The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

[Funderbird]

I want a pi intake for a non pi motor. What car can I look at a junk yard Donner. Is it off of a 99-2004 mustang? I went through so many threads and could find a definitive answer.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I want a pi intake for a non pi motor. What car can I look at a junk yard Donner. Is it off of a 99-2004 mustang? I went through so many threads and could find a definitive answer.

There’s technically no such thing. A PI intake is a PI intake, all versions are made for a PI motor. All need a little RTV assistance on the coolant port that doesn’t match the gasket shape.

Literally every 4.6 except those used in trucks from 01-2011ish( I forget if the Panther ended then or 2012) is a PI intake, same as the 99-04 Mustangs. 99-01ish you want to make sure is an aluminum crossover rather than plastic and especially making sure it’s a Ford and not a Dorman

 

[Grog6]

And you need the coolant tube from the valley, and the nipple, that requires removing the Water Pump. The npi one wont fit in the valley.

I bought this, but all out of stock now. https://www.modularheadshop.com/i-24493620-2v-npi-to-pi-swap-kit.html?ref=search:https://www.modularheadshop.com/search.html?q=pi+nipple&go=Go

Panther ended in '12, gm too. (I've been looking for engines.) There's a pic somewhere showing the mod. Not adding the rtv will drain the coolant into #8. All the coolant,lol.

You need this stuff: https://www.modularheadshop.com/i-24493620-2v-npi-to-pi-swap-kit.html NO ONE has a pi intake itself except an old motor.
Te alternator bracket is different, so you need it.
O-rings for waterpump, alt bracket,nipple and tube. Ultra copper or ultra black rtv for the#8 inlet, and new gaskets. You need to find the pic; do we have an article, or is it on tstsnbn?

 

[KevinVarnes]

I want a pi intake for a non pi motor. What car can I look at a junk yard Donner. Is it off of a 99-2004 mustang? I went through so many threads and could find a definitive answer.

The cars mentioned and the 4.6 2V Explorer and Mountaineer will have the PI intake as well.

Some information on Page 2 of this thread about telling the difference between an OEM Ford intake and aftermarket.

**NEW** PI intake by Ford Performance

See now, in the LMR dyno video it shows the individual O-Ring style gaskets that the Dorman uses which again brings into question whether this will work on NPI heads. That is disappointing. I think I am going to take MadMikey's advice one step further and just completely mold my own PI intake...

forum.birdcats.com

This guy installs an Explorer intake on a T-Bird (copy and paste the address but take the space out between // and vimeo since I can't link it here)
https:// vimeo.com/121737911

 

[GRWeldon]

I give up. How do you remove the oil dipstick tube from a 95 Tbird? I'm trying to remove the head and the tube is holding me up. It is unbolted from the head but stuck in the block?

 

[MadMikeyL]

Heat! Get that area of the block as hot as you can with a map gas torch, then pull and twist until it comes out.

 

[theterminator93]

That's a better approach than what I did!

What I recall doing was vise-grips on the bottom of the tube, then prying/whacking upward on them until it came out. The tube was crushed and trashed, so I replaced it with a flexible Lokar. From what I understand reinstalling it is as much of a pain as trying to get it out, so the Lokar was a good investment from a potential time/frustration savings perspective.

Here's the relevant post from my build thread WBW...

For the dipstick tube, clamp on vice grips and hammer them up from the bottom.

And get a lokar for the new one. The stock one's harder to put in than take out.

Thanks for the heads up - I'm going to replace some of the hard to get at parts (heater hoses, oil filter adapter gasket, etc.) and try and clean things up a bit before I tackle that dipstick tube. I've got all winter to do this thing - I don't want to start rushing and regret it later.

I'm still not sure about the motor mounts. I'd like to replace them but since I don't have an engine hoist I'm not sure how I'd tackle them.

 

[Grog6]

Just don't grip it with vicegerips, and beat them with a hammer. I heard that one from a jy guy, when I called looking for one.
Dang, B; we crossposted. Dude at jy told me the Guy ruined about 5 before they noticed.

 

[89 TBIRD]

My washer fluid leaked out the other day, the barbed fitting on one end of the hose connecter broke off. I fixed it with a barbed brass coupler. But this old piece is clearly a filter. How important is it, and where to find a new one?

Broken off end on the right.
View attachment 8141

I got this valve from Advance and put it in today.

