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802SHO

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Compression to AN fittings held up in customs nonsense. Insufficient description…really? Racetronix has been shipping into the United States for a long time…new policies?

I will likely wait but a valid work around is convert the bypass block into a dumb pass through. IMG E3BF20E7 91DF 473A 9C38 F344DB4083D4IMG 9351IMG 52311C4D 4BD1 46BC A649 2BCA395C8F42IMG 27B0BBFD 93E5 48E2 9665 8264C93585A1IMG 500187DA DD58 4796 AC2B BE7679C615B1IMG DEA03908 414D 4722 8857 2D7111315FC9IMG 695D4448 62E2 490B A41A 93F75948B647IMG 38AC2FED FFBE 4844 964A 578F66B528EB
Tempting but threading in the return hard line would be super annoying and janky to have 2 bypass blocks, one as a pass through and the one with the brain up front.

Mocking up the Improved Racing with just one bracket to see….and using a hole already in the core support, it looks like it was meant to be. Also I have a small inventory of used -10AN fittings and hoses and they are all reusable. So don’t need to buy a 90 or 120 degree. IMG 9352IMG 9353IMG 9356
So I talked to FedEx and so did Racetronix today so the tracking info online should populate some movement tomorrow.

I removed my axle and it was actually weeping axle grease. Quite a bit. Literally would have started slinging grease next drive. If you remember I painted my original axle and was using it for Nostalgia…lmfao. Well it’s trash so buh-bye. I’ll use the brand new one again. IMG 9362
That’s after I wiped it all off.

JB Weld going in tomorrow and these gouges will get filled once and for all and put an end to fluid weep passed the seal. Already had a new one on hand. IMG 9360IMG 9361
And I’ll run some Amsoil Severe gear while I’m under here in the PTU and RDU IMG 9307
 

802SHO

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Just for fun, let’s compare what I’m doing at home for roughly $300 in materials against what this same session would look like at a shop charging $150/hr.

This isn’t one job. That’s the funny part. From a shop perspective this is tear down, splitter removal, full transmission drain, cooler and hose drain, OEM hardline removal, custom -10AN routing, Improved Racing thermostat mockup, bypass block modification, axle removal, axle seal removal, and repairing a gouged seal bore that most shops probably wouldn’t even want to touch. They’d either say send it, replace the case, or charge custom repair labor and still maybe not care about it as much as I do.

Then add PTU service, RDU service, Mercon LV refill, fluid level set, leak check, and I’m not even done yet. I still want to retorque the ARP torque converter bolts back to the Ford spec and realign the rear subframe in reference to the driveshaft angle because it looks slightly off. Since the car is already up and the system is this drained out, this is the time to do all of it.

Realistically, at $150/hr, this is easily a 12–20 hour ticket depending on who is doing it and how willing they are to deal with custom work. That’s $1,800–$3,000 in labor before parts. At a performance shop or custom fab shop, I wouldn’t be shocked to see it land closer to $3,000–$4,000 because half of this stuff isn’t “book time,” it’s problem solving.

That’s the part people miss. This isn’t just DIY to save a few bucks. This is builder-level integration work. I diagnosed the trans overcooling issue, changed the fluid strategy, redesigned the cooler control, modified the bypass block, repaired physical damage, improved serviceability, and reset the whole system baseline.

I’m basically paying myself back every time I use this lift. This one session alone almost makes the lift look free.

A shop would finish this and say, “Looks good.” I’m going to finish this and say, “I know exactly how it works.”

That’s the real win.
 

SM105K

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Right! And I think it’s dirty. Lol
My E63's engine compartment is super clean. Probably the cleanest engine compartment, I have ever owned, and your's makes mine look dirty. LOL.
 

802SHO

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Axle housing and seal are done.

