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ice445's 2006 SE, "Ann"

24K views 116 replies 16 participants last post by  ice445 
#1 · (Edited)
Finally getting around to a project log. Mostly because I actually have time for such things now :lol2:

Quick history on the car. It was originally sold in Orlando, Florida to a finance company as a fleet car. Did the rounds until 42K where it was sold and auctioned off to a dealer in Tennessee. Someone bought it and then moved up to Toledo. It ended up at a local Ford dealer and then in my hands, mostly because if the impeccable condition. There's almost no rust for it living almost 8 years in salt country. Rockers, dog legs, floor panels, everything is still in great shape. The color is Windveil Blue Metallic with medium graphite interior. I think this along with Tungsten are the best colors available for the 4 and a half-th generation. Everything else was old person spec, IMO. Windveil was launched with the retro-Mustang way back in 05, so it was a two-ish year color. Which presents a bit of a problem. Mileage has just hit 85,900 :)

In March of this year I was involved in an accident where a Pontiac G6 hit me while I was mid-turn, turning my minty fresh car into slightly less than that. Because I got hit on the corner of the bumper shock absorber, damage to Ann was minimal. The tubular steel folded on the edge and absorbed most of the impact, along with part of the cover mounting plate on the passenger side. The absorber itself is still structurally sound and overall, things could have been much worse. I'm still waiting on a parts car to donate a rear bumper cover at the very least, so if anyone knows of any in Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan, please share. The 2 year color makes wrecks uncommon to find.

Some pics. My favorite thing about this color is that it shines no matter how filthy the car is. And man, she is FILTHY right now. Haven't had time or daylight to wash in a few weeks. But this gives a great set of shots to compare with when I reach my "end goal".





Here you can see the scuffs on my poor bumper :angry:



As for what's been done so far that's prevented the modding bonanza, it's mostly been mechanical issues. So far I've replaced many a thing.

-Alternator, Battery, Big 3 upgrade, Starter
-Plugs, IAC, PCV, UIM gaskets and IMRC gasket
-Transmission pan, gasket and fluid change (PO hit tran pan on a rock somehow)

Mech things left to do:

Struts all the way around, the shocks are basically shot. I can get a few months out of them but spring time is a definite replacement. BJ and tie rods are still good though.

Possible preemptive torque converter replacement. Still not sure if I want to go through the hassle but at $100 for a DACCO TQ and another $100 for an engine support, it's pretty cheap insurance. I'll just need a few days off to get it done without losing my sanity.

New tires. Chinese wonders on there are actually pretty solid, but road noise is an issue and I want a real tire on there.

A/C clutch needs replaced. Going to just swap the compressor instead. It's easier to get the compressor out than do the clutch with it in the car, and if I'm taking it out, I might as well pay the extra to avoid the black death later on.

Now, for the actual MOD list!

These are planned mods:

Conti Shifter upgrade
Mach audio upgrade (Also have a JBL system in my possession which I'm saving until I can afford aftermarket speakers to pair with it)
Remove crappy aftermarket keyless/remote start and adding factory (already have the necessary parts)
Proper alloys (already have, waiting until I can budget in tires to put on them)
Replacement radio with aux input
CD changer mod
White gauge faces and painted bezel
Centennials (duh)
Painted Valve covers
LED all the things (naturally)
Gentex Autodimming/compass mirror with temperature sensing, along with autolamp install
Amber turn signal mod
Window Tint

That's all for now. If I think of something else I'll add it here.

