12mm course tread bolt 2 1/2 inches long with a 19mm head on it and 12mm washer. There is a 3/4 inch thick rubber bushing that goes in between the two pieces of the mount, luckly mine was laying on top of the trans or I would of not known it was there, I bolted the 2 pieces back together and reinstalled it as a unit. I raised the trans. up with a floor jack. I found it easier to bolt the mount first to the fender then to the trans. I dropped the mount down on to the studs on top of the trans. and just put the nuts on a couple of threads, then I started the top fender bolt, then the back bolt then the front bolt then went back and tighten the three of them down, then tightened the trans. nuts.

Tools:15mm, 18mm, 19mm sockets, 15mm box end wrench, 1/2 drive rachet, one long and one medium length extensions, 2 piars of vise grips and a torch if you need it and a floor jack.

The Exhaust is on, the dyno is good

Posted by MaddMike1, Sep 8 2006, 11:13 AM

Well to say I'm pleased would be an understatement. The first run was 161.5hp and 155fpt, run 2: 165.61hp and 160.10fpt. Run 3: (removed the air cleaner element) 167.38hp and 162.18fpt. run 4: (mocked up a ram air for the air box and set a small fan in front of it) 171.68hp and 163.97fpt.

To recap:

Dyno runs HP TQ A/F Comments

1st 140 151 10 Car had 146k, Mods: FR 9mm Wires, K&N drop in filter, Autolite D-Plat
spark plugs.

2nd 142 152 10 Cleaned uim/lim, IMRC quit working during this session.

3rd 149 151 11.5 New Bank #1 O2 up stream, New IAC, New Coil pak, changed oil in
MTX to Valvoline Synth Power ATF, repaired IMRC

4th 151 152 12.5 Installed 98 SVT ECM and SVT 19lb. Injectors. Not the power gain I
expected. I figured the cats were done in and that the ECM needed more
Intake and Exhaust flow.

5th 171.68 163.97 13.2 Installed my own designed exhaust 5A. 165.61hp 160.10fpt
Mocked up Ram Air/fan 5B. 171.68hp 163.97fpt
Also for this run I changed oil to Valvoline 5w20 Synth Power and added
a can of Restore, I don't know if it helped with the HP but the car no
longer smokes.

The cost of Mods to this point:
K&N $0 was in the car when I bought it.
Ford Racing 9mm wires $52
Used SVT ECM and injectors $100
Custom Exhaust: $200

I'm not listing the cost of the other parts as they are maintance items that normaly would be replaced do to age or failure.

Total cost of Mods:$352.

To figure the cost of HP/TQ increase per dollar I'm going to use the 149HP/152.07TQ figure as the starting point due to preforming normal maintance got the car to that number.

171.68 - 149.50= a gain of 22.18HP/163.97 - 152.07= a gain of 11.9TQ

$15.87 per HP increace/$29.56 per FPT increase

Here it is the Dyno #5 sheet

Posted by MaddMike1, Sep 8 2006, 11:13 AM

Here it is boys and girls. 171.68 HP and 163.97 FPT. For those that do not remember Dom was the first one to swap an SVT ECM and 19lb. injectors into a stock SE. He has moved on to the 3.0 convertion of a 99 SVT that can be seen in his blog. I bought the ECM and injectors from Dom, and installed them in my car making me the second one to try this (at least to admit to it, I believe one other person to have done this but they are keeping quite about it). Duing previous testing we found out that the exhaust was in dire need of upgrading. So after some brain storming and some physics of exhaust flow research I installed the new exhaust and as you can see by the numbers the research payed off. An increase of 19.94 HP.

This is The Beast

Posted by MaddMike1, Apr 24 2006, 09:19 PM

This will be a running account of the life and times of living with a 1998 Tropic Green Contour SE Sport w/ 2.5 and MTX with 135,000 on the clock.
A little back ground.
I bought the car for transportation in Oct. of 2004 because my 1991 Dakota was spending more time in the transmission shop than it was on the road. The second day I drove it the water pump died, as I've come to find out this is not uncommon. So now it has the steel impeller water pump. The next thing that was done was the install of the right spark plugs(Motor Craft) and a set of Ford Motor Sports 9mm wires (Red). For several months the car ran fine and I had no problems with it, except that the front window cracked as I was leaving work one cold January night. Next to get replaced was the cabin filter. Well in June I believe it was I started getting a clunking noise when I shifted and the shifter itself was binding up and felt stiff. Took it to a shop and was told that it was the clutch, and it was going to be about $1,400 to fix it. I was not going to spend that much on the car so I put it up for sale. Well the only buyers I got were from overseas and all scams (About 15 in all). So the car sat most of the summer. I finally talked to a friend of mine that works at a garage, he drove it and told me it was not the clutch but the motor mounts. So I bought a SVT front mount with inserts from BAT., and a rear SVT mount from the local Ford dealer. Took me about 1.5 hours to change them out. What a difference that made. No more clunking and the shifter is as smooth as glass.
If I ever figure out how to post pics I will.

Clean that sucker

Posted by MaddMike1, Apr 24 2006, 09:19 PM

Well I decided to clean the UIM, LIM, MAF and TB since I wanted to change the front motor mount and the P/S pump any way I figured I would make a weekend of it(turned into a week LOL). Well I broke an EGR bolt(the one closest to the TB and in the process of getting it out broke the manifold)its fixed and does not leak. The two lines on top of the UIM broke getting them out(who ever worked on the car before epoxied them in) so it was call Ford again and wait for parts. The connectors that hold the lines in the UIM is called a Connector p# F5RZ-2A411-A $10.95. These things are a pain to get out, I used a 6in drift punch through the TB opening and a ball peen to drive them out. The line to the Brake Power Booster is F5RZ-2420-AE $23.53, The second line is called a vacuum manifold F6RZ-9E498-AD $34.07, The EGR bolts are p#W701625-S431 $7.82 pack of 2. I also got the IAC gasket from Ford p#E83Z-9F670-A $1.05. The Upper and Lower manifold, TB and EGR I got from Fel-Pro.

All the intake bolts are 8mm, TB and P/S pump 10mm, pressure line to P/S 18mm, Motor mount upper bracket 4 nuts 18mm, mount top bolt 18mm, mount to fender well three bolts 15mm.

It took me 15 cans of Berrymans to clean everything(I would take them to a shop for cleaning next time).

The car runs better and the butt Dyno says it makes more power but I will see for sure after ther real dyno run tomorrow.