I did one more application of JB Weld SteelStick and messed around making some AN hoses while I waited. IMG 9378IMG 9381IMG 9382IMG 9383IMG 9376IMG 9377
Polished up the housing after smoothing my 3rd application of SteelStick. IMG 9385IMG 9386
This is where I went one extra step. Anaerobic gasket maker, cures in the absence of air. Fills microscopic imperfections. Just a tiny bit…you’re doing it right if you question if it’s enough. Inner bore and outer mating surface. IMG 00765C0E 10BD 46BE A410 599018648158IMG 9391
Used this plunger with a hammer. Don’t want a rubber mallet here. Mallet absorbs energy a hammer transfers energy. I started it by hand just a little which was awesome. The refinished bore + anaerobic sealant helped for sure. IMG 9392IMG 9395
“Glory Hole” seal protector ready and willing:laughcry:
IMG 9396
This was the 3rd shaft seal job I did here. 1st time I thought it was bc it was an aftermarket seal. During that job pretty sure I added gouges to the housing on accident…then second time was trying to figure out why the new OEM Ford one leaked and I tried some sealant to fill in imperfections and did very light filing of the sharp edges of the gouges.

This was the 1st legit repair. 3rd times a charm
 

802SHO

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I couldn’t resist. IMG 7EACB925 FE1F 4E7D A371 E10A91FC1189 Call it PTSD. Or call it extra insurance.

IMG 9407IMG 9411Small bead of 1 min gasket maker all the way around bc this it the moment it’ll actually work. It’s dry and clean and drained enough there’s no fluid contamination.

Now take a look at the before. I used this 1 min gasket maker in a panic with no room to work with plus and active leak and it stopped it 90% in its tracks. IMG 240D08CB 8E6E 489A B231 08E5BD98840E
That nasty left side gouge was the problem child. This was never a seal problem, it was a bore problem.

Now it’s repaired properly, smoothed properly, sealed properly, new shaft seal inserted properly and 1 min gasket maker as cheap insurance in an application that counts. Win.
 

802SHO

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Improved Racing 185 mounted solid IMG 9413IMG 9414IMG 9415IMG 9416
Just barely clears in the back. Perfect IMG 9420
Evil Energy gave me some hoses a while back that’s where I got the red from. Mocked up ready to cut hoses. Also going to move my trans gauge thermostat to the feed to the trans. IMG 9421IMG 9419IMG 9418
 

802SHO

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Ended up using the dumb pass through. No clue when the fittings will show up. Can redo over next winter. Made all my hoses. IMG 9431
Ended up making the all black hoses straight female fittings on both sides IMG 9442
Put the feed to the cooler up top and the return on the bottom. This will push any air out of the system a lot easier. Also put my manual transmission temp gauge on the cooler feed. I don’t need to see how much cooler it is on the return lol. IMG 9438IMG 9437IMG 9440IMG 9444
I stopped using this boost reference off the turbo. I had plugged the hose but took it off and put a 1/8 NPT plug in it. IMG 9439
Just in case it was a boost leak. It’s buttoned up now. New axle is back in and dropped it on the ground for an initial fill, leak test and cycle the fluid in the solenoids.
IMG 9448
I was only able to buy 6 quarts. O’Reillys was closed and AutoZone only had 6. Did 5 quarts, cycled it, checked for leaks. I did have one leak on the Improved Racing block, just needed a 1/4 turn. Temps started at 62.

After cycling the gears several times it was bone dry on the dip stick. I ended up adding the entire 6th quart and cycled it a few more times. Started registering on minimum.

Observed temps raised about 20 degrees idling. I didn’t drive it. I’ll wait. ECT (Engine Coolant Temp) raised to 186 and I turned my fan on. At 180+ I’ll turn my fan on. This was my first real test. Would the trans temp drop with ECT with the fan on?

Nope! ECT dropped and trans temp kept climbing. That’s a mini win. IMG 9450
I think it’s going to warm up as it should now. Next dry day it’s getting driven.

David is waiting on me but we will continue chasing some PID’s before I do my final Custom screen layout.

