2005 Sonic Blue Mustang GT - New Parts Installed

[Chris B.]

I'm trying to decide how far back I want to put the custom sheet metal on the underside of the front of the car. The photo below is the underside of a Boss 302 LS. It also has a front splitter which sticks out past the front bumper.



I was originally going to put the sheet metal back to line 1. However if I extend it to line 2 that will go back to the back of the oil pan. I just need to make sure the sheet metal doesn't interfere with suspension travel.

[John Torres]

WOW awesome picture.

[mckpat03]

Is the gain really going to be worth the extra hassle of the extra large and cumbersome piece when trying to work around it or uninstall/install it?

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted by mckpat03

Is the gain really going to be worth the extra hassle of the extra large and cumbersome piece when trying to work around it or uninstall/install it?

My stock piece broke and fell off the car and replacing it cost more than the sheet metal cost to do this. There is nothing to work around. If I extend it to the back of the oil pan, then I can still reach the drain on the back of the oil pan. I can reach the oil filter through the side above this piece or make an easy to remove piece for the one oil change every 7,000-8,000 miles. There are no other regular maintenance items it would be covering.

Also, with the stock short underside pieces, the Mustang has a some lift and noticeable hood flutter at high speed. Everyone that either used the 2010 pieces or made their own pieces says the lift and hood flutter is gone afterwards.

[Chris B.]

I have a little play in my shift linkage and its been getting worse over time. I took out part of the shift linkage today after I found out what part was loose. Even with all the bolts tightened properly, there was still some play in the part that connects to the transmission. It seems that one of the two piece bushings in the linkage is worn in the middle where the two pieces meet.

I haven't found the part number for the bushing from Ford yet, but it looks like I can just put a washer behind the nut on the linkage and hopefully that will eliminate the play in the linkage. It will probably be easier and cheaper than replacing the bushing.

[Big_Jim]

Originally Posted by Chris B.

Apparently Real Time Attack likes my car. Its in their NJMP event photo behind the civic on their front page now and it was in their Pocono event video even though I never participated in their events.

Just saw this...... Must have been a huge Dividing Creek for them to spell it with 3 E's

[mckpat03]

Originally Posted by Chris B.

My stock piece broke and fell off the car and replacing it cost more than the sheet metal cost to do this. There is nothing to work around. If I extend it to the back of the oil pan, then I can still reach the drain on the back of the oil pan. I can reach the oil filter through the side above this piece or make an easy to remove piece for the one oil change every 7,000-8,000 miles. There are no other regular maintenance items it would be covering.

Also, with the stock short underside pieces, the Mustang has a some lift and noticeable hood flutter at high speed. Everyone that either used the 2010 pieces or made their own pieces says the lift and hood flutter is gone afterwards.

Well I'd be going with option two then. Looking forward to more updates on it.

[Ender81]

Extend it back Chris and then you can drill holes to access the drain plug, filter, etc... It's how my skid plate is setup and I rarely have to take it off. Ryan does though lol.

[jpalamar]

Originally Posted by Chris B.

I have a little play in my shift linkage and its been getting worse over time. I took out part of the shift linkage today after I found out what part was loose. Even with all the bolts tightened properly, there was still some play in the part that connects to the transmission. It seems that one of the two piece bushings in the linkage is worn in the middle where the two pieces meet.

I haven't found the part number for the bushing from Ford yet, but it looks like I can just put a washer behind the nut on the linkage and hopefully that will eliminate the play in the linkage. It will probably be easier and cheaper than replacing the bushing.

Is this what your looking for? http://www.cjponyparts.com/PROTHANE-...2009/p/HW2818/

Maybe time to upgrade to an MGW shifter

Originally Posted by Ender81

Extend it back Chris and then you can drill holes to access the drain plug, filter, etc... It's how my skid plate is setup and I rarely have to take it off. Ryan does though lol.

That would make oil changes easier, but I think that might take away some of the function of the belly pan.

[Ender81]

Well it depends on how far you want to take it because you could go the extra mile and make covers for the holes but that does seem excessive lol.

