V2Rocket

N.American cars got them too. All 82-84 cars came with them, all around the world.

They changed from the cast-iron beasts seen above to the tubular style sometime in MY1985.

It saves a few pounds, but the cast-iron ones are much more durable.

My 944 is an early (1985) NA but has a "late" type engine fitted from the factory, differences being the tubular manifolds, a turbo-style oil pan, and the later coolant sensor.

Ish_944

Thank you Noah!

Yes, V2 is correct on the exhaust manifold. I actually didn't know that there was a different version. I simply had them ceramic coated. That's a good way to prevent rusting, looks fantastic, and, most importantly, reduces temperatures in the engine bay a lot. That is good for all the 30-year-old rubber and plastic in there.

@V2:
I believe these Mustangs are officially imported here. We've even got a 2.3l engine option!

Dave W.

Is the 2.3l Mustang gaining acceptance over there? I follow the new 2.3 over here and it's impressive. It seems to have good fuel economy, low price point, and plenty of aftermarket support.

Ish_944

Honestly, I don't know. I think most people who want an american muscle buy a V8. This new version probably haven't been discovered by others, who want a Hyundai Tiburon or similar (i.e. a coupe with good but not crazy power). I think the independent rear suspension will help to convince Europe.

Anyway, back to topic!
I'll pick the car up tomorrow and will post pics over the weekend!

snb13

Noah, I have early cast manifolds for sale- $75- but I have no idea how much shipping to Canada would be.

Tiger03447

They look like the standard Tri-Y design manifolds used widely during the '80's for more torque. looking great on the paint/powdercoat finish on the cam box! Gotta figure out how to get my photos of my engine on R-list and out of my phone! Anyone ..help? PS..Old and ignorant

Ish_944

So the engine was assembled and put back into the car. It ran nicely and passed the MOT/inspection/whatever-it-is-called-in-your-country.

Then we lost oil pressure.
The bottom of the engine had to be taken apart. All the parts (oil pump, relief valve, etc.) were individually tested and there were no issues at all. So what then?
The block is torn where the OPRV seats against it. So it couldn't seal properly.
Luckily the engine had the old 3-piece valve which can be replaced with a 1-piece that has a rubber O-ring at its end. That will fix what an idiot ****ed up in the previous life of this engine. So annoying.

What is even worse is the fact what a new OPRV costs and that ordering it was a major pain. Now it looks like that shipping will take over 1 week. Ridiculous.

V2Rocket

Damn !
is the "tear"/crack on the oil cooler plate or on the block itself?

Ish_944

On the block itself. At the inner end of the OPRV. It's luckily not a crack, but the metal is somehow scratched or something and there's a gap between the block and the valve, so sealing is not really good. The rubber O-ring should take care of that.

V2Rocket

if there is space to work you *may* be able to fill the scratches/etc with a little bit of epoxy smoothed down.

Ish_944

To keep you up-to-date with the latest developments:

We got the new OPRV. The car built oil pressure immediately and was running fine.
The next day there was an oil leak at the oil pump. Had to take it off and create a paper gasket. Since then it seems OK.

However, there's an oil leak at the back of the pan --> the brand new gasket doesn't seal properly.

So after this it ran acceptably, i.e. for an engine that is being broken in and does not yet have a good tune.

After about 140 miles it started to act up to the point that it could not idle after firing it up. I tracked down the issue to be the MAP. It sends a wrong pressure value sometimes: even just shaking it a bit can cause the problem.

So I contacted Tom at Augmentautomotive. He replied quickly and offered a new MAP. 1st class service!

Now I just hope to get it quickly and that the new one will prove to be more reliable!

Ish_944

I got the new MAP installed. So far so good, the engine runs fantastically.
I get pretty smooth and stable idle already, although while driving the afr is all over the place. Sometimes it leans out a lot (17+:1) but mostly it's on the rich side and that is what we want. So far I'm not revving it over 3000.

I'll be doing a longer trip (1000 km) next weekend so we'll see how it behaves.

I'm also running 5w50 Mobil 1 racing oil. This gives much-much higher oil pressures than the 15w40 I ran previously. I get 3+ bars at idle instead of 1-2.

Ish_944

First oil change was done last Saturday.

The AC/alternator tensioner broke and the front screw fell out of the AC housing. We repaired it but the tensioner fell out again within 100 miles. Both screws actually.

I know that the harmonic balancer I got from a german guy is in bad shape, i.e. shaky, but I still don't know what the hell is going on.

Luckily the car still has enough electricity so I actually didn't notice anything.

Any ideas?

V2Rocket

Check this out...
http://www.rsbarn.com/catalog/index....roducts_id=103

Ish_944

Cheers! I actually found this by myself earlier today.

Looks like an excellent product but it ain't cheap! But at least it exists.