96' Procharged Cobra "Casper" Build

01silverstang

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As always, do the easy stuff first. Pulling a transmission sucks, especially if you discover you didn't need to.

It doesn't sound like transmission to me, more a cable or clutch problem. We're it me, I'd re-install the adjuster correctly and then put a new stock cable in it and go from there. There certainly appears to be enough other evidence on the car of someone simply not knowing what they were doing while modding it.

I'm not suggesting this is your issue but merely something else to look out for - years ago I had several fingers on a pressure plate go bad and I experienced the same behavior you're describing. You would be able to see that through the inspection cover on the bellhousing.

I think you are right, I think the initial owners put a lot of great parts on the car... and I keep finding more and more each time I work on it (full sub frame connectors the previous owner didn’t even mention.). That being said the most recent owners seem to have been in over their heads with the car.

I obviously know the firewall adjuster isn’t correct so that needs to be reinstalled and I might as well put a new Ford cable in at that time. I will Jack the car up and look through the inspection hole on the bell housing to see what’s going on when the clutch is depressed. If it’s a flywheel or clutch issue I’d like to know as replacing the cable and reinstalling the adjuster while necessary won’t fix the issue.
 

CobraBob

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So, Friday night I swung by Autozone and checked out a coolant pressure testing kit I know you have to put a deposit but I was little shocked when it took $270 on the credit card to check it out. The test kit instructions didn’t provide a lot of detail and simply said once you have pressurized the system if the pressure holds steady for "several" minutes the system is fine. I completed two tests and the pressurized the system to 15 PSI and after 10 minutes it had dropped 1-1.5 PSI. I then completed a second test and after 15 minutes it had dropped approximately the same. I will say there are a number of variables such as unknown amount of coolant in the system, old cooling system that could have a tiny leak, unknown quality of the fittings on the test kit, and using the best fitting cap I could find out of the kit. So, I was thrilled that it dropped any, but I was also glad that the amount of PSI drop was minimal. I will also note the car had been sitting since I brought it home, and it's in a cold unheated garage. So perhaps once pressurized as the system got colder as the night went on it lost PSI, so maybe that plays a part too... similar to a tire. The system had a lot of air in it as we found out on Saturday.

The next day I made a ton of progress. My Father-in-law came over to help, and we got the pulley removed from the P-1SC and replaced the front seal then filled it with a new bottle of oil from Procharger. I got the Procharger reinstalled with a new Gates belt and the alignment was spot on. Finally, we got the fan reinstalled, the coolant expansion/degassing tank reinstalled, and filled it with coolant and burped it at the crossover. The engine produced a little white smoke on startup which went away, I'm going to chalk it up to having sat for so long without running... previous owner said it had been about a year since he drove it. The Procharger sounds great, very healthy, no strange noises. Now I just need to purchase the couplers and filter for the Anderson Power Pipe that came with the car.

View attachment 1691834
Getting started...

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Used my Husky bag as a "nest" for the Procharger after seal replacement and oil fill.

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Finishing up re-assembly.

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Feeling good while Casper idles, nothing like getting a bunch knocked off your "to do" list.

The car ran out of gas while we were burping it, so I'm going to have to get some more to let it idle a bit longer... but the engine seems to be in good shape now, if anyone can give a suggestion on a site that hosts video for free, I can upload a short video of it running.


The next items on my list to get it drivable for summer are the shifting issue. To re-cap transmission will shift with the engine off, but will not move out of whatever gear is selected with the engine running. I was told it was due to synchronizers in the transmission, but the local Mustang club guys advised they were hesitant to believe that on a TKO600. Said it was more likely the clutch cable or throw out bearing. It felt like the clutch was not disengaging, which we tested by putting the car in both first and reverse and then trying to roll the car forward or backward with the clutch depressed. The car wouldn't roll, so we felt pretty confident that the clutch for an unknown reason was not disengaging.

The next test was to look under the car and see how much the clutch fork moved when the clutch was depressed. It ended up moving a couple inches, but still had the shifting issues. Noticed this on the firewall, appears the firewall adjustor was installed backwards. So tonight I'm going to get some pictures of the quadrant, and then try to get the car jacked up to see how and how well the cable is connected to the fork.

View attachment 1691838

I had to laugh
at the photo of you working, in the cold, and your family is sitting on chairs in the driveway watching you. LOL!


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04DeadShort

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I've seen that crazy firewall adjuster hack before. Flipping the adjuster is supposed to give even more cable adjustment. I can't verify that to be true as I have never tried it nor would I ever. Is it a aftermarket cable? Is there threads on the cable down at the pivot arm?
 

