kishy's 1984 Town Car

[kishy]

I think Panther seats are maybe appropriately designed if you're 4 feet tall and your arms are longer than your legs. That's the only way you could possibly keep your entire back in contact with the seatback without having to oddly cant the entire seat forward. My 83 with manual seats (therefore no adjustable seat bottom angle) is impossible to sit in "properly". You are pretty much forced to lean forward because the most upright position of the seatback is still reclined too far relative to the floor, but the seat bottom is slanted back...I'm 6'2, I can't sit with my knees jammed into the dashboard just so my back stays in contact with the seat.

The Chrysler seats are nice because they have full height backs and the shape and angle allows me to sit with my back completely against the seatback, head not always in contact with the head restraint but it will touch if I tilt my head back slightly. That is exactly how an automotive seat should be. None of this "shoulders being higher than the top of the seat" nonsense. If we get rear ended in these cars, they'll either break our necks or give us severe whiplash. Swapping to the bigger head restraint is a worthwhile preventive measure in that area.



So, a while ago I took the smog pump and AC belt off because the smog pump had begun making some horrific grinding noises. This is forcing me to revisit the smog pump topic because this car has brand new cats.

I understand that the smog pump is only used in the first few minutes of operation of the engine, after which the bypass sends the air back out to atmosphere. I understand (foggily) that the purpose is to enable more complete catalytic action by the cats by providing necessary oxygen for reaction (via the ports on the cats) as well as enabling more complete reaction of not-fully-combusted stuff in the manifolds and downpipes before it gets to the cats (via the ports on the heads). I also understand that it makes a meaningful improvement in tailpipe hydrocarbon emissions before the cats have warmed up and reached peak effectiveness. Therefore, it is not "useless" and does serve a meaningful, valuable purpose.

However: those buggers are expensive (where they're even available) and I'm not replacing it unless I have to. The car has functioning EGR and cats which means that at all times except for when it's first started cold, its emissions should be well within acceptable limits. The car is emissions exempt under the outgoing program so I've never known how it tested, and now the province has canceled the emissions testing program entirely, so I will never know how it blows on a sniffer, but I am confident it's not polluting more than it needs to.

The question this leads to is about the cats. I have seen it rumoured that removal of the air pump while keeping cats can lead to premature clogging of the cats. I don't want to murder my new cats. I was not able to get a straight answer out of Magnaflow about if the air pump is necessary for their cats in this respect. The answer seemed to suggest they might have only been telling me that because it would be illegal to tell me I could take off the smog pump. I would assume the pump is a lot more critical to the cats, were it not for the fact that the air injection bypasses to atmosphere after a few minutes...

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Well if my cats clog, I’ll know somewhat ahead of you. I slapped cats on the wagon but my air pump was inop when I got it and deleted entirely some time later, we’ll before the cats were fitted. I haven’t had any weird symptoms otherwise and it seems to behave fine with them fitted and no smog pump.

[Tiggie]

No smog pump and stock cats still intact on my 88 for the last 50K and twelve years. The last seven of those years has been mostly short trips. I don’t think they mind lack of the smog pump. Smells mildly of 110 octane (87 in the tank) when cold, only a hint of sulfur when warm.

[gadget73]

Smog pump went away on the Towncar some 15 years ago, its had the same converters for better than 10 years now. The originals ran ~5 years with no pump and unknown with rotted out air lines. They were not clogged when removed, but the pipes were in bad shape so it all went at once.

[kishy]

Thanks folks, that's good enough for me...I'll delete the pump and diverter/bypass (but not the solenoids so as to not set a code).

Sounds like the belt to use is a 560K6...I'll grab some of those in a future RockAuto order.

[kishy]

Massive sinus infection is totally harshing my mellow. No further progress on wagon due to it. I am annoyed.

Removed air pump from Lincoln. The 6K560 belt is absolutely not long enough, but I think it's one of those deals where the next longest might be too long. It also may be another example of CFI-era cars having different pulley sizes (re: me finding that the 3G swap belt doesn't fit properly either). I suspect the crank pulley is a bit bigger, but at the same time, there seems to be more clearance between the crank pulley and water pump pulley than on my 91. I dunno.

I was able to get the 6K560 on by completely removing the tensioner/idler, routing the belt, then slipping the tensioner (with belt against it) onto the stud for it.

I found that the exhaust check valves do not seem to work completely, so the temporary solution is to keep the lines on them, vacuum removed from TAD/TAB solenoids, but vacuum applied to one of the nipples on the TAD/TAB unit (I do not recall which half, sorry). This caused the exhaust pulses to stop coming back through the TAD/TAB unit.

Junkyards got some cars of interest so if I feel up to it tomorrow I'll probably go scope those out.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I used a K060563 belt when I eliminated my pump. Gave just enough extra length to get the belt on without it being too long it couldn’t be tensioned.

[sly]

Massive sinus infection is totally harshing my mellow. No further progress on wagon due to it. I am annoyed.

I feel your pain. I have steering gear, pitman arm, all the front ball joints, and a rag joint just in case to replace on the cake and need to mow the lawn. None of that is getting done and I was too laid out to go to work today. and considering the cold sweats I have right now, I doubt tomorrow will be much different. And then the rains return on Sunday. Thankfully I have a garage to work on the car in when I do get better though... so there's that.

[kishy]

I used a K060563 belt when I eliminated my pump. Gave just enough extra length to get the belt on without it being too long it couldn’t be tensioned.

