1995 Ford Mustang 5.0 GT

[Finn]

Sooo I have been wanting to get a smaller convertible now for some time and finally went to see a 1997 BMW Z3 with fairly low miles. Trip today ended with this 1995 5.0 GT with T5 manual transmission instead. Only has just under 140000 kilometers on the clock.

Will need some mechanical work with brakes, springs, shocks and such. Probably needs MAF and TB cleaning and new plugs, wires, cap, rotor and so on.

Tyres are stock sized 245/45R17 but are some awful Made in China M+S. They are like new so they will do this summer. OEM wheels are a bit funky looking but as they are original they will stay.

It drives quite OK but there is a bit of "stuttering" hence TB and MAF cleaning.

I see a newish thermostat gasket and if gauge is anywhere close I guess there no longer is 195F thermostat. That is what I will put there.

Also, engine oil seems to be 5W40 judging by the receipts. Same thing, if gauge is telling the truth pressure is a bit on high side IMO. I think I will put Ford 5W30 A5 in there tomorrow and well see. Manual calls for 10W30 but that is pretty much obsolete here.

Next week rest of the oils and brake fluid.

 

[Brian123]

Good Luck with the car, I would tell you to stay away from a certain border, but you already know that.

 

[tasch72]

I would ignore the high oil pressure reading, that gauge is more of an "idiot light". Both of my Mustangs and my prior '95 Cougar XR7 read in the same position regardless of oil viscosity.

 

[DuckRyder]

I’m surprised you found a predominantly not messed with one.

Nice.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Now i'm depressed to realize the SN95 Mustang is 30 years old.

 

[DuckRyder]

Now i'm depressed to realize the SN95 Mustang is 30 years old.

Yep , everyone is on to coyote swapping new edges... NTTAWWT

 

[Kira]

Best of luck with it.

 

[1uz_4me]

I would ignore the high oil pressure reading, that gauge is more of an "idiot light". Both of my Mustangs and my prior '95 Cougar XR7 read in the same position regardless of oil viscosity.

Sending unit is on the right side of the engine behind the power steering & above the oil filter. Easy to swap out if it bothers you OP.

Fun car, enjoy. Some subframe connectors will get rid of squeaks & rattles & improve the ride quality

 

[OVERKILL]

If some yahoo swapped in a 160 degree thermostat, it won't go into closed loop IIRC. 180 is typically the "best" for Windsor engines with fuel injection, much above that and you'll get advance pulled from the ignition curve.

Are you planning on keeping it stock?

 

[Finn]

Thanks for the comments.

If some yahoo swapped in a 160 degree thermostat, it won't go into closed loop IIRC. 180 is typically the "best" for Windsor engines with fuel injection, much above that and you'll get advance pulled from the ignition curve.

Are you planning on keeping it stock?

Yes, that is what I was thinking too. On my C4 L98 thermostat was stuck partially open. When we changed it and the engine then went to closed loop it was like night and day.

I believe I will keep it stock. Thinking of going through it mechanically ie. maintenance on cooling, brakes, suspension and decent tyres and that'll be it.

Well, that's the plan anyway.

 

[Finn]

Yesterday we changed the oil and filter. Then we took the throttle body off to clean it and the IAC. Not hopelessly dirty but good to clean anyway.

We tried to check the static timing ie. spout connector off but for some reason the timing mark seems to be jumping up and down by some 15 degrees or so.

Mechanic suggested that it might be caused by the original worn timing chain kit. Can they cause this and can they be that worn at 140k kilometers? I was thinking about ignition control module TFI and/or distributor itself.

Well, if we are diving in to change the thermostat we might as wll change the water pump. And once that is already off then the timing chain kit is right there available - would be criminal not to do it.

Sooo, I think that is what we do within the next couple of weeks.

 

[someonesomewhere]

Great looking Mustang! Don't see many of these that are unmolested these days. Probably helps that it's a convertible, since they have too much unibody wiggle for a true racer build.

 

[hemitom]

i would't jump to the timing chain so soon.
plugs and wires cap etc first.
Old timer that belongs to a car club for mustangs has the exact same car.
for two summers he was having issue's he asked me what i thought !
he explained to me while cruising on the highway car felt like it was coming out of overdrive slight bog but not a miss his words .
So i asked what have you done plugs wires pulled distributor changed distributor .
next he was about to dive into the trans.
Asked him when did the problem seem to start , he states a few months after the plugs and wires but i haven't really used the car much
and just really noticed that it happens when the engine is under some load and feels like trans is acting funny.
my advice to him was to pull the plugs first check them and the wires before going any where near the trans.
Two weeks later comes up to me at a car show ands tells me the car is running great .
So i say and ! i must have cracked a plug on install one had a hairline crack .

 

[OVERKILL]

Yesterday we changed the oil and filter. Then we took the throttle body off to clean it and the IAC. Not hopelessly dirty but good to clean anyway.

We tried to check the static timing ie. spout connector off but for some reason the timing mark seems to be jumping up and down by some 15 degrees or so.

