The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Is there a way to move a power seat without power?
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Do you care about the seat’s wellbeing? If not if you take off the track trim there’s a forward/back gear you can put a socket over it and crank it back and forth. It tends to break the gearbox doing this, but allows you to get the seat out
 
I found a battery, connected it, and click click. That's all I got out of the seat motor.

This was a power passenger seat, which I thought could be a good sales item. Alas, I think it was either broken, seized, or otherwise in need of repair. Not worth it.
 
I hate power passenger seats, manual you can open up rear seat ingress/egress rapidly with a pull of the lever, power seats move as fast as the tectonic plates.
 
I kinda want one. The hard part would be finding the right seat trim for it; mine only has the switches for lumbar and bolster.
 
You can get reproductions on Fleabay that have all the switch cutouts.
 
Derphound01 said:
You can get reproductions on Fleabay that have all the switch cutouts.
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They have a weird look to them compared to the factory ones. The ones to seek out are 89-91ish early ones, they are noticeably more durable, even if it means you have to paint to match
 
theterminator93 said:
I kinda want one.
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I like lots of buttons and switches. That would be my biggest motivation to get power seats.

But I don't see any functional advantage for me personally. Both my front seats are manual, and it's fine and reliable.

I did add the inflatable lumbar support on the driver side, which is power operated; but that's a functional comfort enhancement.

The only way I see myself installing power seats would be if I found a pristine set of Mark VIII seats.

Weight is definitely a consideration, too. I mean I always talk about how the V6 is perfectly adequate for my driving - which is true provided one doesn't travel uphill too much. Better not add any unnecessary ballast.
 
theterminator93 said:
Nah; I boycotted Feebay about 5 years ago. May they die in agony. :)
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Please, NO. there's too much shit I get from there.:) I've found all the shit one of my Turncoat Thieving friends stole from me, now I just need to get the cash to buy it. If you guys hear of someone going completely Dr Lecter on someone, and feeding them to Rats; be kind; I was provoked!
 
I need to buy a new electric motor for my power window, driver's side. I know it's probably those stupid little nylon or whatever nubs that crack, but it may not be, and I bought this car used so I don't know what else could be ready to fail on this electric motor. RockAuto seems to have some decent prices for them but a basic question is, is "front left" driver's side? It seems to be. I always wonder, front left from sitting in the car or from standing in front of it looking at the windshield? How hard is it to label "driver side" and "passenger side"? I also plan on buying a kit to replace those 3 little nubs (and have a ready spare) but who knows if, when I open it up, maybe the nylon gear is bad, too, or something else.

Other stupid question, if my driver's door is slightly sagging, I only need the basic hinge rebuild kit, yes? It's a pin, brass bushings and an 'e' clip. Or should I buy a new hinge just incase the holes for the bushings or pin might be elongated? Huh, actually it seems like they don't even list a new hinge complete.
 
Yeah it’s based driver/passenger seating perspective, not mechanics perspective facing the front looking under the hood. From there the left side of the car is your right and vice versa.
 
Grog6 said:
Please, NO. there's too much shit I get from there.:) I've found all the shit one of my Turncoat Thieving friends stole from me, now I just need to get the cash to buy it. If you guys hear of someone going completely Dr Lecter on someone, and feeding them to Rats; be kind; I was provoked!
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Give 'em the end of 1984 Room 101 treatment.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Yeah it’s based driver/passenger seating perspective, not mechanics perspective facing the front looking under the hood. From there the left side of the car is your right and vice versa.
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Exactly, that's what I was wondering. That's why a lot of car shows, when they talk about the engine, mention driver's side head or passenger side header or something. Because the camera is facing the car from the front, saying "left" or "right" would be confusing.

Back to the stupid question (the other one), is a hinge rebuild kit usually enough? I mean, it's rare for the hinge itself to be so damaged that I'd need another complete hinge, yes? I want to order a hinge rebuild kit but I know that if I do that will magically make my hinge too far gone to rebuild, hahaahaa.
 
rampagingsloth said:
Exactly, that's what I was wondering. That's why a lot of car shows, when they talk about the engine, mention driver's side head or passenger side header or something. Because the camera is facing the car from the front, saying "left" or "right" would be confusing.

