Center section in. Very awkward getting it up into position. Floor jack was helpful in the end to steady it and shift it around to line up for the bolts. Stalled out on the rear end until we get a few POL bolts and nuts. Need to sort out the front ball joint grease boot tear before steering gets done. Planning on the e-brake next. Sounds like that can be a little tricky.
E-brake assembled and installed. Same issue as everyone with the handle unable to travel its full path when installed per the directions. We solved this by securing the front bent mount bracket to the fixed gear on the inside (toward trans tunnel) instead of outside and over the top of the fixed gear. This reversed the direction of the square shoulder carriage bolt and put the locknut toward the passenger cockpit. We cut out the aluminum panel over the nut and this allowed the front end of the e-brake to come out far enough to not have the handle get stuck on the wall in the down position as before. Thank you again to the forum for helping sort this out.
Replace that boot. Just take out the nut and use a pickle fork to break the ball joint away from spindle. You can rent one from auto parts store or harbor freight has them for $10 or so (PN 63420). The replacement boots that I used are from energy suspension. The PN for the set is 5.13102G and the individual PN is 13009 for UCA and 13024 for LCA.
Last edited by nuhale; 01-19-2022 at 09:45 AM.
Build 1: MKIV #7275 Gen 2 Coyote TK600, IRS 3.55 2020 Covid
Build 2: Gen3 65 Coupe: Arrived June 2024. Gen 2 Coyote, T56, IRS 3.55 [/B]
Steering rack went in a little tight. Initially we followed the directions to place driver side bolt first and then the passenger side. With the driver side bolt passed, the passenger side was twisted compared to the mount and we could not get any leverage on the rack to line up the tube to pass the bolt. We passed passenger side bolt first and then could get ahold of the rack input to twist the rack into the frame allowing the driver side bolt to get through.
Regarding the 53 1/16 inch tie rod end to end for a starting point before alignment noted in the directions - We put it there and it looked like a large toe out alignment. Any thoughts on this? Steering.jpg
NEW GREASE BOOT
Ordered a grease boot for an '87-'93 Mustang and replaced the torn one before working on steering. The wire ring on the original would not work and steel wire would not either. It is thicker material than the original. Seems to be keeping the grease contained with it snug over the edge of the ball joint and no wire at the base. 90F38707-3530-4247-8BD5-A88665CAFF25_1_201_a.jpg
Re tie rods, adjust them so they look close. you'll be adjusting the inner tie rods to get your final toe-in. for the grease boots, most order some poly ones from energy suspension
Looking for some work to do and figured we could mount the heater/defroster in the firewall. The FF directions mention referring to "those" instructions with the heater unit. No instructions included there either. Looking around the forum but it's not really a highlight of any build thread I can find.
Where might I find instructions?
We are doing windshield wipers also but no glovebox. Probably going to mount a fuel pressure regulator up around the firewall also. Thank you for any guidance on this!!
go to factoryfive.com and look under the parts section. they have a bunch of additional instructions there, including those for the heater. just recognize that the template you print off is slightly off, so measure a couple of times prior to cutting your holes in the firewall. I think I had to move mine about a quarter inch to get the holes and pipes in the right place. also make sure you don't have interference between your heater and wiper motor.
go to factoryfive.com and look under the parts section. they have a bunch of additional instructions there, including those for the heater. just recognize that the template you print off is slightly off, so measure a couple of times prior to cutting your holes in the firewall. I think I had to move mine about a quarter inch to get the holes and pipes in the right place. also make sure you don't have interference between your heater and wiper motor.
Found it! Thank you! Wiper and sway bar directions in there too.
Heater unit in place. Only challenge was a couple of the screws not being tight. The threads of the upper right screw are not catching the heater box plastic and turns loose in the hole. The lower left screw is at an angle and we could not get it to pass into the heater box plastic. Four other screws are tight and the unit is very snug on the firewall. Might get a slightly longer and thicker screw for the upper right hole though.
I didn’t trust the screws that went directly into the plastic. I ended up putting some strips of aluminum with rivnuts on the inside of the heater core housing and attached with machine screws from the engine bay side
I didn’t trust the screws that went directly into the plastic. I ended up putting some strips of aluminum with rivnuts on the inside of the heater core housing and attached with machine screws from the engine bay side
Needed a fourth hole (1.25") through the driver front foot box for the front harness. We used 3 for the reservoir hoses. Thick aluminum. Drill was smoking. 71637D18-718B-43AF-8602-32D5237E9A70_1_201_a.jpg
Front right corner of the fuse box mounting plate ran into the pedal box mount bolt. We used tin snips to take the corner off of it instead of including it in the mount bolt. 09034FD2-6E9F-48AE-90FD-F71CBA023381_1_201_a.jpeg
Chris,
Full disclosure here . We only had to drill the 1" hole through the aluminum panel for the front brake reservoir hose. The black fixed front footbox wall portion had a 1.5 inch hole in it already. I don't think we will need anything else going through that hole? Thanks!
