ecoboost_xsport Consolidated Build/Maintenance Thread

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Weight Reduction: Hood Insulation Removal

Not a big mod or one that took a long time...just wanted to do this. I'm always trying to shave that weight. Lost 2.5lbs BABY!!!

Pretty straight forward process. Pop off the retaining fasteners and then pull up on the hood (it sits in some metal tabs toward the middle/rear).

Before removal:


After removal:


Weight:


I really did it for some upcoming mods I'm going to do the hood and wanted to see what it looked like underneath. And for the record, it's not there to protect the paint, per se`. It's mostly there for noise insulation. I'm sure the hood will also get hotter than usual, but not worried about paint melting off or anything, LOL.

Weight Reduction Running Tally: ~258.5 lbs

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Weight Reduction: Rear Wiper Delete

Not much going on here. Just wanted to clean up the rear window as I NEVER use the wiper. It's such a simple job, I didn't take many pics at all, so apologies there.

Before photo:


First is taking the wiper off, pretty straight forward. Just undo the nut on the stud and I used some VERY light taps of a small ballpeen hammer on the end of the stud to break loose the pressed-on wiper mount. Gotta be careful so you don't break your glass, LOL.

Now, you need to remove all the rear hatch interior panels. The top "arch" panel is somewhat of a pain to pop off and I did end up breaking 2 of the clip mounts off. One I was able to epoxy back in place, but the other was a total loss...not too bad as it still attaches properly and firmly, so no issues for now.

Once all the panels are off, just disconnect the connector to the wiper motor and remove the bolts holding it in. Take out the grommet and now you have a nice open hole in the window:


Oh yes, saved another 2.5 pounds!!! LOL:


As for the block off plate, this is the one I used: NiceCNC 2002-2005 Civic Rear Wiper Delete

It needed some modification, so not all will be able to use it. I didn't take photos of what I did either, so apologies there.

So this portion of the exterior part of the bock off fits nicely inside the hole in the rear window:


However there is a small triangular tab near the base that is a notch meant for the rear window of the Civic it is originally designed for:


WARNING: If you do not remove this notch, you WILL shatter your glass as it will put pressure on it, since our vehicles don't have that notch. You will have to grind it off. I used a dremel for this.

On the interior portion of the block off plate, this raised portion of the part will hit the inside of the window before the o-ring will, so either you won't get a good seal or, if you crank it too hard, may also break the window. I used a lathe to turn it down flush with the rest of the body of the plate, but a dremel will work fine as well:


Finally, I made one more modification. It isn't necessary but will help with the appearance of the plate long term. I like anodized products and this product comes black anodized. However, even when hard anodizing is used, black will sometimes tend to fade into a purple. If it was just standard anodized and not hard anodized, it's possible it will even fade to something approaching a pinkish hue. Considering this is likely a cheap knock-off made overseas, I am guessing it's the latter.

In order to mitigate this and not have to take everything apart in the future, I decided to paint the exterior part semi-gloss black. Doing it properly with primer, semi-gloss black and then clear coat...with wet sands in between.

It would've been easier (and dare I say, look better) to have it powder-coated, but to have such a small piece done would be expensive, unless you have your own oven at home or have other items being coated.

After photo:


Anyway, love the look. We don't get much rain here, so I never used it. Not to mention, my rig is not a daily driver, so removing it wasn't much of a concern. Not for everyone, I'm sure.

Weight Reduction Running Tally: ~261.0 lbs

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Removal And Installation Of The Intake Manifold

Original Post: https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/remove-and-installation-of-the-intake-manifold.142055/

I ended up doing this for multiple reasons. Installation of XDI +30% fuel injectors, installation of the X35Designs phenolic spacer, installation of the BBK 70mm throttle body, some heat management of the coolant passage underneath the manifold and finally, installation of my new port injection methanol intake manifold.

It isn't necessarily hard, just tedious and time consuming. I won't cover the injector install in this thread as that will get covered in another one, just the basic removal, prep and install of the intake manifold. I also performed the port matching of the phenolic spacer during this, but it is also covered in another thread.

Phenolic spacer thread: https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/got-my-x35-phenolic-spacer.141761/

Getting her ready:




Removal of the hood made it easier to access everything and wasn't hard at all. It only weighs about 20lbs:


Here's part 01, removal video:

How it looks right after removal:


Here's part 02, preparation video:

All prepped:


At this point, I completed the swap-over of the components off the stock throttle body onto the BBK one. There's a spring in there and some clocking that is necessary...

