4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
03-08-2007, 09:32 PM
#1
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4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
So I bought a 5.0 a few months ago and knew it was a conversion car.... I replaced exhaust and did the normal stuff that we all do with our LX's and GT's, but, when I changed the headers over to the BBK shorty equals, there is barely enough room to bolt the one on the drivers side in because of the steering arm. I thought it seemed odd..... but I did it anyhow and it's been a couple of months, I've let everything settle down, and made sure everything was tight, but there's this knock/tick that comes from the steering arm (from where it is hitting it all the time), now, it changes tone during acceleration (faster/slower/louder/softer) and I know for sure that it is the header resting against the steering arm. I lift up on (hard) the steering wheel and it gets less noticable. So I lifted it, checked the motor mounts and stuff, everything is fine, I just wonder if there's a known fix for this. I mean, there HAS to be someone who has done a conversion and knows the fix to this...... It never did it with the stock manifolds..... but who wants those on a pony anyhow?! Let me know what you guys think...... and setting the motor any higher is out of the question..... I'm not trying to buy a new driveshaft once it's thrown out of alignment..... I've seen it happen......
03-08-2007, 09:44 PM
#3
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RE: 4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
Yup, nice try, I thought about that too though. But no, there's actually marks on the steering arm when you look under it while it's on the lift.... You can see that it's rubbing kinda bad.....
03-08-2007, 09:48 PM
#4
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RE: 4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
did you ever think of installing a washer in between your motor mount and the K-member... Or maybe that your motor didnt go in perfectly straight.. try loosening both motor mounts and try to slide the motor a small bit towards the passenger side.
03-08-2007, 09:54 PM
#5
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RE: 4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
You know, I did slide it over just a little and it gave me more clearance than what I had, but that's the thing, now it just has the annoying-*** tick/knock to it. And you can feel it in the steering wheel. It used to be that you could barely steer at all until I moved the engine a little. I mean, probably 1/2 to 1 inch. Not much, but enough that the rag joint is well past the header. Now it's the actual "arm" that's giving me problems..... I contimplated getting a tilt steering wheel and just re-routing the entire steering system to a lower position. But I was hoping to get some second opinions from my fellow mustangforum.com members.....
03-08-2007, 10:58 PM
#6
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RE: 4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
Do you have rubber motor mounts? They can look good but still be bad and sag. Also you shouldn't be able to move your steering shaft up and down by pushing on the steering wheel. Look under the dash an make sure the steering shaft is secured down and thebrackets for the shaft haven't come loose.
03-09-2007, 01:22 AM
#8
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RE: 4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
Um, actually, no, my steering arm passes just past the header. I can't see how it would be able to run "through" the header since there's no space between the header pipes to route it through. It's a little dark now, so I'll check the brackets tomorrow, keep you guys posted, but no, I don't figure there's anything wrong with the brackets, it takes QUITE a bit of force to pull up on the steering wheel to get the noise/vibrations to stop. And it's not like it moves more than a half-inch or so, and that's with as much force as a 190lb guy can put against it, well, without having to replace the shaft..... :P Anyhow, let me know.... I'm at a loss for ideas other than selling this thing. And I'd hate for this to be a simple fix, but I've never had a conversion car before.... So this may be my last......
03-09-2007, 08:48 PM
#9
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RE: 4 cyl conv./header clearance prob.
Okay, so it's official, the brackets for the shaft are fine and it's still beyond me how anyone can get a steering arm through equal length shory headers, so if that's the "fix" action and someone who's done a 4-V8 conversion on a fox has experience with this problem, spread the wealth....