The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

Ok awesome, thanks guys, looks like I might go to the junkyard tomorrow and see what I can do. On the off chance that the hardware is still functional enough to unbolt, what size is it? I might as well take the right tools so that if its good, it'll speed up the process
 
3_97_Sports said:
Removing those brackets above the mufflers creates a whole new world of issues for you, because when you fuck them up, which you will, you will find that these hangers are actually the rear bumper hangers.
Ask me how I know this.
Just get the rubber to come off, or cut the rubber and replace.
Way less work.
Hours less.
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Oh yeah, which is why I said “you might get lucky”. I’d rather make the attempt with the nuts on a junkyard floor than fight with the rubber laying there.
 
Jae 'Bird said:
I know it would be only cosmetic and net no real performance benefit at all
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This is a very popular mod on Panthers, and per Ford at the time, the dual exhaust actually  did provide a horsepower gain with all else being the same...if I remember correctly.

I agree that cosmetics alone would make this worthwhile. Do you have any plans for the tips? Chrome etc.?
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
This is a very popular mod on Panthers, and per Ford at the time, the dual exhaust actually  did provide a horsepower gain with all else being the same...if I remember correctly.

I agree that cosmetics alone would make this worthwhile. Do you have any plans for the tips? Chrome etc.?
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I guess your right, even if its only the rear section changing, it is increasing the area for it to flow out, reducing the resistance to flow. As for the tips, I have not put one second of thought in to it, as of right now, my only goal is to get the rear section off properly, and then store it in the garage until the spring when I can put it on. However, I am now taking any and all suggestions for what you guys think would look best, I know I would prob just buy new ones as they are cheap and not get anything used unless they were really clean, affordable, usable etc.
 
The crown Vic’s had an actual dual exhaust though, no? I don’t think the single to dual is helpful to power especially with the real restrictions being forward of it. The pinch near the underbody brace in particular is a power killer, and it’s there on both of them
 
XR7-4.6 said:
The crown Vic’s had an actual dual exhaust though, no?
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Retail Vics only had dual when equipped with the performance package or higher, same on Grand Marquis. HP ratings changed over the years, but I think for 2006 it was 225 hp without and 239 hp with dual exhaust. Town Car had it standard on later years, same as law enforcement fleet Vics.
 
Jae 'Bird said:
I was reading a post by someone else (I cant recall who exactly) and I found out according to that thread that its possible to bolt up the rear section of the 4.6 t-bird exhaust right to the rear section of the 3.8 exhaust. Is this true? I know it would be only cosmetic and net no real performance benefit at all, but I like the look of dual rear exhaust. Also, if I were to grab the rear section from a junkyard, what tools exactly would I need to get it off? like what socket sizes etc.? (i know rust could cause problems)
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Just remember you have the early ('89-'91) gas tank and exhaust routing. To use the 4.6 cat back you would need to change to the later model ('92+) tank. I'm not sure if that ball socket joint is in the same place on the old and new exhausts.
 
Shoot, I have got the old stock exhaust routing. Is someone able to be nice and tell me if they know for sure if the ball flange is in the same spot? I was looking at the diagram in the exhaust tech article and it seemed like it was in the same spot but I don't know and I have no way of checking. I'm hoping they are the same as both cars at the yard are late model's
 
I’m pretty sure it is, I don’t think the front half of the exhausts changed any for the 92+

FWIW a 89-91 supercoupe exhaust will fit, not that they’re easy to find in terms of junkyards but if there are any members in your region they might have one lying around.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
I’m pretty sure it is, I don’t think the front half of the exhausts changed any for the 92+

FWIW a 89-91 supercoupe exhaust will fit, not that they’re easy to find in terms of junkyards but if there are any members in your region they might have one lying around.
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Front half? or do you mean the rear portion? like I know the gas tank is different but im specifically referring to the very rear portion where it splits into two pipes
 
Jae 'Bird said:
Front half? or do you mean the rear portion? like I know the gas tank is different but im specifically referring to the very rear portion where it splits into two pipes
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Front half as in the exhaust from the manifolds to the resonator. Back half being the rest to the tailpipes.

So what I’m saying for clarity is that portion of exhaust never changed, what changed was the back half since the tank changed the routing. Each half is one solid piece so I’m not referring to portions of it, since you can’t use a portion of a “dual” exhaust on your current exhaust without cutting and welding. The join between the front half and rear half is in front of the tank, not behind it where it splits into duals
 
oh ok so then I cant just bolt up the dual portion to mine, in that case I probably wont go get it then. I was hoping for easy bolt-on cosmetic mod. I don't have a welder unfortunately. I might switch to the later gas tank next summer, we'll see. Thanks for all the help and input guys
 
No, what he is saying is the front portion of the exhaust should be the same between old and new exhaust routing. In theory the new cat-back should bolt onto the front portion of your exhaust at that ball socket joint once you swap to the new style tank.
 
KevinVarnes said:
No, what he is saying is the front portion of the exhaust should be the same between old and new exhaust routing. In theory the new cat-back should bolt onto the front portion of your exhaust at that ball socket joint once you swap to the new style tank.
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I see what your saying, but I have to switch tanks first which means I might as well wait to get the exhaust piping because I need to grab the tank and such to do the conversion to the duals anyway
 
Spray grease on the rubber, and pry it out with a tool; even wd will work. but wd is bad for rubber,don't use it on your car. Replacing yours after you get them out will save you alot of future aggravation.
 
