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4.6 32V 240 Wagon

Got it to run. I misunderstood how to turn off PATS in my tuner software. It's off now, and now it runs. Dash lights work, too! Can't run it for too long, though...no coolant or trans fluid. Time to start finishing up plumbing and putting everything back together.

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Hey Good Start!!!

Hey Ive been watching your progress along and I got the same feeling when I got my 7mgte started after 3 long years!!! It really purrs and is not as lous cause i installed a muffler from a brz twin exhaust on a heck of a deal. Kuddos to you and Keep up the great job !!!
Dz:rofl::oogle:
 
Thanks everyone for all the good words! I'm pretty psyched.

I have a question regarding power steering fluid. Since this is a 1998 Ford engine, that means the power steering and hydroboost system should use Mercon V transmission fluid per the owner's manual. Is the Volvo steering rack going to be ok with Mercon V? What have others run for power steering fluid on systems similar to mine?
 
Life and engine transplants are a series of compromises.

Your pump is expecting Mercon V, your rack is expecting Type F.

I suspect that either will be just fine.
 
Sounds fantastic. Still remember the feeling when the 5.0 came to life for the first time in my old 745, almost 20 years ago now (back before LS swaps were in style and when the EFI 5.0 Ford was the favorite swap motor in everything from Volvos to Miatas -- and of course a much simpler installation than what you have done).

Been watching progress here as well and enjoying it. Great to see a swap that breaks the mold. The Ford OHC motors are great to drive, smooth and powerful and wonderful sound. I have only had them in trucks but even there they can be enjoyed.

As for the ATF choice, the current (updated) formulation of Mercon V is supposed to be back-compatible with the old regular Mercon spec and Ford now specifies V for installation anywhere that the old Mercon was originally used. Lots of Volvos out there with generic all-purpose "Dex/Merc" fluid in the PS systems and no problems. Stands to reason that if they work fine with a fluid meeting the old Mercon spec, and Mercon V also meets that spec, it'll work fine too.

Best that I understand it, the various differences in ATF types and specs mainly have to do with friction modifiers, anti-foaming properties, anti-chatter additives, etc. Things that matter in an automatic transmission, but a PS system should be much less particular about anything other than viscosity being reasonably close to its original spec. I would be surprised if either the pump or rack or hydroboost unit could tell a difference with almost any off-the-shelf ATF you could find. Ford probably just published the Mercon V spec since it was what they were selling at the time.
 
I would be surprised if either the pump or rack or hydroboost unit could tell a difference with almost any off-the-shelf ATF you could find.

I would be as well. Thanks!

Been working on exhaust lately. I was going to use the Mustang H pipe but decided against it since it doesn't make much sense for my end goal. If I wanted this thing LOUD with true duals and tiny mufflers, I'd use it. I'd rather have the exhaust be a little louder than a stock Mark VIII.

I decided on a general design that uses a Y pipe, a straight through Vibrant Performance resonator, and a straight through Magnaflow muffler. I am using catalytic converters because I feel it's simply the right thing to do - even if they do cause me a great deal of inconvenience in the design of this system. The driver side cat can't sit too close to the engine because the transmission switch and linkage are there. The 4R70W is also bulky in general, which limits how close to the car the pipes can live. One more reason to use a T5 or other manual transmission.

I tacked up to the Y pipe today. Tomorrow will be fine tuning it so it actually fits...it needs a bit of work.

I purchased a pipe cutting tool to save me from using the cutting wheel constantly (because let's face it...cutting wheels suck to use). It has been AWESOME. I decided to go with this expensive tool and it's been very worth it. I spray the area I'm about to cut with some WD-40 and crank away. So if anyone reading this is about to build an exhaust system from scratch, this tool will make the job much easier.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LHACKW/

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Got the exhaust welded up, hangers and all. I ended up making a bit of a crazy decision with the driver side cat. It now lives under the driveshaft U joint, so I'll need to add some heat shielding there. This was the only way to get the exhaust as high up in the car as I wanted. I'm excited to get this thing out of my one car garage and see some side views of how everything looks. DEI exhaust heat wrap is next...

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Nice work on the exhaust; running cats will absolutely make the car more livable on a day to day basis, and the gf/wife/etc won't be covered in "stinky old car smell" which is a bonus.

