What did you do to your LS today?

[RigsLS]

Couple of pics of last nights mess.

04 LSE got new rear OEM Upper Control Arms, JAG Aftermarket toe adjust and MOOG sway bar end linkages.

Pardon the nastiest of it all, not my usually work, like my 01 which is super clean.
It's tough working on a 1300$ rusted LSE in the middle of winter with limited free time.

















All in all, went in ok, no hardware put up a fight coming out. Did have to file out the wheel side pivot link on the JAG aftermarket toe adjust linkages to get the long bolt to pass through.


It is what it is ... at least the clicking and ticking sound in the rear is gone and on a short drive last night the rear end feels tighter.

04 LSE wheel alignment pending. Custom exhaust is next. Install CAI thereafter. Still have to pull the connector at the A/C compressor.



PS: Loud1, you are correct, 2nd GEN is MUCH better !!!! Upsets me to have put so much money and effort into my 01 LS V8.

 

[1LoudLS]

PS: Loud1, you are correct, 2nd GEN is MUCH better !!!! Upsets me to have put so much money and effort into my 01 LS V8.

lol, I can't really believe what I'm hearing right now... I'm telling ya, everybody always thinks their 1st gen is way better...

right up until that point where they own both and have put some time in to the new car and all of those little annoyances are gone!

but worse, if you were not aware of those little annoyances, you will be the next time you drive your 1st gen! haha








BTW, when I say this, I ain't saying that the 1st gen is garbage... largely they are the same car, but its all those little improvements here and there that just make the experence that much better!

 

[Willow LS]

I like my 00 and I'm glad that I am not aware of the annoyances. LOL

 

[G-RELL]

... largely they are the same car, but its all those little improvements here and there that just make the experence that much better!

Just because they made "improvements" doesn't mean the car is.....JK!!!...

Agreed 2nd's are nice... just not sure another LS is in the cards for me....

 

[izzy]

4 wheel alignment pending. We red-necked the rear wheels with the ol' tape measure trick.

This is why I purchase a 4-wheel lifetime alignment for any vehicle I own.

 

[1LoudLS]

Agreed 2nd's are nice... just not sure another LS is in the cards for me....

agreed, ffor what I need in a car, I'm going for something where making serious power is actually easy... I'm still back and forth every other week on what I want but its either gonna be a pony or something with an LS in it!

 

[Robot]

View attachment 828475106


View attachment 828475107


View attachment 828475108

I like paper cones and foam surrounds as much as the next guy but...

The best sounding setup I ever had was in one of my FLC-120 big trucks. I used a Panasonic head unit wired with hi-pass filters leading to the four stock (2 door and 2 sleeper ceiling) co-axials. Then the stereo sub-out to a lightning audio 150W (2x75W) amp hooked to a single 8" sealed sub box. The lo-pass outs were then sent to a Rockford Fosgate 2x75W @ 4ohms, 2x150W @ 2ohms amp driving a Dual twin 10" bandpass box. The Rockford amp came with the Punch Bass EQ boost control that boosted 0db - 18db @ 45HZ. The single 8" sub filled the mid bass perfectly. I'd like to do this in my LS.

 

[G-RELL]

15'+ pony GT seems like a reasonable option for me... but we'll see. I like the look, and seems like drive-able performance numbers.

never had a mustang though....

 

[fabrizio]

Hi!

2001 v8

Today I did the SST conversion.
Works ok, thanks for your help:Beer, I had no time to make a long trip , it has to wait until sunday

best regards!

 

[Telco]

agreed, ffor what I need in a car, I'm going for something where making serious power is actually easy... I'm still back and forth every other week on what I want but its either gonna be a pony or something with an LS in it!

If you get something with an LS in it, can't say enough good about EFI Live. It's a bit pricey but worth every penny. Tunercat is the alternative, and is also a fine tuning program. EFI Live allows you to easily change segments, like if you want to put a different engine and trans in. Tunercat, on the other hand, allows you to talk to the BCM and other modules.

 

[1LoudLS]

15'+ pony GT seems like a reasonable option for me... but we'll see. I like the look, and seems like drive-able performance numbers.

never had a mustang though....

I've worked on and driven a quite a few... fox bodies are a handful after a certain amount of power due to the short wheel base, SN95's are very cheap feeling and sounding and are slightly better driving, S197 mustangs are much more stable, 3 valves suck but coyote's make a lot of power and are really over built so you can make quite a bit more power before tearing into the engine, they also look and feel much nicer than everything before them. but the S550 is a totally new beast. fit and finish is very nice for a sports/muscle car, and the car straight screams, tons of power from the 5.0, again very over built so ready for serious power, the suspension is so tight and the new IRS actually makes the car handle extremely well (unlike the failed terminator IRS)


I was all set on a 2013 and wanted to wait two to three years until the started to come down in price a bit since I didn't want to take the depreciation hit... but then once i started getting ready to buy one, I saw the 2015 and man, it literally is better in just about every way!

I'm still going back and forth on what I want, the S550 is so damn nice, but the S197 would probably make a better car for drag with its straight axle.

the other problem is that if I get a mustang, its definitely not going to be daily driven so I can keep the miles down on it and definitely never drive it in rain or worse. and my work beater has been growing a little long in the tooth, so I have also been looking at getting a Focus ST for daily use/work beater and then while I pay that off it would give me a little time for the S550's to drop down a bit in price and then I'll run the ST into the ground.

