Focus -4

While playing around with the earlier posts of this blog, I have been chopping my focus.  It is always a weird feeling to undo stuff that was put together all those years ago at the factory.  I remember how psyched I was when I picked this car up with my dad 12 years ago before graduate school.  Lately I've been thinking of all the trips its taken, and people who have ridden in it.  I hope I don't blow this and it will share some more fun times with me.  Anyway:

In that last picture you get a pretty good view of the engine.  I have not seen pictures around of a FWD engine and transmission separated from a car.  There is a lot of stuff crammed in there, and I learned a bit as I went through this:

1. A front engine front wheel drive configuration is a pretty crumby thing to do space wise.  Just look at that ridiculous header.  Not surprising that a v8 can swap into this same space.
2. Ball joints suck to separate.  No insight here, I did each of them differently.  The most stubborn one like this (not possible with the axle in)
   
3. I was amazed how smoothly the shift cables operate.
4. There is a lot more stuff in there than in my Lotus.  I mean I knew there would be but holy smoke.  I wonder if I could put it all back together again.  I like to think I could, you know, minus the exhaust pipe I sawzalled, and the power steering line I chopped.
5. I have always heard it is very hard to get the driver's side axle out of the case on a Focus.  You can see it hanging there in the last picture.  Once out of the car, I thought I'd have a go at it.  I took a long crow bar in there and gave it a couple crisp smacks and out it popped out.  Not a BFD.  In the car however, without 3 feet of influence it would have been very hard I expect.
6. Impact sockets kick so much butt.  I finally bought some and they work so much better than regular sockets, especially not needing a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter anymore.  I strongly recommend the deep ones from HF.  Cheap, and nothing wrong with them.
7. That said, breaker bar is still > Impact gun for large stuck bolts
8. Disposable Nitrile gloves will stop you from having dirty ass redneck hands that won't come clean. Valuable if by day you have to wear a button down shirt and speak in a hushed voice.
9. Get one of these at a swap meet.  I don't know what it is called, but I got it for like $2 and it takes off all those plastic clips that push in but don't come out.  It also will help separate a lot of electrical connectors that are hard to reach.  It paid for itself just in connectors it saved, let alone the hours saved, and not burying a screw driver into my hand repeatedly.
   
10. Your radiator is filthy.  I can not believe how much grit dumped out of the outside of it.  Go blow yours out now.  Oh, yeah the inside is filthy too.  I was surprised how much rust and crud was in my coolant.