Back to the stupid question (the other one), is a hinge rebuild kit usually enough? I mean, it's rare for the hinge itself to be so damaged that I'd need another complete hinge, yes? I want to order a hinge rebuild kit but I know that if I do that will magically make my hinge too far gone to rebuild, hahaahaa.
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I prefer saying driver and passenger side most of the time since I just assume it’s clearer.

You have to drill the hole larger for the pin kits so you’re trueing the hole back to a perfect circle anyway to fit the new bushing sleeve.
 
Grog6 said:
I drilled thru the outer part of the control arm, thru the bushing, down to the level of the center steel pieces. With the zerk fitting in, it squirts grease out both ends. ~1/4 hole.
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Where do you find silicone grease cartridges?
 
I'm a dumbass. Now that's out of the way. I can't find an OBD port on my 94 SC. Got a crank but no start condition. Probably cam/crank sensors but I'd like to verify before shooting the parts cannon at it. I also would like to check fuel delivery/pressure but I can't find a Schrader valve on the fuel rail like 4.6s.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
I prefer saying driver and passenger side most of the time since I just assume it’s clearer.
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Same. Makes much more sense as long as its not a RHD car.

GRWeldon said:
I'm a dumbass. Now that's out of the way. I can't find an OBD port on my 94 SC. Got a crank but no start condition. Probably cam/crank sensors but I'd like to verify before shooting the parts can on at it. I also would like to check fuel delivery/pressure but I can't find a Schrader valve on the fuel rail like 4.6s.
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I don't know if the SC had an OBD port. If it does, it'll be on the passenger's side under the glovebox like the 4.6 models.
 
Derphound01 said:
I don't know if the SC had an OBD port. If it does, it'll be on the passenger's side under the glovebox like the 4.6 models.
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That's a negative. First place I looked. So how does one diagnose an ECU controlled engine if you can't read any codes. It has to have something. OBD 1 most likely but I've zero experience with that system and don't even know what the connector looks like!
 
XR7-4.6 said:
I prefer saying driver and passenger side most of the time since I just assume it’s clearer.

You have to drill the hole larger for the pin kits so you’re trueing the hole back to a perfect circle anyway to fit the new bushing sleeve.
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Oh, ok. So it wouldn't be worth it to get a hinge off another car since they're all old, right? And no hinges from other newer cars cross-reference, I'm sure.
 
GRWeldon said:
That's a negative. First place I looked. So how does one diagnose an ECU controlled engine if you can't read any codes. It has to have something. OBD 1 most likely but I've zero experience with that system and don't even know what the connector looks like!
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I forgot the SC used ODB1. Check under the hood on the passenger side of the firewall for a compartment with a grey connector. I think it is labeled as "Service Port" or something to that effect. It's been years since I worked on a SC so my memory is very fuzzy.
 
It's next to the air filter on my 94 SC .. gray cover labeled EEC

You'll need a Ford specific OBD1 reader, a code reader with the Ford adapter .. or a paperclip to count the blinking light on the dash cluster.
 
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rampagingsloth said:
Oh, ok. So it wouldn't be worth it to get a hinge off another car since they're all old, right? And no hinges from other newer cars cross-reference, I'm sure.
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Definitely not worth the hassle. The hardware in the pin kits is more rugged than the factory ones anyway
 
The OE steel pins wear the holes into an egg; you drill that hole round, and expand it to match the bronze bushing. The new one has an e-clip. The oem one has to be cut in half so it will come out. Replacing the striker without doing the pins will waste the new striker in a week. Drill te holes in a line, all the way thru, with the door on a jack and a 2x4. I have a long drill bit from tv install days, about 3 feet long. I started with that, then made the holes bigger.
 
Grog6 said:
The OE steel pins wear the holes into an egg; you drill that hole round, and expand it to match the bronze bushing. The new one has an e-clip. The oem one has to be cut in half so it will come out. Replacing the striker without doing the pins will waste the new striker in a week. Drill te holes in a line, all the way thru, with the door on a jack and a 2x4. I have a long drill bit from tv install days, about 3 feet long. I started with that, then made the holes bigger.
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Ah, ok, so it's not a good idea to take the hinges off and work them over on a bench? I'm wondering if I need to go to a body shop for this, I don't have those kinds of tools here.
 
You could do that, but getting the hinges out is harder than ordering a drill bit off amazon. Or a drill...
 
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