98 Cobra Family Cruiser

[S281SC]

You may be able even try this from the topside since that hole is open to the valley. Using a drill keep stepping up in drill size drilling the center of the bolt using plenty of PB blaster. After a few holes it gets hot enough to suck the lube in and break free. The good part is even if drill doesnt get it you now have a weaker bolt with a hole in it to use an extractor. Just did this on a broken motor mount bolt. Weld kept breaking off. But the drill did the trick.


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[5.0calypso93lx]

You may be able even try this from the topside since that hole is open to the valley. Using a drill keep stepping up in drill size drilling the center of the bolt using plenty of PB blaster. After a few holes it gets hot enough to suck the lube in and break free. The good part is even if drill doesnt get it you now have a weaker bolt with a hole in it to use an extractor. Just did this on a broken motor mount bolt. Weld kept breaking off. But the drill did the trick.


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Good to know! After really thinking about it last night I am just going to pull the engine out. I need to do VC gaskets and several other things where it would be so much easier with the engine out. I'm only a AC compressor and PS pump away from doing so, so I'm just going to pull it. The stock k member was pretty cruddy so it'll give me an opportunity to look over everything and see where my oil leak(s) is coming from. It will probably make the reinstall that much easier as well as I can put the trans on the engine outside of the car.

[5.0calypso93lx]

You may be able even try this from the topside since that hole is open to the valley. Using a drill keep stepping up in drill size drilling the center of the bolt using plenty of PB blaster. After a few holes it gets hot enough to suck the lube in and break free. The good part is even if drill doesnt get it you now have a weaker bolt with a hole in it to use an extractor. Just did this on a broken motor mount bolt. Weld kept breaking off. But the drill did the trick.


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What extractor did you use specifically?

[S281SC]

What extractor did you use specifically?

I like this style. This is from harbor freight. We have an old usa made set that is no longer available but these short fluted ones tend not to snap off. I have seen better brands and slightly different designs but short/fat has worked better for me.


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[5.0calypso93lx]

I like this style. This is from harbor freight. We have an old usa made set that is no longer available but these short fluted ones tend not to snap off. I have seen better brands and slightly different designs but short/fat has worked better for me.


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I tried to drill out the bolt and my guess is someone has broken off an extractor or some type of hardened bit inside the original bolt. I bought some cobalt bits and they didn't make the slightest dent into whatever it is currently stuck in the hole. Besides taking the entire engine up to a machine shop I'm out of ideas on what to do.

Engine is now out:



Didn't snag any pics, but got all the accessories off and got the front timing cover gasket and crank seal replaced after seeing this:


Everything looked pretty good on the inside. Passenger head looks really clean:


Driver side head has a more golden hue to it:


There have been a lot of things during this process that lead me to believe that this engine has been out before. RTV on a lot of the gaskets that shouldn't and several other signs. I ran into an issue last night where the pilot bearing wouldn't seat all the way and I know I have the correct OEM Ford 7600-B pilot bearing. After asking some pals about it they asked me why I had a 6 bolt crank and not an 8 bolt like all 96-98 Cobras have. Turns out I more than likely have a Mark Viii short / long block in the car. Can't confirm it, but it would explain a lot of things. I reached out to the previous owner and he said the "shop that did the work didn't say anything about that". Right. I'm sure they didn't tell you, you needed a different flywheel or that they were installing a Mark VIII engine...

Thankfully they clearly swapped over the intake mani, accessories, cam covers, trans, etc. The saga continues...

[Walter]

He had no idea!!!

[5.0calypso93lx]

He had no idea!!!

Dude just straight up stopped responding after I showed him all the issues I've run into. It's just weird all these issues with how clean the car itself is.

[Maximus]

Coyote swap time!

[Walter]

Got some brand new ARH coyote swap headers and new QuickTime SFI bell for ya!!

