Bryan Roberts's 2005 Mustang GT (R3DDVL)
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11-09-2005 - 02-04-2006 - Engine Rebuild by Houston Performance |
After speaking to both Jim at VT Engines, Steve at Houston Performance and Chris at Blow-By Racing, I have made my final decision to have Houston Performance do my engine rebuild. Steve offered a great price on the products and a great price for the labor - that I could not just pass up. I will be shipping the Mustang via a flatbed wrecker and Houston Performance will do all the dis-assembly and rebuild. The gameplan for the engine is do the following:
|  off to Houston Performance |
I have made arragements with a local towing services, J&M Wrecker Services, to pickup and deliver the Mustang some time betweek 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM on November 10th. Per Steve, he has a digitial camera and will provide me some images of the block torn down, with the problems that occurred.
Initial Inspection
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On November 14th I got my call from Steve at Houston Performance to let me know that I needed a new block and he needed my go ahead for the $1200 purchase. He was also kind enough to send me the images of the breakdown. Steve said it looks as if the piston blew apart and that lead to the rod breaking. Once the rod broke into pieces, the bottom part of the rod went through both sides of the block. We suspect that that pressure and heat from the boost caused the piston to break.
Buildup Process - November 22nd
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I spoke to Steve at Houston Performance about the current status. He decided to change from the 8.,5:1 deep dish pistons to 9:1 pistons and then notch the valve relief's. He was afraid the engine would be a dog at lower RPM's and thoughb 9:1 would be much better compromise. We also spoke about cams. He and I both knew that none were on the market so I asked if he would be intrested it doing a set. From my reading on the Internet, Houston Performance is well know for their cams. So, it seem very natural to ask his opinion. He said he would love to design them, as long as I had the extra time (a week or two). I asked him to use he best judgement - based on what we are currently building and the specs I have lined out in the past for the performance.
Buildup Process - December 12th
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Per Steve the block and heads should be completed by week-end with only the cams to be re-ground. Steve does not want to spec the cams until the heads have been completed and flowed for the lift. Once these are completed, Steve will hopefully update me with the flow characteristics and cam specs. More information to come.
Buildup Process - December 21st
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On December 21th, the block and heads arrived back later afternoon.
Buildup Process - December 23rd
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On December 23rd, I spoke to Steve to get an update on the heads and CAMs. He has ordered the CAM based on the specs from the heads but did not specify the lobe, lift or separation.
The head "blending" performed is turned out better than expected. This was a test to see what could be done just by blending the intake. Next, Houston Performance will do a full port and polish. |
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Buildup Process - December 27th
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It turns out, I miscommunicated my port and polish request to Steve and have corrected my mistake. I have contacted Steve and given him full permission to perform a full port and polish on the intake and exahust. This put us back a bit into mid to late January; however, we both agree that it needs to be done.
Buildup Process - December 30th
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The 3v heads were sent out today to be ported and polished. As of January 3rd, Steve is waiting on an ETA from the shop on the return of the 3v heads.
Buildup Process - January 12th
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Steve and I had spoken about possibly not re-grinding the cam's due the the amout of material (the cams are so small) and the streetability of the cams with an automatic. I had requested him to pull the cam re-grind but as it turns out, he recieved the cams back, with the new lift and duration. I have requested the flow specs for the head port and polish and the new cam specs. I am hoping to have the specs soon on the 13th.
Buildup Process - January 25th
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Heads Port and Polish:
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Reground Camshafts:
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Buildup Process - January 25th
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Spoke with Steve (he called) and said they started the Stang - "it sounded good". However, they are placing an order for the special Coolant from Ford and should ahve it delivered today or tomorrow. So, now we are just before D-Day and ready to tune! Steve's opinion is that it will either be tuned Wednesday 1/25 or Thursday 1/26. If no problems occur, I can pickup on Saturday.
