First Fox/First Project - 1988 GT "Zorro Blanco"

[DudeStang]

Major complex/technical upgrade accomplished yesterday…….I replaced the passenger side mirror:

It actually did end up taking longer than I expected (shocker) because I didn’t realize I would have to take the inner door panel off to access the connector for the mirror. I'm pretty happy with the quality on the new mirror though. I didn’t replace the driver side but will do that too eventually.

I also discovered that I did have a door speaker on the passenger side but the wiring had broken off right at the speaker. I guess I misunderstood the guy who installed my new head unit a couple months back.


If I had known earlier that yesterday was going to be a warm day, I would have taken it off from work and tried to get the steering shaft assembly installed. Missed opportunity.

Still haven’t found a good/affordable option for having rear end gears installed. All of the shops I've called either don't do gears or have quoted me over $1,200. Trying to determine what else I can make progress on while the weather is mostly cold.

 

[broncojunkie]

Have you thought about finding an individual to do it? If I were closer, I'd just do it for you and let you help lol! I have a buddy that will do them for a couple hundred bucks, but that's mainly for friends. He's a mustang guy. There's plenty of guys out there that do them, though. Just gotta ask around.

Another option would be to find a rear end that already has the gear you want. I picked up a spare 8.8 a few months ago and the guy told me it probably had stock gears. I guess he didn't open it up, because it had 3.73's.

 

[DudeStang]

Have you thought about finding an individual to do it? If I were closer, I'd just do it for you and let you help lol! I have a buddy that will do them for a couple hundred bucks, but that's mainly for friends. He's a mustang guy. There's plenty of guys out there that do them, though. Just gotta ask around.

Another option would be to find a rear end that already has the gear you want. I picked up a spare 8.8 a few months ago and the guy told me it probably had stock gears. I guess he didn't open it up, because it had 3.73's.

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually found another guy on a different forum that lives close to me. He said he might be able to do it and he also gave me the name of a shop that he trusts to do that type of work so I might finally have a couple of options.

I had considered your other suggestion too, after seeing a couple of rear ends with gears already posted on Craigslist. I didn't get a response to the first one I found but that seems like a good option if I can find one for a good price.

 

[DudeStang]

I dropped the Fox off at the recommended gear/transmission shop the week before last, to have the 4.10s installed. It seemed the shop was a little behind because they didn't get to it until this week. They gave me a call a couple of days ago to update me that the gears were done but that one of the axles looked like it needed to be replaced. I asked them to go ahead and replace both of them while they have the car and I am hoping I might be able to go pick it up tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

 

[DudeStang]

Almost a month later, I finally picked the Fox back up yesterday. The 4.10 gears are installed…..along with new 31 spline rear axles, a new rear main seal, a new clutch, a new clutch cable, and the speedometer gear kit. Long story but I think most of you know how it goes. I wasn’t thrilled to spend more money but I am happy that some things I knew the car needed (or would need not too far down the line) are fixed or replaced.



I didn’t drive it too hard right after picking it up. From driving it just a couple times, I can say that it feels a bit more like my 2014 Mustang, in that there is enough torque/power regardless of what gear you're in. Less downshifting required it seems. We'll see if I continue to feel this way in a few weeks or months. Also, the clutch feels lighter, which is nice. I hadn't driven the car in almost a month though. Will need to drive it more.

I was hoping that the RMS being replaced would reduce the oil dripping from the car but it already seems like that isn't the case. I've got more oil dripping from around where the transmission meets the engine and there's oil getting onto the X pipe that's creating a little bit of smoke and giving off a burning smell. From scrolling through search results, I understand the RMS is apparently never an easy fix and that it might not even be the RMS that is leaking. The joys of a project car.

 

[DudeStang]

Upon further inspection, it looks like I've got an exhaust leak in addition to the oil leak that was not resolved by the RMS being replaced. I tried a quick fix on the exhaust hardware but it didn't do the trick so I'll have to get under the car for a closer look.

A couple of days ago , I did confirm that the car doesn't seem to be leaking significantly more oil than previously. It doesn't seem to be leaking oil at all while parked/not running. I checked the oil before and after taking it for a 20+ minute drive and it didn't seem to be significantly down.

