Mustang maintenance

"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
04/18/2020 at 11:44 • Filed to: None

Lest it be forgotten that there is also a mustang in the household (that I don’t own, but do maintain and drive regularly), and last weekend was some needed mustang maintenance .

With all the time and effort (and money) being spent on the Pajero lately, I didn’t want the mustang to feel ignored. At 57K, it was due for an oil change and it felt like about time for a minor tune up.

First up was an oil change and tire rotation. The tires being off also provided a convenient oppotunity to replace the fender lin er in the right front wheel well. There had been an incident with a truck tire carcass on I-10 that took a chunk out of it . We don’t talk about the incident.

Up next were fresh belts. The A/C belt is a stretch fit, which is how you know design, durability and build quality weren’t the priority, and to be honest, nothing could possibly feel more right on a car from D etr oi t .

Going up top, it got a new set of spark plugs, PCV valve and intake plenum gasket. Why the later? B ecause also fitting for questionable American car design, you have to remove take manifold to remove the #2 bank ignition coils. This piece of Ford engineering ineptness was pretty surprising . It’s not like the Japanese and Europeans figured out how the make the rear bank spark plug/wires/coils serviceable without removing the manifold on even transverse V6 applications in 80's or anything. E ven the Italians had this figured out by the 90's. Spark plug gaps were worn .00 3-.00 5 out of spec after 57K.

Moving back under the car, the manual transmission got some fresh fluid. Curiously, the spec’ d oil for the 6-speed manual in current gen mustangs is Ford’s Dual Clutch Transmission F luid. I had to verify that from a couple of sources before I could bring myself to order this expensive stuff. I’d be curious to know the specs on it, because it sure seemed a lot like a lightweight GL4 type gear oil. Say, something along the lines of 10w-60 oil without the additive pack for a combustion application. I’m going to guess specing this kind of lightweight oil probably has something to do with EPA CAFE standards and fractional gains in efficiency .

The rear differential also got some fresh gear oil. Rockauto had Ford’s OEM synthetic gear oil for cheap, so I added that and some friction modifier to the order with the rest of the parts.

Mustang day finished up with a wash and interior Svending. The wind and dust ended up picking enough that I wasn’t willing to claybar and wax the outside. Maybe this weekend.

One of the ponie s had wandered off , so I also sourced a replacement center cap from eBay. The car now has a full stable of ponies again.

For as much as I complain about some s hoddy engineering decisions , it has still been a really good car. It can be easy to overlook that even in base, V6/manual spec, the S550 mustang is a legitimately good sports car for surprisingly little money when it was new.

DISCUSSION (13)

feather-throttle-not-hair > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 12:08

Not a mustang fan, but your last sentence says it all: cheap competent performance cars should all be celebrated and appreciated.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 12:34

I haven’t driven a v6 in the S550, but I wish they would have given it a chance and some options. People like to hate on them, but any 300 HP, manual trans, RWD car should be celebrated. I personally really like the styling too.

I will say, this is probably the best maintained v6 mustang in existence. Too many were destined for rental counters and owners that simply do not care.

Is changing the pcv as scheduled maintenance a common thing? It makes sense to do so, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing it until I got my company truck. They require it to be changed at 30k intervals.

Thomas Donohue > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 12:40

gotta be honest, I was really curious how the car was levitating based on these two pics..... (i think they are kinja’s but it’s pics 6 and 7)

Kinja'd!!!

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
04/18/2020 at 12:44

It usually isn’t explicitly called for, but it is an old-school part of a tune up from back in the day. They do eventually get gunked up, but they’ll never cause a problem unless or until they fully cease to stop working. They only cost a few dollars, so they’re one of those while you’re there kind of things. Even more so since the PCV sits under the intake manifold on the Ford 3.7 engine. The shops working on your F-car are doing it as part of a tune up by default.

Had this car been for me, I would’ve spec’d one with the ecoboost and performance package as a daily driver, but the V6 was the answer for this application. The base chassis set up is a bit too soft, compounded with tall/soft sidewall rubber. The car is fantastic fun on a twisty road at 8 or 9/10ths , but it loses composure at 10/10ths and gets a bit sloppy . The S550 I driven with the performance packed seemed to solve that being lower, stiffer and better rubber.

That said, it a legitimately quick, good handling sports car for cheap. After rebates and a bit of negotiation, it was $21,900 (before taxes and registration) off the lot for a brand new, 300hp RWD sports car with a manual. That’s barely mid-range Honda Civic money for a mustang faster than every factory V8 powered mustang (save the Cobra R) prior to 2011.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Thomas Donohue
04/18/2020 at 12:47

The jack stands are just behind where picture ends. The reinforced jacking points for the front are a bit further back than one might expect.

jimz > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 12:57

The A/C belt is a stretch fit, which is how you know design, durability and build quality weren’t the priority, and to be honest, nothing could possibly feel more right on a car from Detroit.

stretch belts are pretty common across the industry, so I find this more than a bit insulting. I mean, they’re apparently good enough for Mazda, Subaru, and Toyota, but screw those morons in Detroit, right?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > jimz
04/18/2020 at 13:09

You bring up a good point. To be fair, Detroit certainly aren’t the only folks these days trading build quality and design for profit margin.

jimz > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 13:13

there’s nothing wrong with stretch belts. they’re meant to maintain proper tension over the life of the belt (which should be 100k miles) without needing regular adjustment or an automatic tensioner pulley. and they actually make more sense nowadays when there are fewer and fewer belt driven accessories.

Did yours actually need changing or are you doing it just because? ‘cos this just sounds like “it’s new and I don’t trust it.”

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > jimz
04/18/2020 at 13:33

Both belts were starting show some light cracking on the ribs. That could also be the product of living in hot dry climates.

The problem with stretch fit belts is they allow no serviceability . They’re only designed to be stretch fit one-time, which means their removal for any other service activity requires a new belt (unless you’re a shop cutting corner for customers who’s first questions is how much will this cost, then maybe you refit one ...) . From some of my shop owning the friends, they’re also seeing a tendency for folks to not replace them until failure.

The other thing that’s curious is why there are multiple belts appearing again. Any insight? By about 2000ish, almost everything had gone to a single serpentine belt. I’m not sure why some cars are going back to multiple belts. Aside from a certain Oppo’s Kia, are there any markets where a substantial number of cars without A/C compressors are being sold?

jimz > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 13:41

hybrids. they use electric A/C compressors. the last Fusion Energi I looked underhood had zero engine belt driven accessories.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 14:08

People always forget the V8's of not that long ago had less power than the base engines of today. I bet with not much work, they would be a very serious sports car. I would think these are set up like a gt car which I do not hate. There is something to be said about a stylish car that can cruise and still be somewhat fun when you find a curvy road.

Good to know about the valve. Maybe since it was always assumed you swap them, no one ever talked about it haha. It was just weird to me seeing it listed in the book. Or I'm just used to VW maintenance

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
04/18/2020 at 14:39

The base suspension tuning is very much along the lines of a GT car.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
04/18/2020 at 14:58

That's quite ok, especially for the target buyer. Not everything needs to be a canyon carver