Another strange thing is that it hasn''t made this noise for approximately four or five days now.


However, just for a piece of mind, I''m going to go down to a local wrecking yard where they have some police cars that are abour the same age, and practice taking them apart, before I start prying on my own dash. (What ever I find I''ll let you know.)


I''m really starting to miss the old days with my 351c.

 

What did you have a Cleveland in?

 

I used to have a 74 Torino with a 351C. It was a 49 state car, so it had electronic ignition, but no cat converter. It was a clean car, I had it for many years until one day my wife was driving to work, and she got hit by a semi. Complete total of the car, but she didn''t get a scratch.


I also owned a 74 Custom 500 with a 351W. (FMX transmission) I owned this car for many many years. It wasn''t has clean as the Torino, but it did ride very nice. This car was built in Ontario, it had standard ignition, (points) and basically the only smog device it had was an egr valve. This was without a doubt the most durable car I have ever owned. Had to get rid of it though, my wife didn''t like the way it looked.


BTW, I tried gently prying on the plastic trim around control unit, and it does not seem to want to come up. I was thinking to get a stiff putty knife, wrap it in soft cloth, and then pry on it. What do you think?

 

Nice. I like the old Torinos.

Putty knife works well on dash panels. All you really need to do is get one corner up far enough to get your fingers on it....Assuming you''re prying in the right spot.

 

I know this may sound like a stupid question, but where would you recommend that I begin prying? I''ve been gentley prying on lower right corner? Probably won''t have another chance to play with it until weekend.


[img]uploads/Freedom/side3.jpg[/img]

 

Ok, last night when I was driving home the sound from this thing was driving me completely crazy. I finally worked up enough nerve to remove the trim from around control unit, not as hard as I thought, and undo screw holding the control unit in Dash.


I''m now 99.9% certain that it is the control unit, and plan on replacing it.


Anyone have any ideas where I can find a reasonably priced replacement?

 

I doubt you''ll find one that I would consider "reasonable" outside of a salvage yard.

From your description it sounds like a very small leak. Any evidence of cracking or pinholes in the vacuum lines in the control head area?

 

Well it''s not something you will find at NAPA. It''s a dealer item only. I agree that the boneyard is a good idea if money is a problem cause the dealer price will likely give you a heart attack. I disagree that it is a small leak if it acts up when you depress the brakepedal. Open her up and find the leak, or maybe a diconnection. Good luck.& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;

 

No I don''t see any holes or cracks in the lines leading up to the control head. Also, for the past few days I''ve been driving around with the dash trim removed, and the sheetmetal screws holding the control unit removed. (This way i''m free to pull the control unit out when it makes noise, while the lines and electrical harness are still connected.)


The noise really seems to be coming from the unit itself, and sometimes when the noise happens, I can tap on the unit, and then it stops. I think I''ll try removing it, and plugging all the vaccuum lines, and driving around a little just to be on the safe side.


Seems to me that there was a website that sold fairly decent replacement OEM parts. A few years ago I purchased some generic tail light lens covers for my wife''s Malibu, they were a little rough, but they did the job.


In the worst case, there is always the boneyard. I know of a place where they have a few Crown Vic police cars. Maybe I can find one that doesn''t have too many miles, and pull it from there.

 

The are a couple of big parts houses that use ebay. I''ve had some good luck with mirrors, head and taillights through these guys.....might be worth a shot to look.