The Ecobeamer

[hkv]

ive got an extra 10.5" 26 spline clutch disc from my cobra which uses the same transmission. if its thinner that the one holley sent with my kit that may be the solution but ffs if this is what happened then holley did a fantastic job of undermining my project...

from holleys website on their ecoboost clutch kits:

"

Kits come complete with 1045 Steel Flywheel, Pressure Plate, Disc(s), Alignment Tool, Pilot Bearing, Shims (as needed), and Hardware ensuring properly matched components and easy installation"

sure...….

also from holleys website this time about the clutch disc that appears to have come with my kit:

"This disc is designed for use with factory pressure plate and flywheel."

really... then why did I receive it in a kit that you guys sent me that included your aftermarket flywheel and pressure plate?

I know im jumping to conclusions here but I don't see how else I get a circle scraped into the clutch disc that is evidently from the pressure plate fingers bottoming out on the clutch disc. holy cow

[hkv]

ohh how the plot thickens..... upon further investigation in the shop im starting to wonder if perhaps the pressure plate doesn't have enough travel to release the clutch as I can see marks on the clutch disc where it appears the pressure plate fingers have been bottoming out on the clutch disc....

I bought a complete clutch kit from holley for this specific application... flywheel, clutch, pressure plate. im also using their bellhousing which was expensive af that is also for this application. the clutch kit even included shims for my input shaft retainer because the transmission is farther back than a conventional setup. I wasn't able to use those shims because they were for a different transmission. probably a t-5 or something. so if you remember I made my own spacer to overcome that issue. anyways this would obviously mean that the throwout bearing isn't the issue which kinda makes sense because the clutch felt like the pressure plate was bottoming out as opposed to the TOB just running out of travel.

if that's the case that is very frustrating to be honest but im still not sure. im gonna try and see if can get a hold of anyone at holley whos familiar with this stuff and can help me get to the bottom of this. but this whole thing is becoming an ordeal, I just hope I can manage to get it sorted out good and in a reasonable time frame.

[ForcedFirebird]

I agree 100% on the ring seating, but honestly once they are seated, drive it like you stole it. We can't exactly "baby" a race motor, so after a fresh engine we just do several engine brakes from the top of 2nd, down to 1st, gradual acceleration to top of 2nd, down to 1st repeatedly for a good 30-50min. I find the more vacuum you can get, the faster the rings seat. You can almost hear when they find home. Then the cars go directly to the chassis dyno (after some fresh oil) for a tune and to print the avg of 3 runs for the sanctions, then they go straight to the track and get pounded (of course after a 2nd oil change), then do a couple seasons of 10-24hr races before they need a refresh if there are no incidences.

[roguetoaster]

With 3 hours I assumed you “Broke it in”

needs multiple accel and decal loads in all gears, different parts of the powerband, then hammer down with accel and decel loads.

look for the weight of oil it recommends with most the zinc you can find, Dino oil.

IMO, don't hammer down until you are positive that the rings are happy in their homes (which they may well be already) as that seems to get a lot of guys with fresh engines. So, while a fat burnout is tempting I'd wait until I had at least 100 road miles on the car before even going WOT.

[moatilliatta]

With 3 hours I assumed you “Broke it in”

needs multiple accel and decal loads in all gears, different parts of the powerband, then hammer down with accel and decel loads.

look for the weight of oil it recommends with most the zinc you can find, Dino oil.

[hkv]

Just put in new engine oil and a new filter. You can go back and forth about what is best, but I'd either check the documentation you got with the engine, or just call Ford Performance and ask what they suggest. They have a bit of knowledge about break in procedures, and have nothing to gain since that engine will never visit a Ford service department. I would personally put in an oil that is within OE specs if you get no other info, no matter if that oil is conventional or not.

ok roger that. well that's the thing is that the mustang ecoboost is speced to use 5w30 but I want to run atleast a 5w40 because usually the oems will spec a lighter oil for mpg reasons and the focus rs which uses a very similar 2.3l ecoboost motor and those motors are speced to use a 5w50. so being in florida and the application of the motor I think a higher weight oil is appropriate.

im gonna run fresh conventional for an hour or so of engine driving and then switch to full synthetic, I feel good about that plan.

[roguetoaster]

so what do you think I should do about the motor oil? I haven't had the chance to be able to put load on the motor yet of course and what I have done with the motor is start it up let it idle for a few mins and then rev it (as seen in my goofy video). ive done that a few times and then ive also let it idle about 20-30 mins with an occasional rev just to make sure the cooling system was working good ect…

Im thinking I should run a fresh conventional dino oil maybe with a break in additive for atleast like an hour of driving so I can get some load on it and good varying rpms and then maybe switch to a full synthetic after that probably the t6

Just put in new engine oil and a new filter. You can go back and forth about what is best, but I'd either check the documentation you got with the engine, or just call Ford Performance and ask what they suggest. They have a bit of knowledge about break in procedures, and have nothing to gain since that engine will never visit a Ford service department. I would personally put in an oil that is within OE specs if you get no other info, no matter if that oil is conventional or not.

