Rescued 94 T-Bird project

Unfortunately the only solution to a cracked violin case is to source a pull-off replacement from a 94/95 donor - they were unique to the MN12 and aside from the old Civic tube mod (literally the intake tube from an early-mid 90s Civic replaces the violin case), there isn't any sort of aftermarket replacement.
 
theterminator93 said:
Unfortunately the only solution to a cracked violin case is to source a pull-off replacement from a 94/95 donor - they were unique to the MN12 and aside from the old Civic tube mod (literally the intake tube from an early-mid 90s Civic replaces the violin case), there isn't any sort of aftermarket replacem
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I'll look into the civic mod and see what I can find thanks for the input. I'll get something rigged up when I get back from out of town in a couple of weeks.

Forgot to post a picture of the parts put in today. Minus the carpet, was way too hot down in GA to try and roll that out.
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lilhen said:
Sorry should have been a little more detailed. The window motor mod.
I found a steel bushing mod on TSTSNBN. After reading it they listed the bushing dimensions and I found a set of aluminum ones about the same size.
Figured it's lighter and a softer metal than steel, but harder than plastic.
If/when they fail I'll get pictures of the carnage but as of right now it works flawless. I had to grind them down a little. Didn't put a mic. on it just trial and error till they fit. Sorry they are about 13 bucks for the pack so around 7 a window.
Below is the link to Amazon.
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It’s so great to see you use the TSTSNBN acronym and see the humor behind it. 🤣
 
Been a few weeks but getting things done. Got a new bezel in not bolted up yet but due to water leak I'm still tracking down. Drove the care 4.5 hours to Savannah GA and ran flawless. Need to paint the grey grey trim to flow with the rest of the car and track down the water leak. Seems to come in during rain storms. Slowly coming together. 90.jpg
 
lilhen said:
. Need to paint the grey grey trim.
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I was just experimenting with inexpensive Rustoleum 2x spray paint. I haven't quite made up my mind if Ultra Matte Black or Flat Black is the better match. Stay away from Satin or Gloss Black.

If you want to spend about triple, Dupli-Color Vinyl and Fabric Flat Black is an excellent finish.
 
lilhen said:
I'll look into the civic mod and see what I can find thanks for the input. I'll get something rigged up when I get back from out of town in a couple of weeks.

Forgot to post a picture of the parts put in today. Minus the carpet, was way too hot down in GA to try and roll that out.

Another option is to find a later car and swap the intake. a 96 is good, but you'd need its fuel lines, airbox, and tube.
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A better swap is a '99-2012 mercury gran marquis.
 
theterminator93 said:
Unfortunately the only solution to a cracked violin case is to source a pull-off replacement from a 94/95 donor - they were unique to the MN12 and aside from the old Civic tube mod (literally the intake tube from an early-mid 90s Civic replaces the violin case), there isn't any sort of aftermarket replacement.
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A -94 4.6 T-Bird for sale nearby me seems to have a mod like this:
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Do you think it is legit? :p To me it just seems that the violin case has been replaced with some big tubing, and the tube from the case to the valve cover has been moved to start from the air filter box.
 
The feed into the valvecover needs to be after the maf; otherwise the pcv flow feed is unmetered air. Like a vacuum leak.
My recommendation is a pi intake swap, with its inlet tube, maf, and airbox. :)
 
Grog6 said:
The feed into the valvecover needs to be after the maf; otherwise the pcv flow feed is unmetered air. Like a vacuum leak.
My recommendation is a pi intake swap, with its inlet tube, maf, and airbox. :)
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The seller reports that the car suffers from timing chain rattle. I wonder if this "mod" could have contributed to that.
 
I've only heard timing chain rattle on later modular 4.6's, with the pos plastic tensioners. We don't have those.
 
I'm not super familiar with what the Civic tube (and RichardM tube) mods looked like when installed, but yes - that's the general idea of what they were trying to accomplish.

Changing the inlet tubing wouldn't cause issues with the timing chains, though one could assume that an owner with the desire/aptitude to do the mod was a spirited or mechanically inclined owner. It may be a stretch, but one could further infer that the engine's current ailment was induced by abuse or improper modifications/maintenance. Timing gear failures like that don't just happen over the course of normal ownership. :leftright:
 
Been a rough end of last year had a kid so that took a lot of my time. Things are finally settling down and I can start fixing the bird again. In the course of that time the transmission finally gave up the ghost, was a matter of when not if, also didn't help it out by any means. Anyways been on the search for a transmission for a few months and finally found one. Grabbed a 2002 grand Marquis with the 4.6 and a 4r70w for 800. Car honestly just needs a fuel pump but I need the parts. Figure total in I got an engine and transmission for around 500 after scrapping the shell.
Picking that up tomorrow and will start the tear down.

