WQ Fiesta XR4/ST150 with Mazda SP25 engine - Page 5

**Luke Plaizier** · 16-07-2019, 11:23 AM

I've been a Project Binky fan from way back - checkout the GT4 Mini project on youtube. So I reckon I'm going to take a crack at making my own ABS relocation bracket.

First things first, is to build myself a reasonable Pan Brake for bending up some 1.6mm Bunnings sheet metal. The factory brackets use 2mm sheet so I will see if 1.6mm is enough. At the same time I'll work on measuring up the current bracket and working out how to make up a new one just using folds - via some Cornflakes box cardboard templates of course....

I'm a little bit excited and intrigued at giving this a go.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 16-07-2019, 04:09 PM

Some of my detailed drawings for the MTX75 passenger side mount to fit in a Fiesta.

This is all drawn on 1mm line paper, but I lost my drafters alphabet stencil so I haven't dimensioned it. There are some hand written numbers on it.

The bracket itself is intended to be made with 5mm x 150mm wide flat bar and 30mm rod. Requires welding. The Rod needs to be drilled in both cases, but the upright needs to be tapped to m12x1.75.

THIS IS YET TO BE BUILT, so while I have cleared the MTX75 breather and speedo connector, I have yet to confirm if there are any other conflicts.

Top View

View from front of car

View from Passenger side of car

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 16-07-2019, 04:11 PM

And this one is the more detailed draw-up of the selector adapter. Also to be made up from 5mm x 150mm flat bar.

Luke

LeighMJ · 16-07-2019, 09:13 PM

Pics aren't showing for me

**Luke Plaizier** · 17-07-2019, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeighMJ

Pics aren't showing for me

OK, sorry, I can confirm on an anonymous browser those last two posts didn't work. Not sure what I did different...? Maybe these images are too big? I scanned them off my A3 drawings at 600dpi to make sure I capture the detail....

Trying the Shifter Template again:

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 17-07-2019, 09:30 AM

OK, that seemed to work. Now for the others:

Gearbox Mount Top View - this shows the IB5+ mount and the MTX75 mount superimposed - and how the MTX75 base and IB5+ centre need to be combined:

View from Front of car (Side of gearbox)

View from Passenger side of car (Rear of Gearbox)

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 07:45 PM

OK, so this week I thought a lot more about making up a bracket. I was all ready to go down the path of making up a pan brake as per that video. But I thought I'd spend some time drawing up what I planned to do. Andcame up with this mess of a drawing:

ABS Bracket:

And then it occurred to me - how the heck am I going to fit a complex bracket shape into a panbrake and make all the minor bends.

Not going to work.

Then I discovered the Finger Brake. And lo, Jaycar had one I could buy that would fit into a vice using magnets, and do just about everything I needed.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/sheet-meta...break/p/TH1763

First, I made a cardboard version of my awkward bracket above, and scored and bent it, and then did a test fit. It seemed mostly OK:

ABS bracket cardboard test fit.

The ABS module needs to go a bit higher than shown in the image above, but it looks OK. The 'leg' out to the top of the chassis rail may be a bit too long, but we can fix that if we need to.

So I used that cardboard outline to cut into 1.6mm hot rolled sheet from bunnings, and started to bend.

Forming up the bracket

So it's done now, but I realise I haven't taken a picture of the completed bracket yet. I ran out of daylight hours before I could test fit, so that is first thing tomorrow. But I need to find out how to pull off the wiring loom from the ABS module so I can get the bracket up and in there. We'llsee how that goes tomorrow.

At the same time I've been cutting up the bits required for the selector adapter and the gearbox mount. No photo's of that yet, I think I'll be having a welding day tomorrow....

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 07:51 PM

Bracket after initial form work, prior to test fitting and any additional bends/cutsetc.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 07:58 PM

And a comparison of the old bracket on the right,which held the ABS module down at something close to a 45 degree angle, versus the new backet on the left which pivots and lifts it up to level.I tried to put the firewall mount and the chassis rail upper mount on the same plane in the image to give you an idea of how much higher the ABS module will now sit.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 09:05 PM

I opened this in an anonymous browser again. I did everything tonight exactly the same - shared images, publicly accessible, pasting using the Image button on this website.

Some worked, some didn't. I don't know WTF is going on, but it's a pain in the ****.

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 09:57 PM

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 10:03 PM

**Luke Plaizier** · 20-07-2019, 11:14 PM

I found the reference to someone previously having to raise the ABS module.

https://www.fiestastoc.com/forums/to...68#entry654365

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 21-07-2019, 12:58 PM

Some progress on the shifter front.