I still didn't drive it too hard but the few times that I did give it a little more gas, the gears felt pretty good. I am hoping we'll get some slightly warmer weather sometime soon so I can spend a little bit of time in the garage getting a closer look at things underneath the car.

We recently had carpet replaced with hardwood floors in part of our house and I managed to keep a decent enough sized piece of carpet to give me some padding/sort of insulation.

 

[FoxBodyMustangs]

Nice videos and post..

 

[DudeStang]

Nice videos and post..

Thank you!

 

[DudeStang]

So I finally got behind the intake manifold and saw that the PCV valve was super loose. It seemed like it was still in the hose but was disconnected completely from the grommet and the grommet itself came out really easily. I was also able to remove the screen pretty easily with a magnet:

I replaced the screen, grommet, and PCV valve and everything new seemed to fit pretty decently. These are the new pieces:


It was pretty late when I finished it so I didn’t start the car yet but will do that today and see how the oil leak situation is looking. I didn’t take a ton of pics but recorded some of that process for my next video.

On a non Fox Body related note, I took a new GT for a drive a couple of days ago. There’s a lot to love about these new Mustangs.


More detailed impressions in my most recent Vlog:

 

[DudeStang]

My latest attempt to get the exhaust leak sorted didn't work. I have not been able to get the hardware on the driver side to tighten down correctly so thanks to a recommendation from another Fox owner, I stopped by Tractor Supply and picked up some new hardware that hopefully will do the trick.


I ordered this replacement hardware kit from LMR and the bolts are too narrow and too short. The bolt on the far right is one of the bolts from that kit. The others are what I picked up today. Will try to see if I can get this sorted out tomorrow, since the weather is supposed to be semi-decent.


I finished editing and uploading my latest Vlog on the PCV valve replacement process:

 

[DudeStang]

Haven't updated my threads in a while but for good reasons, the main one of which is highlighted in a recent vlog:

Since then, I've made a few small updates to the Fox, documented in more recent videos but hoping to have more time in the garage as it gets warmer.

 

[broncojunkie]

I commented on your channel about the noisy power steering pump, but I'll add it here, as well. Ford made an inline filter that you install in the return line that is supposed to prevent the pump being noisy (internal damage from dirt in the system). Once the damage is done, it's always going to be noisy. That's my understanding, anyway. Adding the inline filter takes a couple minutes and should be done when replacing the pump. Some folks have reported a basic inline fuel filter is cheaper than the Ford kit, but works just as well.
A friend who now owns my old 88gt just put a filter in his car, while replacing a leaky hose. The pump wasn't brand new, but hadn't become noisy yet. I think I installed it (new) 3 or 4 yrs ago.
I only have 2 running fox mustangs at this point. One is manual steering and the other one has the old v-belt setup and an early saginaw style pump that isn't even hooked up. I'll be upgrading the belt system, ps pump, alternator, and pulleys this summer. I'll be adding a filter to it.

 

[DudeStang]

I commented on your channel about the noisy power steering pump, but I'll add it here, as well. Ford made an inline filter that you install in the return line that is supposed to prevent the pump being noisy (internal damage from dirt in the system). Once the damage is done, it's always going to be noisy. That's my understanding, anyway. Adding the inline filter takes a couple minutes and should be done when replacing the pump. Some folks have reported a basic inline fuel filter is cheaper than the Ford kit, but works just as well.
A friend who now owns my old 88gt just put a filter in his car, while replacing a leaky hose. The pump wasn't brand new, but hadn't become noisy yet. I think I installed it (new) 3 or 4 yrs ago.
I only have 2 running fox mustangs at this point. One is manual steering and the other one has the old v-belt setup and an early saginaw style pump that isn't even hooked up. I'll be upgrading the belt system, ps pump, alternator, and pulleys this summer. I'll be adding a filter to it.

Will be curious to see how the saginaw pump set up works out for you. I am open to all options once I get more time to start doing stuff in the garage again.

Speaking of which, I did get some time today and managed to find what seemed to be the easiest possible solution to fixing my non-functioning cruise control.