Heat coming from center consoul in 2001 v6 Mustang

My 98 GT does it a little bit... nothing that'll burn me. I always assumed it was normal

-Mike

The area under the center console has a hole in the floor where the parking brake cable goes through. There is also a hole farther forward for the shifter. While the shifter has a seal, and I believe the parking brake has some sort of seal, they're not air-tight. In the process of putting the windows down or opening the sunroof, you're giving the air a path to flow (as with the car sealed, there is no difference in pressure). The lack of pressure inside the car draws some of the warm air (heated by the exhaust and engine) up through the seals and into the passenger compartment.

JS

JS,

Is there anything you DON'T know? heh.

-Mike

Hey thanks , I figured there was a reason , makes prefect cents $ to me.

I'm far from knowing everything. I've had plenty of questions here and other places.

Interestingly enough, I went from barely knowing where the oil went to ripping the heads off of a 3.8L Mustang on the front street. Bought a set of hand tools and tore into the engine.

Why did I do this? I had a problem with the original engine. I sent the car to an ex-mechanic who wanted some money on the side. 9 months later, I stop by and the engine's still in pieces. I called a tow truck to get the car. Two junkyard engines later, the thing still didn't run right. It was at that time that I decided that I'd be learning to work on the things myself. With a Haynes manual, a small set of Craftsman hand tools, a mini-mag-light, and a few guys who've been wrenching for years available for disucssions (but not for actual work), I pulled the heads and replaced them with another set I had from the original engine. The car ran no better, but ran no worse. Timed without a light didn't help it run, but it did nevertheless run.

Since then, I've not been too afraid to do much of anything. I've yet to rebuild a transmission, tear apart the bottom end of an engine, or change rear end gears... and I can't weld, yet.... but I'm only 25.... years to learn this stuff.

I learned the EEC-IV and general fuel injection systems from reading Charles Probst's book on Ford EFI systems. It is a very good book and is written to be readable, at least for the first few chapters, before getting into diagnosis charts and sensors.

I've done plenty of clutch swaps, a couple of engine swaps, rear end swaps, more exhaust work than I care to have done, MAF upgrading, etc. I work on cars with my ex-boss, a 45 year old Ford nut who has three 66 Falcons, my original '83 convertible (which we swapped from 3.8L C-3 to 5.0L T-5 and soon to be converted to SEFI), and a few other toys.

I knew the heat from the floor from driving cars without that oil boot on. With the window down, tons of hot air would come up through the tunnel hole. With the windows up, it was as if the air couldn't pass an invisible barrier.

I'd say that Jim Warman, Backyard Mechanic, and others here, are definately more knowledgable about a lot of these things. Jim does it for a living, sees the stuff every day, and knows a lot of little tricks from doing it for years. I'm just a rookie.. but I learn fast and I've done a lot with Fox-chassis Mustangs. When the funds permit, I'm going to build up a stroked and blown Windsor for my '88 LX. I've contemplated designing the SEFI system, but I'll just stick with tried-and-true stuff for now. I don't have the time to learn fuel maps and the calculations required to use a MAF meter to determine airflow and fuel... etc. I will definately be designing my own gauge cluster and datalogging system though. I'd do full-sweep electrical gauges but digital is *so* much easier for a one-time design.

Thanks for the compliment/confidence though. I'm the first to admit I'm not always right, and I know I don't know everything. The pursuit of information keeps me going....

JS