I’m putting in FRPP shortys on my bird and I’m having a real hard time on the drivers side motor mount ishiznitting bad I already butchered it buy cutting and bending the mount w/ the torch but still itshiznitting and I cant cut any more due to the rubber underneath. Any suggesting quickly will help, since I’m on it right now.
hammer+header=clearence?
seriously.. if you cant get you header to mount up correctly.. heatup the flow tube and dent it.. so it will clear the mount
I really didn’t want to do that (mess w/ the header) but is this a normal problem. I had the mustang headers on and no clearance issues I been at this all day cutting off the old exhaust took forever, tried putting in long tubes and that wasn’t happening. had the shortys thinking they would go right in ha I was mistaking.
And i also dont want to mess w/ the header cause I'm waiting for CHUCK W to make another batch of those motor mounts hope that will make things better. thats why i butchered my old mount not careing knowing it will be replaced soon
Chucks MM's will help obviously, but I was able to scallop the drivers mount to clear the FRPP shorties using a grinder. I ground at the same angle of the pipe and most where it washiznitting. I'm surprised you are having so much trouble, though this is a known issue.
What size are they?I installed BBK 1 5/8 shorties with absolutely no interference with my mounts.
This is my problem you see the long bottom runner. Well it keepshiznitting the mount so in pic#2 you could see the butcher job I did. But it is still hitting. And I really don’t want to heat and bend the pipe.
That's just the shackle...the theory behind this factory system is that, if the rubber mount breaks, the shackle can still hold together the motor mount.
It doesn't work.
Don't feel like you have to keep it. By all means...torch that mofookie outta there...problem solved. :D
The problem now is the part circled I would like to pound it down about 1/4 of an inch. But it can’t see that happening due to the rubber underneath. And if it does work what happens when the motor talks will hit the header.
You seem to have circled the right spot where I ground a scalloped area in the mount. Look at the pictures closely and you can see:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e360/Domeskull/DSCF0565.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e360/Domeskull/DSCF0570.jpg)
Maybe you should lift the motor justa little,pull the mount,and get a grinder after it before you ruin the rubber with the torch.It would probablt save you a lot of time in the long run by doing that.
I would just run the factory mustang headers. There is no real gain in horsepower by replacing the factory mustang shorties with aftermarket shorties. I have mine set up for the mustang/mark VII shorties and they fit great.
Theres a few things you can do,first off your cookin them mounts,
You can weld a chain on in place of the "fail safe".Chevy did it for years as a recall.I don't like to do this but you could double the gasket,It might give you the clearence you need.I know bbk's fit,
Just some more to think about.
Well there pretty close to being on. For those of you who are worried burning everything w/the torch. I haven’t used it since that last pic yesterday I cleaned it up a bit w/the grinding wheel and started grinding away metal off the mount to fit the header. I’m almost there but I had to walk away from it. Maybe latter today ill hit it again.
Now what I’m not happy about besides this ugly motor mount is the fact that I have some exposed plastic and the header is going to be real close. So I think I should invest in a fire extinguisher for the car just in case.
Alright so I finished so I thought. Ill have pics soon of the drivers/side motor mount of what I did. But the story now is started the car up and man did it sound good even revved it a little. What a sound w/ the x-pipe and straight pipes no s. The only thing I thought I had to do was get an extender for the pass/side o2 sensor. So I drop the car off the jack stands to go for a ride and the car is stuck in gear cant get it out of park.
Soo my question to you all is any quick tips I walked away from it right now tomorrow ill dig in again. But what I’m confused is it’s a floor mount AOD and a BBK X-pipe and the pipe is leaning on the trany linkage aside the trany now I’m sure its got to be a simple fix due to that the alignment of a mustang is the same (motor-headers-xpipe &motor-trany).
If anyone had this problem before please help because tomorrow I’m probably going to try and fix it.
