exhaust leaks and e-brake

[eustace]

My next two problems are, 1. exhaust fumes in the cabin and, 2. the emergency brake barely works. When I come to a stop and then drive away the cabin smells of exhaust fumes, and also just smells like exhaust some while driving, any clues where its coming from? Also the emergency brake won't hold the car on a hill. Are there common T-bird e-brake problems? Any help would be appreciated.

[Harley Eaton]

First of all, don't think of it as "emergency brake" It is a parking brake. On some. maybe all, Thunderbirds there is a hole in the sheet metal transmission tunnel on the passenger side. Originally, it was closed with a rubber plug. Lift the carpet on the hump, passenger side about a foot from the firewall. Make sure the hole is plugged or covered. Otherwise, I would get under the car and look for openings.
On the parking brake - have you adjusted it? Does the pedal go all the way down? You may need to remove the rear brake drums to see if the shoes are expanding when the brake is applied. Lack of brake holding is not a typical T-Bird problem.

[4-5-6-birdman]

You'll call that an "e" brake if you ever lose your hydraulic system!! As with all cable operated secondary brake systems as the shoes wear down, the cables get streched out, ect, once in a while you may have to look and make certain the cable system is snug, there should be an adjuster under the car on the drivers side to tension the cables, a couple of cranks on that should put you back in snug city.

As far as your exhaust leak goes, it could be about anywhere from the manifolds to where the head pipes connect to the head pipes themselves. The FE engines have a terrible manifold to head sealing characteristics, they often warp or the manifolds themselves will crack. Best thing is to fire it up, pop the hood, and lightly burp the throttle with your ear toward the head, get a helper for the passenger side. You'll probably hear, see, or smell your exhaust leak. You don't always have to have a hole in the car to smell exhaust, these old cars tend to have stinky engines as it is..lol. Fumes can be drawn in from the heater box or vents if it's an exhaust leak in the engine compartment. Sometimes it will actually be worse with the windows down going down the road as you create a vacum inside the car drawing the stuff in. Good Luck and let me know what you find.. 4-5-6-birdman

[eustace]

Well birdman, I looked under the hood for the exhaust leak and noticed a whole lot of smoke(exhaust) comming out of the oil filler/ breather cap. Does that mean that the rings are shot, letting gasses pass by the rings? Or is that the valves letting exhaust up past the valves into the valve cover and then out the oil filler/breather cap?

[4-5-6-birdman]

Originally Posted by eustace

Well birdman, I looked under the hood for the exhaust leak and noticed a whole lot of smoke(exhaust) comming out of the oil filler/ breather cap. Does that mean that the rings are shot, letting gasses pass by the rings? Or is that the valves letting exhaust up past the valves into the valve cover and then out the oil filler/breather cap?

You have, I am afraid to say answered your own questions or darn close to them. It most likely is a ring problem. Either way it spells the kiss of death for the old FE. Sounds like she is flat wore out!! There are a couple of tests you can do, a compression test and a leak down test. If you don't have either of these it's pretty easy to buy a compression tester and then make it into a dual purpose tool that will do both. You do need an air compressor for the later. You can do a search of the net for "leakdown tester homemade"

How long have you owned the car? How much oil is it using? Is it leaving quite a number of oil spots on the ground? When was the oil changed last? If you change the oil and go with a racing oil like Valvoline and use like a 40 or 50 weight it will cut down on the blowby a little and with new oil the stench won't be quite as bad, but it's never going to get better. I don't recall the year of your bird but the mid sixty's they started using a pcv to control the crankcase fumes and run them back through the engine. If you do not have a closed system like pcv you can probably rig one up to get some of that crap going out the pipe instead of inside the cabin. If it has a pcv you need to ensure that it is working properly. Good luck and keep us posted!!

[4-5-6-birdman]

Originally Posted by 4-5-6-birdman

You have, I am afraid to say answered your own questions or darn close to them. It most likely is a ring problem. Either way it spells the kiss of death for the old FE. Sounds like she is flat wore out!! There are a couple of tests you can do, a compression test and a leak down test. If you don't have either of these it's pretty easy to buy a compression tester and then make it into a dual purpose tool that will do both. You do need an air compressor for the later. You can do a search of the net for "leakdown tester homemade"

How long have you owned the car? How much oil is it using? Is it leaving quite a number of oil spots on the ground? When was the oil changed last? If you change the oil and go with a racing oil like Valvoline and use like a 40 or 50 weight it will cut down on the blowby a little and with new oil the stench won't be quite as bad, but it's never going to get better. I don't recall the year of your bird but the mid sixty's they started using a pcv to control the crankcase fumes and run them back through the engine. If you do not have a closed system like pcv you can probably rig one up to get some of that crap going out the pipe instead of inside the cabin. If it has a pcv you need to ensure that it is working properly. Good luck and keep us posted!!

I see your Bird is 61 to 63 so you do not have a PCV, you get the ever popular roadraft tube!

[eustace]

Originally Posted by 4-5-6-birdman

I see your Bird is 61 to 63 so you do not have a PCV, you get the ever popular roadraft tube!

Is a "roadraft tube" the tube that goes from the oil filler/breather cap to the air filter box that I've seen on older Fords?

[Harley Eaton]

The "road draft tube" attaches to the rear of the intake manifold and carries crankcase fumes to the atmosphere, exhausting them near road level. On later vehicvles, it was replaced by the EGR (exhaust gas recycling) valve.