Adapter Plate - 5mm x 150mm flat bar, the larger holes are 14mm diameter, the smaller are 5mm tapped with an m6 thread. The bolts from the MTX selector go into the threads. The adapter fits over studs in the Fiesta which has nuts to hold it down.

However, we have an issue. The right selector cable is much higher than the IB5 selector, and impinges the selector console at two locations - where the tray for the shifter consoledips down, and the shifter pin itself appears to touch the shifter surround.

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 22-07-2019, 07:38 AM

Shifter:

Since the two issues are (a) Clearance of the cable under the tray and (2) Clearance of the selector linkage just at the edge of the selector surround, I think I will do the following:

(a) As much as it pains me, I will have to cut into the tray and make clearance for the cable. I'll have to put a cover over either the part of the tray that I cut or the whole tray.

(b) Am going to acquire a 10mm m8 Ball Stud and make my own Selector Junction using 25mm RHS to lower it slightly. It may result in a slight lengthen of the shift - since short shifters traditionally raise the height of the selector location rather than lower it. I notice on those fiesta's that the short shifter option shortens the radius of the selector at the gearbox, rather than lengthens the radius at the selector. Now I know why - lack of space at the selector itself. making my own Selector Junction means I can also control the distance from the selector arm - so I can adjust the location of the selector within the surround if I need to - it looks like I might foul slightly at the 1-3-5 position - maybe.

ABS Bracket

Verdict = Fail. Will need to be redrawn.

(a) ABS Module Needs to be 1cm further away from the firewall.
(b) ABS Module Needs to be 1cm closer to the chassis rail
(c) Chassis upper rail tab needs to be removable. Getting the bracket in and out is nigh on impossible while the ABS module is in place. Also, that tab was about 1cm too long.
(d) The long tab down to the side of the chassis rail - needs to clear the engine/transmission mount

Transmissions Upper Bracket

Parts cut, needs the 2 x round-bar pieces drilled and the upright tapped, and then I can weld. I wish I had a lathe.....

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 28-07-2019, 12:15 PM

Still in struggle street.

The ABS bracket mostly works. Here it is holding up the module, which is all I really need. but the bit to pay attention to is the rear brace for the gearbox mount bracket (just the the right of the lower ABS mount bolt)

The MTX fouls on that upright support - it needs to be trimmed back to be the same depth as the forward upright.

this image show the two uprights and how they are profiled differently:

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 28-07-2019, 12:16 PM

So, do ADR rules, or NSW, allow me to modify chassis components for engine mounts? I have a feeling the answer is no....

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 28-07-2019, 05:28 PM

I cut it anyway because ... write-off test car.

Getting it in from underneath, cutting is required. Getting it in whilst bolted to the engine and the front bar off - cutting not required. I had no clutch/pressure plate installed, and I think install from underneath with that in place cannot be done. So put the right clutch in first....

And since we're in now, how does everything else line up? Well, pretty ****. I can't see how this could have been done without removing and re-welding the gearbox rear mount. The Factory Jag/Mondeo mount comes awful close, but misses by about 20mm laterally, but because the box is bigger, it is too close to the cross member and the existing mount location - in fact I am struggling to get any more than about 4mm clearance.

The rear support upright is cut to match the front. The marks you see that are higher are meant to be where I measured the 'top' of the trans mount to be.

The Jag bracket is hanging down, bolted to one location. It is offset from the chassis location by a fair bit in this image, but it closed up when I lifted the engine/trans combo using the support bar that's still in place.

No space remains - do I have to 'remake' the chassis mount location?

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 29-07-2019, 02:02 PM

Some info from earlier posts now makes a bit more sense.

This image:

There's a small bit of flat bar with one hole in it that I was not sure of before. Now, when you look at the gearbox mount on the cross member, the location of the hole makes sense:

So there appears to be some welding involved. And now those strange arms for the gearbox mount make more sense.

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 04-08-2019, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Transmissions Upper Bracket

Parts cut, needs the 2 x round-bar pieces drilled and the upright tapped, and then I can weld. I wish I had a lathe.....

Did the next best thing - scored a 'mini-lathe' head for my pillar drill. A 65mm lathe chuck fitted to an MT2 spindle, fits perfectly.

All this was in aid of trying to help me drill the centre more accurately on the round bar stock for the centre upright of the upper GB mount. Did the job, but the centre still wasn't perfect. I'll blame the operator for now.

Slow weekend on the car front. I am in the process of not only fabricating the upper mount, but also 4 exhaust stands and an adapter to fit the Finger Brake into my 12 ton press so I can bend 4mm sheet steel into brackets for the lower engine mount....