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Didn't work. No flow either way (no arrow on the thing), I couldn't even blow air through it. I just put the brass coupler back on, there's no delay in the spray even after waiting 30 minutes.

 

[Derphound01]

I've got one kid who likes to ride in the Thunderbird but I do not like wrangling his rear-facing child seat into the backseat.

What's the best way to deactivate the passenger airbag and know it has been deactivated without taking the dash apart? Bonus points if anyone knows a way to install a deactivation switch like what the trucks had.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I've got one kid who likes to ride in the Thunderbird but I do not like wrangling his rear-facing child seat into the backseat.

What's the best way to deactivate the passenger airbag and know it has been deactivated without taking the dash apart? Bonus points if anyone knows a way to install a deactivation switch like what the trucks had.

it’s actually fairly easy to remove; drop the glove box(not unbolt the whole thing, just open it past the stop) remove the passenger side air ducting above it, and remove the 4 bolts holding the airbag to the dash frame, then unplug(after disconnecting the battery for several minutes).

To disable it just put a 2.2 ohm resistor across the connector and the module will think it has an airbag there. For perminant deletion as I’ve done you can even unscrew the bomb portion of the airbag to save a few pounds, it’s just held in with 1 bolt.

I don’t know if I’d trust a switch to not pop it.

 

[MadMikeyL]

I just pulled the airbag fuse. It throws a light on the dash, but the airbags are disabled, my son can safely sit in the front seat, and on the off chance that I hit someone, at least my dashboard won’t be blown to pieces.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I just pulled the airbag fuse. It throws a light on the dash, but the airbags are disabled, my son can safely sit in the front seat, and on the off chance that I hit someone, at least my dashboard won’t be blown to pieces.

I don’t mind having one on the steering wheel for my pseudo safety is the only reason I didn’t disable the whole thing. I disabled the passenger one for dash preservation reasons as well, I’ve seen what it does to them!


Plus I’m just going to say if you were to pull the bulb on the dash to kill the light it’s more work and more tedious pulling the cluster than it is getting at the airbag connector and adding a resistor

 

[MadMikeyL]

I don’t mind having one on the steering wheel for my pseudo safety is the only reason I didn’t disable the whole thing. I disabled the passenger one for dash preservation reasons as well, I’ve seen what it does to them!


Plus I’m just going to say if you were to pull the bulb on the dash to kill the light it’s more work and more tedious pulling the cluster than it is getting at the airbag connector and adding a resistor

Pulling the bulb from the cluster will result in constant beeping from the SRS module. The light doesn’t bother me though. As for safety, front airbags really don’t do jack for safety if you are wearing your seatbelt properly, which I always do. Side airbags are a different story, those undoubtedly help, but a properly designed crash structure and a 3-point belt is going to do far more for you than any front airbags. When I was like 20 I took a hit in a 91 Tbird by a K5 blazer that was going 40-45mph (my fault). It hit so hard it knocked the car clear across the intersection and up against the light pole, ripped the front axle out of the blazer and crumpled the whole front end of the bird. My girlfriend and I walked away unscathed other than bruises across our chests from the seatbelts. So I don’t feel one bit less safe having them disabled.

 

[theterminator93]

I gave my old 94 Cougar to my mom when I got the 96 Mark. A few months later she wasn't paying attention in traffic as it came to a stop and plowed the left front 1/3 of the car into the back end of the person in front of her as she tried to stop. She never wears her seat belt and she went straight into the wheel. The force of the air bag going off, combined with the position of her arms and wheel, caused the air bag cover to fly into her forearm and fractured it. Otherwise she walked away from that one (not so for the car). Hard to say if the air bag did more harm or good!

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

It may be a generational thing, but why doesn't she wear a seat belt?

 

[Little Ice-Cable]

Here's my stupid question, I have heard the answer a million times. Is there anyway I can get clear corner lights on my 96 thunderbird. I just want to check and see if any of you guys know if there is any ways to get some.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Not unless you get hella lucky. The Fleebay is going to be your best bet on something like that. Maybe reach out to one of the more higher rated sellers and see if their supplier can get a batch of clear corners made?

96/97 Thunderbird Clear Corner for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for 96/97 Thunderbird Clear Corner at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Those clear corners definitely existed at some point. There were two types: one where the entire unit is clear see-through; the other where the side reflector still exists, but it's clear instead of amber.