Buildup Process - January 27th
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Steve called with the bad new - it is running out of fule! Well, it turns out that he ProCharger fuel pump booster is not keeping enough fuel past the 6200 RPM range. Steve suggested that we try a Ford GT fuel pump so he got one on order for either a Monday or Tuesday delivery. Now, during the dyno tunes it did make 460 rwhp, with a little timing with a smooth power curve. However, we designed this motor to run up to 7000 RPM's and running out of fuel at 6200 RPM's. If this new Ford GT pump cures the issue, I am hoping that I cna drive out with a tune with 480-500 rwhp and 400-420 rwtq.
Pickup and Tuning - February 1st
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Spoke to Steve about the Fuel Pump and new 60# Injectors. He has recommended that we install larger injectors, 60#, along with the Ford GT Fuel Pump. The Ford GT Pump arrived on Tuesday (January 31st) and has been installed. However, the 60# Injectors should be here by Thursday. We are now looking at a Saturday delivery.
Pickup and Tuning - February 3rd
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Friday was a great day - I got the phone call to pickup my Mustang. After a slight delay from a leaking front seal, I was off to pickup my pride and joy. I arrive at 3:30 PM to meet Steve on his way out - it was nice to finally meet him. He said goodbye and passed my over to Chris, whom I assume has done much of the work on my car and definitely did my tuning. I asked him to load my tune on my XCal II and to copy the Dyno runs onto a floppy disk for me to review later that evening (I am sure glad I did). He then explained some startup idle issues with Modular engines and gave me the tips if it happens to me. I then gathered my stuff and off I went.
We stopped to fill up with gas a few miles down the road and took off to merge into traffic. BAM! Failsafe Mode - Not good in rush hour traffic in Houston. So I pull off on a side street, kill the engine and start it back up. All seem good so we take off. I spend the next 10 minutes feeling good, knowing that Failsafe Mode can happen and that all is well. Since I am on a toll road, I stop behind 10 or so cars, pay my toll and move on. I spend the next 10 minutes feeling good in my newly upgraded engine and then come to my next toll booth. This time, there are many more cars and I spent 5 minutes or so idling. With about 5 cars left in front of me, my car begins to behave very oddly. It is missing bad! It "feels" the same as when my car threw the rods back in October and my mind begins to race. So I idle up pay my toll and begin to make a B line to the fist exit. To my surprise it drives fine, no missing, no sputter. However, I take the first exit, and pull into a parking lot. I let it idle and then the same idle behavior begins again, "knock knock knock". I cut the engine and call Chris at Houston Performance. I explain to him the sounds, knocking and when they occur. He asked me to bring it back the next day. Since I know it is running fine at non-idle times, I continue my journey home.
Durng the last 50+ miles home, I cruise at 3000 RPM's (aka 80 MPH) with no issues. I get to my home town, and pull up to more intersections - time to idle. The "knock knock knock" starts all over and I begin to worry - again. I then try out some mildly aggressive take-offs. BAM! Failsafe Mode.
So, I get home and look over my 6 dyno runs - 5 runs prior to the 60# injectors and GT Fuel Pump and 1 run with the 60# injectors and GT Fuel Pump. Now, since the DynoJet run files do not include the Air/Fuel number, I cannot see what is going on, but based on my experience it is all over the place, and pig rich based on the black exhaust I have now and the serious drops in power top end. I have included the entire graph for the last run below along with a zoom in of the last 2000 RPM's.
The red is the 5th run, pre 60# injectors and GT Fuel Pump. The blue is the 6th run with the 60# injectors and GT Fuel Pump.