Ready for the intake manifold:


Here's part 03, installation video:

Got it going in:


Before Shot:


After Shot:


And a side-by-side comparison:

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Trim Intake Manifold Foam Insulator

ONLY REQUIRED WHEN USING A PHENOLIC INTAKE MANIFOLD SPACER.

Doing this was needed in order to be able to use the foam heat insulator that sits beneath the intake manifold when using the X35Designs intake manifold phenolic spacer. This foam insulator rests snugly on the tops of the injectors as well as the high pressure fuel lines. However, there is a "lip" around the edge of the foam that holds it under the intake manifold. Without trimming that "lip", the insulator will hover above the lines and injectors about 3/8" and not make contact.

I couldn't help but felt this allows for heat to soak into the fuel system as well as not "supporting" those components, keeping them firmly in place. Doing this also happened to help since I added an additional 1/2" thickness around the coolant pipe, so a bit more room was needed to accommodate this.

Some may simply throw this insulator out as I am not 100% sure how effective it is at what it was intended to do, but why not re-use it if possible?

At first, I attempted to use a regular razor blade. Though it was sharp enough and cut well, it failed to be able to navigate the contours I was hoping to achieve. So I found that my right-angle air grinder with a sanding attachment normally meant for porting/polishing worked great! It was so easy and was like sculpting through butter.


Here's a photo of the insulator (Ford PN: AA5Z-6P013-A). I had already started shaving one half of the "lip" (bottom portion in this photo), so you can see the difference:


Here's how it looks shaved:


The sanding attachment cuts through like butter and is very easy to shape.

Finished trimming:


Mocked up underneath the intake manifold:


I ended up having to trim these chamfers on the ends as it kept the foam that was around the coolant pipe from wrinkling too much as it was pressed tightly against it.




Mocked up on engine:


Finished install:


One change I would make would be to somehow secure the drill into a vise or put this sanding attachment onto a drill press. It might be a bit easier to sculpt when holding the foam with both hands and having the sanding be stationary. It cuts so well that it can quickly get away from you if you are not careful.

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

XDI +30% Fuel Injector Installation

So this is a subsection of the larger modification section I was doing with the intake manifold, phenolic spacer and throttle body. I broke it out separately in order to highlight some of the things I learned along the way.

XDI has some awesome products and really does a lot to support our platform. Uwe over there is a great resource and can be extremely helpful even if you have a custom build. He sent me an early version of his SHO injectors, so these are technically his Gen1 version and have a +30% capability, but his latest SHO injectors are true +50%. Check them out at Xtreme DI.

Here's a short intro video on the upcoming tasks:

I took my time on this install as I wanted to make sure I got everything right and not forget any steps. I'm sure in the video set, some of you may find some things I could've done better. Let me know, as I'm always open for criticism.

Here's the beginning, removal of everything:

And here is the preparation of the heads before the installation:

This is the tool I was talking about in that video:


Might be able to solve the issue using other methods, but figured I'd just get the right tool for the job. It's way too expensive for what it is though, tbh. Not to mention, the bristles definitely have a lifespan, so if this was something you had to do often, you'd be having to purchase another tool over time. Anyway, it worked well and gave me peace-of-mind so that's worth something, right?

Here's the preparation of the actual rails with the injectors, before installation into the heads:

If you find some injectors sticking into the rail itself, I used this to tool (Craftsman Lock Ring Pliers #47386) to pop it out easily:




Used the caps and plugs Uwe provided with the new injectors for storing the old ones:


Rails getting ready for the injectors:


Since it was off the engine, trimmed that hook bracket off the new HP fuel line. Just give you a bit more room to adjust it as it's not used anyway.

Before:


After:


Also shaved down the head of that bolt it normally connects to.


Actual installation:

After this, just gotta proceed with installation of the rest...phenolic spacer and intake manifold (covered in a different thread). Although I've heard you can at least start the vehicle up and maybe idle it, I wasn't going to risk it. Luckily it's not a daily driver for me, so it wasn't a big deal to wait for Brad at AJP to get me an updated tune.

Here's the injector calibration sheet I needed to provide Brad for tuning:


Got the new preliminary tune in, did a full coolant flush and took it out for a small romp around town and man, this thing is beastly. I am doing datalogging with Brad currently so we'll see when this iteration is finalized, but I'm impressed so far.

Thanks Uwe!!!

