The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Are blower motors interchangeable year over year as well as non-SATC and SATC?

Mine is making a ticking noise...
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Yes. If it’s ticking at low speed they all seem to. I bought a new blower when I thought it was going out(turned out to be the PWM) and it had a whirring hum to it like a power drill, I swapped the stock one back in, the tick is preferable
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Flushing the system with mercon usually quiets it right down
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^ this. I have never understood why anyone still uses that hydraulic water for power steering instead of ATF.
 
Would a torque converter shudder cause the engine temperature to rise?
 
I wouldn't think so. It could add some load to the engine, but I wouldn't think significant enough to cause temp to rise.
 
If anything, I would think it'll increase transmission temperature. Torque converter shudder is generally caused by a slipping lockup clutch, itself often caused by broken down fluid with inadequate friction properties.

And since the transmission cooler sits inside radiator coolant, that could raise overall coolant temperature.

But I would think such an increase would be incremental at best.

That's my best guesswork. Maybe this should be called a stupid answers thread.
 
Derphound01 said:
Would a torque converter shudder cause the engine temperature to rise?
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Can you datalog transmission temperature? See if the engine getting hot is from the transmission.
I'll tell you, if the temp increase is coming from the trans, it's not the tc. It's the direct clutch. :( They do that.
Find a 2002 Gran marquis transmission.
Hmmm. Ever build a transmission? I have one in the garage; just needs some assembly. :rofl: I'd sell it cheap. You can have your choice on tailshafts. I have a few 7-tooth ones. :)
 
Grog6 said:
I'll tell you, if the temp increase is coming from the trans, it's not the tc. It's the direct clutch. :( They do that.
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Same drivability symptoms as TC shudder?
 
Correct. Have had about 5,000 other projects to deal with lately it seems.
 
Do these plastic sleeves around the seat belts potentially affect safety?

My thought: the sleeves are quite tall and stiff. When you're in your seat with your seat belt fastened, the belt comes toward your hip from the side rather than from below. There's quite a bit of slack.
In a collision, that amount of slack could cause your body to fly forward a few additional inches.

20231019_172230_resized.jpg
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Do these plastic sleeves around the seat belts potentially affect safety?

My thought: the sleeves are quite tall and stiff. When you're in your seat with your seat belt fastened, the belt comes toward your hip from the side rather than from below. There's quite a bit of slack.
In a collision, that amount of slack could cause your body to fly forward a few additional inches.

View attachment 2274
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The belt would rub the door panel without them. I'm sure the engineers factored that slack potential in, and anything safety related is one thing I won't try outsmarting them on. these were five star rated in front end collisions
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Do these plastic sleeves around the seat belts potentially affect safety?

My thought: the sleeves are quite tall and stiff. When you're in your seat with your seat belt fastened, the belt comes toward your hip from the side rather than from below. There's quite a bit of slack.
In a collision, that amount of slack could cause your body to fly forward a few additional inches.

View attachment 2274
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When pushed all the way back they move the seatbelt out of the way to provide access to the rear seats for passengers.
 

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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Can we fill up with Sheetz 88? (Which is way cheap.)
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It's not a good idea at all. Sheetz's 88 is an E15 blend. Our cars weren't designed to run on E10, much less E15. E15 isn't advised for anything pre-MY2001. At best, you'll lose power and fuel economy. At worst, you'll start pinging and eating up the seals in your fuel system.

E10 wasn't introduced in the mainstream until the early 2000's. Ford retroactively changed the MN12 oil viscosity in the early 2000's to reduce drag inside the engine to compensate for E10's reduced efficiency.

If you have E0 where you are, run it every chance you get. Read here for more details: https://www.tccoa.com/threads/just-got-a-96-v8.194224/post-2115739
 
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Another note on the Sheetz 88. It is blended at the pump from the store's Regular 87 and E85 tanks. Straight ethanol has an octane rating of 115, so blending it with Regular to E15 increases the octane to 88.

Sheetz sells very little E85 on a regular basis. Ethanol is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs water. It also attracts gunk. Next time you're at a station with E85, notice how gunky the E85 nozzle and hose are compared to the gasoline ones. Now imagine that gunk inside your fuel system and engine.