Lukeyson

Tickford. · 04-08-2019, 08:40 PM

Luke, great work. But can you reduce the size of the photos please? 1600+ pixels width is too wide for the average screen. 1024x768 is better as you don't have to scroll left to right to try and read your posts. Get's annoying. I think this was requested earlier in this thread as well. Thanks for your understanding.

**Luke Plaizier** · 05-08-2019, 09:47 AM

Not sure I know how. I take the pictures on my Pixel 2, and they automagically appear in Google Photo's online. I just add pictures to a 'sharing' folder online and then copy the image link into AFF.

Have you considered using my posts as a justification to your missus for buying bigger screens?

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 10-08-2019, 10:50 PM

I'll be due to get some driveshafts soon once these mounts are welded up. Bloody battery had died in my auto-dimming mask and the feed line for the Mig was all jammed up, so I had to clean all that up today.

I haven't found any LR Focus 2.0 Manuals to get the shafts from. So will have to get some eBay cheapies for an LR 2.0 for now. $200 all up. I'm guessing that will be close to what a wrecker would want for used ones anyway.

I went on a bit of a goose chase looking for shafts with ABS rings, and I wasn't having any luck. So I went out to the shed to inspect myself, and bugger me but even the Fiesta driveshafts don't have ABS rings. Made me scratch my head.

Then I found this little snippet in the workshop manual - "The wheel speed sensors are active sensors. They are supplied with a voltage from the ABS control unit after the ignition is switched on. The pulses are picked up from a mechanically encoded ring, which is built into the wheel bearings on the front wheels while for the rear wheels it is a metal ring which is mounted on the stub axle."

That'll do nicely.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 12-08-2019, 09:45 PM

My Top transmission-mount is a success. I welded it up over the weekend, gave a test fit, bought 2 x flanged 30mm m12x1.75 bolts and 1 x 50mm of the same, bolted it in tonight, and loosened off the engine support bar. Not all the way just yet, but enough to know the weight is now being carried by the engine mount itself.

I'd post a picture if I weren't so embarrassed by my amateur splatter welds, but after some more measurements to see what I can do about the lower mount, I'll whip it out, clean it up and maybe capture a pic one day. So far it looks like I have enough clearance for both the selectors to move around.

As for the lower rear mount, I'm considering relocating the small factory bracket by dremeling off the welds to the cross member and sliding it along. This of course is perfectly fine for the wreck-to-be-race-car, but I'm wondering if it is something that would pass certification for the road-registered jalopy. Dropping the K frame might be needed to get access to that without damaging the steering rack or it's feed lines.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 15-08-2019, 11:29 AM

A review of the Workshop manual shows that dropping the K-frame is only 10 bolts and a few zip ties of work. I'll drop it a little bit, dremel off that bracket on the cross member, and start fiddling with better location options for it.

I've also acquired an LR Focus mount bush (did I mentioned that before?), and have ordered a Mondeo MkIII mount bush - which if you go back to my comparison pic a page or so back, is just like the Fiesta bush but a bit longer - to give myself a few more options to experiment with the best way to set this up.

Luke

V8falcons · 19-08-2019, 09:02 PM

Following Luke.. Photos are God..
So keep em coming.. You got the drive shafts sorted yet?

**Luke Plaizier** · 21-08-2019, 11:53 AM

I haven't ordered the shafts just yet, no..

Aside from finishing welding up some stands for the workshop, I spent last weekend inside on the selector. I cut away some of the trim in one of the deeper pockets of the selector surround panel to allow the higher cabling on the LT selector to fit (I'll fill it using the shell of a black PVC kit-box from Jaycar), and tried to fit my own custom selector pin on the gearshift upright, but my system didn't work as I'd needed it to - so back to the drawing board on that - I'm probably better some plate and tack welding to be honest, I went too complex. But I was able to select gears for the first time other than 5th and reverse - bit of a story on that, and it's all to do with the way the transmission is hard-up against the lower mount location - until I can cut move it .

The next biggest issue that I encountered, though, was that the length of the Focus LT selector cables were too long. I need to find out if I can shorten them. Off to do some research. And the clutch line - the LT MTX75 clutch line is a fit for the Fiesta hard line from the Master cyclinder, but the fiesta hard line does a 90 degree turn at the end - which makes it foul the selector cables. I could make it work, but I might try to obtain the hard line from an LS/LT focus which does not bend 90 degrees at the end.

The last bit - the transmission prevents me from getting to the passenger side steering rack bolt to undo it before I lower the K-Frame.

So next up - I'll have to drop the trans again, work out of I need to pull out the selector cables to shorten them (The cables and the sheaths will need to be shortened by the same amount to keep the selectors working). That will let me clean up and photograph the upper mount, drop the K-frame to detach the mount bracket. I have some clutch fitment tests to do too.