 | This chart compares the last 2 runs (pre and after 60# Injectors and GT Fuel Pump) for 5000 RPM's to 7000 RPM's. Not only is there a loss of power (I assume from being very rich) you can see where the 6th run in blue begins to dip, spike, dip, spike. This really bothers me. The power peaking at 400 rwhp is not acceptable for a fully built moter, but to NOT have corrected these fuel dips and spikes is disturbing. |
 | This chart compares the last 2 runs (pre and after 60# Injectors and GT Fuel Pump) for basically the entire run. If I compare the 2 runs, I can tell that run #6 must be richer. Overall the power produced is not too good, especially if I compare this run to my last run prior to blowing my engine. By 4000 RPM's I had about 400 rwtq all the way to 6000+ RPM's. In these runs, it barely makes any torque and the torque curve is not flat at all. |
 | This chart is the last run with the 60# Injectors and GT Fuel Pump. There is one point between 3600 RPM's and 4400 RPM's where the torque converter produces a "700+ rwtq" which throws off the graph. However, you get to see the run itself, both the rwhp and rwtq. |
Next Day Inspection - February 4th
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I let the car site overnight after my 80 mile drive home and the next morning, I am sad to say, there are multiple oil leaks. The oil leaks are from the rear of the engine - I suspect the Real Main Seal. it was later determined that it was all caused from the Steeda Oil Seperator and the barb that enters the air filter. I put the Mustang on ramp and went under for a look. Sure enough there was oil everywhere. Now, I do know that the Front Main Seal blew out before I took delivery, so I cleaned the front of the underside of the car with alcohol and rags. I then inspected any area that oil could leak, from front to the sides, to the oil pan and dipstick tube. All looked great. Now, to the problem area. The rear of the block, where it is bolted to the transmission belhousing was coverted with oil and seemed to be leaking. I then noticed oil blown all over the transmission and other frame items. I then cleaned all of the affected areas, removed the car from the ramps and let it idle until fully warm. During which time my driveway become covered in black exhaust and gas from the exhaust system.
I then took the Mustang out for a spin - 3 time each time clearing codes, etc. BAM! Failsafe Mode everytime. I cannot get the engine to spinup past 5500 RPM's and to get there is slow and painful - the tune is very rich and the power curve is mild. So, a tune is in order. I will recheck for more leaks later as it cools down. My hope is that the leaks are NOT a Rear Main Seal and were left over oil from the Front Main Seal. Time will tell. I was not able to reproduce the "knock knock knock" - however, I am beginning to think it is fouling out and missing. This is what it sounded like and left like. Click the "View Video" link to see the "knock knock knock" in action.
I spoke to my tuner, Andre Terranova of Custom Performance Tuning, and described my problems. He described seeing the exact Failsafe Mode issues Failsafe Mode is due to the IMRC's (Intake Manifold Runner Controls) a.k.a.Charge Motion Control Plates and how they are controlled in the tune. He said the tune must include the plates to be disabled and opened 100% of the time. So what we did was this: He took my old tune, adjusted for the 60# injectors and sent me 3 .XTR files. One for normal, one for 5% rich and 1 for 5% lean. I tested each of the files and what a difference. My power curve is back up to where it was before my engine blew-up and no Failsafe Mode and it runs fantastic. So I took the 5% fat tune and left it in place until I can get back to the dyno for a full tune.
Based on my initial testing of the modified .XTR files from my tuner, the only thing wrong with my car was the tune. The "knock knock knock" idle was caused by fouled plugs, the Failsafe Mode was caused by the IMRC's not being left open and the lack of power was just from a extremely conservative tune. Overall they did a great job, they just should have spent more time tuning my vehicle. I have a feeling that I will be getting a full dyno tune from my tuner, Andre Terranova of Custom Performance Tuning, soon to get this corrected.
I found out why I am getting P0171 and P0174 Lean Bank 1 and Lean Bank 2 from the 02 sensors. The P0171 and P0174 results are caused by the MAF sensor becoming oily because of the pressure forcing oil out the cam cover and back into the air filter. The ECU compensates by richening my idle to low RPM's View the fix
Follow-Up with Houston Performance - February 6th
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I spoke to Steve about the tune and oil leaks, we spoke about the plugs fouling and the rich exhaust - we both agreed that leaning it out would help. However, this is not as much of a worry as the oil leaks themselves. I told him I wanted to give it a few more days or longer to determine where the leaks are occuring. The cause of the oil leaks, which leaked 1.5 qts of oil in 2 weeks, was a cut rear main seal and a small tear in the oil pan gasket. Both were repairted by PSI Motorsports on March 11th.
