1990 country squire resto/lowrider in UK

[andyfanshawe]

Interesting developments on the airbag front

Heres a shot I took earlier on of a seriously corroded front centre sensor.



Heres the same sensor but with the metal peeled back



The silver circle is a rivet that should have been connected to the remains of the wire that is sticking out! So that is why the airbag ECU was detecting no earth through the circuit.

Here it is cleaned up a bit



So I soldered a wire to the little bit that was left and secured it back to the case with a self tapping screw.



The white stuff is a sealant to try to prevent it all happening again!

Then fully rustproofed (dinitrol 3125) and installed.

Guess what? After supposedly years of the airbag light being on, it actually went off!!

Too good to be true almost. Time will tell though.

Andy.

[GoodSamaritan]

I know your work ethic won't permit it, but I'd just hunt down the airbag module under the dash, and disconnect it, then pull the bulb. Then again, I've had a bad experience with these things. I'd rather take my chances with a seatbelt.

Either way, you still do impressive work.

[andyfanshawe]

I know your work ethic won't permit it, but I'd just hunt down the airbag module under the dash, and disconnect it, then pull the bulb. Then again, I've had a bad experience with these things. I'd rather take my chances with a seatbelt.

Either way, you still do impressive work.

Thanks GoodSamaritan.
What was your bad experience?

Andy.

PS Whats the chances of a 20 year old airbag going off properly in an accident anyway?

[87gtVIC]

PS Whats the chances of a 20 year old airbag going off properly in an accident anyway?

Only one way to find out......

[Dereck]

Heres a bit of mojo for me! A new set of rear light units for my wagon! $25 each. $20 shipping to the UK and a further $30 customs charge!!


Andy.

Hi Andyfanshaw

Damn thirty sovs customs charge you must have been real unlucky as I have never been caught for customs charges especially when the USAF was shipping my stuff in

That sure is some fine work you are doing there dont know how you do it in your back yard, I have a fully equiped workshop and reckon I couldn't do it.

Regards

Dereck

[1980c10]

Lookin good, you make me wanna get started on a wire tuck on mine.

[GoodSamaritan]

Thanks GoodSamaritan.
What was your bad experience?

Andy.
t
PS Whats the chances of a 20 year old airbag going off properly in an accident anyway?

Well... explosives tend to become more volatile with age, so I'd say it's a good bet that it will work.

I tboned a rice burner with my 91 Crown Vic. I was going 55mph and the guy was going nearly 0 in my direction of travel. (maybe 15pmh , if that, perpendicular to me) Now I tend to sit pretty far from the wheel, yet the thing went off so hard it left an imprint of the buttons on my shirt and the contents of my pocket that lasted for days. It also cut a pretty nice gash in my wrist (the plastic cover) and made it swell up so that it looked like I had half a tennis ball under the skin. Fortunately it never reached my face.

The only soreness I had from the wreck was the big angry red splotches all over my chest from the airbag. No seatbelt marks, etc. The thing is a flippin BOMB, with the detonator wired to the front bumper. I can see the benefit in a serious impact, but when the radiator never even gets into the fan...

They are too violent, and to easily deployed.
I met a guy who worked at the local dealership during the mid 90's who broke the bones in his arm/wrist so badly he'd had two or three surgeries to set them right. How? He was going maybe 10-15mph through the parking lot and noticed some kids standing near a vehicle in the back lot. He was craning his neck to see what they were doing, and clipped one of the big light poles just as he adjusted his grip to crank the wheel and go back there.

I can see it going off when the frame deforms, or when the front end collapses, but 15mph in a parking lot? They had to replace the bumper cover (93 tbird iirc) and the airbag. The car was fine other than that.

[grandpaslincoln]

I'd hate to be wearing glasses and have one of those go off in my face.

[pantera77]

Aren't early Ford airbags known for being slightly overpowered?

Those tail lights look great!

[MrMarquis]

Aren't early Ford airbags known for being slightly overpowered?

With all this talk, I'm glad I don't have one!


Andy, congrats on turning off the light! Celebrate your victory accordingly.

[andyfanshawe]

With all this talk, I'm glad I don't have one!


Andy, congrats on turning off the light! Celebrate your victory accordingly.

Hi, congratulations may be a bit premature............

Here we go, 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.

First...............that code 8 for the airbag circuit front sensor, has now reappeared and turned into a code 9! Perhaps the heat from the soldering iron on the little bit of wire that was left has affected a solder joint on the PCB buried in the protective covering. The resistance across the firing circuit resistor is way too much. It was okay before the soldering. Whatever has happened either needs further investigation by trying to dig away at the plastic, gel covering, whatever its called. Bit like an archaeological dig-a bit at a time and with a lot of care OR loose the airbag and all associated components and wiring completely. 1990 airbag technology is a bit dated and worrying.

Secondly and more serious was the appearance of the oil pressure warning light after a run and a thoroughly warm engine. According to the manual thats 6psi or less - oops!. No problem, perhaps a faulty switch on the block. So, get an oil pressure gauge, make up an adaptor hose and wire it in temporarily.........



Fire it up and what do I see? 40 psi with a cold engine and 10W 40 semi synthetic oil.
As it warmed up I kept an eye on the pressure. When fully warm, the pressure was 5 or 6 psi. As I blipped the throttle the oil pressure went up to a max of 25 psi.
Now call me a perfectionist, but that ain't enough.
The engine doesn't rattle or smoke or misfire even when idling hot, but it doesn't inspire confidence!

During the winter when the engine was on the stand, the bores were well within spec, the cam lift was also within spec, but the engine was filthy inside and out. I removed and cleaned the oil pick up tube and cleaned as much as I could. When the decision came to rebuild or not, I knew the bodywork/chassis work would take a lot of labour and money so took a chance on renewing all the gaskets, core plugs, oil seals, lapping valves in etc. It wasn't burning oil before and was quiet, so a calculated gamble was taken. Leave the crank bearings well alone, save some money, put it back together, finish the bodywork/chassis welding, get it back on the streets, get it taxed (licensed) and insured and legal. Then sit back and assess whats next.

Well it looks as if the gamble may not have paid off. I don't think I have any choice than remove the engine again, strip it down and rebuild it properly. Not something I wanted to do, but that was the gamble, and if it needs to be done, so be it.

I'll change the oil and filter again to see what happens, but I am not expecting any change. I am assuming the clearences on the mains and big ends and cam are the main culprits for the loss of oil pressure.

Here we go again.....................

Andy.

[87gtVIC]

That blows, but now you have another chance to at least throw some better parts at it for more power.

[1990LTD]

yeah, if it's gonna be out and on a stand, squeeze some more power out of it! sad to hear that it needs to come out though, that's a shitload of work that you probably don't want to look at with all of the time you've already put in

[andyfanshawe]

Hi all.
Quick update: The engine has been running very well so I have been putting a few miles on it.

Myself and the family have been holidaying around the country in our caravan pulled by our Chrysler Voyager (still american!) so not much has been done.

We are flying out to Gran Canaria next week for a few days so even less will be done!! The UK hasn't supplied much sunshine over the last few weeks.

As soon as I get back the rear inner wheel arches are coming out and be redesigned and the rear quarter will be reprofiled. Then the gas tank filler door will be welded up and relocated behind the rear light unit.
I then intend to work forwards removing the "wood" and repainting as I go.
When I have the bodywork done, I will then pull the engine and rebuild it!

Pulling an engine is no biggie!

Andy.

[hemihotrod402]

...He's alive!!

glad to hear the engine is running well.