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GROUP BUY: Lower Intake Manifold big bore.

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qbcsvt said:
I say whoever is taking so long to get their LIM to SHO-Source. Gets to be the first one machined during the next batch. Their fault LOL...

I mean really how long can shipping be....

- amyn
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Anywhere from 8-15 buisness days if they did the cheapest UPS shipping method.:blackeye: Which could be from 1-3 weeks. :blackeye:

Be patient guys...this is a custom part being made. Don't ever rush someone who is doing a customized order...you don't want a messed up part.:blackeye:

I do customized throttle bodies...90% of the 35+ of them i have sold...have said take your time. I have others given me a time line...because they wanted it done and shipped in 3-4 days.(i want i want NOW NOW NOW...kinda people)
If not they wanted a refund....:rolleyes:
The owners of sho-source have full time jobs guys. This company is part time work! Obviously they are helping car enthusiasts (like us) receive parts that no other company cares to produce.
 

Sure I never said SHO-Source get this done, Now, Now, Now. SHO-Source hasnt started for the most part because one of us retards decided not to ship for a month and a half.

As for SHO-Source, I wouldnt mind them taking their time with updates here and there.

BUT WE ARE WAITING ON SOMEONE WHO JUST SHIPPED THEIR LIM? :nonono: and on top of that cheaped out on the shipping. and on top of that its the Holidays. Hope their LIM doesnt get lost :blackeye:

- amyn
 
Update as requested.

Still missing one LIM. Mailed on 12/12 via USPS parcel post. There is no way to track the package. I don't know how long to wait until the package would be classified as "lost in shipment", but I am thinking we may go forward this weekend regardless :shrug:.

From my end, I have to say the Contour LIM was designed by one of the more sadistic engineers at Ford:mad:. I am sure these were never meant to disassemble. Here are just some of the obstacles that I have had to battle.

1) The secondary plate screws are incredibly soft and hard to reach. A real PITA to remove, but I can handle that now.

2) Ford used micro small soft plugs to contain four detent pins that retain the rods. This means I need to find a replacement for the soft plugs. The detent pins are also caked in varnish, carbon build up, and other sticky goo, so they do not come out easily. I don't know how many hours I have spent on this issue, and there is not an easy answer I found.

3) The throttle rods are long/thin and, when combined with the machined flats and heat from the engine, they warp. As soon as I try to pull the rods, they pop out of the bushed areas and won't go back into the next bore. This also means I am going to have to straighten most of the rods before reinstalling.

Combine all these issues with the fact that the Contour LIMs were on average MUCH more varnished up than the SHO butterflies, and nothing was easy. How do you guys keep these from clogging up and sticking? On a SHO I can soak them in a soap solution, then diassemble and reassemble with lube. I cannot do this on the Contour because instead of rubber seals on the rods, Ford used small sealed bearings on the rods. I have already seen many of the cores have siezed bearings, but I do not know how to pull this itty bitty bearing. Anyone else have any ideas? I think in most cases, the bearing just siezes up and acts like a bushing, but there will be no time like the present to try to fix it.

Sorry for the ranting on your favorite car :crazy:. This has just been one of the more difficult group buys to organize and then carry out, and it has been frustrating. Harry is right that I will not rush the project. I prefer to do the job right the first time.

I will send updates as I can.

Mike
 
Sounds great thanks.... I like updates and reading cool things that I didnt do. Cause I like to see what I could have done or do in the future. :confused:

- amyn
 
The last LIM arrived in the Saturday mail, and I am disassembling it today. The next update later this week may have a picture of some bored out housings :drool:.

Mike
 
Update:

I have been struggling with the last couple stubborn intakes (getting the detent pins and rods removed). I have been soaking them this week to soften up the varnish in the bores, and I will try to pull them apart later today.

I talked to the CNC machinist last night and we have another window of machine time available. We are meeting Saturday to trasnfer the parts and start the boring (but very exciting:crazy:) part. Pictures are coming soon.

Mike.

P.S. From what I have seen, the Contour LIM is one of the dirtier intakes I have experienced. With all the varnish and tar buildup, I imagine sticking butterflies and gummed up valves can be a common occurance. Has anyone tried using a catch can to see if they can reduce the buildup? Maybe this can be a followup project. After I put a catch can on my SHO, the gunk in the intake went to zero. It looks as clean today as when I assembled it. Just a thought.
 