Real Main Seal / Pan Gasket Fixed by PSI motorsports - March 11th
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You may be wondering why I did not go back to Houston Performance for the Real Main Seal leak. Hell, Steve at Houston Performance offered to replace it - at his cost. However Patrick of PSI Motorsports also had an idea what was causing the "knock knock knock" - the VCT (Variable Cam Timing) - and tools he could test with. He offered to diagnose it at no charge, so while it was there I had him replace the Rear Main Seal, my BMR Upper Control arm and diagnose the VCT. With some help from Patrick, Andre and SCT, we determined it had to be the VCT.
I picked up the Mustang on Saturday February 11th and began my drive home. Right way I noticed some issues - the power was missing and the shifts to 2-3 were not working correctly. On top of that, the Mustang was going into Failsafe Mode and throwing these two codes: P2106 and P0715. The P2106 (Throttle Actuator Control system - Forced Limited Power) was the results of P0715 (Turbine Shaft Speed Sensor Circuit Fault) the true root causes. It turns out either the sensors on the top of the automatic transmission were broke or not fully connected when PSI Motorsports reinstalled the transmission to the engine block while installing the Rear Main Seal. No big deal - Patrick will take care of it. Now, I still had one more issue - lack of power. Well it turns out the blower tunes were not fully clamped and the boost was escaping. This was easily resolved and the power returned.
I should be picking up the Mustang sometime before March 18th from PSI Motorosports with no more oil leak and my transmission shifting fixed.
Oil Pressure and VCT - March 22nd
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I After doing some research with Ford, Patrick of PSI Motorsports and a few others I have found the exact reason the VCT is casuing "knock knock knock" problem. The stock 3v oil pump has a spec of minimum of 75 PSI at 2000 RPM's at normal operating temperature to operate the VCT (Variable Cam Timing). Lower oil pressure cases erratic reading for the VCT and in my case causes extreme timing changes at lower RPM's - when at normal operating temperature. This advance in timing is causing my “knock knock knock" problem.
It turns out that the builder was not aware the STOCK 3v Oil Pump put out so much pressure and put in a regular mod motor high volume oil pump (which may make 50 PSI max - if I am lucky). I have an AutoMeter Oil Pressure gauge to get the exact PSI by March 25th, 2006.
Stock Pump (5w-20) RPM's PSI Cold Idle 100+ 2000 100+ 190 deg. - Normal Operating Temperature Idle 25-35 2000 70-75 Cobra High Volume Pump (5w-20) Cold Idle 90 2000 100+ 140 deg. Idle 55 2000 85 180 deg. Idle 24 2000 70 190 deg. - Normal Operating Temperature Idle 16-20 2000 60
Now, at "Normal Operating Temperature" at idle, it will dip below 20 PSI to 16 PSI. If I load the engine and give light throttle, the knocking starts. At 20 PSI, it can occur as well, just not a frequent. Since Ford Service Manual requires a minimum of 75 PSI at 2000 RPM's at "Normal Operating Temperature", it is clearly my problem. The computer is loosing control of the engine and causing the VCT to advanced the timing causing the "knock knock knock".
Oil Pressure and VCT Update - March 29th
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Per a recommendation from Andre, my tuner, I ran a test today to see if a higher viscocity oil would help keep the oil pressure up just enough to remove any VCT issues. I drained the oil leaving the oil filter still on the motor. I then let it sit for 2 hours to get out as much as possible. I then filled the motor with 3 qts. of 40 wt. and 2.5 qts of 10-30 wt. I cranked the Mustang let let it get to 160 deg. F. I then made 3 test drives of a 45 minute time period. At idle the PSI was 22-26 PSI vs the 16-20 with 5w-20. At 2000 RPM's the oil pressure was 65-70 PSI. I will say the engine was quiter at idle now - closer to stock. The VCT has been a bit extra noise from the lower oil pressure. By using the heavier weight oil it allowed the engine to keep a higher amount of pressure on the VCT and stop all knocking and VCT engine noise. I am 100% convinced this is the issue and will now need to corrdinate with Houston Performance for the stock oil pump change.
