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She's now fully registered, and has a personalized plate as well.
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2001 Bullitt #265 - Progress Thread
41 - 60 of 79 Posts
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841 Posts
She's now fully registered, and has a personalized plate as well.
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Might need a bath.
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74 Posts
Some progress updates. Now that she's registered and I can drive her legally on the road, time to troubleshoot the stumble/lack of power under load. Here's a recap of the summary of the problem I'm facing.
Under light throttle (less than ~1/3), I am able to run the car up through the rev range all the way to redline. If I am any heavier on the throttle (greater than ~1/3) and put the engine under load, above around 3-3500 rpm the engine will fall on it's face. It stutters and has a significant loss of power. The mechanic my brother took it to a couple of years ago said that it was due to clogged cats, so those were gutted. That fixed it for a couple of weeks, and then it came back. Same mechanic supposedly replaced the coils, but that didn't help. He drove it around for a little while around town, but didn't have the $$ to keep throwing at it, so the car was parked.
Whatever is causing it, it is not throwing any codes or a check engine light. I've hooked the car up to a code reader several times to verify, no codes at all.
Fuel Filter
First up is something easy. The fuel filter. When the old filter came off, the first little bit of gas that drained out was clear. But then it was a nasty brown color from all the crap in the filter. Put the new filter on, didn't fix the issue. But, makes me think that with all that nastiness in the filter, the tank might need to be drained/cleaned and/or a new pump/sock installed. That may come later.
I'm following along the Haynes Troubleshooting Guide under Hesitation or stumble during acceleration, which lists the following sequence to check:
Vac Hoses/Connectors
Went through under the engine to check all the vacuum lines and connectors. Everything appears to be connected where it should, no connectors were loose. All the vac lines looked to be intact, no breaks or disconnects that I could tell.
Testing Coils
Diving into the ignition system, first check was the coils and their resistance readings to see if there is a bad coil. 1st and 2nd coil (driver's side , front to back) looked good on the resistance readings. 3rd coil came a part when I removed it.
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Don't think that's supposed to happen on a coil has less than 500 miles on it. Plus, all the coil tops looked severely worn, you couldn't read any information printed on the top. I have a feeling that shady ass mechanic never replaced them.
I ordered a set of MSD coils and new spark plugs.
Under light throttle (less than ~1/3), I am able to run the car up through the rev range all the way to redline. If I am any heavier on the throttle (greater than ~1/3) and put the engine under load, above around 3-3500 rpm the engine will fall on it's face. It stutters and has a significant loss of power. The mechanic my brother took it to a couple of years ago said that it was due to clogged cats, so those were gutted. That fixed it for a couple of weeks, and then it came back. Same mechanic supposedly replaced the coils, but that didn't help. He drove it around for a little while around town, but didn't have the $$ to keep throwing at it, so the car was parked.
Whatever is causing it, it is not throwing any codes or a check engine light. I've hooked the car up to a code reader several times to verify, no codes at all.
Fuel Filter
First up is something easy. The fuel filter. When the old filter came off, the first little bit of gas that drained out was clear. But then it was a nasty brown color from all the crap in the filter. Put the new filter on, didn't fix the issue. But, makes me think that with all that nastiness in the filter, the tank might need to be drained/cleaned and/or a new pump/sock installed. That may come later.
I'm following along the Haynes Troubleshooting Guide under Hesitation or stumble during acceleration, which lists the following sequence to check:
- Ignition System not operating properly
- Dirty or clogged fuel injectors
- Low Fuel Pressure
- Fuel Injection or Engine Control Systems malfunction
Vac Hoses/Connectors
Went through under the engine to check all the vacuum lines and connectors. Everything appears to be connected where it should, no connectors were loose. All the vac lines looked to be intact, no breaks or disconnects that I could tell.
Testing Coils
Diving into the ignition system, first check was the coils and their resistance readings to see if there is a bad coil. 1st and 2nd coil (driver's side , front to back) looked good on the resistance readings. 3rd coil came a part when I removed it.
Don't think that's supposed to happen on a coil has less than 500 miles on it. Plus, all the coil tops looked severely worn, you couldn't read any information printed on the top. I have a feeling that shady ass mechanic never replaced them.
I ordered a set of MSD coils and new spark plugs.