Based on what I have researched looks like I have a PI head and intake swap. Also looks like I solved my violin case issue. Been quite but still here grinding away.
 
Rebuilding that 02 trans by this guide:

How to: - 4R70W Transmission Rebuild Diary

Foreward to this Diary: I have only been building transmissions now for about 4 years or so. I do not claim to be a pro, expert or genius about this topic. Yet, I have been wrenching for 30 years now and at one time did work for FORD. (Seems like another life). I have built engines, component...
www.explorerforum.com www.explorerforum.com
This will give you the best trans you can get. But, you have to keep the 94 solenoids. 94-95 are different impedance than the later ones. Raybestos blue plates in the direct, kolene steels, one piece teflon shaft seals. It'll last forever.
 
Grog6 said:
Rebuilding that 02 trans by this guide:

How to: - 4R70W Transmission Rebuild Diary

Foreward to this Diary: I have only been building transmissions now for about 4 years or so. I do not claim to be a pro, expert or genius about this topic. Yet, I have been wrenching for 30 years now and at one time did work for FORD. (Seems like another life). I have built engines, component...
www.explorerforum.com www.explorerforum.com
This will give you the best trans you can get. But, you have to keep the 94 solenoids. 94-95 are different impedance than the later ones. Raybestos blue plates in the direct, kolene steels, one piece teflon shaft seals. It'll last forever.
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I'll start reading that article. Thanks for sharing. Definitely probably needs a rebuild at 323k
 
I've broken so many, I had to learn to rebuild them.
An 02 has the good parts, but the scarf cut shaft seals eventually leak, the clutch loses pressure, and the clutch slips, killing it in seconds. The one piece seals prevent that.
On an 02, you need to add some parts from sonnax and superior.
Their shift improver kit fixes a few vb provlems; adding the sonnax plate https://transmissiontechnologies.com/valve-body-retainer-plate-4r70w-4r75w.aspx
protects the vb from the 2-3 accumulator piston. https://www.sonnax.com/parts/2375-valve-body-retainer-plate-kit. drill carefully!
Adding the superior "super tuff plate' does the j-mod.
Kit:

Kit, Shift, Correction, New Boost Valve, AOD-E, 4R70W, Ford (91-04)

Kit, Shift, Correction, New Boost Valve, AOD-E, 4R70W, Ford (91-04), KAOD-E
transmissiontechnologies.com transmissiontechnologies.com
Plate:https://globaltransmissionparts.com/4r70e-4r75e-4r75w-supertuff-valve-body-plate-073-k0192/
acc springs:https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sox-76948-10k

You need the new 1-2 accumulator piston. Purple spring on top, no bottom spring.
If you want it to bark tires on every 1-2, use the brown spring.

Jerry's original jmod paper is good to read too.

If you do all the fixes, your rebuilt trans will last at least 200k mi. (I've put that much on 2 out of the 3 I've done that way. The tbird doesn't have that many miles, but it's been 10 years.
 
Well got the motor out and started pulling the heads. Off found a broken valve head didn't look to bad going to have a shop look at it. Pulled the oil pan so I could get the flywheel disconnected from the torque converter and low and behold a rod cap fell out.
In shock the engine even spun over for one and also the fact that it would actually try to fire off. Block made it though surprisingly.

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Zep5.0 said:
Holy FUBAR, Batman! :bolt:
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Agree 100 percent. Going to break the heads down and see what they look like. Look the transmission pan off today. Didn't get pictures but it had no leaks a minimum metal on the magnet. Block is in the truck of the Merc and it's heading to the scrap yard in the next day or so. Will update with pictures soon.
 
94 heads aren't terrible, but will need the valve guides/seals replaced. And it will need machine work if you want to run bigger cams.
 
Grog6 said:
94 heads aren't terrible, but will need the valve guides/seals replaced. And it will need machine work if you want to run bigger cams.
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So I was pulling the throttle cable and took the ECM out of the merc. Was wondering if the PCM would be worth pulling also? Is it compatible with an MN12?

Update on the heads also. Pulled them apart had two bent valves and two broken guides. Waiting to get the quote back for repairs. Overall damage is actually not that bad and repairable for the PI swap. Only say this because they are a bonus because the transmission is what I was mainly after. Figure I paid 800 for the transmission everything else plus scrap price is a bonus.
 
94-95 eecs are problematic; they fail more than even the 97 ones.
 
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