What did you do today instead of working on your Mustang?

[Mister 4x4]

So, I finally got around to starting the clean-up of the transmission & T-Case.  Back when I started this, my pal Dave and I pulled the drive train from his Jeep (Klooge) and swapped in the parts from mine.  Working on getting his ready to take back home with him, I tossed this aside (under my Jeep) and decided it wasn't going to clean itself.  Using a flat metal scraper, flat blade screw drivers, some awls & picking tools, a wire brush, and a serving spoon I found that had been re-purposed as a tool (somehow), I managed to get most of the crud removed. Still need to do more, but I’m getting close to almost being able to stuff it up under Dookie. Here's the fun from today:

This was after scooping around a dozen serving spoons full of sand & gunk from the pan.

You know it’s pretty bad when you need to almost chisel the gunk off before you can take the wire brush to it. That stuff must’ve been around 1/4″ thick in places.

Here we are after about an hour of scraping and scrubbing the other side with the metal scraper and wire brush.  Imagine my surprise finding a well-preserved aluminum case under all that.  Notice the clod of farmland stuffed in under the transfer case.

Getting closer - still got a way to go before I soak it in Purple Power and hose it off. Probably scooped 30 or so 'spoonfuls' of gunk out there so far.

 

[Mister 4x4]

OK - this sucker's ready to go in. Got some more of the gunk scraped off, then slathered it with some engine degreaser gel, power rinsed it, and gave it a blow-dry. Gonna hit the engine hard tomorrow, then shove 'em into the Jeep before the weekend. I forgot how much I like jammin' with Dennis Allen during the day on 101.9 The Fire while workin' on my cars. Check ya again tomorrow, D!

Got some more gunk scraped off - probably another dozen or so 'spoonfuls.' Time to hit it with some degreaser gel.

Got a little more scrubbing to do on this side before the degreaser gel.

That's about the best I can do with the wire brush and picking tools.

After degreasing gel and power rinsing. Good enough!

Ready to go in. I'll pull the skid plate after it's all in (and supported with the transmission jack) so I can hit the bottom again with the wire brush and service the transmission. It at least looks WAY better than it did.

It was even all gunked up in here. This'll work. Ready to go in.

 

[machattack]

Nice Job!  Thats about a 110% improvement. 

They can be buggers to clean up for sure. A 3000 psi hotsy works well. Next time use that as an excuse to get yourself one  :biggrin: .   Warm weather and easy off oven cleaner also puts the hurt on them thar trannys. 

 

[1sostatic]

4x4 uses a straining spoon :classic_blink: ... is that so you can see the lumps that came out of the trans fluids ?  :biggrin:

 

[Mister 4x4]

No, it just happened to be something I could use to scoop all the crap out of the transmission pan. I would use a much finer screen for the fluid.

So yesterday I saw that the forums were undergoing upgrade so I couldn't post my progress. Here it is:

Got most of the gunk off the engine today. Just need to pull the timing cover tomorrow to finish up and paint the block. After that, it's ready to go in.

Driver side after scraping and starting to hit it with the die-grinder loaded up with buffing cookies.

Here's the passenger side before getting started. I have new headers, so these exhaust manifolds are going to the metal recycler (along with the ones from the Mustang). Someone decided a mechanical oil pressure gauge would be a good idea... and they're not bad... right up to the point they start leaking and the nylon hose goes brittle and cracks. That explains all the gunk on the transmission and transfer case.

Here we are [almost] all cleaned up. Just gotta get that timing cover (along with the oil pump, distributor, harmonic balancer, and water pump) off tomorrow to finish up and paint.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Today, I pulled the water pump first thing - eewww... nasty. Also popped the oil pump cap off and cleaned out what I could behind it. The aftermarket mechanical oil pressure sending unit is now in the bin as well - gotta find the right fitting to put a proper electric oil pressure sender back on. Also got the rest of the main body of the block cleaned up with a conical wire brush... that little die grinder really blows through the air in the compressor - seems like it ran non-stop once I started using it. Also dropped all of the bolts for the oil pan and water pump in a jar of Simple Green to soak. Hopefully, that'll clean them up.