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74 Posts
New Coils and Plugs
Coils and Plugs arrived. I swapped them all out. Coils #3, #6, and #7 (drivers to passenger, front to back) all separated when I tried to remove them. Installed 8 new Motorcraft SP-493 plugs, verified the gap in them before installation.
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All of the plugs looked decent when coming out, except for the #3 plug. It had a little extra carbon deposits on it, I'm guessing possibly from the broken coil.
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With the new plugs and coils, still hasn't fixed the problem.
I did notice that when I removed the throttle body to gain access to the coils/plugs underneath, that there was no gasket between the throttle body and the intake manifold. I've ordered a new gasket to replace it. Maybe there is some extra air being sucked into the intake under load because of the missing gasket??? If not, then further checks of the ignition system to see if maybe a sensor is going bad.
Coils and Plugs arrived. I swapped them all out. Coils #3, #6, and #7 (drivers to passenger, front to back) all separated when I tried to remove them. Installed 8 new Motorcraft SP-493 plugs, verified the gap in them before installation.
All of the plugs looked decent when coming out, except for the #3 plug. It had a little extra carbon deposits on it, I'm guessing possibly from the broken coil.
With the new plugs and coils, still hasn't fixed the problem.
I did notice that when I removed the throttle body to gain access to the coils/plugs underneath, that there was no gasket between the throttle body and the intake manifold. I've ordered a new gasket to replace it. Maybe there is some extra air being sucked into the intake under load because of the missing gasket??? If not, then further checks of the ignition system to see if maybe a sensor is going bad.
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74 Posts
It's been a bit since I've posted some updates, so here's what's happened recently.
Throttle Body Gasket, Cleaned
I ordered a new throttle body gasket and replaced it. With the throttle body off the car, I also took the time to clean it of all the carbon deposits on it. Cleaned the Mass Air Flow sensor and the electrical connections on the throttle body. Bolted everything back up, still having the same problem.
Video of the Problem
I took the car out for a drive to record what was actually happening. Here's the video.
As you can see, no check engine light even though it's falling flat on it's face. I shared the video with a friend who does a lot of engine work. As we talked through the symptoms and what I've already done we came to the conclusion that it was some sort of fuel starvation and quite possibly the fuel pump. The mechanic that my brother had taken the car to replaced the fuel pump. This was the same mechanic that gutted the cats and "replaced" the coil packs. So at this point I'm suspicious that the pump had never been replaced and has 187K miles on it.
New Bosch pump ordered from Rock Auto.
Throttle Body Gasket, Cleaned
I ordered a new throttle body gasket and replaced it. With the throttle body off the car, I also took the time to clean it of all the carbon deposits on it. Cleaned the Mass Air Flow sensor and the electrical connections on the throttle body. Bolted everything back up, still having the same problem.
Video of the Problem
I took the car out for a drive to record what was actually happening. Here's the video.
As you can see, no check engine light even though it's falling flat on it's face. I shared the video with a friend who does a lot of engine work. As we talked through the symptoms and what I've already done we came to the conclusion that it was some sort of fuel starvation and quite possibly the fuel pump. The mechanic that my brother had taken the car to replaced the fuel pump. This was the same mechanic that gutted the cats and "replaced" the coil packs. So at this point I'm suspicious that the pump had never been replaced and has 187K miles on it.
New Bosch pump ordered from Rock Auto.
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74 Posts
Fuel Pump Replacement
Once the fuel pump arrived, I dropped the tank to replace it. I was a bit intimidated by this, first time dropping the tank. Turned out to not be that bad at all, with only one broken part. :-/
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Based on the initial look of the top of the tank, my suspicions grew that the pump hadn't been replaced. All that grime and looks like the bolts hadn't ever been touched.
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But, upon closer inspection the pump had a manufacture date of 11-06-15. So the pump definitely had been replaced by my brother's mechanic. That didn't give me high hopes that this would solve the problem, but at least it would cross one more part off the list of potential suspects.
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I went ahead and replaced this pump with the Bosch pump that I got from Rock Auto. When I was dropping the tank, I snapped off the end of the filler neck inside the tank. I was easily able to fish out the broken part. Ordered the new filler neck from Rock Auto, and installed it once it arrived.
I filled up a few gallons of gas and car started up. Took it out for a little drive. Once the engine got up to operating temperature, I started testing to see if it was fixed.
SUCCESS!!!! IT DRIVES AGAIN!!!!