Whether or not they're still manufactured I don't know.

Ironically, those assemblies were recalled because they didn't satisfy lighting requirements (lack of amber reflector). The law requires amber lights  and amber reflectors, shining sideways from the front corners.

Vehicle Detail Search - 1997 FORD THUNDERBIRD 2 DR | NHTSA

www.nhtsa.gov

My guess is the companies stopped making them after the recall.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Example of the all-clear units. They are rare.

 

[Vicinity]

Recall? Those were an option?!

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Recall? Those were an option?!

No. That's the weird part. It was a recall of an aftermarket item.

When you go to the NHTSA site, you can read the recalls in full length.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

...when I say "weird", I mean the fact that such a recall happened in the first place.

Normally with aftermarket products, they're just required to mark them "For Offroad Use Only" or something along those lines. Then it's in the hands of the buyer to comply (or not).

 

[89 TBIRD]

Strange, so many new cars made today come without the amber reflectors. And the clears are still available for the '89-'93 MN12s. I've had mine for several years with no issues.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Strange, so many new cars made today come without the amber reflectors.

Name one.

 

[89 TBIRD]

Name one.

I've seen several on the road, though come to think of it they could be aftermarket. Point is they're on the road seemingly without legal issues.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I've seen several on the road, though come to think of it they could be aftermarket. Point is they're on the road seemingly without legal issues.

I think you’re mistaking amber reflectors with amber running lights. It’s quite literally federal all cars in the US since the late 1960s have amber reflective side marker lights. There are no exceptions. Running lights vary, but not markers. If it’s not amber it’s aftermarket, whether it’s enforced or not depends on the individual officer.

 

[Irv]

A few things:

In some states, they won't pull you over for a secondary offense like that. Also, I guarantee you a significant percentage of LE don't know the federal books like that. Furthermore, in other locales, they have far more important matters to attend to whether it be actual crime or stopping these fucking illegal street takeovers, since I'm not seeing any lifted trucks with front LED light bars getting put on notice either.

Amber lights are still present on cars made for the US today, but they're in less prominent places and/or more subtly integrated into the headlamp design at the corner closest to the fender rather than standing out like a giant egg yolk. They also might not be part of the headlight assembly either. It's common for the lights and/or reflectors to be on the bumper cover or the fender at the leading edge of wheel arches. Of course, the old school European OEM thing to do was to put them prominently on the fender.

The two versions of the '96-97 clear corners were available until about 3-5 years ago. When the manufacturing of them stopped is another matter, but they were widely available in the late 2010s and I had my choice of both types. I'm almost certain that their production run didn't end in either 2006 or 2009 because these things weren't high enough production to sustain over a decade of NOS parts.

The OEM style with a cleared egg yolk was made by Depo. They're by far the better version of them and being that they're Depo, they're top tier aftermarket units. The lens is stout and the mounting depth is adjustable from the back as they should be.

The completely clear version was, let's say made in China, for lack of knowing exactly who the manufacturer was. I've never seen them in person, but another '96-97 HID retrofit swapper I know tried them out on his car and he said the lens was thin and got soft when they were warmed up. He basically said they were junk and ended up getting the Depo clear corners as well.

No, mine aren't for sale.

 

[MadMikeyL]

I gave my old 94 Cougar to my mom when I got the 96 Mark. A few months later she wasn't paying attention in traffic as it came to a stop and plowed the left front 1/3 of the car into the back end of the person in front of her as she tried to stop. She never wears her seat belt and she went straight into the wheel. The force of the air bag going off, combined with the position of her arms and wheel, caused the air bag cover to fly into her forearm and fractured it. Otherwise she walked away from that one (not so for the car). Hard to say if the air bag did more harm or good!

Front airbags definitely help when someone is not wearing their seatbelt. That is actually their intended purpose, and what they were designed for. I have no doubt that your mother would have been worse off in that accident without the airbag, but I also have no doubt that she would have been much better off wearing a seatbelt regardless of the airbag.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

The completely clear version was, let's say made in China, for lack of knowing exactly who the manufacturer was. I've never seen them in person

I saw them once in the junkyard, and first I thought ka-ching! Then at the attempt of removal, the glass just fell off the unit, the inside of which had discolorations all over. Ultimately I decided they weren't worth the time and effort of repair.