Are those still the '03-'04 Mach I Mustang manifolds, without any modifications? Looks like they dump somewhere that's tight but not impossible. With my setup the '05 3V Mustang manifold outlet flange location absolutely won't work in a 240 on either side. Ford must have pushed those pierce points outwards on the S197 I guess.
 
Nice work on the exhaust; running cats will absolutely make the car more livable on a day to day basis, and the gf/wife/etc won't be covered in "stinky old car smell" which is a bonus.

Are those still the '03-'04 Mach I Mustang manifolds, without any modifications? Looks like they dump somewhere that's tight but not impossible. With my setup the '05 3V Mustang manifold outlet flange location absolutely won't work in a 240 on either side. Ford must have pushed those pierce points outwards on the S197 I guess.

Yeah, and I won't be covered in it either! Lol. I hope they actually function with the addition of exhaust wrap despite them being so far away from the engine.

Yes, they are the Mach 1 cast manifolds, and I did not modify them at all. The dumping area is very tight. Driver side it exits in a fairly nice area, but passenger side is a lot worse.
 
Yeah, and I won't be covered in it either! Lol. I hope they actually function with the addition of exhaust wrap despite them being so far away from the engine.

Yes, they are the Mach 1 cast manifolds, and I did not modify them at all. The dumping area is very tight. Driver side it exits in a fairly nice area, but passenger side is a lot worse.

Cats will still function there after they light off. On cold start though your tailpipe emissions will be much higher the further away the cats are from the exhaust ports. With cold start enrichment the O2 levels and EGTs will be low, meaning inefficient catalyst operation until it gets up to temp. That's why most OEMs have gone to close-coupled cats or pre-cats right at the cylinder head. Unfortunately you probably won't be able to get your 245 ULEV certified! :-P
 
Got the exhaust in the car for good with heat wrap. It's actually a little quieter than I thought it was going to be. It also sounds nearly identical to a stock Mark VIII base. I'm pretty happy with it.

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The car is running and driving. Its maiden voyage was a trip downtown for a date with my wife.

Getting there was a bit of a whirlwind. I decided at some point that this weekend would be the weekend I drive the car. Thursday night I was looking at getting everything put together and ready for final installation. I had left the original coolant pipes on my thermostat housing this entire time because I figured everything would be fine. However, when I removed the coolant hose that goes to the expansion tank to replace it with a new one, I found this:

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Yeah...not about to run that. So I scrambled to try to find one through my connections and online. No dice. This is not a part that is available in the aftermarket. It is specific to the Mark VIII, and I've designed my plumbing around it at this point. So Friday morning I take a chance and call one of the local scrap yards in town. Columbia, MO isn't exactly big, and the chances of any yard having a Mark VIII are very slim. Sure enough, they've got one. And it has its thermostat housing. But if I want it, I need to pull it myself. For all I know, it could be some rust bucket POS car with the same problem. Lucky for me, the coolant in the car was very clean and the barb on the housing was perfectly intact.

Here it is installed in the car. The lower radiator hose is a section off of a longer hose from a 70s Chevy. It was the only hose on the wall at the parts store that had the geometry I was looking for. Everything else is Mark VIII hoses.

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Friday and today I spent wrapping up mounting of the cruise module, expansion tank, fuse box, and air box. This was good, because I had been unsure how to go about mounting all of these for a pretty long time. I also added some heat shielding around the trans tail shaft since there's a catalytic converter living under it now.

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The transmission took fluid no problem, as expected, and the engine took coolant no problem either. Took a minute for the heat to start working, but eventually all the air was forced out and it worked.

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And last but not least, there it is downtown in a parking spot.

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The driving experience is pretty awesome. The car actually has power now! I haven't floored it, and I haven't gone faster than 45 mph. The engine sounds fantastic in the car. I'm very happy with the exhaust system I built. Going 45, the car is very smooth. No vibration that I noticed. However, it's hard to focus on just one thing at this point since I'm trying to focus on literally everything! Right now, it has no power brakes, no power steering, and no air conditioning. The brakes feel...hard. Not something I'd want to live with but I probably could if I had to. Power steering, though. Definitely gonna need that. And air conditioning would be nice since it was a high of 97 today. Didn't bother me too much though since I was working in the garage dripping sweat all day leading up to the drive. Overall, the experience was everything I was hoping for and more. I'm excited to get the thing fully sorted and add the things I mentioned it was missing.

Videos to come.
 
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