I was merely going by what has been said on this very forum, following a Google search. Then, I bought 3 of the 560 belt at 4 bucks apiece.

As it happens the 563 is quite a bit more expensive so I'll take the fitment compromise until I run out of belts lol

I feel your pain. I have steering gear, pitman arm, all the front ball joints, and a rag joint just in case to replace on the cake and need to mow the lawn. None of that is getting done and I was too laid out to go to work today. and considering the cold sweats I have right now, I doubt tomorrow will be much different. And then the rains return on Sunday. Thankfully I have a garage to work on the car in when I do get better though... so there's that.

Yeah, it sucks. I normally manage to deflect most colds, the flu, and other "bugs" that go around, but my sinuses quickly fall victim to seasonal allergies. Not sure why that turned into a full-on sinus infection this time, but it did. Being new still to my job meant I worked through it...I have sick days but didn't want to give the impression I run to take them at the smallest thing. Cold sweats suck any time, but especially so when you're in uniform at work (FD).

The wagon has been occupying my garage for well over a year now and it's making me mad that I can't do anything with the space because I can't move the car out. Looking forward to slapping that all together and hitting the road with it.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I was merely going by what has been said on this very forum, following a Google search. Then, I bought 3 of the 560 belt at 4 bucks apiece.

As it happens the 563 is quite a bit more expensive so I'll take the fitment compromise until I run out of belts lol

That was my original plan too, but I saw a few people complained it wasn't going on too well, and to try a 565 variant, and some people said that was too long.

I was standing on the belt aisle at work and saw the 563 and said F-it, worth a shot. Probably doesn't help it's a "lower volume" belt, being more unique to some Stratus models. At least you got it on, that's the important bit.

[kishy]

Backtracking a bit. 5/25 I replaced the front window motors as I became tired of them getting stuck in the doors. There's a very slightly bad spot on the commutator of both motors, or a brush issue, but either way they would only ever get stuck when all the way down necessitating a door slam while holding the switch up. No more.

As Lincoln owners are aware, the Lincoln front motors are weird vs the Ford/Mercury, and even the Lincoln rears. The bolts to attach them are long, machine-thread and pass through the motor, threading into bosses in the regulator assembly, unlike the Ford/Mercury/Rear Lincoln ones where a self-tapping screw threads into the motor housing.

I bought ACI new motors as they were the cheapest motor that has the conventional, big-body design. I've had performance issues with the "slim body" motors and didn't want to go there. The ACI motors are made in China, work well, sound healthy, and fit correctly, with one exception: the gear housing lid is for a Ford/Mercury/Rear Lincoln but does not work unmodified on a Lincoln front door. One of the holes in the lid has to be drilled out larger to fit around the screw boss inside the door. This is readily obvious if you compare it to the old motor before attempting install. The motor housing is otherwise correct for the Lincoln front application.


As for the smog delete: I'm wondering if my AC issue (rapid cycling, apparent leakage) might be a product of a clogged orifice tube. The compressor sounds extremely unhealthy now and I'm noticing the compressor clutch hub turns backwards a bit after the clutch disengages, as if the pressure fighting back against the compressor is abnormally high (I dunno, maybe that's normal, but seems it might not be for a car that's believed to be low on refrigerant). AC on this car is a project I'm aiming to tackle after the wagon is road-ready, so that's another kick in the ass to try to get that done. Yay.

[Tiggie]

My 82 crapped an orfice tube; the high side pressure was astronomical.

[gadget73]

Put the gauges on it, that will tell you. The 84 Conti had that issue too, it got so high the relief valve blew and dumped most of the refrigerant out. It was actually cooling well, I walked away from under the hood to grab my thermometer and then suddenly it wasn't cooling. I never actually heard the relief valve let off but the blast of oily shmear on the bracket is what told me. Orifice tube was totally clogged, which meant the condenser was clogged. I was able to flush that mess out with a bunch of mineral spirits, air, and then acetone as a final flush to get the residue out. AC still works fine, though I did have to add about a can to make it cold again. Not sure where the leak is but considering most of those components simply cannot be had, it might not matter unless its an O-ring.

and the compressor rolling backwards a little bit is normal.

[kishy]

An observation that I'll file under "CFI musings that need further investigation":

I've been noticing that, upon turning the key to run, the gas pedal gets pulled a small distance away from my foot as if I've pushed it, but I haven't. The only way this could happen is if vacuum is stored when the car is off (and stored very well), and upon turning the key to run, the vacuum is then directed to the VOTM (dashpot) to simulate a throttle pedal push. I'm guessing it's the "no touch starting" I remember reading about somewhere, and maybe between a deteriorated dashpot and a heavier throttle return spring, it is not functioning correctly and that's why sometimes but not all times I have to push the pedal to get the car to start in cooler conditions.

I have a decent little collection of dashpots now, and every single one of them leaks comparable to each other. Either it's a part that just doesn't age well, or it's designed to have a small leak.

[gadget73]

where would it be storing vacuum though? I don't recall a reservoir for that circuit that could be applied to the dashpot.

I suspect its meant to leak otherwise it wouldn't release. I don't think the solenoids are internally vented, so if you shut off the vac supply the dashpot would simply hold unless the vacuum was able to leak out. Yes I know it doesn't really leak out, but you know what I mean.

I thought the owner's manual said to bump the pedal to start it in cold weather? Can't say I've ever read the manual for a CFI car. Its not something I've ever been forced to learn.