What did you do with your Thunderbird Today?

1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Broke something...
And changed the oil.
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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
I just wanted to open it, and snap.
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Rodeo Joe said:
Never heard of that happening before. Anything fall into the valve cover?
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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
No. The plug is shaped like a little jar. The pieces couldn't fall below that fortunately.
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Used to see this all the time in the shop, especially on the vehicles whose owners were OCD about the cap being oriented correctly. They are a two-piece design. The knob sits inside a threaded plug via a spring-loaded ratcheting mechanism. Just about all the domestic manufacturers used this style in the 90s and 00s.

They break after years of heat cycling and over-tightening the spring-loaded caps by clicking them around incessantly. They're not meant to be ratcheted around. It's a failsafe to prevent the threads from cracking inside the valve cover. If you're turning it tight enough to click the ratchet, it's too tight.
 
Grip a pair of channel locks around the rim and it'll twist right out.
 
Hopped in and tore off to the grocery store like I stole it and start into store and realize no wallet or license-called wife to bring it rather than run back and tempt fate.
 
Generalee0527 said:
Hopped in and tore off to the grocery store like I stole it and start into store and realize no wallet or license-called wife to bring it rather than run back and tempt fate.
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At least you knew where you were going, why you were going there, and you had pants on (unless that's why you didn't have a wallet or license). So that's half the battle right there.
 
Couple things, removed the exhaust to get it ready to be fully welded, put the wheels back on and gave it a much needed wash to get the 8 months of dust off, took it for a drive around the block with open headers(several times…) to get the flash rust off the rotors, dusted/vacuumed the interior and finally gave my faded wiper arms fresh coat of paint(anyone else but me take them completely off with every wash?)

I took zero pictures or videos of any of this, I’m sorry 😆
 
Tires and the remainder of the parts from my RA order came in today. The tires came in three days earlier than expected, so now I'm with tires that don't have clean wheels to get mounted onto. Kinda upset about that. But I guess, if I was already expecting to not get the tires mounted until next weekend, am I really "behind schedule"?
 
Went to drain the cooling system after replacing the tank yesterday (stripped threads) and adding a quart of prestone flush and a quart of rustaid. 17524489492365496967373064371812.jpg
And naah not gonna happen. Damn this Chinese plastic. If I can get it out I'll screw a brass plug in. Wonder how long it will take this to start leaking on it's own?
 
Kidd-7 said:
Which tubing did you use? I've tried a few and none worked.
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As best as I can make out, the inner diameter is 0.5". It's soft, so you can squeeze it, and it does wear over time. In three years of ownership, I had to replace them after about 2.5 years.

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This was actually the very first thing I did to my car after purchase, because the driver door kept rattling on the striker at every bump.
 
Dorman sells the whole piece; the actual problem is saggy door hinges. They sell kits for those too.
 
Grog6 said:
Dorman sells the whole piece;
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Yeah, but why replace a perfectly fine striker?

Grog6 said:
the actual problem is saggy door hinges.
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I disagree. Both my doors have zero sag, yet the bushings were absent (driver side) and very worn (passenger side) respectively when I bought the car.

I actually find that the vinyl tubing makes for a better bushing than the stock plastic, because the tube is slightly thicker and softer. Makes for a quieter door closing sound, too.
 
Grog may be referring to these...?

For whatever reason they don't show as completable for MN12's anymore. I bought them at my local parts store years ago and they fit perfect, although they were a white color back then.

If they are worn out it's a good indication that the door may be sagging. My Cougar is fairly low miles, and the door is starting to sag a bit. Good test is to pull up hard on the driver's side door. If any play can be felt the hinge pins are starting to get worn out.
 
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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
As best as I can make out, the inner diameter is 0.5". It's soft, so you can squeeze it, and it does wear over time. In three years of ownership, I had to replace them after about 2.5 years.

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This was actually the very first thing I did to my car after purchase, because the driver door kept rattling on the striker at every bump.
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My potential dislike of that is in my head that more tactile material seems like it would make the latch less prone to latch without a full blown slam. The 2.5 year thing bothers me as well, obviously the hose is dirt cheap and it’s not difficult to change but my OEM ones lasted 30 years/110k miles before both simultaneously cracked. I prefer these sorts of things be out of sight out of mind for as long as possible, I have enough other old car/hot rodded car worries 😆

I currently have the Dorman ones but I don’t like them either, the ID isn’t even close to the striker bolt, full on hotdog down a hallway. I ended up cutting up old beer cans to fill the gap.
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
As best as I can make out, the inner diameter is 0.5". It's soft, so you can squeeze it, and it does wear over time. In three years of ownership, I had to replace them after about 2.5 years.
This was actually the very first thing I did to my car after purchase, because the driver door kept rattling on the striker at every bump.
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I recall that a common plumbing pipe, maybe it was PEX was almost an exact fit. Can't see how something so soft as clear vinyl tube can hold up well in that location considering a metal latch grabs onto it. :unsure:
 
XR7-4.6 said:
My potential dislike of that is in my head that more tactile material seems like it would make the latch less prone to latch without a full blown slam. The 2.5 year thing bothers me as well, obviously the hose is dirt cheap and it’s not difficult to change but my OEM ones lasted 30 years/110k miles before both simultaneously cracked. I prefer these sorts of things be out of sight out of mind for as long as possible, I have enough other old car/hot rodded car worries 😆

I currently have the Dorman ones but I don’t like them either, the ID isn’t even close to the striker bolt, full on hotdog down a hallway. I ended up cutting up old beer cans to fill the gap.
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From what I recall, the Dorman striker bushings only worked with the Dorman striker bolts or something weird like that. I think I originally bought the Dorman striker bolts with the intention of just swapping the bushings, but they didn't fit onto the OEM striker bolts.
 
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