[hkv]

To weld used oil-saturated casting, just clean thoroughly, then sand/grind away the area to be welded. I find running over the to-be welded area with a TIG torch on cleaning action (AC balance to full clean) and no filler to bubble out any gasses, then grind again, and weld. I can't even count how many m20 oil pans I have welded crack or drain bungs on.

ok that makes sense, it actually crossed my mind that the way to do it would probably be to grind away some of the material to get to really pure aluminum. you've got a smart technique there with the torch set to clean as well.

since I probably will have a few days (hopefully not much more) until I get my mountune order I may end up giving it a shot. shouldn't actually be that hard because its not like im running a stringer on the inside of the oil pan, it would just be a corner joint around the outside of that deep section of the pan. thanks for the tip, im going to look into it more

[hkv]

Shavings in the first oil change aren't unusual, and the green tinge is either an assembly lube/shipping preservative or a break in product as you suggest.

I know brad penn break-in oil is green. Id say all is good, maybe would have changed oil right after break in... Try out rotella T6.

I also use alumibrite on aluminum that needs welding. New casting probably has less oil in them... but most seem to be more porous..

so what do you think I should do about the motor oil? I haven't had the chance to be able to put load on the motor yet of course and what I have done with the motor is start it up let it idle for a few mins and then rev it (as seen in my goofy video). ive done that a few times and then ive also let it idle about 20-30 mins with an occasional rev just to make sure the cooling system was working good ect…

Im thinking I should run a fresh conventional dino oil maybe with a break in additive for atleast like an hour of driving so I can get some load on it and good varying rpms and then maybe switch to a full synthetic after that probably the t6

[ForcedFirebird]

To weld used oil-saturated casting, just clean thoroughly, then sand/grind away the area to be welded. I find running over the to-be welded area with a TIG torch on cleaning action (AC balance to full clean) and no filler to bubble out any gasses, then grind again, and weld. I can't even count how many m20 oil pans I have welded crack or drain bungs on.

[moatilliatta]

I know brad penn break-in oil is green. Id say all is good, maybe would have changed oil right after break in... Try out rotella T6.

I also use alumibrite on aluminum that needs welding. New casting probably has less oil in them... but most seem to be more porous..

[roguetoaster]

Shavings in the first oil change aren't unusual, and the green tinge is either an assembly lube/shipping preservative or a break in product as you suggest.

[hkv]

really I wouldn't mind modifying the oil pickup and pan so much if it weren't for me dreading the sheer about of work and solvent its gonna take to get those parts clean. aluminum especially has to be devoid of contaminants particularly oil and grease or you run into serious issues welding it. plus the oil pickup looks like its in a fantastic spot in that deep section of the sump so as to be resistant to oil starvation I just don't feel like it right now over 1-2" of extra clearance as nice as that would be.



one thing that really caught my eye and almost surprised me is the significant amount of fine metallic particles saturated in the oil. I even found some large aluminum shavings but I think perhaps allot of those are flashing from the oil pan ect…

the oil looks weird as hell its kinda green.... I was going to reuse it as it may be a special break in oil and the motor has less than 3 hours on it but now I intend to replace the oil and oil filter. I was thinking rottela t4 conventional 10w-30 for the next little bit and then switch to rottela t6 5w-45 full synthetic when the motors broken in pretty good





I just hope the motors not damaged as the oil and shavings are kinda concerning to me but ive looked up into the motor and cant see any holes in the pistons lol and the cylinder walls look nice and bright

[hkv]

It's almost 48 hours and still no update... OP, did everything go smooth? Excited for that fat burnout you promised before 2020.

Everything went fine aside from I accidentally smashed a couple wires coming out of a connector when pulling the motor but Im sure they are fine. also smashed a vacuum cap that ill replace because while I still think its still sealed it got cut a bit. both no big deal, I just neglected to update the thread.

motor and especially the tranny are tucked into the car so tight.

also didn't realize i shouldve drained the tranny because all its oil leaked out of the tailshaft when I pulled the powertrain so i dont know if i would say everything went entirely smoothly LOL. it actually took me a bit of messing about to figure out the best way to pull the motor.

the oil pickup resides at the bottom of the deepest section of the oil pan and while it is made out of steel and can be modified I think im going to skip the project of shortening the oil pan just to avoid the work. juice aint worth the squeeze to me right now I guess you could say and I was only going to shorten the oil pan by an inch or two anyways. its something that would be on the list as a future improvement though.

the problem right now though is that im afraid that I may be waiting on my balance shaft delete from mountune for a while as I ordered it early last week and nothings happened, tried calling mountune and couldn't get a hold of them but ill keep trying so that I can hopefully ensure that I will get my order soon as ive been waiting for while and I don't want the lack of that part to hold me up. because of waiting on my order ive started to work on harness mounts which is not exactly easy to pull off really strong mounting points but ive developed a plan.

the transmission pulled fine and when I get the damn balance shaft delete I can get everything put back together and test it outside the car to make sure the clutch is functioning before I put the motor back in.
assuming my TOB air gap readjustment will fix the clutch and it works good I have every intention of delivering a video of the car in action, blessing you with a fatttt burnout for Christmas.

[gnmzl]

It's almost 48 hours and still no update... OP, did everything go smooth? Excited for that fat burnout you promised before 2020.