Completed projects:

TCCA Decals
Big 3
Conti Shifter Upgrade
Mach Audio RCU
Sable LS Seat Swap
Factory Keyless
Factory console CD changer
Alloy Wheels
Spoiler and black rear parcel shelf
Wood trim kit installed
A/C clutch replaced
Oil pan gasket replaced
Infinity Reference speakers installed
Aux mod stereo installed
OEM rubber floor mats acquired
Donnelly Autodim mirror
Homelink + lighted visors
 
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#2 ·
I swear I forgot what your car looked like LOL

LED everythanggggg (even the headlight bulbs :D )

Oh, might want to add the amber rear turn signal mod to your list, safety improvements FTW
 
#7 · (Edited)
I hope it works out for you! Otherwise I guess we need to be on the lookout for a nice grey/black leather interior out of a Sable or Taurus SEL ;)

RE LED Headlights: Many of the same arguments about HID can be made about LED, except for the fact that LED is 'more efficient' in terms of long life and electrical drain, and depending on the type of LED bulb that you get, they can replicate OEM reflector cut offs and have zero glare issues. ;)
 
#8 · (Edited)
I hope it works out for you! Otherwise I guess we need to be on the lookout for a nice grey/black leather interior out of a Sable or Taurus SEL ;)
I mentioned a Sable LS Premium, didn't I? ;)

That's the backup plan if things don't work out how I want. Especially since that's just drop in and done. Either way the rear folding seats are mine :p It really just comes down to "Do I have the balls to try wiring this up". I'm almost positive that the seat frame is identical to the Gen 3 SHO (which means the airbag sensor can be adapted to fit it). But I'd have to wire four switches when I don't even own a soldering iron...

And we'll see about the lights. My new switchbox from the Sable is without DRL. I decided to drop them. So it may happen after all. But the bulbs that are in there are still nice and bright. I think they're replacements but they're quality ones so it will be a while before I worry about the swap.

Stay tuned for my decision! Haha
 
#11 ·
It's an air compressor with a bladder inside the seat so I would assume that you'd have to destroy the seat to remove that :p

Once you have power to the seat you should have all of your functions available.
 
#12 ·
Yeah I figured :lol2:

And I know that but I will need to wire switches in line to each separate motor. The way the Lincoln is set up is where all the seat inputs feed through the GEM into the door where the multi-function switch is located. Plus all the plugs are different. I know i can just intercept the stock 12V output from the power seat connector and splice into that with no issues. Just a matter of doing it I suppose. And I'm not sure if the car is wired for passenger power seating or if I'll have to splice into the driver side or some other circuit.

Still, would be nice to have a bull with power everything seat instead of just forwards and back B)
 
#13 ·
Seat tracks are the same...sooo...swap in the seat tracks accordingly. For your 06, you need power, ground for the seat motor, plus any side air bag/seat belt pretensioner wiring. I know it's possible to work. I don't have wiring diagrams to look though.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I opted to drop in the Sable LS seats instead. I know the Lincoln ones can be done, but I just don't have confidence right now in my ability to jimmy it all together, lol. I also wanted everything to match. I guess I'm kind of OCD about that sort of thing. Still, the difference isn't significant in terms of seat quality. I know I'm disappointing some of you but I'm sorry :lol2:

Now if I can just figure out how to remove the rear seat back without destroying the belt...

Also, Durasel kindly helped me find that the car has had that annoying A/C drain leak this whole time. Have to do some rust repair on the passenger side. Thankfully it was caught now before the damage was too bad. It also helps I don't run the A/C often.
 
#15 ·
Sorry to give you the extra work Ryan! :(
Those floorboards do rust thru at times.
Ask me how I know!! :angry:

How far are you going on the interior switch?
Black console, black door panels?? :)
 
#16 ·
Haha, I'd rather have extra work now then extra ventilation in the future ;)

And I'm still thinking on that one. Seats go in first, then I'm going to think on what else is being changed. Wood ICP bezel for sure. Maybe wood shifter surround. The Sable is being gutted basically. Didn't get a chance to check that SEL for homelink, although I will tomorrow.
 