[mckpat03]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

is this what your looking for? http://www.cjponyparts.com/prothane-...2009/p/hw2818/

maybe time to upgrade to an mgw shifter



That would make oil changes easier, but i think that might take away some of the function of the belly pan.

mgw ftw.

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

Is this what your looking for? http://www.cjponyparts.com/PROTHANE-...2009/p/HW2818/

Nope that's not the bushings I'm looking for

Originally Posted by jpalamar

Maybe time to upgrade to an MGW shifter

The MGW shifter was one of the first modifications I put in this car.

Originally Posted by jpalamar

That would make oil changes easier, but I think that might take away some of the function of the belly pan.

I'll have to see how easy it would be to add some sort of quick release fasteners if I extend the pan back further. The stock K member has a few spots where I could add them.

Depending on how far back I extend it, I cold add a transmission cooling scoop. However I don't want it to cover the cats under the car.

[Chris B.]

I'm planning to get 3.55 rear end gears swapped in over the winter. While the rear is apart, I'm either going to have the stock clutch pack LSD rebuild with the GT500 carbon fiber discs or have a Detroit Truetrac Differential installed.

I really wanted to put in the Quaife LSD, but its currently out of production for the 31 spline 8.8" Ford rear end and it would take 15 pre orders for the US distributor to put it back in production. There probably would be a minimum of a 3 month wait after the pre orders are all paid before anyone sees their differential. Its hard to get 15 Mustang owners to part with $1400 for a differential in this economy. The Torsen T2R diff looks good, but many people have been having issues with them in Mustangs and Camaros. The housing breaks or the diff wear out prematurely. Many people have reported the diff acting like an open diff and large amounts of metal shavings in their diff. The Eaton Posi LSD is a good differential, but lately people have been breaking them in Mustangs too. The only time Truetrac diffs seem to break in the Mustang is when its an 11 second or faster car that is launched hard on slicks. Since I'll never be launching my car on slicks I don't have to worry about that.

I'm also looking at swapping out my rear lower control arms. The ones I have now are just regular urethane bushings and they have high roll stiffness. The rear end doesn't feel as planted during transitions on some tracks as my previous mustang did. My '08 had rear lower control arms that had a spherical bushing which had lower roll stiffness.

[denmah]

buy a detroit tru trax they are phenominal only arond 400 dollars you can get them in 28 and 31 spline

my friend has a 9 second mustang that makes 715rwhp, its auto now, but it had 600rwhp before and he would bomb that rear off the TK0 5 spd with a sintered iron st5 clutch and it would yank tire.

never had a problem with the tru trax

[denmah]

i had a detroit C locker in my mustang and it was incredibly agressive but i ****ing loved it, they are about 650.

[caldwell]

whats up with that exhaust on the 302 ? looks like 4 exit points ??

sorry to be off topic, im just really curious ?

[jpalamar]

Originally Posted by Chris B.

I'm planning to get 3.55 rear end gears swapped in over the winter. While the rear is apart, I'm either going to have the stock clutch pack LSD rebuild with the GT500 carbon fiber discs or have a Detroit Truetrac Differential installed.

You have 4.10s and want 3.55s. I have 3.55s and want 4.10s.

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted by caldwell

whats up with that exhaust on the 302 ? looks like 4 exit points ??

sorry to be off topic, im just really curious ?

The Boss 302 has both side and rear exit exhausts. The side exit exhaust come with removable restrictiors to reduce the noise level. You can either remove the restrictiors or drill the holes int hem bigger to let more unmuffled noise out the side.

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

You have 4.10s and want 3.55s. I have 3.55s and want 4.10s.

I'm planning to replace the LSD and maybe swap some other parts, so unfortunately just swapping axle assemblies don't work well for me. Also, I don't think you want 4.10's with a worn out factory LSD that needs rebuilding.

[SoStock92]

Just read the whole thing - looks like fun. Do you happen to have a PN# on the cylinder head temp sensor? I might be able to use something like that. Would be interesting.