Minnesota Focus Owners Club

Ok, engine and tranny out. I've just about stripped the old engine. A bunch of the studs came out with the nuts. Am I correct in assuming there's no issue with using them like bolts? If it'll cause problems I can always take the nut off, install the stud and then put the nut back on when I'm ready to install the part, but I can't imagine it actually making a difference other than ease of alignment when assembling the parts.

Also, I was going to use the alternator that I put on my car last year since I knew it was pretty new. No dice on that one: one of the ears with the threaded inserts snapped off. It looked like it'd been that way for a while. I'm not really sure how I managed that since when I replaced it I was using hand tools and didn't force anything, but there you go. At least the starter I got is still OK. I'll have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

After about 6 hours of work today I completed the swap. It couldn't happen without one more part breaking on me, though. The serpentine belt tensioner snapped as I was putting the new belt on. I can't tell you how careful I was with the one from the old engine after that. I filled it up with oil, coolant and tranny fluid and took it around the block before bolting the hood back on. I had a little bit of a panic when the car wouldn't stop at the end of my alley before realizing I'd forgotten to seat the brake pads after bolting the calipers back on.

I discovered torn boots on both ball joints and the brake bads are pretty worn, so I've got a bit more work to do yet, but the car is drivable. Thanks to everybody that helped me along the way.

Also, the shrink wrap with the replacement pigtails is damn cool.

OK, 1 last question. Is there supposed to be a clip on the white shift cable? It popped off on my way home today and I had to pull over and pop it back on. I seem to remember pulling a clip from somewhere a week ago and just realized after this happened that I don't recall putting said clip back on. If there isn't a clip involved, I'm guessing I damaged something and will need to replace yet another part.