Mechanic suggested that it might be caused by the original worn timing chain kit. Can they cause this and can they be that worn at 140k kilometers? I was thinking about ignition control module TFI and/or distributor itself.

Well, if we are diving in to change the thermostat we might as wll change the water pump. And once that is already off then the timing chain kit is right there available - would be criminal not to do it.

Sooo, I think that is what we do within the next couple of weeks.

If the timing is jumping back and forth with the SPOUT connector removed, it's possible there is slop in the chain. You can check this without digging into it.

1. Check to ensure there isn't slop in the distributor. Pull the cap, grab the rotor and rotate it back and forth, see how much play there is, there should not be much.
2. If the distributor checks out, grab a 3/4" drive ratchet and a socket that fits the crank pulley. With the distributor cap off, rotate the crank counter-clockwise until the rotor starts moving, then do the same thing clockwise. How many degrees are you able to move the crank before the rotor moves? That will give you an idea of how much slack is in the chain.

The lopo Windsor engines had single roller chains, some earlier ones had nylon gears on the upper cog. The HO's, at least the '87-93 ones, had double roller chains from the factory that were typically pretty durable. 140,000km is low, but it's certainly possible that you have a ton of slop there.

Now, it's also possible that the balancer has slipped (the rubber ring degrades) but it wouldn't cause a steady jumping, it just throws the timing reading way off.

Another possibility is that you are picking up the spark signal from an adjacent cylinder, how close to the boot were you clamped on?

 

[Finn]

i would't jump to the timing chain so soon.
plugs and wires cap etc first.
Old timer that belongs to a car club for mustangs has the exact same car.
for two summers he was having issue's he asked me what i thought !
he explained to me while cruising on the highway car felt like it was coming out of overdrive slight bog but not a miss his words .
So i asked what have you done plugs wires pulled distributor changed distributor .
next he was about to dive into the trans.
Asked him when did the problem seem to start , he states a few months after the plugs and wires but i haven't really used the car much
and just really noticed that it happens when the engine is under some load and feels like trans is acting funny.
my advice to him was to pull the plugs first check them and the wires before going any where near the trans.
Two weeks later comes up to me at a car show ands tells me the car is running great .
So i say and ! i must have cracked a plug on install one had a hairline crack .

Mine starts and idles really nicely and pulls OK but sort of around 2000...3000 it is IMO really lazy and kind of "reluctant" and about to start bogging but doesn't. Difficult to explain but it is not 100%. Maybe just 80...90%.

I will put ignition parts on the list.

 

[Finn]

If the timing is jumping back and forth with the SPOUT connector removed, it's possible there is slop in the chain. You can check this without digging into it.

1. Check to ensure there isn't slop in the distributor. Pull the cap, grab the rotor and rotate it back and forth, see how much play there is, there should not be much.
2. If the distributor checks out, grab a 3/4" drive ratchet and a socket that fits the crank pulley. With the distributor cap off, rotate the crank counter-clockwise until the rotor starts moving, then do the same thing clockwise. How many degrees are you able to move the crank before the rotor moves? That will give you an idea of how much slack is in the chain.

The lopo Windsor engines had single roller chains, some earlier ones had nylon gears on the upper cog. The HO's, at least the '87-93 ones, had double roller chains from the factory that were typically pretty durable. 140,000km is low, but it's certainly possible that you have a ton of slop there.

Now, it's also possible that the balancer has slipped (the rubber ring degrades) but it wouldn't cause a steady jumping, it just throws the timing reading way off.

Another possibility is that you are picking up the spark signal from an adjacent cylinder, how close to the boot were you clamped on?

Good advise those #1 and #2. We will check those next week.

If we decide/need to do the timing chain then I reckon double roller (Melling?) would be the way to go with steel gears?

There seems to be another Melling available a "silent one" with different type chain. Noise does not bother me much.

That damper slipping was also something I thought. Will need to take a peek and see how it looks.

 

[hemitom]

has the car sat for a long period of time without running.
Possibly needs fresh gas and a good run to clean it out. ?

 

[Finn]

That is possible. I know that it has been in big city for the past 20 years and hasn't been driven much yearly. And probably mostly in town.

I agree, once we check the pending details I need to put it on the road for a longer trip. I only drove 100 miles to home so far.

 

[OVERKILL]

Mine starts and idles really nicely and pulls OK but sort of around 2000...3000 it is IMO really lazy and kind of "reluctant" and about to start bogging but doesn't. Difficult to explain but it is not 100%. Maybe just 80...90%.

I will put ignition parts on the list.

The TPS was a weak spot on the EEC-IV cars, it would develop a flat spot, which can cause exactly what you are experiencing. If you have a good multimeter (preferably with an analog sweep) you can watch it, it should be very smooth from around 0.9V right up to 5V (WOT). If it does some weird jump or dip, it needs a TPS. The 351W (EEC-IV GT-40) in our boat needed a TPS for this reason.

 

[CharlieJ]

It’s rare to see a nearly 30 year old mustang here in the states, I wasn’t expecting to see one in Finland! Do American cars have a niche following there?