My '85 MGM, "Maisa"

[Arquemann]

Got the front door seals changed today, laid the new rubber on the driveway to straighten out in the sunshine while I started disassembling the interior. A-pillar didn't want to slip from underneath the top windshield trim, so I worked around it, otherwise the whole operation went surprisingly smooth and easy.

From sly's post I understood the clips were metal, which they were, but the trim was also metal. Duly noted as I sliced open my pinky finger on the first of the two.

-If you're talking about the bits around the headliner, there are metal clips holding it into the body.-
-They were also metal in the 88 I had (aluminum IIRC).-

The 90° corners weren't an issue at all, which was quite surprising. There was about 40cm extra on the pieces that I cut off with just a carpet knife.

The doors are hard as hell to close now, but it'll simmer in the sunshine all summer, so I'd expect them to get better.

[87gtVIC]

Nice job. Yes having to slam the doors is a sign of doing things right.

Care to rehash what door seals you went with?

[Arquemann]

Care to rehash what door seals you went with?

Fairchild KF3005 from RA. According to RA they were for a '87 Mustang hatchback/coupe. 16€ for one door, 21€ for the pair, cheap as shit but seems good quality.
Fits real snug on the pinch welds, didn't need a mallet but I doubt it's going to droop either.

I'll probably end up doing the rear doors at some point too. I mainly did this as the passenger side front door seal was completely mushed and a bit torn due to the pushed in window frame.

[sly]

Did you happen to note how long each one is? I might be able to use this with my Expedition as well. Have to double check the shape of my seals, but I think they're the same. I know the door hole is a lot larger though. The seals on mine are shrinking and pulling out of the corners causing leaks.

[Arquemann]

Did you happen to note how long each one is? I might be able to use this with my Expedition as well. Have to double check the shape of my seals, but I think they're the same. I know the door hole is a lot larger though. The seals on mine are shrinking and pulling out of the corners causing leaks.

Long enough to be rather unwieldy when not installed Don't know the exact length but it's about the stock seal + about 15 inches. I think they were supposed to be the correct length for a foxbody, on RA theres another item that says 150", but it also says its cut-to-length.

I have absolutely zero idea how much bigger an Expedition door is...

[gadget73]

surprised the truck specific seal isn't available. Parts for Mustangs and trucks are usually no fuss at all. Luckily lots of those parts can be adapted to other vehicles or we'd be screwed

[sly]

The expy seal is available from Ford... each door is about $100 or so. I need ALL of the doors. A bulk type would be much better for me.

Edit:
Looks like the 03 F150 supercab seal (163") may be the one to get. I'll see about string measuring my doors and see how many of these I need for it all. The stock seals are a welded loop which doesn't help with staying in place when the rubber shrinks. This also looks the same as the Aero/whale seals, so it may be a good option for the later cars.

[gadget73]

I was just thinking someone probably makes an aftermarket for that for not stupid money

[Arquemann]

The new seals reduced wind noise quite a bit, cruises pretty much silent at 50mph.
And with the freshly balanced tires the vibrations aren't so bad. Steering column no longer shakes, probably because the bad tire is on the rear now
The idle is still kinda fucky, bucks and is pretty shaky in gear, neutral/park is smooth-ish.

Today's cruise night was absolutely packed, the service station was beyond full with cars on the sidewalks for a hundred meters both ways. Rarely has there been so many cars. The warm weather has really gotten everyone out and about.

[sly]

If the timing chain has any slack it'll do wonky stuff. The original cam gear had nylon teeth, so replacing with standard steel gears fixes that issue. If this has already been done, could just be timing is a little off or idle a dink low.

[Arquemann]

Timing chain was done in fall '19. Base timing was set at 10° by my dad, I don't really know how to use a timing light anyways.

There seems to still be something going on with the timing...
Today I drove around some with and without the SPOUT plugged in.
What I know:
- Cold idle is shaky and stumbly either way (no fast idle mechanism for me)
- Warmed up the engine idles lower and a bit smoother with the SPOUT unplugged
- Bucking on decel isn't as bad with the SPOUT unplugged

I don't know if it's totally normal, but the engine changes tone and RPM quite a bit when unplugging the SPOUT at idle, so it's definitely adjusting the timing from base all the time.

Also today I noticed that my air pump bearings are totally shot, the pump pulley wobbles around like there's no tomorrow. Probably has done that for a while, last spring I though the slightly damaged serpentine belt was due to the new AC clutch.



As I much as I hate to say it, this car is most likely going to get a carb next summer.
Consider this: I have rich issues, seemingly timing adjust issues, broken EGR, broken high idle, probably soon a broken Thermactor system and a mess of broken diaphragms and old vacuum lines. And I've pretty much ran out of things to replace for the engine to run right.

[gadget73]

easy fix for the thermactor is to just eliminate it. Take the pulley off and use a shorter belt to drive the AC. Problem solved.

and fix the vacuum lines. These run rich with vac leaks

[Tiggie]

Car should be low on power on the road with the SPOUT unplugged. It will idle nicely though if your idle is set right.

[Arquemann]

Yeah, it'd seem like a Thermactor delete is in order. What length belt for just the AC then?
Surely I won't have any weird issues after unhooking the vacuum lines and electrical connections for the thermactor solenoids?

I guess I could do another round of vacuum leak hunting. From last time I remember the dash heater controls have a small leak, but it was maybe 1-2 inHg per second.

@Tiggie, it feels like the car if misfiring at idle with the SPOUT connected, and a little less so with it disconnected. Even plugged in, it isn't shaky every time. It's just weird, and rather infuriating.

[87GrandMarq]

How old are the spark plug wires? I had a sort of rough idle for a while that went away after I swapped plug wires.


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