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Changing And Trying Out Brisk Spark Plugs Part 01

Original Post: https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/how-to-change-plugs-trying-out-brisk-spark-plugs.141964/

This is sort of a how-to on how I do my plug changes as well as getting away from the FoMoCo SP-542 and trying out a different plug. It remains to be seen how well it will work out for me, but I will definitely keep you guys updated.

So on the advice of a pretty good local tuner, I decide to try out some Brisk spark plugs (Brisk Racing). There wasn't necessarily anything wrong with the 542s I was running, but with the power goals and modifications I am shooting for, I wanted to attempt one additional step colder of a plug (OEM was 534s, heat range 6, 542s are range 7) by going heat range 8 to see if I can squeeze some timing out of her. Although I have limited personal experience with Brisk, a lot of top shops and tuners use these things. I did some research and on the advice of that local tuner, decided on trying out the Silver Racing plugs (hey, it has Racing in the name, so it MUST be good, lol). They are heat range 8, which is 2 steps colder than OEM and it remains to be seen if I can get a bit more timing out of these or if they will just foul out. Oh, and they are Made in the USA so that's a plus, right?

First thing is getting those connectors off the coils. Slide back the red clip on the coil connector, it's easy enough with a small flat head screwdriver:




Then just press the clip retainer and slide off the connector. After disconnecting that, use an 8mm socket to remove the coil retaining bolt, then pull out the coil. Even though I only complete one cylinder at a time so as not to confuse things, I still typically mark the coil with a sharpie identifying which cylinder it came from.

Before you take out the old plug, it is important to use some air to blow out any debris that may be residing in that spark plug well so that it doesn't fall into the cylinder. You'd be surprised how much junk gets blown out of there, despite them being "sealed".


After pulling the old spark plug, I look at the condition of it, mark it with a sharpie as well and I personally keep my old plugs for at least until the next plug change to compare them to the previous set. So they go in a zip lock and stored away.


Here's the new plugs:


Side-by-side comparison:


Tip/electrode difference:


I had the SP-542s gapped to 0.26 and went with the same on the Brisk plugs.




I use an old piece of rubber hose to put onto the end of the new plug as it makes it a bit easier to install by hand into the well. But before I install it, I give it a good thin coating of some anti-seize. You will thank yourself later if you do this, trust me.




Factory service manual says torque to 133 in-lbs, not much, I know.


If you convert the in-lbs to ft-lbs you get 11.1. Comparing to the recommendation provided by Brisk, it falls right in line (the plugs are conical seat, 14mm thread diameter going into an aluminum head).


After installing the plug, make sure to use a small amount of dielectric grease (I like to use Dow Corning #4) inside the coil boot to help keep moisture out as well as ensuring it doesn't adhere to the plug and become a nightmare to remove for the next plug change. In the photo showing how much is coming out of the tube is the amount I usually use.






After that, installation is the opposite of removal.

Some tips to be mindful of:

1) If you have the composite valve covers like I do, be very careful when torquing the coil retaining bolt. The threaded hole is just a metal insert that can spin on you if over-torqued. If you spin it too badly, that's it...I don't really know of a fix other than getting a whole new valve cover, maybe some sort of epoxy. The book says 62 in-lbs, then another 50 degrees, but TBH, I did that spec on one of my retaining bolts the last time I changed the plugs and it began to spin (yes, I checked to make sure I was in-lbs and not ft-lbs). So before I let it get too bad, I just left it. Luckily it was in pretty tight and didn't have any issues the entire time I had those 542s in. This time around I was just very careful to do it by hand and get them as tight as I felt comfortable. That seemed to work pretty well as they are all solidly in there.

2) If you have an XDI HPFP, you're going to have to remove the low and high side fuel lines as well as the top 2 bolts to spin it a bit to access the coil on cylinder 4. I think I heard XDI had a redesign, but can't confirm that.

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Changing And Trying Out Brisk Spark Plugs Part 02



Anyway, as mentioned, I'll keep you folks updated once I get her back on the road. After doing some research on the Brisk product line, I gotta say, I'm fairly impressed so far. Now the proof will be when I get some miles on 'em.

EDIT: It's been brought to my attention that there is an easier way to get to the #4 coil if you have an XDI HPFP. Simply remove the low side fuel line AND remove the low side -6AN fitting out of the HPFP body (there is just an o-ring behind it) and that will give you enough clearance to remove the coil. No need to remove the high side, 2 top bolts, or spin it. I have not done this method yet, but will the next time I do a plug change.