Cobra High Volume Pump (5w-20) RPM's PSI Cold Idle 90 2000 100+ 190 deg. - Normal Operating Temperature Idle 16-20 2000 60 Cobra High Volume Pump (10w-30 & 40w) Cold Idle 100 2000 100+ 190 deg. - Normal Operating Temperature Idle 22-26 2000 70
Oil Pump Update - April 4th
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I spoke to Steve at Houston Performance today. He has agreed to take care of the Oil Pump replacement at his cost. I will deliver the Mustang to Houston Performance on April 10th.
Oil Pump Update - April 10th
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I delivered the Mustang about 11:00 am to Steve at Houston Performance. According to Steve, they will attempt to get to the oil pump this week, but more than likely next week. I am assuming that the car will be ready for pickup no later than April 21st.
Oil Pump Update - April 13th
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Chris from Houston Performance called to let me know the car was ready. He test drove the car and could not reproduce the problem. However, he did say that cold on idle the Oil Pressure was abotu 70 PSI. That worries me. But, he did say that on hot idle the PSI was 20 to 21 PSI. I will pickup on April 18th.
Oil Pump Update - April 18th
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After I picked up the 'Stang, I tested some Oil pressure vs. Engine Temp to check for issues. I did find that 10w-30 works much better for the built motor than 5w-20. I may try 10w-40 in the future, but at this point all issues have been resolved with the knocking. However, I did find some intresting issues on the way home from Houston Performance. For some reason the engine temp. was 205 degrees for about 35 minutes (on the beltway). But as soon as I stopped, payed a toll and got off the beltway, the engine temp. went back down to 180 degree from the remaining 35 minute drive home. I don't think that I am getting enouhg cooling from airflow, the fan or the water / coolant mixture.
I drained the 50/50 coolant water mixture and replaced it with 30/70 coolant water mixture with some Water Wetter. Some initial test drives have shown about 8 degrees cooler on the highway. However, I will do some additional highyway drive soon.
Stock Pump (5w-20) RPM's PSI Cold Idle 70 2000 90 180 deg. Idle 28 2000 70 190 deg. - Normal Operating Temperature Idle 21 2000 65 Stock Pump (10w-30) Cold Idle 70 2000 90 180 deg. Idle 32 2000 72 190 deg. - Normal Operating Temperature Idle 26 2000 70
Fuel Pump Update: Oct 15th
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Steve at Houston Performance convinced me I was having a lack of fuel issue, so they installed a GT Supercar fuel pump during my rebuild. However, as I increased my boost, I had to increase my fuel. At the recommendation of Patriack at Patrick of PSI Motorsports Performance Center, I installed the GT 500 Dual Pump kit. Now, during the removal of the fuel pump basket from my fuel tank, I ran into some issues. First, the fuel filter was floating in the tank - not attached to he fuel pump that Houston Performance had installed so many months before. Next, the fuel pump itself, was not attached to the basket at all, so it just fell out. But the final problem was the most frustrating to find. The 2005+ Ford Mustangs have duel fuel tanks. Part of the tubing runs from the fuel pump to the seconds tank. Now, there is a Y adapter that runs from the fuel pump, and one of the Y connections runs to the second tank and the other is capped. My cap was floating in the gas. So, when my fuel got below the opened Y fuel line, it would suck air. This explains why when I would go WOT with less than half of a tank, my Mustang would loose fuel pressure, bog and then take off. The fuel slosh caused air to be sucked into the open fuel line that Houston Performance did not cap sufficiently.
