sprint info - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

sprint lover · 03-30-2005, 21:33

I have just purchased a sprint and theres a few things it needs to have fitted It has the standard spoiler kit except for the little bob tail spoiler on the boot it has the ed xr spoiler which is 2 inchs high, ford tells me there $900 for the bob tail one so im going to keep the one it has. Its missing the spoiler on the front bumper and ford tells me you cant get them any more. What I want to know is there any where you can get spoilers that look like the originals from a aftermarket company? The car gets a bad vibration in gear at around 4500rpm I am thinking its the clutch, has anyone had the same problem? It also has a sort of flutter in the engine heard at idle and low end rpms I am thinking of changing the plug leads as they look like the standard ones on there are the genuine ones the best for the car or aftermarket ones better? Thanks for your help.

bdennis · 03-30-2005, 22:23

Mate,
Welcome to the Sprint club.
More info and pics needed... (Colour, km traveled, options etc)
Have a look at this thread that I started recently.
ED XR8 Sprint Spotters guide

I also have a vibration at the same sort of RPM as you but have not spent much time looking for it..
Is yours a manual or Auto???

If you want to get some more info re the car. You can contact FPV and they will have a look in the system and see what options it left the factory with etc.

sprint lover · 03-31-2005, 02:33

my sprint is black, manual, 18inch rims on it also have 5 origianal rims the car has 139 000 on the clock its 02/1994 model. I had been looking for a black one for about 12 months and this one turned up on ebay and was only 2 hours from me for $14500.

It has no cruise but I bought a steering wheel with the spots for cruise from ebay i have just ordered the cruise buttons from ford the other day 80 bucks each now all i have to do is find the rest of the bits needed

Jonathan72 · 03-31-2005, 02:56

You two guys with the vibration may want to have close look at the harmonic balancer. We broke a crankshaft on one of these at the Ford Proving Ground during testing of Sprint production cars and this has been a fairly common area of concern..........

bdennis · 03-31-2005, 14:37

Jonathan72,
Mate,
Thanks for that. I would no have thought of the harmonic Balancer until after the fly wheel / clutch and or the uni's.. Any suggestions of what I need to look for? Could there be cracks in the balancer?

Look forward to your response...

Jonathan72 · 03-31-2005, 15:03

Its going to be difficult to inspect on the car......
In fact, even off the car you may not see anything, as the outer ring may have slipped or the rubber may have just gone bad.
Engine harmonics is a science in itself and my expeience is that even an incorrectly torqued balancer can cause torsional vibration concerns.
Without sounding negative - the late model Windsor manufacturing tolerances are nowhere near as consistent as the local six cylinder engines.
Like I said, we broke a crankshaft on a brand new car - so for the time being I would avoid the rev range that is causing the vibration.

bdennis · 03-31-2005, 15:41

Thanks for that...
Given that the sprint engine spins up real quick and mate'ed to the close ratio gear box it is hard to keep it under the 4500rpm limit suggested. I will put the car up on a hoist in the next week or so to check the Uni's and the balancer and see if I can find anything. Hopefully it is a Uni issue.....

Jonathan72 · 03-31-2005, 15:55

You need to determine if the vibration is engine or road speed related.
Does the vibration occur at 4500rpm in every gear or only in a particular gear.
Let me know and I can possibly offer some more advice......

bdennis · 03-31-2005, 16:00

Jonathan72,
The vibration seems to be RPM related not road speed related in all gears.. (well 1st, 2nd anyway) Have not run it fast enough (in the few weeks i have had it) to see if it happens in 3rd, 4th, 5th. I have not had a chance to check the Unis. my car is a manual.

Jonathan72 · 03-31-2005, 17:05

If it is engine speed related - which it sounds like it is - it cannot be the universal joints. You are looking at the balancer, clutch, flywheel or a misfire of some description. I'll put my money on the balancer, but it would be worth doing a cylinder balance test first.