#18 ·
Pics will come tomorrow ;) And they're black :)

But wow, what a damn nightmare. Time to tell my story :lol2:

So I went to the junkyard and their card machine was down. Had to find an ATM to get cash. Then, had the wrong sockets, TWICE. After multiple trips to autozone and minus lots of dollars, I got the seats out just as the place was closing. Loaded my car up clown car style. Get home. Just as I'm getting started it pours. And I had no daylight left. So I worked on it today. Got my seats out, got the front passenger in. Except it wouldn't bolt up. After 20 minutes of messing around I figured out the tracks were uneven, so I had to line them up manually. Then I got the drivers in. That mofo is heavy, and you have to lift it at an awkward angle to get it through the door. Bolted them up, started working on the rear bench. Now I'm sure some of you saw my question about how to get the center seat belt out. I found that thing the guy was talking about. There's some sort of aluminum insert that holds the assembly to the bolt. You have to literally crush and destroy it to wiggle the assembly off. Then you pop out the center belt retainer slide it off, THEN you can get it through. So I'll make a writeup on that, since apparently nobody has ever done this before. I also found that a folding seat back doesn't seem to line up with the top holes that were present on my car with the non folding seat. Need to go back to the yard and see if I was missing a bracket or something. It still bolted up okay though and is functional.

So I start cleaning up, run the car. Then I see it. An Airbag light. Son of a....
I restart the car and see the flashing. Pretensioner circuit failure. COOL. So now, I'm not exactly sure what's causing this error. I'm paranoid as all get out that I messed up something, somewhere. So I have to pull the front seats again, then put my old seats back in, wire it up, and start the car. No light. Phew. Okay, so the pre tensioners from this car are blown. Weird, since there was no obvious accident damage, but maybe the fork lift wasn't being very gentle that day. Either way, I had to pull my seats back out, swap belt assemblies and pre tensioners, put Sable seats back in, wire and bolt everything up, and this time I checked for the light after each seat went in. No errors. So we're good, thank god. I can't say I recommend this swap, it's a ton of work. The new seats are a huge improvement though. Huge. Made it very apparent how saggy the old ones were. I have numerous new scratches on door panels and trim pieces though. Even put a small scratch in my rear door down to the primer :angry: Those seat frames are sharp. I also cut myself pretty bad, so that was fun.

Proper pictures will come tomorrow after the old seats are gone and in the yard, and I've cleaned up the car a little.
 
#19 ·
Jeez sounds like a bunch of hard work paid off!

Also, glad you didn't just drive with the Airbag light on, we all know how that can end up! :p
 
#21 ·
Different trim levels, and if I am remembering correctly, on the ones with the column shift the center console actually can fold up to become a center seat. Not positive on that, but if I'm wrong someone will correct me. :lol2:
 
#22 ·
Console Shifter was an option on all bulls regardless of trim level.

^That doesn't apply to Taurus SHO, Taurus MT-5, Taurus Centennial, Sable Platinum Edition, or Taurus SES Sport trim levels lol
 
#30 ·
Thanks :)

That looks really sharp! Well done!
Thanks man :)

That conti shifter tho.... :)
Haha. It fits right in!

Ahem, I have the trademark on ContiShifter™.
Well I'm not paying you any licensing fees, sorry :p

@ice445 I would go back and grab the console lid, as well as the parallelogram shaped door panel inserts and child seat hook covers (on the rear parcel shelf) to make the black seats blend more with the gray interior. Just my $0.02 ;)

Looks great!
Thanks! And I agree, I'll go back and grab those items to mix the theme better. I'm surprised at how nicely the grey seatbelt tangs mix with the black seats though!
 
#29 ·
@ice445 I would go back and grab the console lid, as well as the parallelogram shaped door panel inserts and child seat hook covers (on the rear parcel shelf) to make the black seats blend more with the gray interior. Just my $0.02 ;)

Looks great!
 
#31 ·
WOW that looks great! this is exactly what im planning on doing. been looking around to see if it was possible to do. cant believe i havnt seen this post -__- been looking for months now haha. now all i need is for someone to make a forum on "how to" remove/install. or maybe at least an idea where i can pay to get this sh*t done. i have a 2000 dohc sitting at my place out of commision, while i drive around my 2000 ohv. my old black leather would look great inside my new black taurus
 
#33 ·
Thanks my friend :)

You can do it without too many tools. PM me if you want a quick write up on the steps involved. If both Bulls are accident free then the job is a lot less time consuming. I ran into an issue with the pre tensioners on the donor car being blown so I had to do a swap.
 
#35 ·
?????????????????????