 

[1LoudLS]

If you get something with an LS in it, can't say enough good about EFI Live. It's a bit pricey but worth every penny. Tunercat is the alternative, and is also a fine tuning program. EFI Live allows you to easily change segments, like if you want to put a different engine and trans in. Tunercat, on the other hand, allows you to talk to the BCM and other modules.

yes EFI Live is almost a sure thing, I've help a couple of friends put together their Dirtymaxxes (LBZ) and thats what they were both using, very easy to work with and am a huge fan of being able to change which tune you are running on the fly. with one of them, we had the DSP 5 rotary switch installed over by the air bag key switch on the right. damn thats nice when a camaro pulls up next to you and you can reach over and crank the knob up to level 5 (break sh!t mode) and roll coal right on past them!

 

[Rick Born]

I've worked on and driven a quite a few... fox bodies are a handful after a certain amount of power due to the short wheel base, SN95's are very cheap feeling and sounding and are slightly better driving, S197 mustangs are much more stable, 3 valves suck but coyote's make a lot of power and are really over built so you can make quite a bit more power before tearing into the engine, they also look and feel much nicer than everything before them. but the S550 is a totally new beast. fit and finish is very nice for a sports/muscle car, and the car straight screams, tons of power from the 5.0, again very over built so ready for serious power, the suspension is so tight and the new IRS actually makes the car handle extremely well (unlike the failed terminator IRS)


I was all set on a 2013 and wanted to wait two to three years until the started to come down in price a bit since I didn't want to take the depreciation hit... but then once i started getting ready to buy one, I saw the 2015 and man, it literally is better in just about every way!

I'm still going back and forth on what I want, the S550 is so damn nice, but the S197 would probably make a better car for drag with its straight axle.

the other problem is that if I get a mustang, its definitely not going to be daily driven so I can keep the miles down on it and definitely never drive it in rain or worse. and my work beater has been growing a little long in the tooth, so I have also been looking at getting a Focus ST for daily use/work beater and then while I pay that off it would give me a little time for the S550's to drop down a bit in price and then I'll run the ST into the ground.

I like my sn95 but it really is just a fox body "with fixes" I drive it all summer and the ls all winter, I love them both but for very different reasons.

 

[1LoudLS]

no doubt, when done right, either can be extremely fun to drive. I just wish the fit and finish was a little better on the SN95 (especially after the "new edge" redesign) it was the only thing holding me back when looking at some years back, probably why I have went with the mark and LSes instead.

hell, if I came across a manual hardtop Terminator for the right price, I would have no problem scooping it up.

 

[Waltzy]

Replaced the ol' degas bottle, flushed and changed coolant.

 

[R34SklnNsn]

Cross over pipe blew. Should have replaced the parts when I did the degass bottle. Upgraded the thermostat house while I was at it. Took forever to bleed.

 

[FDR]

How many miles on the pipe? It's making me paranoid

 

[R34SklnNsn]

150,000. Funny thing is as bad as all the plastic was Ford replaced the thermostat about 30,000 miles ago according to the paperwork. Looks like they would have replaced all the other parts too.

 

[don-ohio]

I'm wondering about that type of clamp,which keeps pulling tighter and tighter on the connection. Maybe a screw clamp wouild be easier on the plastic? don-ohio ^)

 

[joegr]

I'm wondering about that type of clamp,which keeps pulling tighter and tighter on the connection. Maybe a screw clamp wouild be easier on the plastic? don-ohio ^)

A spring clamp keeps constant pressure on the plastic. It doesn't get "tighter" or looser. A screw clamp on the other hand remains a constant size. As things heat up, it puts more and more pressure on the plastic (tighter). When it cools off, it get looser and looser.

 

[R34SklnNsn]

Even plastic expands that's why I wonder why they use plastic so much. I know the plastic on the upper and lower radiator hoses is a different type as it's thermally fused. So it may hold up longer but still. Why do companies want to save penny's thinking they will make more on repairs?

 

[joegr]

A couple, but not nearly all of the points involved.
They have a fixed amount they can charge for the car, based on the market and competition. If it costs too much to make the car, they just won't do it at all.
While plastic parts are cheaper in high volume, there's also the fact that you can make way more complicated parts in plastic than metal. The gen II crossover tube would be close to impossible to make as once piece in metal.

Remember, very few on this board where willing to pay the new car $40K+ price for the LS. Just imagine how may fewer would have sold if it was a $60K+ price for the same thing.

 

[R34SklnNsn]

True

 

[RigsLS]

This is why I purchase a 4-wheel lifetime alignment for any vehicle I own.

Was only measured and adjusted to get as close as possible so as not to wear the tires off on the way to an alignment shop. On the 03 couple weeks ago, one side was off by .001 toe in, not bad for w/ measuring tape technique. The Toe adjust linkages get the bolt through both old and new at the same time, then adjusted to center hole on the other end. Bolted in the car, wheels on, lowered onto the ground, both center thread on tire get matched front to back, adjusted and jam nut tightened when close enough. Then off to an alignment shop for the real deal. This extra care simply saves on running down a set of rear tires before one could get time to make it to an alignment shop.


Far as "buying" the 4-wheel lifetime alignment .... it's an option of course, a smart one no doubt. This however does not actually change any suspension parts for free for me now does it! Still would need to do the work myself and then get it "dailed" in at a shop.

 

[LS4me]

Even plastic expands that's why I wonder why they use plastic so much. I know the plastic on the upper and lower radiator hoses is a different type as it's thermally fused. So it may hold up longer but still. Why do companies want to save penny's thinking they will make more on repairs?

A couple, but not nearly all of the points involved.
They have a fixed amount they can charge for the car, based on the market and competition. If it costs too much to make the car, they just won't do it at all.
While plastic parts are cheaper in high volume, there's also the fact that you can make way more complicated parts in plastic than metal. The gen II crossover tube would be close to impossible to make as once piece in metal.

Remember, very few on this board where willing to pay the new car $40K+ price for the LS. Just imagine how may fewer would have sold if it was a $60K+ price for the same thing.

It also saves precious weight.