Problems Just Keep Adding Up

"Paul, Man of Mustangs" (stangmanpaul) 09/14/2013 at 15:48 • Filed to: None

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Well, fuck me. My Mustang has been adding up little tiny problems over the past few months. The latest in the line are a leaky transmission, wobbly starter (Powermaster mini-starter), and a leaky radiator. Yesterday and today, I tackled the first two issues.

I pulled the starter because the clocking bolts were loose. Got it on the ground and noticed two out of three were in the starter. The third fell out of the bellhousing after some fiddling. That explains why it was spinning and making horrible noises. The screw that had fallen out was gashed pretty badly, but it still fit. So, I pulled each screw out, gave it a dab of red Loctite and reinstalled it.

Put the starter back in, and noticed that my trans pan is still leaking. I think it's actually the pan, and not the gasket, although the old cork gasket certainly didn't help. So I tighten it down a bit more and notice a line on the bellhousing that I wasn't familiar with. I'm fairly certain that it does have a parting line right down the middle, but this looks like it's at least 1/16" tall. Wouldn't you know it, the bellhousing's cracked. Damn. Welp, there goes my plans of selling the trans when I pull it. Also looks like I'll need to do that manual transmission swap sooner rather than later.

BJohnson11 > Paul, Man of Mustangs 09/14/2013 at 18:19

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Problems tend to stack up like that with project cars. Just tackle things one at a time and keep your cool. And hey, starting the manual swap early is no issue at all! And as long as it's just a bell housing crack, you can probably still sell the trans. What trans is it? I'm guessing a C4?

Paul, Man of Mustangs > BJohnson11 09/14/2013 at 20:29

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I know of a junkyard that has a T5 lying around that no one wants to buy. I plan on making my own crossmember, so that just leaves the clutch, flywheel, and driveshaft. Shouldn't cost too much, and I could get some money back by selling my Megashifter. If I knew how to weld aluminum, I'd just weld the crack shut before I sold the trans. Or I could do like the airline maintenance guys do and just drill a hole at the end of it. It's in a non-critical location, right at the very bottom where the parting line is. And yeah, it's a C4.