Mote
04-03-2012, 11:29 AM
Well hida-hey - I have an early build '03 and I knew the "soft axle" blight would be happening at some point so last year I scooped up BradleyG's old axles while on a family trip that took us close enough to his place (THANKS Bradley!).
Weeks ago, when I put the summer tires on, one rear wheel was coated on the inside with grease and yuck - I knew what that meant! This also means the seal was leaking last fall *before* I took the summer tires off. Why the heck did I not notice??? Wow. I changed the tires out and carried them out to the shed for storage and didn't notice. Maybe I was drinking. There was never a spot on the garage floor. All of it landed on the wheel. And the Brakes. And ABS stuff.
So I got a set of gears - Ford Racing 4.10 complete, never used, in the box for $95+shipping, the big dog "C" install kit from Summit, and I had a local garage do the install - Master Transmission in Rosemount - Same place that Crouse had his done. I installed the Z-tune for 4:10's and drove and drove and drove. This was quite a savings over what a Ford dealership wanted (even with local club membership discounts) and a tranny shop in Saint Paul wanted even more.
It's been a blast driving for sure. Yesterday I got on a freeway entrance ramp and FLOORED it. WHAAAAA! When it shifted into 2nd, the rear-end broke loose and shifted left a bit! It feels great. The car feels lighter. The shift points are better - Perfect now. With the OD off especially, the engine spends more time in an RPM range where it has some torque. Now I finally have my primary 3 mods done - Gears, CAI, tune. I love this car.
Weeks ago, when I put the summer tires on, one rear wheel was coated on the inside with grease and yuck - I knew what that meant! This also means the seal was leaking last fall *before* I took the summer tires off. Why the heck did I not notice??? Wow. I changed the tires out and carried them out to the shed for storage and didn't notice. Maybe I was drinking. There was never a spot on the garage floor. All of it landed on the wheel. And the Brakes. And ABS stuff.
So I got a set of gears - Ford Racing 4.10 complete, never used, in the box for $95+shipping, the big dog "C" install kit from Summit, and I had a local garage do the install - Master Transmission in Rosemount - Same place that Crouse had his done. I installed the Z-tune for 4:10's and drove and drove and drove. This was quite a savings over what a Ford dealership wanted (even with local club membership discounts) and a tranny shop in Saint Paul wanted even more.
It's been a blast driving for sure. Yesterday I got on a freeway entrance ramp and FLOORED it. WHAAAAA! When it shifted into 2nd, the rear-end broke loose and shifted left a bit! It feels great. The car feels lighter. The shift points are better - Perfect now. With the OD off especially, the engine spends more time in an RPM range where it has some torque. Now I finally have my primary 3 mods done - Gears, CAI, tune. I love this car.