Tomorrow, install the new water pump and oil pan, tape off a few things, and paint this sucker.

Yeesh! That's the crud that was hiding in the water pump, and not very inspiring. It didn't seem to go any further into the block, so hopefully just running some anti-freeze flush when I get it running will clean out any leftovers.

The die grinder and conical wire wheel made quick work of the icky water pump residue. That shiny spot was about the only bad spot that corroded. Fortunately, it's in a spot with lots of material behind it, so no blow-thru to be expected.

Almost done with the wire brush. Getting close!

Taped off the oil pump, and hit this side with the wire brush one last time. Ready for paint!

One last shot after finishing up with the wire brush. Ready for paint! Keeping my Jeep in gray scale, I'd actually thought of painting it black, but changed my mind to go with Duplicolor Cast Iron, since I'll paint the pulleys and accessories gloss black, and have a bunch of chrome goodies to go with it all.

 

[lectricegg]

Since the last time I worked on the Mustang (Dec 26th) I tweaked my back (L4 nerve pinch), I've pretty much been sittin' on me arse making sure I don't breathe or bend wrong to anger the lower back gods. It's gotten better, I can actually walk without the cane I swiped from my wife, and I'm at the level 'moderate discomfort' as opposed to actual pain. Still gotta be careful bending and twisting, though.

Aside from that, I gave Eddie a buzz today. He's gotten fuzzy beyond belief, so I whipped out the clippers and gave him a buzz (used the #7 blade on him). Tossed him up on the kitchen table and went for it - only took about 80 minutes this time, unlike the standard 2-3 hours (because he wants nothing to do with it and fidgets constantly), but my wife helped rotate him around and keep him still when I worked the complicated places.

He looks like he lost about 10 lbs... I wish I could look like I lost about one-fifth of my body weight just by getting a hair cut. rofl

Sorry about your back. I know how much pain that can be. I had spine surgery a couple years ago. Don't go that route if you don't have to. Just getting out of my Mustang is a major chore. I manage to get around, though. Hope you mend soon.

 

[Johnny57]

Just started today, so not sure yet.
But yesterday was a very cold power wash the undercarriage day, and get some painting done. Can't have "pastel" yellow traction bars on a screaming yellow vert!, oh hell no!

 

[MotoArts]

I've always been into motorcycles. In the ending stages of rehabilitating this neglected little '95 Suzuki JR50 now. This thing is tiny... weighs a whopping 80 pounds and fits in a car trunk. It's amazing how quickly people can just trash such a low time bike as this... I see it all of the time. Fabbed up a set of training wheels so my niece and nephew can learn to ride on it. Seat cover and pipe need installed and she'll be ready to rip. I'll wait to put the NOS fenders and grips on, since I'm quite sure it'll get worse before it gets better
The bottom blue bike is a '94 Yamaha PW80 I redid last year. It was in MUCH worse shape than the yellow bike was, to the point of even having gravel and grass in the crankshaft case cavity... It's the next step up in size from the JR.
There's an '82 Seca Turbo hiding under the cover behind the '84 YZ125. The Turbo bike needs it oil pump seal replaced. The seal is not a serviceable part number from Yamaha, but thanks to a fellow Turbo owner in Australia who cross referenced it into a Honda #, I'll hopefully be able to solve it's issue shortly.

 

[turtle5353]

I've always been into motorcycles. In the ending stages of rehabilitating this neglected little '95 Suzuki JR50 now. This thing is tiny... weighs a whopping 80 pounds and fits in a car trunk. It's amazing how quickly people can just trash such a low time bike as this... I see it all of the time. Fabbed up a set of training wheels so my niece and nephew can learn to ride on it. Seat cover and pipe need installed and she'll be ready to rip. I'll wait to put the NOS fenders and grips on, since I'm quite sure it'll get worse before it gets better
The bottom blue bike is a '94 Yamaha PW80 I redid last year. It was in MUCH worse shape than the yellow bike was, to the point of even having gravel and grass in the crankshaft case cavity... It's the next step up in size from the JR.
There's an '82 Seca Turbo hiding under the cover behind the '84 YZ125. The Turbo bike needs it oil pump seal replaced. The seal is not a serviceable part number from Yamaha, but thanks to a fellow Turbo owner in Australia who cross referenced it into a Honda #, I'll hopefully be able to solve it's issue shortly.