On the flip side, E10 is blended at the pipeline terminals when it is loaded onto the tanker truck. The "Regular" gasoline at the pipeline terminal is actually 83 octane. When it is blended to E10, the ethanol octane boosts the mixture to 87 octane.
 
Last tidbit on E10/E15 and I'll shut up. When oxygenated fuels went mainstream, the sight glasses on the tanker heads literally began dissolving overnight.

Trucks would be going down the road pissing gasoline out of the sight glasses because the ethanol was literally dissolving them.

So yeah, I definitely wouldn't put any more of that into your car than you already have to.

:zbrick:
 
How does an angle kit affect drivability?
I know it’s meant for sliding, but how would an angle kit affect daily driving?
 
Boston-Bull said:
Will a 225/60SR/15 fit on a 15x7 wheel ?
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Yes, but will be short looking on these cars. 235/60 or 245/60 looks much better. I've had both on stock wheels and prefer the look of 235, but 245 are perfect for the speedo.
 
Did I ask a stupid question today? I called a gas station and asked them if their gas has any ethanol. He said I don't know. I asked if he's know somebody that does, and he said they don't give out that sort of info on the phone

???
 
Derphound01 said:
Same drivability symptoms as TC shudder?
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When the direct clutch slips under load, it feels similar to the tc shudder, or 'rumble strips' on the freeway. If you're datalogging, you'll see the fluid temp spike bigtime. The clutch only slips about once before it no longer engages at all. I've felt it at the same spot a few times. :) The fix is a full rebuild, new tc, and a gallon of mineral spirits to clean all the burnt plate material out of everywhere. You have to go thru ever passage in the vb, all the worm tracks, everything, to get it all out. I'm still working on the one that was in the Tbird; It was a jy trans that had previously rebuilt badly. They used thin alto clutches, and used the increased number of plates, and got the clearances wrong. I bet it didn't last a week. The direct was never fully releasing, lol. It now has kolene steels, and a normal compliment of raybestos plates.
 
Ethanol also dissolves the inside of the stock fuel lines. It ends up as black gunk clogging the screens of the injectors. Stock tune is for e0.
You can tune for anything, tho. Best mileage is 89 octane e0.Which is what our stock tune is written for.
 
Vicinity said:
Did I ask a stupid question today? I called a gas station and asked them if their gas has any ethanol. He said I don't know. I asked if he's know somebody that does, and he said they don't give out that sort of info on the phone

???
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99% of pump gasoline in the US is E10. If it was E0, it would be labeled as such and would cost a good dollar more per gallon.
 
Grog6 said:
Ethanol also dissolves the inside of the stock fuel lines. It ends up as black gunk clogging the screens of the injectors. Stock tune is for e0.
You can tune for anything, tho. Best mileage is 89 octane e0.Which is what our stock tune is written for.
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Should I seaform the fuel system more often since I’m running E85?
 
From what I've been told, you should not run e85 unless you have stainless steel fuel lines or rubber/flexible lines that are approved for it. Otherwise you'll rust the fuel lines from the inside out and rot out the rubber lines.
 
Irv said:
It's funny that while there's interest in adding a power antenna, I'm thinking of ways to get rid of mine. I don't listen to terrestrial radio, but since I don't want to leave a broken power mast alone, my choices for replacing my second broken power mast feed in 24 years are:
  1. Replace with another power mast, which I have an extra NOS OEM one on hand from the last time I replaced it due to a shipping error
  2. Replace with a fixed stubby antenna
  3. Shave and paint fender, use glass mountable antenna or place rubber marine antenna under the dash
I mean, I'm obviously going with the third option. It's a matter of whether I also do the first before I'm ready to have the front fender painted, because I currently have the mast positioned to perfectly show 3/4 full segments and not look stupid despite having a broken feed.
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It appears someone drove mine into a car wash as it is bent and missing it's guts. Probably going to go with this...

https://www.amazon.com/Contour-Crow...quis-Sable-Mystique-Continental/dp/B07R7X39WKAntenna.jpg
 
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