The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
That's it?! That barely qualifies for the plural "light s", considering that the ride one doesn't even apply to non-SC.

And is the script TRACTION ASSIST illuminated at night?
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Nope, nor does the push on the button, nor the indicator lights and fluid levels printing on the other one. The VMM is the biggest waste of space
 
XR7-4.6 said:
$400 would be fair, most I’d ever pay for one would be maybe $800 but only if it’s from an Explorer, they’re way too dime a dozen to spend any more than $1,000 on unless it’s fresh.

But why? Unless there’s something gravely wrong with your stock 97 motor there’s no point swapping it unless you are going to get the lighter explorer one. Npi heads with PI cams and (real) PI intake make just as much power as a stock PI engine, and the npi shortblock with PI heads, cams and intake will make MORE power than a stock PI engine because of the extra compression.
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Why? Window shopping like I said. The only real reason why I'd buy one would be because I wanted to freshen it up and install the ported OEM exhaust manifolds on it. Get it swapped out over a weekend instead of spending weeks freshening up my existing engine.

Those ported stock exhaust manifolds will be getting installed on my engine though. Not sure when exactly, but they're there ready to go :).

I'd love to 4v swap, but given where I live and how "wonderful" it is for car mods, I'm not sure if I ever will 4v swap. I want to get the most amount of power possible while looking as stock as possible, I guess is the goal.
 
CDsDontBurn said:
Why? Window shopping like I said. The only real reason why I'd buy one would be because I wanted to freshen it up and install the ported OEM exhaust manifolds on it. Get it swapped out over a weekend instead of spending weeks freshening up my existing engine.

Those ported stock exhaust manifolds will be getting installed on my engine though. Not sure when exactly, but they're there ready to go :).

I'd love to 4v swap, but given where I live and how "wonderful" it is for car mods, I'm not sure if I ever will 4v swap. I want to get the most amount of power possible while looking as stock as possible, I guess is the goal.
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If you wanted a fresh engine to drop in, then I could see it making sense. But chances are yours is still fine and you can do the PI head and cam swap in a weekend.

The only reason I could see you doing it is because you could pull the motor and trans all at once. But unless you're looking to reseal your current 4.6, there's no need
 
CDsDontBurn said:
Why? Window shopping like I said. The only real reason why I'd buy one would be because I wanted to freshen it up and install the ported OEM exhaust manifolds on it. Get it swapped out over a weekend instead of spending weeks freshening up my existing engine.

Those ported stock exhaust manifolds will be getting installed on my engine though. Not sure when exactly, but they're there ready to go :).

I'd love to 4v swap, but given where I live and how "wonderful" it is for car mods, I'm not sure if I ever will 4v swap. I want to get the most amount of power possible while looking as stock as possible, I guess is the goal.
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Where on earth did I say you should 4V swap? Believe it or not in spite of my own 4V swap my heart is with the 2V. Most amount of power stock looking as possible given CA laws is a stock npi longblock, PI heads/cams/intake. Short of that your stock npi heads are adequate with the concession of that being stock compression, and beyond that you need aftermarket cams and headers to exceed that which I know to be a nono in your region, and don’t even mention it.

TL;DR If you want PI engine power literally all you need is the PI cams and (real) PI intake on your stock engine. To me that paired with a manual trans is street car heaven, 4V to Coyote to beyond with power adders is just toy category, don’t assume my own car’s combination influences me, I like the 4Vbecause it’s impressive looking at car shows, but in terms of a fun street car with the V8 sound the plain old 2V got me there and a manual transmission all on its own was a better mod for me enjoyment of the vehicle than anything that added notable horsepower as far as I’m concerned.

Ok maybe Still Long; Keep Reading 😆
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
That's it?! That barely qualifies for the plural "light s", considering that the ride one doesn't even apply to non-SC.

And is the script TRACTION ASSIST illuminated at night?
View attachment 10227
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Other questions on this particular dash insert:

Does the top section still have the same two indicator lights?
And can you hook up the Traction Assist function on a 97 (found under the console cover, where the fuel door release used to be) to the Assist button on this console instead?
 
Stanley said:
Other questions on this particular dash insert:

Does the top section still have the same two indicator lights?
And can you hook up the Traction Assist function on a 97 (found under the console cover, where the fuel door release used to be) to the Assist button on this console instead?
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Yes, Its the same exact same part internally with or without traction assist, only difference is the faceplate button. You can absolutely rerout the circuits to the area but you'd need the connector. I don't know why you'd want that since all the dummy lights on it are in the 97 cluster but totally doable
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Yes, Its the same exact same part internally with or without traction assist, only difference is the faceplate button. You can absolutely rerout the circuits to the area but you'd need the connector. I don't know why you'd want that since all the dummy lights on it are in the 97 cluster but totally doable
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I was planning to replace the 97 cluster with the 94-95 SC cluster (as I understand it, this is relatively doable), so I'd be losing some of my original cluster lights.
 
Is this box (circled in red) between the air intake and IAC necessary?
I’d rather not use it if I don’t need to, or I’ll have some crazy elbows trying to make it work with my new set up.

IMG_2911.jpeg
 
I have a 94-95 SC cluster and I want to swap out the light bulbs with LEDs. However, all the bulbs are nested in these plastic holders that you screw into the console. Is it intended that the bulbs come out of the holders, or is it a one-piece thing and your replacement bulbs need to come with plastic holders of their own?

I haven't tried too hard to pry the bulbs out because I'm afraid of breaking something, but what pressure I'm using isn't causing them to move a bit.
 
Ericv8thunderbird said:
Is this box (circled in red) between the air intake and IAC necessary?
I’d rather not use it if I don’t need to, or I’ll have some crazy elbows trying to make it work with my new set up.

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Remove and see what happens! Just replace it with some gas line or other heat tolerant hose.
 
MadMikeyL said:
They are just regular 194 bulbs. They should pull straight out of the sockets.
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Perfect, thanks. Just knowing that they were meant to come out was enough for me to feel confident applying the right pressure to them. I found one of those silicone pot holders was good to get the grip on the glass you need.
 
Little Ice-Cable said:
View attachment 10316Here is a question, is an emblem like this stock on the V8s or something else.
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96-97s, no, only visual tell between a V6 and V8 in those years using factory visuals is dual exit exhaust pipes vs the single exhaust. 92-95 (possibly part way through 91) however, yes, the 5.0s and 4.6s had them

Small trivia; the 96-98 Taurus SHO recycled those emblems.
 
Feeling a little dumb, I can’t remember how the throttle cable goes around the throttle body, it’s been a couple months since I took it all apart.
Could someone post a pic of the routing around the throttle body on a 96/97 style.
 
Yesterday when I was driving the Cougar I had a strange flashing of dash lights.

It happened at WOT in first at ~6000 RPM. I noticed the Battery light lit up for a few seconds, and then the airbag light slowly did two flashes, twice in a row.
It just happened that time and seems fine now. Only thought I have is maybe the voltage spiked for some reason ?

Anything you all think I should check? Or should I just do like Derek at VGG and pretend that didn't happen? :LOL:
 
I would get a new alternator. Sometimes when the brushes are getting worn, they will lose contact at higher rpms. I suspect that happened, the voltage dropped, and the airbag module threw a low voltage code.
 
I scrub the rings where the brushes go with fine emory cloth, replace the brushes, check the bearings, and done.
Brushes are all I've had bad.
 
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