Dropping the subframe

[blk\blk90]

I started work on dropping the subframe out of my 92 that hasn't ran in 10 years. My goal is to pull the quaife'd trans out and stick it in my 91 that destroyed something in the driveline. I'm not sure if it's the clutch, PP, or TOB, but something went wrong. Anyways, heres a few pics with questions to follow:


I pulled the upper coolant hose and found this. I have no clue what it is.


Inside of the upper hose.


Contents of the upper hose.


My stopping point for the evening.









So my big concerns are do I need any specialty tools after this point? I d/c almost every connector I saw, pulled the intake, and evacuated the freon lines.

So where I'm kinda stuck is I couldn't really get the clutch cable off, and how do you d/c the fuel lines? I'm planning on dropping the suspension and brakes with it too. I'm doing what I remembered from the "how to drop your subframe" thread but forgot to check it whilst consuming beers and tearing things apart. The car will be stripped of all useful parts and sold as a shell to whoever wants it.

 

[rubydist]

You need the fuel line disconnect tool, available at any parts store. They disconnect similarly to how the a/c lines disconnect.

Its been too long since I pulled off the clutch cable to remember just how that works...

 

[blk\blk90]

That's a huge help. I'll go pick one up tomorrow.

 

[luigisho]

Is this your old car or did you pick it up somewhere? Random thoughts... some silicates from coolant, aluminum from radiator, stop leak type product? Doesn't look like oil in in so that is good. I would assume that stuff is all through the cooling system so I would flush the block, look at replacement hoses and a radiator. OR you could try and power flush the radiator if cash is tight. Not sure how effective that would be.

I am guessing you are not dropping the whole engine/tranny combo? If you can get access to the heater core in/out fittings on the engine side, I would remove the rubber hoses and try and flush that out so you can hope to not have to deal with replacement anytime soon. I think I saw a video of that online years ago. I think the guy used a garden hose or something. Not a distilled perfect setup but it looked effective enough.

 

[blk\blk90]

This is the 92 that Nick had for sale on FB back in December. I'm just now getting around to it. I'm dropping the whole thing. Engine, trans, suspension. Its trans, clutch, suspension, and brakes are going in one of my 91+s. The motor will just be a spare hanging around. Eventually I could get a new clutch and bring this one back to life, but I dont know what I wanna do yet.

 

[luigisho]

Then you're good to go. Sorta. The brakes might need some going over to make sure the slider pins and piston and fluid in there are up to *****. That's a long time to sit. (unless you just use the calipers as cores for fresher units from the local parts joint).

 

[blk\blk90]

These are the brakes on it. I'll have to see if they're ok.

 

[BaySHO Performance]

Beau, no idea what that gunk in the cooling system could be. Car was running fine when I parked it. Nothing other than antifreeze and water used IIRC.

To get the clutch cable off, you have to raise the clutch pedal above its resting point and stick something underneath it to keep it raised. This releases the quadr ant on the pedal. You will then be able to pull the cable out of the fork with vice grips.

Two ways to get the tranny out:

Either support the engine with an engine support beam (http://wiki.wikisho.com/wiki/Engine_Support_Beam) and drop the subframe to just remove the tranny
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/98jyb248usfdk62/Tranny removal summary.doc?dl=0)

Or drop the whole engine / tranny / brake assembly while still attached to the subframe, for which you will need a large jack and jack stands designed for trucks, and an engine hoist, per the pics. You will first need to remove the intake and struts to get the rest out from underneath the car.

What you will need for the fuel lines. There's a round 'garter' spring in one half of the connection that needs to be pushed back into the housing to clear the lip on the other half of the connection:

https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-...tring=search&isIgnoreVehicle=false&model=fuel

 

[luigisho]

Them Wilwoods r fancy! nice.

 

[ssenter]

That gunk in the coolant passages is most likely a combination of crystalized coolant and some interaction with the aluminum in the heads. Old coolant does that if it just sits...

 

[rubydist]

That gunk in the coolant passages is most likely a combination of crystalized coolant and some interaction with the aluminum in the heads. Old coolant does that if it just sits...

so can you just flush it out? how do you get it out of the areas where you cannot reach?

 

[blk\blk90]

It seems it was only in the upper hose and tstat housing. The housing itself is actually.....not rotted away, but it isn't the shape its supposed to be. Its jagged on the end. When I took out the lower hose and drained the radiator it was all liquid.

 

[PaulTAutoX]

It seems it was only in the upper hose and tstat housing. The housing itself is actually.....not rotted away, but it isn't the shape its supposed to be. Its jagged on the end. When I took out the lower hose and drained the radiator it was all liquid.

Wow, I have to agree that the blobs with the shiny bits look like a mineralization / crystals. Historically Ford had silicates as an ingredient, plus ethylene glycol and water, though they changed technologies to the non-green type around 2003. Anyway, such things /might/ tend to come out of solution only at certain temperature ranges, so /might/ not be in the entire system, but I'd agree with other posters that a system flush would be best.
"Not rotted away...jagged..." sounds like corrosion has occurred. Clearances may have changed, so if you can get a new thermostat (strongly recommended) and housing (might be a good idea).

Coolant is not forever!