This is the box I pulled out today as I was doing the swap. Sure enough, slapped it back in and the remotes programmed just fine. Everything was pre wired. All features worked without any input from me. I guess I should slap myself for not checking, but reading the part number without removing the box is basically impossible. And I was SURE that it was the regular BASE DRL box. Why was I sure? Because the car's freaking build sheet on Etis said "less keyless entry", aka Fleet Delete. Looks like this box was put in as an error, because this is for a SEL. Either that or someone was here before, but that's nonsensical given the part number on the sticker on the back starts with a 6 (meaning it was from a SEL from the last two model years specifically), and they had an aftermarket junk system put in as well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm super pleased, but it's just interesting...
 
#36 ·
How late of a 2006 build was this? It's possible Ford just ran out of the low series and only had high series left.
 
#38 ·
Ryan, great job on those seats!! :thumb:


BTW, there is a plastic trim piece that covers each side of the bare metal sections that you can see when the rear seats are folded down.

Tell them at the yard you forget those 2 pieces when you got your seats out the other day. Maybe with luck, they'll give em to you!! :)
 
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#39 ·
Thanks :D

And yeah, I know of the pieces you're talking about. Didn't know I wouldn't have the same ones at the time. I'll go back and grab em eventually. And free would be nice, but I know they charge barely anything for plastic trim pieces. I bought the front dash piece with the sunload sensor mount for like 2 dollars or something :lol2:
 
#40 ·


: ' )

Heated AND Puddle lamp mirrors from a end production 04 SES that weren't ruined (it's so crazy hard to find side mirrors that aren't destroyed in junkyards, especially two on the same car). In fact, I'd rate them a solid 8/10 in condition. Minor paint defects and some small salt damage to the mirror on the very edges in a few spots. Well worth the $20 each. I might swap the shells to my color (although they're REALLY hard to find since only SEL's got them and dead cars in this color in the yard are rare as it is), but at the same time I really like the black. The ones already on the car are black too, but just plastic instead of painted. Going to install them along with the Mach tweets so I don't have to pull the door panels multiple times.

Also a autodimming and compass mirror (finally), and what's that? A spoiler in my color? It can't be! Lel. Big thanks to Durasel/Gerry for finding it for me and pointing me to the yard all this came out of. He also even gave me some centennial mod headlamp casings for free. They're damaged from an ice scraper (ouch), but I think I might be able to save them with a good sanding, polishing, and clearcoat. The hype is real!
 
#43 ·
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the 2004-2007 steering wheel can't be swapped to older models since the wiring is different. I think the airbag connects in a completely different way at the very least. It might be possible to jerry rig it but I don't think it's ever been done successfully.

Good finds. Heated mirrors really are a godsend... can't wait to need mine this winter just to say, "ahh, the glory of heated mirrors."
I agree. I really wished I had them last winter. Scraping blows.
 
#42 ·
Good finds. Heated mirrors really are a godsend... can't wait to need mine this winter just to say, "ahh, the glory of heated mirrors."
 
#45 · (Edited)
Finally did things the right way, ahem :lol2:



Added those factory plastic trim pieces Durasel was talking about. Was bothering me that I didn't have them. Turns out they're really stupid to put on...but we did it so w/e.

I also finally ran the console CD changer harness the correct way through the driver's side wiring tunnel and under the carpet to the console instead of the cheat I did the first time. That was fun too. Took a few hours of screwing around because you have to pull the seat out, the dead pedal, the rear seat, basically rip up everything so you can feed it through. I also clipped/tied it to the main harness for seat power. As professional and factory as possible. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Next up is A/C compressor replacement just so I have decent defrost. Been lazy. Also finally ordered some soldering equipment so I can wire in the mach tweets. I'm also going to upgrade the speakers while I'm in there. Any suggestions? I'm just gonna do the fronts for now. I want something that has an adapter for the factory harness.

Also hit a snag with the heated mirrors. I read around and have the same problem that Paul did. The wire from the door to pin 36 was deleted. So I have to custom wire those babies in at some point. We'll see if I get around to it this winter...lmao
 
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