[redfirepearlgt]

these finds are reminding me of another ordeal that happened on here years ago. hate it for you james, but looks like you will have a real nice ride when its done on spite of the mk viii sb.

tell L and L hello and we miss them if you see them over easter. dag i love those 2.

[5.0calypso93lx]

Coyote swap time!

I wish!

Got some brand new ARH coyote swap headers and new QuickTime SFI bell for ya!!

I can't afford all your high rent parts

these finds are reminding me of another ordeal that happened on here years ago. hate it for you james, but looks like you will have a real nice ride when its done on spite of the mk viii sb.

tell L and L hello and we miss them if you see them over easter. dag i love those 2.

Will do! They've been having some issues here lately, but still kickin!

[5.0calypso93lx]

I had almost given up on this broken bolt, but some suggestions from a couple pals did the trick. Milwaukee makes a "heavy metals" cobalt bit. For whatever reason my Dewalt cobalt bits didn't do a thing. I even broke off a bolt extractor and still managed to get that drilled out. The only issue now is that I still never really got the old bolt out. It's just drill through. I did order a 8.5mm bit that arrived today as that is the size needed to be able to tap a M10x1.50 bolt size.


Also went ahead and did a head cooling mod. This car will probably never need it, but it was cheap and easy. I will be scooping up some worm clamps for extra security at each of the connections:


For every 1 step forward I get on this thing it seems like I always take a couple steps back. Whatever headers I do actually have they don't fit. I bought them second hand almost a year ago and don't even remember who I bought them from. The front primary on the passenger side header goes right where the K member bolts to the passenger side frame rail. I was thinking maybe it was the mounts or k member, but I swapped both of those out for the stockers and the same issue persists. Ended up ordering a new set of headers on Saturday and those should be here on Wednesday:


Driver side has a mile of clearance:


Running ES poly mounts with the knub ground off and the stud through the front k member slot:

[redfirepearlgt]

Times like that call for one of those pneumatic vibra-peens. I've seen the mechanics at work do wonders with those little things to remove snapped off bolts like that. You've got determination man.

[5.0calypso93lx]

Been slowly making progress on this thing. The Mark Viii crank threw me off so had to get a 6 bolt flywheel. I thought I could use the old flywheel that came out of the car, but it was for an 11" clutch and didn't have the provisions for the 10.5" clutch pressure plate. Ended up picking up a new Ram Billet Steel flywheel for a Mustang GT and that did the trick. Clutch is now in with a new pivot stud, clutch fork and OEM Ford TOB:



The real Pacesetter headers showed up and although not absolutely perfect, the fitment is WAY better:


Got a couple parts back from the powder coater. I was only planning on having the nasty looking coolant crossover done, but there was a $100 minimum so had the upper intake cover and a couple other pieces done as well. Was able to remove the stock intake and valve cover plaques and re-use those:




Got the front suspension mostly wrapped up. K member, A arms, shorter end links, coilovers and spindles are all back on. I'm mad at myself for cheaping out on the UPR coilovers instead of going with the MM's. Even with the UPR coilover kit being "Bilstein specific" there are several pieces that aren't what I would consider to be correct. The MM kit takes all of these issues into account. These UPR's should still work for me, but not ideal (went a little heavy with the anti sieze ):



The only thing I'm waiting on right now before I can drop the car back on the ground is the S&S engineering kit so I can get these bad boys on the car. Kit should be here on Friday:


Here's what the S&S kit consists of:

[Maximus]

Freakin Sweet! Hopefully its back on the road soon!

[redfirepearlgt]

lookingsweet james. def getting intimate with that car. cant wait to see the final product.

[NXcoupe]

Who did the powder coating?

[5.0calypso93lx]

Who did the powder coating?

JSC right here in Goshen

[NXcoupe]

They did a good job. Little far for me to drive but could be worth it.

[5.0calypso93lx]

They did a good job. Little far for me to drive but could be worth it.

I normally prefer to go to Kenny, but this place is literally 5 mins from my house. I was happy with their work for sure.