01silverstang

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I've seen that crazy firewall adjuster hack before. Flipping the adjuster is supposed to give even more cable adjustment. I can't verify that to be true as I have never tried it nor would I ever. Is it a aftermarket cable? Is there threads on the cable down at the pivot arm?
Yeah I have to believe that it has something to do with the issues I’m having. However, if not at least I will know the adjuster and cable are correctly installed.

Making good progress but these projects can really nickel and dime you...
 

04DeadShort

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Yeah I have to believe that it has something to do with the issues I’m having. However, if not at least I will know the adjuster and cable are correctly installed.

Making good progress but these projects can really nickel and dime you...

I know what you mean. Took me awhile to get all the kinks out of my 98 when I bought it. Your moving at a good pace though and doing a great job.
 

01silverstang

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I know what you mean. Took me awhile to get all the kinks out of my 98 when I bought it. Your moving at a good pace though and doing a great job.
Thanks yesterday was a frustrating day, as I posted the same video clip I posted in this thread on my local Mustang club page and first comment was about how bad the Procharger sounds, and it needs a rebuild, etc. I sent the video the tech from a Procharger who has been helping me, and he said it sounds like normal chattery straight cut gears. He recommended posting it on the Procharger tech group page and there are a bunch of guys says rebuild and a bunch saying it sounds normal to them.

My tech friend is going to ask some of the others techs for their opinion. He honestly could have said sounds like you need to send it to us and give us your money and he didn’t... so I don’t know what to think since this is my first centrifugal blower and my first Procharger...
 

BOTTLEFED5

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It's hard to tell from that video, if you can take another one with the car warmed up and just by the blower it would be easier to tell, blowers on cold start always have a different sound to them for a minute.

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01silverstang

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It's hard to tell from that video, if you can take another one with the car warmed up and just by the blower it would be easier to tell, blowers on cold start always have a different sound to them for a minute.

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I will this weekend, once I get some gas for it... the tank was pretty much empty. This was a first start since changing the supercharger oil, the idle needs help but I haven’t swapped plugs and wires yet, and again the gas that was in it had been there for a year.

I will note that we revved it a couple times and neither I nor my father-in-law who was standing right by it heard any noticeable change in noise or bad sounds when revved.
 

01silverstang

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I have now had a friend who is very high up at Procharger confirm that the blower sounds normal for having straight cut gears and to make sure it has oil and enjoy.

It's always a matter of chasing time, I have a son who turns 4 this Sunday... and a son who is about to be 8 months old. So finding time to work on the car or to have my father-in-law lend a hand for two man jobs can be tricky. Multiple people have advised it sounds like a bad power steering pump, before I go to far in that direction I'm going to go through the idlers, tensioner, and alternator... I have found videos where all of those have generated a similar sound when failing.
 

BOTTLEFED5

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I have now had a friend who is very high up at Procharger confirm that the blower sounds normal for having straight cut gears and to make sure it has oil and enjoy.

It's always a matter of chasing time, I have a son who turns 4 this Sunday... and a son who is about to be 8 months old. So finding time to work on the car or to have my father-in-law lend a hand for two man jobs can be tricky. Multiple people have advised it sounds like a bad power steering pump, before I go to far in that direction I'm going to go through the idlers, tensioner, and alternator... I have found videos where all of those have generated a similar sound when failing.
I have all those pulleys if you need em lol

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01silverstang

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So got a quick win, and plasti-dipped the lower rear bumper yesterday on my lunch break since I was working from home. I think it should have come this way from the factory like some GT models, and it was easy and reversible.

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I also have some parts on the way, I was able to locate a 90 degree silicone coupler that reduces from 4.0" for the Power Pipe to 3.75" for the P-1SC inlet. I ordered the Air Filter from Anderson for the Power Pipe as it was about the same as any quality filter, though I probably could have picked something up from Amazon and not paid the $13 shipping. Finally I got a set of NGK TR6 spark plugs that I will gap to .030 which seems to be a middle ground for this application, some going a little tighter and some a little looser. I'm going to hold off on plug wires until I get a chance to see if this helps with the idle.

Fingers crossed that I will finally be able to turn my attention to the transmission.
 

01silverstang

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When it comes time for wires, check these guys out. Take the time to read about them and their products. They make quality stuff that lasts. I've used their wires for more than 20 years on various cars and have never had a parts failure.

MAGNECOR Race Wires: WELCOME TO MAGNECOR!
Thanks for the tip, I’ve seen the FRPP recommended, but have also seen issues. Some say use stock... I’d love to not have to buy multiple to find good ones.
 

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