Oil Pump Update: Dec 11th
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While having my TCI Stall Converter installed at Patrick of PSI Motorsports Performance Center., Patrick called about an issue they found. First, it was the oil pan and not the rear main seal that was leaking. Also, we had an issue with the oil pickup. It seems that when Houston Performance changed the Cobra Hi-Vol oil pump back to the stock oil pump, they used the Cobra hi-Vol oil pickup tube. Well, this was to long and ended up bending into the pan which caused the oil pickup to lay flat on the oil pan rather than "float" in the oil. So, Patrick confirmed that he would order a stock pickup tube.
Summary
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Overall I am very happy with the engine build-up. The high quaility of the shortblock, the Port and Polish of the heads and the custome ground cam make me belive this should last a while. However, here are the reasons I will never use them again nor recommend them:
- The tune, which cost $260, was horrible. As far as I know there was no datalogging nor any attempt to correct the A/F, etc.
- The blower tubing was not tightened, came loose which cause the boost to be exited our right before the MAF. This accounted for drivability problems until I found and fixed the detached tubing.
- The Coil On Pack wires from the wiring harness were broken during the install and instead of fixing them, they just tie-wrapped them together and did not both to inform me.
- Two of bolts that secure my ProCharger to the block were so loose and hanging out, that I was able to remove them with my fingers.
- They use the wrong oil pump and oil pickup tube which causes engine malfunctions with the VCT (Variable Cam Timing), which was diagnosed by Patrick of PSI Motorsports Performance Center. It also took many hours of "proof" on my side for Houston Performance to replace the Cobra Hi-Vol oil pump back with the stock pump.
- When Houston Performance replaced the Cobra Hi-Vol oil pump with the stock oil pump, they used the Cobra Hi-Vol oil pickup and it was "bent" to fit into the pan.
- When Houston Performance replaced the stock fuel pump with the GT Supercar fuel pump, it was done so improperly, that the engine could have been severeky damaged in the process. The pump was not attached to the basket, the filter was floating in the fuel and the tubing Y cap (to the second fuel tank) was open which sucked in air when the fuel lever last less than half a tank.
- The real main seal leaked right after bring it home the first day which I had fixed by Patrick of PSI Motorsports Performance Center. After having the oil pump replaced, instead of installing the oil pan correctly, they reused the oil pan gasket and gooped on tremendous amount of sealant to cover the sloppy work - which I had to have fixed again by Patrick of PSI Motorsports Performance Center.
- The o2 sensor wire were wrapped around the IMRC control rods and caused them not to open 100%, causing more dyno / tune time to "fix" the drivability problems and could have caused the replacement of o2 sensor at some point.
- I can only imagine teh quality of work inside my motor!
 Cost: | ~ $11000 w/ tax | |||||||||||
| • J&M Towing | ~ $280 | ||||||||||
| • Shortblock (new block) | ~ $1200 | ||||||||||
| • Shortblock (forged internals) | ~ $3500 | ||||||||||
| • Manley Springs | ~ $500 | ||||||||||
| • ARP Head Stud Kit 12pt 4.6 | ~ $179 | ||||||||||
| • Gaskets & Misc Materials | ~ $300 | ||||||||||
| • Port & Polish / Blend | ~ $725 | ||||||||||
| • Custom Cams | ~ $825 | ||||||||||
| • PA 8 bolt Flexplate | ~ $339 | ||||||||||
| • Ford GT Fuel Pump | ~ $99 | ||||||||||
| • 60# Injectors | ~ $500 | ||||||||||
| • HT0 Plugs | ~ $100 | ||||||||||
| • Labor | ~ $1600 | ||||||||||
| • Tuning & Wideband O2 Sensor | ~ $260 | ||||||||||
| Ratings: (1-10) | ||||||||||||
| • J&M Wrecker Service |
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| • Build Complexity |
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| • Houston Performance (Customer Service) |
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| • Houston Performance (Overall Satisfaction) |
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| • Houston Performance (Performance) |
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| • Houston Performance (Mechanical Quality) |
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| • Houston Performance (Mechanical Performance) |
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| • Houston Performance (Tune) |
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| • Houston Performance (Tune Performance) |
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| • Houston Performance (Overall Performance) |
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