Yeah it was kinda surprising seeing how the rest of the car looks like it rolled off the factory floor. Can't believe how clean it is, nice clean gray all over, not a spec of rust... then there's my truck 2yrs older living in the same environment and it's trashed to hell lol. Anyway yeah doesn't hurt to check it.
And I hear ya on price, a lot of shops wanted $200+ to weld in the flex pipe and that's without the pipe. I can't figure out if they are crazy or just not wanting to do it so they quote super high. Anyway had a NAPA service center offer $80 including the pipe and literally 20mins later they were done

 

I did use the alignment tool. He shut the motor off at about 5 o'clock, so I had to walk it all the way around. Pretty sure there is a dead cylinder / burnt valve on the passenger side. Just felt a lot easier to turn on that side. That tool is kind of a pain in the butt to get it just right.... glad I bought crank turning tool. I just followed Brian's video (FordTechMakuloco) and it worked out I didn't remove the cams though. I am glad I went back through it though because I followed the work of the previous guy. Turns out he got the L and R backwards on the tensioners. Not sure what the difference is, but they are clearly marked L and R. I can see how he would mix it up because the drivers side is L and passenger is R. Made a big difference being able to watch that video

Have you seen his new video? Melling just released a new high volume oil pump for the 3V (60 psi vs 80 psi). I think that is a great upgrade you could do, AK.

 

Soooo.... I ordered one of these for the Stang....

 

Think I need to adjust my shifter cable cz drive is currently mostly "2" and Park is almost to Neutral

 

I never knew ford had a fill and drain hole in any of their covers. Is that for an 8.8?

 

A buddy almost fried my brothers old explorer a while back because of that. When it said drive it locked you in second and he drove it about 20 miles at 50-60mph. Somehow it never overheated. I say almost fried because if we didn't stop for gas he wouldn't have noticed and we had 4 hours left to get home.

 

Yes, it is for a GT500 with IRS. It fits all 8.8's if you get longer bolts.

 

Sometimes there are two torx bolts that are loose under the dash..... and guess what? Instead of me explaining it, I found a youtube video that does, LOL...

 

That is pretty cool. I would have loved that on my black f150.
Maybe i can find a home for one after I swap an 8.8 into my bronco II project.

 

The nice thing about it being on a truck is, you can actually see it. The Stang.... not so much, LOL.

Already found that I need to round up ten 5/16"-18 X 1.25" bolts for it. Hopefully on the stainless variety.