1. Mark where linkage hits X-pipe with a permanent marker.
2. Drop X-pipe.
3. Massage marked area with the hammer of your choice (ballpeen is perfect).
4. Reattach and check clearance.
5. Repeat all steps if necessary.
You could also take the X-pipe to a ler shop and have them put a pinch in that area...it looks better and you usually get a more coherent clearance. But the hammer works great in the home garage. Let us know if that helps.
Heres some pics of the x-pipe hitting the tranny linkage. Didn’t realize it last night when I finished but its bending pretty hard. I wondering how it would clear a mustang, and if I could just bend the linkage. Problem #2 is you can see on the driver/side header and x-pipe bolt-up how it on the tranny I just squished it together so far so good but I’m not happy.
Thankyou for the advice Eric but unless I have no other option I don’t want to dent any thing. Hoping it will fit right but I might not have any other option.
Take your torch and heat and bend the linkage out of the way.
No one said it would be easy.I'm still not happy with mine.
I had to tep on my x-pipe for the same reason.My shift linkage washiznitting.No big deal,it was made by Pypes,and other than theat little bit of clearanceing,no issues,no rubbing,nothing..It's been great.It was well worth the $126.00.I have the BBK headers,and I think that there is a difference between the factory headers and the 1 5/8 BBK's.The size is bigger obviously,and the tubes are mandrel bent,nice bends,no crimps at all.Glad to hear you got your together,now just a few taps of the hammer and you are ready for action.
I wonder why people get "X" pipes? They are more difficult to install and they offer no real performance benefit. They do sound nicer - which is a definite advantage - don't get me wrong.
My X-pipe was easy to install.Actually,easier than an H-Pipe since it's two pieces,which makes lining it up with the headers really smooth.The X-Pipe flows better than the H-Pipe.The crossover in the H-Pipe becomes useless the higher the rpms.The X-Pipe has a consistant flow pattern and smoothes the exhaust tone also.I've used them both,and won't go back to an H-Pipe.
I have often seen issues with the "X" causing people install issues involving ground/transmission clearance -
that's what I mean when I describe "installation" issues.
The marketing hype about the "X" pipe is starting to fade a bit. Here is what the Accufab dude said about "X" versus "H";
http://bbs.hardcore50.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24864&highlight=pipe
I also read the MM&FF article and the "X" made no more power than the "H". If I was starting over I may choose the "X" because it sounds nicer, but I would not be expecting any more or less power.
I gained clearance with my X-Pipe.I did have to clearance it for my shift cable,but that wasn't any problem.Mine is 2 1/2 inch as opposed to the smaller factory H-Pipe,so That's not a fair comparison.I would have to use a 2 1/2 inch off road H-Pipe to to a fair test against my "X".Compared to my old factory unit,the X wins hands down.It all boils down to personal opinion.I have tons of ground clearance,My car sits up tall like your Cougar (in the pic),maybe a little higher in the rear.I'll read up on the "X" verses the "H" and see what I think.
It's still personal preference for sure. In the post there was a poll & more people chose "X" over "H" with no real reason except that I think "X" sounds cooler - like "X" games. Actually, they do sound better :grinno:
I have a wierd thing about pipes that aren't round ever since I flattened the bottoms of my long-tubes in my GTO doing a wheelstand (25 years ago) - you'll never catch me hitting a pipe with a hammer.
More problems I couldn’t get the bracket off the tranny to put it on the bench and bend it so I did it while it was on the car and when I heated it up I melted the rubber grommet so it fell out I circled the piece in the pic and ill tell ya I didn’t even realize part of it was rubber so I’m losing my patience and even though I’m off tomorrow I cant even play w/it because my wife works when I’m off and I have to watch the kid(4 month old).
So I can’t believe I saying nor thinking this but do to my time situation I’m contemplating taking it to a tranny shop to make a bracket and while its there might as well give them my TRANSGO kit to install. So I’m kinda counting my losses here and thinking what’s this going to cost me.