Can’t wait to test drive this. IMG 9453
 

802SHO

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I just took it out after remaking trans cooler lines and using the new Improved Racing 185 thermostat/bypass. Rain ruined it. IMG 9483IMG 9481 But it appears to be working now. Got temps up to 142 and my fan didn’t bring it down. IMG 9482Eventually idling long enough it does settle and maintain a temp. Maintained at 142.8 idling only. Each actually drive brought it up and it stayed up. However the fan doesn’t bring the temp down anymore.

Ryan sent me my 4th revision base map and it felt much better with even low load on responsiveness + the transmission seemed to match it, shifting faster/sooner. He disabled the cruise control module and I have no codes finally!

I was trying to get temps up to 180 to set the fluid level. At 142 it looks good I think 180 it’ll be perfect as it expands a little more.

Thursday it’s going WOT. I’m off from work the rest of the week and Thursday is going to be a sunny day.

Posed with the Raptor for a pic before rainIMG 9480
I did the RDU fluid swap. I’ll do the PTU and alignment with my Gyraline DIY tool tomorrow. I decided to wrap the front and bottom of the Straight Boost Performance TT scavenger oil tank lol. IMG 9475
 

802SHO

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20 months ago I had no clue.
Now I can tell you exactly why it did everything it did.

The crazy part? Before all of this, the car spoiled me. Aside from maybe 4 to 5 weird electrical limp mode events, it was basically flawless. Oil changes, brakes, tires, normal maintenance. No real issues. All the upgrades I did to it worked and I pushed it from a 12.3 quarter mile car to consistent 11.0s and a platform record that is still standing.

Then came the full chaos package. Crazy front remote mounted turbos, custom fuel cell, built motor and built transmission. And I went all in on the build. Engine bay painted, unibody undercarriage painted, engine painted and powder coated, transmission painted. Everything looked right. Everything should have been right. So the first real step was not send it. It was engine break in.

That moderate load break in period acted like a shield. The car ran ok so I was happy. But it was not in a position to reveal why it was not really happy at all. I could not go wide open throttle and expose the real problems yet.

It started simple or so I thought. Coolant leak from the wrong intake manifold cooling gasket, installed wrong, then not even the right part. Fixed that and immediately ran into drivability issues. Choking under light throttle, stumbling back to idle. Little did I know this moderate load choke behavior was the root cause of all my nightmares coming soon. This was the electrical gremlin checking in for the first time and I thought for sure it was a fuel calibration issue. With the fuel system completely changed, the tune was the first logical culprit. I believed the hardware was installed correctly so I chased calibration. Raising idle RPM helped but really it just bumped alternator output and masked a deeper electrical weakness.

Then I started chasing oil. Engine bay splatter eventually led to the realization that my engine builder reused my original VVT solenoids and gaskets. The gaskets were completely torn and all I can think is they got damaged when the valve covers were removed to get powder coated. At first I tried sealing them with high temp silicone just to keep moving.

Around the same time the turbos started smoking and that turned into its own nightmare. Oil return went through four total versions before it was actually right. The original setup, first failed revision, second failed revision, then the third revision and fourth and final install. Twice I ended up with oil splatter out of the exhaust and a bunch of oil in the intercooler. That meant pulling pipes apart, cleaning the intercooler, cleaning the charge system, reworking the drains and starting over again.

And this became the theme with the whole car. Every time I fixed something I thought I was good. Everyone thought I was good. Then the car would expose the next layer.

The oil return already had a pump. The TurboWerx base pump rated around 1.75 GPM which works with most twin turbo systems. Just not mine. Not with my turbos mounted that low and the return angle less than ideal. What finally worked was stacking the fixes. Proper rerouting, clocking the turbos about 20 degrees, adding water to the turbos and upgrading to the TurboWerx EXA Mil Spec pump rated at 3.0 GPM open flow. That combination finally solved it. Only then did I circle back and fix the VVT solenoids properly with new parts and gaskets.