SHOpartsNW said:
Update:

I have been struggling with the last couple stubborn intakes (getting the detent pins and rods removed). I have been soaking them this week to soften up the varnish in the bores, and I will try to pull them apart later today.

I talked to the CNC machinist last night and we have another window of machine time available. We are meeting Saturday to trasnfer the parts and start the boring (but very exciting:crazy:) part. Pictures are coming soon.

Mike.

P.S. From what I have seen, the Contour LIM is one of the dirtier intakes I have experienced. With all the varnish and tar buildup, I imagine sticking butterflies and gummed up valves can be a common occurance. Has anyone tried using a catch can to see if they can reduce the buildup? Maybe this can be a followup project. After I put a catch can on my SHO, the gunk in the intake went to zero. It looks as clean today as when I assembled it. Just a thought.
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Great to hear on the progress of the LIm's. I know from doing many it's a process and these parts are very rare and can not be replaced easily. Bearings, rods, plates etc etc.

Mike our egr system is a failure on our cars. There is a Catch system that can be used...but it isn't cheap($70+). People don't find spending $70 on something that doesn't add any sort of performance to our vehicle.
Sticky butterflies don't really occur...but 1/8 inch thick build up does...causing 90% of us to do intake manifold rebuilds every 50k(some 20k) miles to keep the carbon build up down.
 
The LIMs have left the building

Actually, the LIMs have left the machine shop. I am starting the reassembly process. I still need to have the plates cut because something told me to wait until after they were bored out. Pictures of the bored out LIMs will be posted soon.

Mike
 
I have a question, but let me start off with an old story.

One Christmas, a young girl was helping to prepare the family dinner and was watching her mother very closely. Se saw the mother take the raw roast beef and cut about 1" off the end and throw it away before putting it in the pot to cook. The daughter asked why the mother did this (since the meat looked pretty good), and the mother replied it was how grandmother always used to make it. The daughter did not buy it so she waited until the family came over and asked grandma in person why we cut 1" off the roast before we cook it. The grandmother looked a little confused, but said she didn't know why, only that her mother taught her that way. For the sake of the story, this is a BIG family gathering, so the young girl goes up to her very old great grandmother and asked her why she always cut off the end of the roast. The great grandmother smiled and said, "silly girl, if I didn't cut the end of the roast off, it wouldn't fit in my favorite pan."

My question for the group is Ford just like mother and grandmother? I guess that would make me the little girl :crazy:, but I have to ask, so here is my question.

Why did Ford go to all the trouble to install the little detent pins and springs on the LIMs? For those who don't know what I am talking about, there are four detent pins with springs hidden behind four little soft plugs on the bottom of the LIMs. The butterfly shafts have a thinned out area the detent pins ride in. My thought is the detent pins keep the rods from moving side to side, but when you look at the design, the butterfly rods are thinned out so wide that the detent pins allow at least 1/4" to 1/2" of lateral movement before they stop. Here is the point; the butterfly plates are a tight fit and will not let the shafts move side to side (no where close to as far as the detent pins). The only reason to have the detent pins is if you had no butterfly plates, but if you have no butterfly plates, why keep the rods (and need the pins)? I am asking the question and making the big deal because the SHO does not have these detent pins, and it makes them so much easier to service (engine designed by Yamaha not Ford). Ford spent extra money and assembly time to make and install the detent pins. Beyond that, the detent pins are a PITA to remove once they are full of crud (I spent probably 10 hours pulling pins and rods). The thinned out area for the detent pins get loaded up with carbon so the rods do not come out nice. The thinned area also makes the rods more likely to bend or break, which some did (don't worry we had some spares). The thinned out area is also a prime location for gunk to build up and make the butterflies sluggish or stick. So why spend extra time and money to install detent pins when all I see are down sides to the design? They really don't serve any function I can see. Did they install detent pins because they "always did" on other cars or is there a reason I am missing?

Mike
 
Harrry asked me to comment on why the LIM was designed with those detent pins . . .

The truth is, I have freaking idea . . . lol. The only thing I can figure is it might have had to do with assembly, but even that doesn't make much sense.
 
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