I got into it a little more, and a little more, and then really hard. No stutter, no stubmling... no nothing. Pulls like it should! I was so excited to finally get this issue resolved. Turns out that the new pump was also defective, getting starved of fuel under load.
Here are a couple vids that show she's running great again.
1st gear launch through 2nd gear
2nd & 3rd gear full throttle
Once the fuel pump arrived, I dropped the tank to replace it. I was a bit intimidated by this, first time dropping the tank. Turned out to not be that bad at all, with only one broken part. :-/
Based on the initial look of the top of the tank, my suspicions grew that the pump hadn't been replaced. All that grime and looks like the bolts hadn't ever been touched.
But, upon closer inspection the pump had a manufacture date of 11-06-15. So the pump definitely had been replaced by my brother's mechanic. That didn't give me high hopes that this would solve the problem, but at least it would cross one more part off the list of potential suspects.
I went ahead and replaced this pump with the Bosch pump that I got from Rock Auto. When I was dropping the tank, I snapped off the end of the filler neck inside the tank. I was easily able to fish out the broken part. Ordered the new filler neck from Rock Auto, and installed it once it arrived.
I filled up a few gallons of gas and car started up. Took it out for a little drive. Once the engine got up to operating temperature, I started testing to see if it was fixed.
SUCCESS!!!! IT DRIVES AGAIN!!!!
I got into it a little more, and a little more, and then really hard. No stutter, no stubmling... no nothing. Pulls like it should! I was so excited to finally get this issue resolved. Turns out that the new pump was also defective, getting starved of fuel under load.
Here are a couple vids that show she's running great again.
1st gear launch through 2nd gear
2nd & 3rd gear full throttle
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74 Posts
Great job.
Drive it like you stole it. That's the only way!!!!!!
Thanks. I do plan on that, especially as the rest of the mechanical aspects of the car are refreshed.
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74 Posts
It's been a little while since I've posted some updates. I've had to focus some attention on my dailly driver, a 213K mile 2006 Dodge Magnum. This past weekend I just wanted to tinker on the Bullitt.
New Battery
After several months of intermittent starting/running and a lot of sitting, the battery finally gave out. After the last jump start, and took it for a drive for about 30 miles, after an hour of sitting the battery was drained. Who knows how old it was. So I got a new one and she's purring good again.
Door Speakers
Since getting the car, I've had no sound out of the front left speaker and the front right was intermittent. The first issue I encountered was the power window switch plate had been glued/gooped back into place due to broken clips. Added that to the list of parts to snag.
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The door speakers were Pioneer units. Not sure who installed them. Could have been the original owner, or my brother, or someone he paid to have them installed. When I pulled them out, imagine my surprise to find that the wiring connections were wrapped in Ace bandage material!!!! When I unwrapped them, the wires were just a mess and I don't think they were able to pass any sort of signal. I redid the connections with terminal connectors and the speaker works perfectly now.
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On the passenger door, it was a similar situation (although no broken clips on the switch plate). The wrapping around one of the connections was missing and I'm guessing was grounding out against the door. Redid the connections there as well. Now I have sound out of all four speakers!!
New Battery
After several months of intermittent starting/running and a lot of sitting, the battery finally gave out. After the last jump start, and took it for a drive for about 30 miles, after an hour of sitting the battery was drained. Who knows how old it was. So I got a new one and she's purring good again.
Door Speakers
Since getting the car, I've had no sound out of the front left speaker and the front right was intermittent. The first issue I encountered was the power window switch plate had been glued/gooped back into place due to broken clips. Added that to the list of parts to snag.
The door speakers were Pioneer units. Not sure who installed them. Could have been the original owner, or my brother, or someone he paid to have them installed. When I pulled them out, imagine my surprise to find that the wiring connections were wrapped in Ace bandage material!!!! When I unwrapped them, the wires were just a mess and I don't think they were able to pass any sort of signal. I redid the connections with terminal connectors and the speaker works perfectly now.
On the passenger door, it was a similar situation (although no broken clips on the switch plate). The wrapping around one of the connections was missing and I'm guessing was grounding out against the door. Redid the connections there as well. Now I have sound out of all four speakers!!
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74 Posts
Battery Tray, Battery Terminals, etc
When I replaced the battery, I found that the battery hold down clamp was missing and the hold down bolt was rusted into the battery tray. Also, the battery terminals were very hold and worn. They were held in place with screws to keep tight against the battery posts. I ordered a new battery tray and hold down kit from LMR. Here's how the terminals looked. One of the ground wires is just barely connected with just a few strands of the wire (it actually fully snapped off while I was doing this project).