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Extend And Move Hood Anti-Theft Switch

So this modification is being done because I have some plans for the AirAid CAI...I'm going to have a cover made for it in order to make it truly separated from the hot engine air. It's location makes it more difficult to make the cover, so moving it to the other side was necessary.

Looking straight down on the airbox, you can see how the bottom right where the switch is at would get in the way, or at least not leave much room, of a cover for the airbox:


Another angle:


The box sitting inside the airbox is my battery tender...disregard.

Close up:


On the other side is a good location, very similar to where it is on the original side:


Just used a step drill to achieve the proper size. Ensure you measure the original hole to accurately get the new hole dimensions:


Installed:


Ready for testing to ensure it switches appropriately:


Conducting testing, and all is well. Switch changes appropriately when hood is opened and closed:


Now it's time to get rid of that extra material:


I just used a dremel with a cut-off wheel attachment to get the major part of it out, then changed to the dremel sanding wheel attachment to finalize the shape and smooth it out a bit.

Finished product. You can see how much more room that gave me:


Now, moving onto the wiring and actually extending the connector. I didn't like how the wire was coming around this portion of the radiator core support, so I drilled a hole through it to make it a bit more of a straight shot. Not a necessary step, though:


In order to fit the wire through that hole, had to cut the connector off. We will be splicing it longer anyway, so no biggie. I gave myself a little bit of extra wire in order to have room for the splice:


Fed the loose end of the wire through that hole previously made:


Close up of the splice connector:


And made a video of the complete wiring process:

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Upgrade From Sync2 To Sync3

Easiest mod ever. Took me all of 20 minutes to install...gorgeous and I'm in love with my interior again, lol...

Got all my stuff from Jason at FLVP Mods

Sure I could've hunted the individual parts down myself, but it was an easy one-stop shop with everything I need done for me...makes it easier:


Just have to pop off the 2 side strips, remove the control console, remove the screen/APIM and the old USB hub.

Here's an excellent video detailing the process:

It came pre-loaded from FLVP Mods with the Explorer splash screen but those can be changed in FORSCAN:




I really, really hated Sync2...

 

[Jordan_R]

Welp, found out the most capable 3.5l ecoboost of actually getting a ten and it was an explorer sport all along! LOL! Us SHO boys don't stand a chance! Super well documented!

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Welp, found out the most capable 3.5l ecoboost of actually getting a ten and it was an explorer sport all along! LOL! Us SHO boys don't stand a chance! Super well documented!

This thing will never be able to make 10s...if I can break into the 11s, I'll be happy AF...1st XSport to do so...it's my goal at least, lol.

 

[bpd1151]

Us SHO boys don't stand a chance!

Ha! Speak for yourself.

LOL. Patience young lad, patience.

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[Jordan_R]

Ha! Speak for yourself.

LOL. Patience young lad, patience.

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I said what I said!

 

[bpd1151]

Hahaha. Duly noted. As did I.

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[802SHO]

Damn buddy this is a ******* build thread! Extensive list with equally impressive documentation! You got 11’s easy! But will 11’s be enough is the real question!?

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

Damn buddy this is a ******* build thread! Extensive list with equally impressive documentation! You got 11’s easy! But will 11’s be enough is the real question!?

Thanks, ya know, I'm just being realistic. Its a very difficult platform and I may just be participating in an exercise of futility, but 10s, one day, would be icing on the cake...

...but there's DEFINITELY more coming...

 

[SM105K]

Good stuff dude. I have been putting off taking my intake off for awhile to check my valves.......probably going too now.

 

[FiveLeeter918]

thoroughly impressed, and now I feel very inadequate. Can you re-do my build thread too?

 

[Ecoboost_xsport]

thoroughly impressed, and now I feel very inadequate. Can you re-do my build thread too?

Haha, I found a free offline BBC editing program that allows me to make posts without going into a forum. Since I've had some time at home lately with a newborn, I've finally got around to compiling all these write-ups. I been working on all these for about 5 weeks now and finally got most of them done. A few more in the pipeline, but I'm pretty caught up. Some of my mods I never took photos of because I was too anxious to get installed (i.e., ATP turbo install, etc.) but this covers most of what I've done to this point.

If anybody is interested in the software, it's called BBCeditor and they are on v1.1.35.0, freeware. Its pretty cool, you can enter your links and everything, then just cut/paste into whatever forum. Handy to make edits and see the final product before uploading.

 

[Nova]

I'm surprised you didn't powder coat your x-brace red to tie it with your black and red theme. Oh BTW the last 2 post you just posted the pics aren't working.

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