Meanwhile my blow off valve piston was completely frozen shut. My PCV system was choking the engine. Clogged filters and a breather cap not designed for twin turbo blow by built crankcase pressure and blew out spark plug gaskets. That forced another round of valve cover work followed by a full upgrade to baffled catch cans with -12AN lines. Finally I could make a pull but under load especially multi gear the car fell apart.

That same electrical gremlin came back with a megaphone. Under wide open throttle and multi gear pulls I was getting voltage drop across the entire engine bay. Throttle body, ignition coils, injectors, transmission. Everything tied into those five critical engine bay grounds and straps. What looked like tuning problems, throttle closures, spark cuts, boost cuts, poor boost recovery, weird shift behavior, was the car losing electrical integrity exactly when it needed it most.

And then there was another layer most people overlook. Dead system DTCs. The ECU does not care if you do not need a system anymore. If it sees a fault it reacts. It goes into protective logic. Same as unplugging your MAP sensor. The signal is gone and the car runs like garbage. Same idea with things like electronic blow off valves. If you go mechanical but do not disable those systems in the tune, the ECU thinks something is broken and starts pulling you back. All those dead systems had to be properly disabled so the car would stop protecting itself from problems that did not actually exist anymore.

Then it lost all transmission power. That was the moment everything stopped being a normal troubleshooting process and turned into an origin story. I spent the last 5 months learning why that happened, where it started, what systems were involved and why so many parts looked guilty when they were really just reacting to bad conditions.

Not to mention all the smaller battles along the way that add up. A few fittings that leaked and had to be remade, fender liners I added and modified, moving the O2 sensors so they stopped lying, using ARP torque converter bolts to match the billet flexplate, finding rear subframe bolts and even the steering rack not torqued properly, chasing a floating alignment and even a fuel sending unit that lied to me leading to running out of gas mid diagnosis.

And people ask all the time
Why is it not done yet
How much power does it make
How fast is it in the quarter mile

I am over here doing something different. I am not chasing a number yet. I am making the car honest so when I do lean on it the data means something. So I can actually dial it in on 93 the right way.

It was system integrity the entire time.

I did not need to keep throwing parts at it.
I needed to understand the conditions those parts were being asked to operate in.

That is the difference now.

Right now there is not a thing I do not understand or do not have an answer for.

I do not fully trust the solenoid valve body, TRS or GH torque converter yet and I have replacements on deck ready to go in if needed.

But the car is feeling sane again.

Like it used to feel.

Clean. Solid. Ready.
 

DadMobile

Worlds 3rd least slowest Ecoboost SHO
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Keep going, our hero. I know it’s been like 7 years since your ran three low 11 passes but I believe in you.
 

Jordan_R

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I was trying to get temps up to 180 to set the fluid level. At 142 it looks good I think 180 it’ll be perfect as it expands a little more.
Quick tip to get fluid temp up put it in reverse and brake torque it to about 1400-1500. Idle won't ever get there. Should take tops of 5 minutes to get it where you want it to be. Gotta do this every day at work when training technicians on transmission fluid exchanges!
 

802SHO

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Quick tip to get fluid temp up put it in reverse and brake torque it to about 1400-1500. Idle won't ever get there. Should take tops of 5 minutes to get it where you want it to be. Gotta do this every day at work when training technicians on transmission fluid exchanges!
**** yeah
 

Angrymongoose

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Quick tip to get fluid temp up put it in reverse and brake torque it to about 1400-1500. Idle won't ever get there. Should take tops of 5 minutes to get it where you want it to be. Gotta do this every day at work when training technicians on transmission fluid exchanges!
Not to derail this too much, but why reverse instead of drive? Im not at all questioning whether youre right, just curious.
 

802SHO

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Not to derail this too much, but why reverse instead of drive? Im not at all questioning whether youre right, just curious.
Before he answers, I already noticed during initial fill and gear cycling that temps would always gain more in Reverse. Now it makes sense. The converter is slipping more under load in R which generates more heat and helps warm the fluid faster.
 

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