:birdsmily:
Here are some pics of my earlier fix of frpp header and motor mount fab on the drivers/side. And just so you so I’m not so happy w/it I would like to get a better mount one day that are not so available.
Pic #1 shows the motor mount grinded away and rubber exposed which I was not happy with cause the header was so close I was scared of fire.
Pic #2 shows a piece of metal I cut up and shoved it in/above the rubber mount to weld.
Pic #3 shows pretty much the finished product though this is temporary for now after it was welded in and pounded in and excess weld grinded down.
I might have that bracket off the trans laying around... I just took a AOD out of my mustang and its still sitting around. Ill check when I get home if the bracket is still on it or if it got thrown away.
Bane Thankyou the only reason I could think why I had a clearance problem is a mustang motor must sit lower in the car angling the pipes just a little different and clearing the tranny linkage.
When I installed my MAC 2 1/2" H pipe I had clearance issues in the same spot that you're having trouble. I had to bend the shift linkage in towards the transmission. I did this with a big pair of channel locks and no heat. Also I had to relocate the cable bracket about a 1/2 inch higher. I pulled the bracket off and drilled a new hole. The H-pipe barely fit and took about 8 hours to do. I think I had entered the 7th level of hell when I installed it, lol!
So this bracket does come off then. It seemed like it might have went into the tranny. What’s the secret to getting it off then? I was praying on it a bite but didn’t want to break anything.
I'm pretty sure mine just bolted on. It's been a while... I guess I could jack up the car and take a picture. My h-pipe is loose right now (no heads) so I might be able to pull it out of the way enough to get a decent shot.
Ok here are a couple pics. I think I remember what I had to do now.
First off you can see how I bent the shift linkage in. the picture is taken from the front. Also in the first pic if you look just past the shift linkage in the background you can see where the cable anchor bracket portrudes down and why I had to raise the bracket. It looks like a grinder might work also.
The second pic you can see just above the top nut where the original bracket hole is.
The bracket sits on 2 studs and slides off towards the rear. On the bottom you can see I used a big fender washer to hold the bottom of the bracket in place. That's because once you relocate the bracket higher it doesnt extend far enough down to hit the bottom stud. It looks like I used a nylock nut on the bottom stud so it wont ever back off. You definitely dont want that bracket to ever come loose. Hope this helps.
Oh, and one more thing. I looked at your pics and it looks like your header/h-pipe ishiznitting the bell housing. You should be able to rotate it and clock it a little different (as long as it isnt spot welded). I think the easiest way would be to un bolt your headers from the heads so they're loose then get your h-pipe bolts started but dont tighten them yet. Same thing with your cat back pipes. unbolt your lers from thier hangers and maybe the tail pipe hangers too so you can move them around and get them started. Then once everything is in place and all the nuts and bolts are started start tightening with the headers and work your way back.
Obviously you'll have to remove the h-pipe again anyway to deal with your tranny clearance issues (do this before tightening the headers). After looking down there again at what I did, I think I had to pull the h-pipe back off to get to that linkage bracket. Cause I dont see how I would've got it off with that big ass pipe in the way.
So once again, good luck with it.
Semi related question; steering shaft clearance. I have the same issue with motor mount hitting on FRPP stainless shorties, but I also cant get them to clear the steering shaft. Is it just me?
Have you considered that these just don't fit? I Just ( like an hour ago installed a set of POLISHED Stainless, yes stainless) shorties that fit better than ANY set of headers I've ever installed in my lifetime. ( & that's quite a few) They are available on EBAY at fatrodders rod parts, I got them for $189 + shipping ($20) I'll post pic.s as soon as I can. They're beautiful and NON magnetic, ( aka 300 series stainless steel best rust resistance) and they fit so easilly I couldn't believe it, I've paid twice that for headers that were merely coated and required a similar butcher job. Personally, I'd back up dump those and get a set that fits, whether they're these ones or not.