I'll hold off on the shafts for now until I knock off those bits.

Another reason for me delaying getting the shafts - is that I have a friend going to the UK in October, so I might order the powerfold mirrors that he has agreed to bring back for me.

Lukeyson

**Luke Plaizier** · 25-08-2019, 06:19 PM

Got a little bit of work done in between watching Scotty redeem himself at the Bend.

Dropped out the transmission again, and painted up my botch-welded mount. Clearly, if I want to get something approved, I'm going to have to go to a fabricator to make this up for me properly, which means tidying up my technical drawings.

Dropped the K-Frame.

Dremelled off the lower transmission bracket for relocation and later re-use

Pulled out my ABS and shifter relocation bits and painted up.

K-Frame is back in place. What a piece of **** that was! Easy as pie. I took some extra photo's to see how to replace the lower suspension bushes for the future. Looks to me like it's best to take the K-Frame out for that. Good thing it's so easy.

Now onto the linkage cables. I took some measurements and I need each cable to be around 120mm shorter. It doesn't look like it's something I'd be able to home-job. Looking for Push-Pull cable shops, I can see these two:

https://www.flexibledrive.com.au/pro...s-and-controls - seem to be able to 'do repairs' which means they can work with an existing cable. Base in VIC. They have a form you can fill out for modifying a cable.

Or

http://cablesandcontrols.com.au/ - much closer to me based in Sydney. Seem to be more about supply than repair/modify.

Does anyone have any experience with custom shifter cables and modifications? If not, I'm about to find out.

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 28-08-2019, 08:48 AM

Decisions.

Getting the factory cables shortened by 120mm might have a starting cost of around $250 to $300 - assuming that all the OEM tips and bits can be re-used. If they can't then things change.

OR, get a custom cable made up to my specs. Maybe $100 per cable. I can put smaller ball stud sockets on them, especially at the shifter end, and alleviate some of my console clearance issues. But I'd need to fabricate some bits - like adapters to fit the M16 cable sheath threads into the factory 26mm bracket rings at each end - trans is metal, shifter is plastic. And how do I fabricate the rubber firewall cable gland/grommet that the cables run through that separates the engine bay from the cabin?

Luke

**Luke Plaizier** · 01-09-2019, 10:48 PM

Re-fitted the Transmission this weekend now that the lower gearbox mount is out and I have more room - in order to get to the next step. Goes in so much easier - first go this time. Lifted up the combo to the horizontal and bolted it into my mount. All seemed OK - except some key interference that will need more work.

(1) The factory cable abutment bracket for the selectors pushes against the firewall. The transmission itself is within 10mm of a few locations around the firewall so cannot go back any further. If I get custom cables made up, that is probably just as well since I'd need to make up a new abutment bracket. The most alarming bit is that the current bracket rubs against the fuel feed line. We wouldn't what that to be rubbed through now would we. So we have to add another bracket to the fabrication list. And it looks like this one needs to be made pretty robust - 5mm plate at the least.

(2) More alarming is that the selector mechanism actually fouls on the passenger side engine mount bracket. It was oh so close in terms of measuring and fitting, but now when it is in it's final position, I need another 10mm of rearward movement - which is not possible as above - and around another 20mm of height to allow for the mechanism to lift to select between 1/2, 3/4 and 5/R. So some metal will have to come out of the existing bracket, and I'm going to have to find away to re-enforce what is left.

These photo's hopefully show how near yet far away I am from having the selectors work properly:

(a) Looking down into the Trans mount with the mount bush removed (jack under gearbox). Of note, I have opened the wiring loom and pulled out the reverse-connector so that it now reaches the top of the box - and the connector is identical by the looks of it since it just slides on. I'll have to re-cover the loom in wrapping. But you can also the see the selector spindle is hard-up against the mount.

(b) For this one I wedged my phone down the side of the mount, to show the spindle hard up against the side of the mount, and how the horizontal part of the mount interferes with the vertical motion of the selector. The raised ABS module on my new bracket is top-left.

(c) This view down through the gap between the ABS and the mount bracket from above gives you an idea of the extent of the challenge.

(3) There's a 3rd point of interference, which when everything is bolted up tight on the passenger side engine mount, the transmission is hard up against the lower chassis rail. If I lower the trans by 10mm I can get my 10mm chassis clearance. This would also give me a bit more clearance at the selector.

All in all, not an impossible task, but it sure is tight, and it's going to take some fine tuning to get this to fit. And I haven't ever really started on how I'm going to fabricate the lower mount yet.....

Lukeyson