 
Would you trust a master cylinder and booster that had sat for 18 years? They were perfectly fine before I parked the car. Also, I'm converting to rear disk, so I think I'll have to remove the check valves on the "rear" or "right" side, correct?
 
Stupid question number... sorry lost count. How well would these work/what would I need to make them fit my 96' LX?
 

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xlitefighter said:
Stupid question number... sorry lost count. How well would these work/what would I need to make them fit my 96' LX?
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You’ll most likely need spacers for them to clear the front spindle, +55 is way way too much offset for these cars (stock is +39). IOW It’ll look like a railroad truck at certain angles
 
20mm spacers on all four corners will get you there. You might have a slight fender poke, but it'll work.

The 18" wheels from a Focus ST are the same offset. I ran them on my Fusion for years and they looked stock. Probably going back to them the next time I put tires on it.
 
Derphound01 said:
20mm spacers on all four corners will get you there. You might have a slight fender poke, but it'll work.

The 18" wheels from a Focus ST are the same offset. I ran them on my Fusion for years and they looked stock. Probably going back to them the next time I put tires on it.
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$300 for a set of lightly used sound like a good deal?
 

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xlitefighter said:
$300 for a set of lightly used sound like a good deal?
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No tires, I think yes.

XR7-4.6 said:
If they had tires. Without no
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What type of tires you talking about? The type of tires that are "your problem" when you buy the wheels?

Then again, we're in different markets. Here, wheels w/o tires in good shape will go for $500 all day long. Wheels in good shape w/tires that are different sizes, manufacturers, and 30% tread left will go for $800. Wheels in good shape w/all matching tires and 50% (or more) tread life left will go for $1,000 easy.
 
CDsDontBurn said:
No tires, I think yes.



What type of tires you talking about? The type of tires that are "your problem" when you buy the wheels?

Then again, we're in different markets. Here, wheels w/o tires in good shape will go for $500 all day long. Wheels in good shape w/tires that are different sizes, manufacturers, and 30% tread left will go for $800. Wheels in good shape w/all matching tires and 50% (or more) tread life left will go for $1,000 easy.
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If the wheels don’t fit to begin with (which +55 they don’t) they better have usable tires to make them worth the expense + mounting.

My Bullitts I paid $800 for with probably 70-80% tread left on the tires no spacers, and a fairly in demand style of wheel. My Track packs prior were probably 60% tread and they were $700 and also a fairly sought after wheel. I’m sorry but if you look harder you can probably find those Fusion wheels on car-part for half of that.

You like the style great pursue them, but low ball the hell out of the seller, $300 is too much when you consider your buying competition, the need to get spacers, the likely need to get longer studs for said spacers(which I’d say 20mm qualifies) and of course the cost for a fresh set of tires/installation.

New tires on stock wheels you already have is the better bet IMO and I say with experience the offset makes a massive impact on looks if the wheel style or diameter is the primary motivator, I have yet to see in nearly 20 years a wheel meant for a FWD car that doesn’t make a MN12 look tippy toed.
 
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At the junkyard, wheels are $25. Fusion wheels are easy to find. Save on the wheels and invest more into the tires - just my opinion.

Do we have an article that lists all direct fit OEM wheels? That would be useful.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd imagine Lincoln LS/Jaguar S-Type wheels could be close (?). I think they max out at 17" though. They are all over junkyards.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
You like the style great pursue them, but low ball the hell out of the seller, $300 is too much when you consider your buying competition, the need to get spacers, the likely need to get longer studs for said spacers(which I’d say 20mm qualifies) and of course the cost for a fresh set of tires/installation.
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20mm spacers will be bolt-on. No extended studs needed.

Thanks to the Focus ST scene, you can find hub-centric 20mm 5x108 spacers with the correct 63.4mm centerbore all day long. The Ford wheels from this era have pockets on the back of the hub between the lugs to accomodate the spacer studs as well.

www.ebay.com

2pc 5x108 Wheel Spacers 20mm Black Hubcentric For Fusion Focus Bronco Sport Cmax | eBay

Bolt Pattern: 5x108. Spacer Thickness: 20mm each side. Your Factory wheel studs may extend past the surface of the wheel spacers. In this case you will need to.
www.ebay.com
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd imagine Lincoln LS/Jaguar S-Type wheels could be close (?). I think they max out at 17" though. They are all over junkyards.
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LS wheels are ET40 but they have a 63.3mm centerbore. The bearing caps on our front wheels protrude enough that they may knock the center caps out of some other wheels. Your mileage may vary.

S-Type wheels had an ET60 offset, so in this case the 20mm spacer would be perfect.
 
Going back to my battery conundrum, what would you learned MN12ers recommend for a new battery for my stock 4.6 Thunderbird? I'm looking for reliability and longevity mostly, I am watching this Optima battery begin to love draining itself pretty regularly now, I'd heard that that's what they do when they get older (specifically, they really don't like getting drained of most/all their charge because of the design) so I'm in no mood to deal with this again. On the plus side, the battery was solid for many years so it's not like it was a disappointment the whole time, just these last few weeks.

I have an offer to get a Costco replacement battery, not sure what that means (brand-wise) so I'm open to suggestions in terms of cranking power and AGM vs. normal. Also, will anything stupid happen because the car lost all power while the battery was swapped? I can't remember what happened the last time the car lost complete power for any length of time.
 
I get my batteries at Rural King now. They do just fine. They have both wet-cell and AGM options. Their warranties are still pro-rated too.

Just picked one up for our GLI yesterday. I installed the last one in 2019. Not bad for a car that had sat mostly unused for the last 18 months.

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