Chad
that middle hole is needed for your front wiring harness.
that middle hole is needed for your front wiring harness.
Since we mistakenly used it for one of our 3 reservoir hoses, we just drilled that extra 1.25" one for the front harness. Thought about enlarging one of the 3 holes and passing the harness through with one of the hoses or put 2 hoses in one hole, but this worked well and is a nice direct path through the front foot box wall. Also, we did not have to mess with the hoses.
Since we mistakenly used it for one of our 3 reservoir hoses, we just drilled that extra 1.25" one for the front harness. Thought about enlarging one of the 3 holes and passing the harness through with one of the hoses or put 2 hoses in one hole, but this worked well and is a nice direct path through the front foot box wall. Also, we did not have to mess with the hoses.
gotcha, i was looking at an older post. thought i was up to date with your build but I was wrong. I see in your more recent pics now the wiring harness.
gotcha, i was looking at an older post. thought i was up to date with your build but I was wrong. I see in your more recent pics now the wiring harness.
I really appreciate the thoughts though. Input and opinions on the forum have helped us a lot already.
Welcome to the asylum!
If you're on Facebook...
There's another member here in Lake Mills who's at the paint stage of his MkIV, and another south of Beer City doing a Hotrod Pickup.
Welcome to the asylum!
If you're on Facebook...
There's another member here in Lake Mills who's at the paint stage of his MkIV, and another south of Beer City doing a Hotrod Pickup.
Thanks! Yeah, we need to eventually think about where and how the painting will happen.
IRS/REAR BRAKES/REAR SWAY BAR
Big weekend after a few missing parts arrived. Every frame mount for each upper and lower control arm needed either filing down of the pivot sleeve in the bushing or a crowbar widening of the frame mount. Spindles and hubs were previously prepared. Brakes went on well. Rear brake lines next.
PLEASE HELP
Finally got our 427 BluePrint engine. I hope we just need different engine mounts. The brackets used to secure the engine in the crate are still attached to the 2 vertical holes in the engine. There is no way the provided mount brackets from FF will attach to this engine. Looks like we need mounts that install vertically into the engine and then still fit the 45 degree plate in the FF chassis. Or is this a much bigger issue?
Thank you for any help!!
Those metal bars are only temporary, to keep it in the crate. Remove them, but keep the bolts. I actually endend up using those to mount the brackets as the ones with the brackets were too long and bottomed out. You'll also need to notch the mounts so they sit flush. You can see this in my build thread linked below.
Mk4 Complete Kit, Blueprint 427w EFI Stage 1, IRS, 15", Gordon Levi Wilwood brakes, FFR Power steering (Build Thread)
This is extremely helpful! Would you agree that the mount I have in my hand in my first photo is not the correct one?
Looks like yours has the plate for attaching to the chassis at a 45 degree angle to the vertical mount holes that go into the block. Mine has 3 holes on the mount all in the same plane as the plate that goes on the chassis. I think I have the wrong mounts from FF.
Agreed you have the wrong mounts. Those appear to be Mod Motor/Coyote mounts. You need ones that look the ones in this picture from one of my SBF builds. Sorry it's the best one I could find. At the time they were Energy Suspension 4-1122G. Should be what you need but definitely check to be sure.
Last edited by edwardb; 03-04-2023 at 10:04 PM.
Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.
Noticed a few drops of brake fluid in the middle of our driver footbox floor. Fittings are dry. Fluid coming from the rear brake rubber boot around our master cylinder pushrod. There is also fluid in our front brake pushrod boot and the clutch master cylinder boot when we pull them off the bore and look inside them. Those two are just not dripping at all.
Is there an acceptable amount of fluid in them?
Or did we wreck 3 master cylinders somehow?
Really want to sort this out before we put the body on.
Thank you for any help!
Agreed, you shouldn't find fluid inside the boot. I had something similar happen during my Coupe build. Noticed brake fluid drips on the cockpit floor sometime after installation and bleeding. Pulled the boot back and it was full of fluid. Rather than replace, Wilwood sells a rebuild kit for around $30 so gave that a try. Mine was https://www.wilwood.com/MasterCylind...emno=260-10514 for a .75 MC. May/may not be the one that fits yours. Upon disassembly, I found what appeared to be a molding void on one of the original O-rings. Back together with the rebuild parts and hasn't leaked now starting driving season number four. What's strange to me about your situation is all three leaking. Hard to imagine three out of three defective. Not sure how they could be mistreated to damage.
Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.
Agreed, you shouldn't find fluid inside the boot. I had something similar happen during my Coupe build. Noticed brake fluid drips on the cockpit floor sometime after installation and bleeding. Pulled the boot back and it was full of fluid. Rather than replace, Wilwood sells a rebuild kit for around $30 so gave that a try. Mine was https://www.wilwood.com/MasterCylind...emno=260-10514 for a .75 MC. May/may not be the one that fits yours. Upon disassembly, I found what appeared to be a molding void on one of the original O-rings. Back together with the rebuild parts and hasn't leaked now starting driving season number four. What's strange to me about your situation is all three leaking. Hard to imagine three out of three defective. Not sure how they could be mistreated to damage.
Thank you for thoughts. How are all 3 leaking is the frustrating question?
1) It's been a long time now, but I wonder if we did too much while they were empty (before bleeding) getting our pedals in a good starting spot and pushing on pedals at that stage to wreck the seals.
2) Is there any problem with pressure bleeding the system with a cap on the reservoir at 15 psi? That is how we bled all brakes and clutch MC/line? Seemed to work great.
3) The biggest leak is the rear brake MC and we wondered if the pushrod was traveling to far (with the balance bar set-up) and wrecking something?
4) Maybe the same for the clutch MC - pushrod traveling too far? But we measured displacement of the pushrod with full pedal movement and it is just shy of 1 inch
5) The 3 push rods look to be well in line with the bore, but wondering if we need to adjust the balance bar (tighter at those big washers) to prevent any wiggling of straying of the pushrod off line?
These are the only things I can think of on how we might have wrecked 3 MC's.
happy to replace them at this point if we can just figure out how not to have the next set leak too.
Thank you for any other thoughts you might have on this!
Thank you for thoughts. How are all 3 leaking is the frustrating question?
1) It's been a long time now, but I wonder if we did too much while they were empty (before bleeding) getting our pedals in a good starting spot and pushing on pedals at that stage to wreck the seals.
2) Is there any problem with pressure bleeding the system with a cap on the reservoir at 15 psi? That is how we bled all brakes and clutch MC/line? Seemed to work great.
3) The biggest leak is the rear brake MC and we wondered if the pushrod was traveling to far (with the balance bar set-up) and wrecking something?
4) Maybe the same for the clutch MC - pushrod traveling too far? But we measured displacement of the pushrod with full pedal movement and it is just shy of 1 inch
5) The 3 push rods look to be well in line with the bore, but wondering if we need to adjust the balance bar (tighter at those big washers) to prevent any wiggling of straying of the pushrod off line?
These are the only things I can think of on how we might have wrecked 3 MC's.
happy to replace them at this point if we can just figure out how not to have the next set leak too.
Thank you for any other thoughts you might have on this!
1. I've always wondered about this. I'm sure the MC's leave the factory with some type of assembly lube. But can you damage them by overworking before the brake fluid is put in? Maybe, but I really don't know. I've personally tried to limit how much I press the pedals before bleeding. But that mainly just means not goofing around. Hard to believe normal movement during assembly could damage them.
2. 15 PSI is pretty high. The instructions I had from CNC when I started pressure bleeding talked about 5 PSI, which has always been what I use as a guideline and they bleed just fine at that pressure. Could 15 PSI damage something? I don't know. Maybe.
3. The MC's have limit stops at both ends of their travel. Don't think you could damage anything because of that.
4. Same answer as #3.
5. Don't mess with the Wilwood describing spacing which I assume you have to their spec. It's a proven formula that won't damage the MC's and does what the system is designed to do.
They're really easy to take apart and see if there's anything obvious. Just a snap ring under the rubber boot and it all comes apart. There's an O-ring on each end of the piston that's maybe where the failures are. The rebuild kit includes every single part except the outside housing. So way cheaper than buying new if it comes to that.
Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.
Any luck figuring out what went wrong with the master cylinders? I've read that some people have them fail in the 500 to 700 mile range. I've also read that people received units with scratch's and grooves cut in the cylinder. I wouldn't think that you'd be that unlucky though. Maybe taking one apart would give you some insight.
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Originally Posted by egchewy79
. We only had to drill the 1" hole through the aluminum panel for the front brake reservoir hose. The black fixed front footbox wall portion had a 1.5 inch hole in it already. I don't think we will need anything else going through that hole? Thanks!
