Junkyard Day...30APR24

1997ThunderbirdLXV6

1997ThunderbirdLXV6

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Another Limited Edition. (I took the badges.)

20240430_085040.jpg

Manual driver seat track. Rusty but fully functional. Do I just need to take the tracks or the whole seat pan (for power to manual conversion)?

20240430_085056.jpg
 
Could you grab the driver's side window switches? The LEDs in mine are flaky all of a sudden. :(

Send me your price to 44039.

I think all you need is the seat track for power/manual conversions.
 
Should I pick this up? It's a rare 3.8.

I had the idea of trying another PCM, but this one shows some corrosion. Makes me wonder if it's worth it.

20240430_092253.jpg20240430_092302.jpg
 
I haven't seen much unless there are people going for casual weight savings. The serious weight savings people tend to go full aftermarket anyway.

OTOH I've casually kept an interest in converting the passenger seat from manual to power The problem is I'd need the power seat trim from an early SC or XR7 to go with it because I have SC seats in the car. So I've kind of given up on that.

As far as the PCM, didn't @Rodeo Joe Joe need one? I can't recall if he got what he needed. I also have a spare PCM for my car - it's never a bad thing to keep one around...
 
From the stickers and the extreme rodent infestation, this car hasn't moved in 8 years. Could that damage the PCM (or delete vital software)?
 
Since it’s a low option car does it have power locks? If not the door cups without the switches are crazy rare


Btw this car bursts the myth that LEs were only applied to V8s or sports!
 
Well, I installed the PCM at the junkyard and drove home. About 30 miles, mostly expressway, some suburban roads. And...

The car feels completely the same. What an experiment. At least shift points are exactly the same from what I can tell. Idle seems less rumbly, but maybe that's a placebo effect (?).

Based on the door sticker, I have an older tune. But my PCM was a remanufactured unit, so the actual tune may not match the sticker. The junkyard PCM has a newer tune per the sticker (the one from the torque converter shudder TSB). Also, I think the junkyard car does not have a NY/CA tune which mine does.
 
And what exactly is the difference between a 49 State calibration and a California calibration?

My car's original calibration is CA. Is it a problem to drive with a 49 State PCM? (Risk of damage?)
 
Not significantly different. The components you’re seeing a difference in are probably diodes and are just in different packages on the newer unit.
 
I feel like this came up at the old place from time to time, it’s not in the chart but it’s just redundant code for 3.27 open
 
XR7-4.6 said:
I feel like this came up at the old place from time to time, it’s not in the chart but it’s just redundant code for 3.27 open
Click to expand...

Just wanted to be sure it's the same as mine.

I'd like to drive this PCM for a while. I feel it has a smoother idle and faster start, but I need a few weeks to actually ascertain a difference.

Is there any risk whatsoever? I mean risk of breaking anything? What about the fact that my car was CA and this PCM is 49 States?

@Rodeo Joe , I'll probably want to keep both these units. But a few weeks down the road, if you need one just for diagnostics purposes, I could loan you one of them.
 
No, I mean what do you expect to break? They use the same MAF and injectors so there’s no potential for over/underfueling so it’s perfectly safe.

No 96-97 MN12 came with anything less or more than 3.27s. Even if they did the difference between than and say 3.08 is so negligible it’s within the margin of error in the base NV calculation to compensate
 
Those 2 eecs differe in that the one has no conformal coating covering the pcb. It would be sensitive to wetness. Humaseal works well if you want to coat it. Someone went to a lot of trouble getting it off.
 
Grog6 said:
Those 2 eecs differe in that the one has no conformal coating covering the pcb. It would be sensitive to wetness. Humaseal works well if you want to coat it. Someone went to a lot of trouble getting it off.
Click to expand...

You mean the top one doesn't have the coating? Yet that's presumably a completely stock unit. The bottom one is the remanufactured one that came with my car.

In person, there definitely is  some coating all over the junkyard unit. But it's not as thick as on mine.
 
If the bottom one is the remanufactured one it has the shiny shimmer of the coating, it could just be the way the light is hitting the top one where it looks bare
 
More pics of the top = junkyard = presumably stock unit.

Note that this was a very late production 97, and based on the inspection sticker hasn't been driven in 8 years.

20240430_092823.jpg20240430_093028.jpg
 
Martin, Brandon, Matt,

I'm going to be needing to do something with mine, I finally unpacked it over the weekend.

Now I have a few questions! :biggrin: The catch code on mine is different than the one Martin picked up, SPP4. The door jam sticker on mine is also different, mine is 6-16T. I've looked at RockAuto and they list 2 different codes, the one with the T and one with the F like the picture Martin posted. What's the difference with all this, anything?

Martin, thanks for the offer, I'll probably take you up on it. I really don't want to buy something on eBay and find out it's junk, and I really don't feel like shelling out the money for a remanufactured unit.

Joe
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Is there any risk whatsoever? I mean risk of breaking anything? What about the fact that my car was CA and this PCM is 49 States?
Click to expand...
The biggest difference in the CA/NY emissions is the catalytic convertors. The CA compliant are made out of much more expensive materials to reduce emissions and meet longer warranty requirements.
The tune difference in the ECM is probably very minimal, maybe slightly different to further help emissions. No way the ECM would change anything to the point of causing damage, the engines are the same either way.

For most cars, aftermarket suppliers would just supply one emissions standard if it wasn't for the strict legality in NY and CA. Both the states actually have organizations checking up on parts stores, shops, and suppliers to make sure they are not installing or selling the wrong emissions standard. They will give out large fines if they find the wrong one was installed on a vehicle.
 
@Rodeo Joe
T and F are the difference between CA and 49 States (though my car originated its life in NY which apparently already used CA standards back then).

My car also has the older door sticker...but that doesn't prove anything.

Here are snapshots from the torque converter shudder TSB. Note the old vs. new calibration numbers.

Screenshot_20240430_172723_Samsung Notes.jpgScreenshot_20240430_172742_Samsung Notes.jpg
 
And about the label: on my remanufactured unit, the original label had been removed, so I have no way of knowing what that catch code was. And by the way: what is a catch code?
 
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