I had a kinda good day today with a couple of aw-w-w-w shucks (or something like that) and made some discoveries

Dumped the oil so I could pull the pan (actually got almost 5 quarts out of it) and decided to install the new filter just to keep drips to a minimum. DAMMIT that WIX 51068 will not fit where the Motorcraft FL-300 last resided. The interchange chart said it did when I bought it, but that extra 7/8 inch......

The transmission has a leak even after last season of only a few drop - and it will continue to leak forever at this point.

My engine 'clunk' that I've worried about - it MAY be as simple as the right header bouncing off the motor mount. There is a spot of Jet Hot coating worn off plus there is a worn surface on the motor mount and to top it off, the thickest feeler gauge leaf that would fit through the gap is .015. Marry that with a lumpy camshaft and that engine will bounce way more then 15 thou at low rpm. I just ordered a pair of Prothane urethane mounts and hope that it will cure that rattlin' clunk. Yeah, probably could clearance the existing ones, but I wanted those motor mounts when the first set failed, but couldn't wait for a couple weeks delay as Summit was out of stock then. This interface is a place I looked last summer, but I had to get my chunky self completely under the car to see how close these two parts were, then pull the header just to be sure. At this late date, I'll probably send the headers out for recoat this coming fall to fix that worn area - it's time for many drives (assuming I have a fix).