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The lower battery tray hold down bolt was also rusted out completely. After breaking the plastic I was able to remove the tray. Underneath was a lot of dirt, leaves and surface rust.
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I sanded off most of the surface rust, and then hit it with some Duplicolor Rust Barrier paint, followed by a few coats of Dark Highland Green spray paint.
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I installed all the new hardware that came with the battery tray kit.
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Repaired all the battery terminals and now everything is a lot better. Battery is now fully secured and no more janky battery terminals.
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When I replaced the battery, I found that the battery hold down clamp was missing and the hold down bolt was rusted into the battery tray. Also, the battery terminals were very hold and worn. They were held in place with screws to keep tight against the battery posts. I ordered a new battery tray and hold down kit from LMR. Here's how the terminals looked. One of the ground wires is just barely connected with just a few strands of the wire (it actually fully snapped off while I was doing this project).
The lower battery tray hold down bolt was also rusted out completely. After breaking the plastic I was able to remove the tray. Underneath was a lot of dirt, leaves and surface rust.
I sanded off most of the surface rust, and then hit it with some Duplicolor Rust Barrier paint, followed by a few coats of Dark Highland Green spray paint.
I installed all the new hardware that came with the battery tray kit.
Repaired all the battery terminals and now everything is a lot better. Battery is now fully secured and no more janky battery terminals.
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6,713 Posts
Fantastic work! Thanks for sharing your journey here. I salute you for getting things back in order.
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74 Posts
Thank you Tony. It's slow going, but I like documenting the progress. Even though it just seems like it's for me for now, good to see some are following along. Big things are about to happen, suspension is going to be up next. I honestly think that everything on it except for the tires is as it is from the factory!!!
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13,650 Posts
Sounds like #265 has a new, responsible owner.
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6,411 Posts
Been reading this thread as it has progressed since Oct 22, 2019. Glad you’re are sorting out a great car and reviving it from a long history of owners in your family. I’ve been thru most of those repairs over the 10+ years I have owned my 01 Bullitt. My 01 had 2 owners before I purchased it and 1 of those owners put 100,000 on it.
Keep the updates coming as as your journey continues.
Don
Keep the updates coming as as your journey continues.
Don
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88 Posts
I certainly enjoy reading your project efforts as well. It brings back so many memories of how much I enjoyed doing the same type of fun work when I was younger.
From building engines to even trying to paint. Painting didn't go well. lol
I hope you continue sharing all of your efforts on your Bullitt 265. It, going great!
Larry
From building engines to even trying to paint. Painting didn't go well. lol
I hope you continue sharing all of your efforts on your Bullitt 265
. It, going great!Larry
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74 Posts
Thanks folks! I will definitely keep the updates coming. I'm starting to shop now for suspension parts. That's gonna be the next bit update coming. I'm also thinking of starting a Youtube video series on all the work that's coming up. If I do that, I'll still update here as well.I certainly enjoy reading your project efforts as well. It brings back so many memories of how much I enjoyed doing the same type of fun work when I was younger.
From building engines to even trying to paint. Painting didn't go well. lol
I hope you continue sharing all of your efforts on your Bullitt 265
Larry
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74 Posts
Just been enjoying driving her around this summer... until this happened. Stranded! Was out filming some back country driving with the Bullitt and my new GoPro. Pulled over to swap out camera angles and wouldn't start. Starter is done for. Here's where she left me stranded for a bit.
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Got her started with a push start and made it all the way home. Went on vacation and now back, with some parts on order. Coming soon:
Got her started with a push start and made it all the way home. Went on vacation and now back, with some parts on order. Coming soon:
- New starter
- New clutch
- New flywheel
- New shifter
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27 Posts
Hey MikuhlBrian, great work on the battery tray and connections. I look forward to hearing what parts you are going to choose for your suspension.
I follow you on YouTube, since you shared your Bullitt stumbling video, and I would love to see content of your 01 DHG. Also, the stop motion video you did on the front bumper cover was really cool.
I follow you on YouTube, since you shared your Bullitt stumbling video, and I would love to see content of your 01 DHG. Also, the stop motion video you did on the front bumper cover was really cool.
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