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Very cool. We have been working on the bikes lately too. Both my sons and I race woods harescrambles. We have Ktm 50 , 105, and a 300. Couple pit bikes. 4 quads. And my old 1998 Rmx250. Here’s a couples pics of our race bikes.

 

[Mister 4x4]

So, after cleaning the bolts I left soaking overnight in Simple Green, the engine is painted. Well... Okay... everything except the top end, which all of those components (intake manifold, valve covers, distributor, et al) are getting replaced. My focus was to get this sucker in the Jeep, and work on the rest later. Tomorrow, get the engine mounts cleaned up & painted, then stuff it in.

Got the new water pump and oil pan on - it's ready for paint!

Duplicolor Cast Iron, sticking with the gray scale theme of my Jeep.

I'm loving this color! Only one tiny little run, but it'll be on the bottom, and... it's an engine, after all. Like, who really cares if it's perfect, right?!

I thought about pulling the timing cover and painting it Cast Aluminum, but then I saw some other AMC engines painted all one color and decided that would be good enough. I've got lots of new chrome goodies for it, anyway.

 

[tony-muscle]

Did a Covid test

 

[CarCrazy73]

Looked at the baby, then looked out the window at the snow and wishing I was somewhere warmer so I could be driving her. All shined up and not going anywhere, bummer!

 

[Stanglover]

Well if you remember a couple of months back, I did a huge kitchen reno. Well, that's all done, but now I have to patch up all the necessary holes I had to cut in the basement walls and ceilings for the electricians to do their "thing". A pain in the *** job, but when that's done, the snow-ball effect will take over and I'll end up repainting the laundry area and my office, just to make it all look perdy once again. It never ends!!

 

[Idaho Chris]

Changed my avatar photo to the lit Ford sign in my garage instead of that blurry photo of the back end of my car!

 

[asajay]

single digit temps, snow on the ground overnight.... I plowed the 600 feet of driveway we have. Waiting on heater components for the shop heater and maybe I can get back to work on the Mach I.

 

[jdomke1]

I had such great plans this holiday break. Unfortunately I sliced my finger on a sharp knife opening Christmas gifts. 4 stitches and my finger in a splint until January 3rd. I’ve got nothing big enough to slip over my finger to keep grease off and it’s my index finger so I use it for everything. I’m dying not playing with my toys.

 

[MikeGriese]

Bailed 25 gallons(!) out of the bottom cold air return duct of the electric furnace in the house. The de/humidifier drain plugged up and the water backed up into the duct.

 

[detritusmaximus]

I had such great plans this holiday break. Unfortunately I sliced my finger on a sharp knife opening Christmas gifts. 4 stitches and my finger in a splint until January 3rd. I’ve got nothing big enough to slip over my finger to keep grease off and it’s my index finger so I use it for everything. I’m dying not playing with my toys.

The drugstore or gas station restroom might have something that would work, but it might look a little funny. Some have 'texture' so you can grip things better...

For me, I had Mustang work today...taking apart a parts car.

 

[Johnny57]

With all that needs to be done on the 72 vert, and a complete bodywork, paint and total engine rebuild on my 94 cobra, I don't have time for much else! throw in a lost month with that "virus" thingy, I am running a bit slow, and I'm behind in stuff needin done. What I have been doing, is detailing/painting my 343 motor parts for the 94 as I wait for parts. I like to be different and have contrast under the hood. So the polished valve covers got a 400 grit satin finish on the tops, lower intake got a coat of Duplicolor cast aluminum color paint, and the upper intake got VHT wrinkle paint, with Cobra detail in the early FORD engine blue.