Winterizing The Mark And Other To Do's

[mlschultz]

I dropped The Mark off at Aric's last Saturday to get it ready for hibernation.

Change the oil and filter - (Royal Purple 5-30 & Ford Racing filter), drain the oil catch can, check/change the coolant - (75% distilled water, 25% Motorcraft coolant, one bottle Royal Purple Ice) for zero degree protection.

Some other things he is going to do - Smoke check for intercooler coupler leaks. I noticed the intake tube to throttle body coupler has a tear from the t-bolt clamp so that one needs to be replaced for sure. These silicone couplers are 10 years old now - has it been that long already? :eek-large: Then, put it on the dyno and make sure the A/F is still good at WOT, and making decent power still after years of abuse.

He is going to put a estimate together to address the current fuel delivery (Ford GT fuel pump in a butchered up stock Mark VIII basket, KB BAP, and stock lines & rails.

The current fuel delivery is doing it's job - as long as I keep the tank full of fuel to about half tank. He said there are many options out there now as compared to ten years ago. My goal is to eliminate the KB BAP, and be able to drive the car without limitations of how much fuel is in the tank.

Hope all goes well, and look forward to spring

 

[Mad1stGen]

We were talking with Charlie the other day ... time sure does fly. It's been almost ten years for the Whiner as well.

Let me know if Aric wants some info on using the stock basket.

I'd suggest leaving the BAP in place not to raise the voltage, but at least to stabilize the power delivery to the pump (no spikes or drops). They're awesome at that.

Other than that, a good burnout is in order before hibernation

 

[Roadboss]

Yes Good Burnout!!!

 

[Ford nut]

Still driving mine but tomorrow might be the end...not bad almost made it to thanksgiving!

 

[mlschultz]

Got a call from Injected yesterday. It passed the smoke test, so they just had to replace the TB coupler.

They could not recreate the "laying down" or "bog" condition I described to them when squeezing the throttle down, so they are going to blame it on the un-metered air coming through the tear in the TB coupler, and keep it - drive it home to see if the condition reappears.

They called when they were strapping it down on the dyno to run it through it's paces. I asked for them to send me a sheet that has a pull that includes the a/f so I can put it in my files for reference. I did not receive the dreaded "while on the dyno" call last night, so I guess there were no mishaps during the exercise. :wave:

Thanks Jeremi for the offer, and may have Aric give you a call. I am curious to see what he comes up with.

 

[mlschultz]

I stopped by the shop yesterday to see what's going on. Aric said everything looked great on the dyno - a/f, KB BAP, etc., and put some miles on the street - again, everything is fine. He said he ordered a bunch of fuel related parts (no cost to me) to look over and see if he can put something together. I also gave them Jeremi's number, so they can ask the Jedi Master of Mark's what he does in this type of situation.

 

[mlschultz]

Aric called yesterday, and went through the list again. Oil and filter done. Coolant tested at 25* above zero. He found a red vacuum hose that was not connected to the fuel rail - I never noticed it off, or have I ever taken it off. He fastened it on there so it will not do that again without some work to take it off.

He mentioned it has been a couple years since the fuel filter was changed, and recommended to do a fuel injector / intake carbon blast service where he sends chemicals through the engine via the fuel rail and also the fuel tank to clean everything. He also said the air filter was dirty so he is going to clean that too.

No word yet on the fuel delivery estimate, and said he still needed to call Jeremi.

 

[mlschultz]

Picked The Mark up a couple days ago, and all is well again. It is now ready for hibernation

Big Thanks to Jeremi for helping Aric out with the fuel delivery! Going to get that done in the spring :thumbsup:

 

[driller]

It is now ready for hibernation

Hibernation in Atlanta? That shouldn't take long. :laugh:

I've had 2 of my Mark's out this month for recreational purposes. I honestly can't recall that happening here in December before! :cool-blue:

 

[mlschultz]

lol I know JP. It was 70 here yesterday. Thing is, it sits in the garage at least 340+ days a year, so I guess you can say it is always hibernating. Wendy, has a hard time trying to justify keeping something that has a high $ cost per use. Whenever it goes to Aric's, she says - is that another Caribbean cruise vacation your not taking me on? :wave: