Ford Mustang Engine Problems

jccmdd

I have a ticking noise coming from the engine, it is worse when I first start it in the morning.

I also have a problem that when I accelerate hard it will sometimes hesitate before taking off. This especially a problem when passing someone.

tayl0rd

The ticking is coming from the hydraulic lifters. They tick until the oil pressure builds up in them. The hesitation is because of the electronic throttle. It's not just a Mustang problem. Virtually all cars with an electronic throttle have the hesitation problem; some worse than others.

akirby

My Fusion doesn't hesitate. It might be normal or it could be a clogged fuel filter - easy enough to change. If it's still under warranty have the dealer check it.

tayl0rd

I did say "virtually all."

akirby

And I said "might be normal"!

jensgt1202

I just joined today and i'm not exactly sure how to post things or create a new one, so i figured i would start here. I just purchased a 2003 Mustang GT and i love it. The problem is, after my first oil change i was getting a little belt noise. The stupid dealership got Armour All on it. I replaced it, and the chirping noise at acceleration stopped, until i turned my car on the next morning (it's getting colder outside) and it chirps at idle and the chirping speeds up when i accelerate. By the time i get to work and the engine is heated it stops. Also during the day when it's warm i get no noise at all. I'm thinking idler pulley(since they like to go out on V8's) but not sure? Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

pancheaux

I have a 2001 Mustang with a 6 cylinder engine, the check engine light is on, the code is PO113, which is indicating the Intake Air Temperature Sensor is bad. Does anyone know where I can find the sensor. Can't find it on the intake air, and can't find a diagram pointing to it's location. Was wondering if it is part of the mass air flow sensor?

tayl0rd

Yes.

bristolgirl

Hi! I purchased my silver metallic '04 Anniversary Edition" in August '06 with 11K on it. I LOVE IT, but lately I have experienced the same acceletation fluttering. I took her in for the 15K service and the dealership told me that was a norm with the V6 Mustang, which I took as total BS. (I might look and act crazy, but I'm not stupid.) So today I put $10 of premium in her and took her out to play. Guess she just has a "hairball" cause now she runs like butter! One less customer for Mike Shad Ford in Jacksonville, Florida!!!! :shades:

pancheaux

Hey, you seem pretty sure that the air temperature sensor is integrated with the mass air flow sensor. I have researched and checked in the repair manuals, and they have a picture of where it should be, but it is not there. Called the local Ford dealership and spoke to someone in service, and he couldn't tell me for sure if they are separate or together. I have already purchased a temperature sensor, $15, but have since brought it back because I could not find it on the air intake or on the intake manifold. The MAF sensor is $150 with a $75 core charge. Not sure I want to spend that kinda money just yet without being sure. Let me know why you are so sure please.

tayl0rd

Have you been checking any of the Mustang forums? There are hundreds of them out there. But as I recall, the MAF also serves the purpose of/replaces the air temp sensor.

boston4

The car has a 1000,000K's on it and the egr valve has been replaced, obd11 reader comes up with a generic code 401 the book says ( exhaust gas recirculation flow insufficient detected) This lite came on after the car had been parked for three weeks.

boston4

This car has a 150,000k's on it and just out of warranty at 70,000k's the HUD (heads up display) started to fade in and out and sometimes disappered but would come back in a few minutes or by the next time you drove it. It works about 85% of the time. Have never taken the car in to a dealer as it sounds expensive. Lucky I still have a speedo lol.

casing1

Ok so I own a 2005 mustang 6 cylinder bought new. Just had the fuel sensors finally replaced because we had gas problems, now that that is fixed I have also experienced a grinding noise between the speed of 90-95 miles an hour. Only at that speed. Mustang dealerhip said that they can't fix whatever it is because they can't drive that fast. The car wasn't making those noises when it was new. It only has 20,000 miles on it now. Anyone else having this problem. My concern is that I think it's a major problem and when the warranty runs out I'm buying a new transmission just because Ford can't drive 90 miles an hour to listen to the grinding.

eriknelke

Hi,

I have an 02 GT that suddenly developed an odd desire to cut the engine at idle and under normal driving conditions. After driving it around for about an hour the engine just cut off. It sounded like it was trying to crank but wouldn't turn over. Came back an hour later and it started and ran fine. Prior to this I had gotten gas at a station I was later told sold bad gas to a family member and the cut off issue start when the tank was getting low. The next day it cut off shortly after starting and twice on the way to the dealer. Of course once they had it it wouldn't repeat the problem and it made it home fine. Their computer showed nothing wrong when the checked it. The fuel filter was replaced at 35K and now has 68K on the car.

It almost sounds like the engine isn't getting gas when i try to re start but that's just a guess. Alternateror and battery are good although the plugs should be replaced.

Anyone heard of this issue before or is it likely bad/dirty gas mucking up the filter? BTW I normally get 270 miles to a tank before i need to think about refilling but oddly this time around my mileage was in the 220's where it normally in the 270 range.

tayl0rd

One of two things. The Idle Air Controller or the Mass AirFlow sensor. With your poor fuel economy, I'm more inclined to think it's the MAF. But with the shutting down at idle and, seemingly, intermittent stalling, I'd say the IAC. Have them check both. A new MAF sensor will "break the bank" for the part (over $200 for such a tiny part.) The IAC is fairly inexpensive. BOTH are ridiculously simple and quick to replace, so don't let the dealer do it! Do it yourself.

dewalt

hi I have a 1965 ford mustang with a 289 and the starter drive is rubbing on the flex plate itll start but it squeel i dont know why because the bel housing and starter and the flex plate are all origanal

olehounddog

2000 Mustang, 6 cyl., high mileage..........is there any practical advantage to using $10 spark plugs over $2 ones? Also, do plug wires need replacing or will they last forever? Thanks!!!

akirby

If you have COPs (coil on plug) then you don't have traditional plug wires and you should be ok. If it's the traditional plug wires then they should be replaced periodically.

Use the OEM recommended spark plugs. If you haven't removed them for 100K miles or more - be careful. You really should replace the plugs every 60K or so just to keep them from melding with the block.

mschmal

V6 Mustangs DO NOT have coil on plug and the plug wires can burn out over time.

Mark

nancy49022

sooo ya sound like ya know some well i bought a sweet 95 mustang runs but found out blown heads on 1 side what 2 do and hows the cheapest?? yeh im a girl the wheels&rims still had receipt in car for $3500, i paid $500 for $rims and car$500 so i dont know what 2 do replace motor or heads and the cheapest route and what else to look for while replaceing this crap

nancy49022

i need to replace blown headgasket dont know the cheapest route can any mustang fans help or tell be what 2 look 4 and where is the cheapest place to go its sweet and receipt in car for $3500 only gave $1000 for car and rims <tires please help a girl out holla :sick: nancy

tayl0rd

What exactly are you asking? If you have a blown head gasket, you need to get it replaced. There is no "cheapest route." Are you asking if you should do it yourself or take it to a mechanic? A snap judgement here, but I'm betting you'd be much better off taking it to a mechanic. Besides, you only paid $1000 for the car. What do you have to lose?

unkll

i have a 83 mustang with an over heating problem. Also the starter wants to drag only after car is warmed up

woody20

Hi all,I am looking at a 2000, 3.8. Car looks very clean, before I bring it in for a check how are the engines on these puppies. It has 165,000 Km or 100,000 miles. Is there any issues with the head gasket or anything else.

Thanks woody

mschmal

ICK ICK ICK.

Not sure if the head gasket issue was ever really resolved but in the early 90s, these engins were blowing up like crazy.

Do a search through the forums.

Mark.

stang13

My mustang lags for a couple of seconds when it reaches the 40 Mile Mark and I can feel something shake. The shaking isn't hard but I can notice it. I've had a couple of mechanics check it out but they say nothing is wrong, does anyone know anything about my problem?

jbob88

I picked up a 1998 351W engine for next to nothing. I plan on droping it into a mustang. At the moment the engine is all stock. i am looking to find out some cheap modifications i can make to increase proformance.

All advice is welcome.

01cobra

I have a knocking noise that can be heard easily at an idle. I took it in to the Ford dealer and they said it was coming from the heads (44,000 miles). They did all of the head work completely ($5000 on their bill:) and it still has the same noise. They ran all tests and said they could not figure out what is causing the noise but bring it back if it blows-up. It has gotten slightly worse lately. Anyone have a similar problem or comments?

kmccale

I just might have the same problem. My Mustang is a 3.8L V6 2000 convertible. It makes a fairly loud knocking noise while in drive. It's loudest in the lower gears but still noticable while I accelerate. If I rev the engine while idling, the knocking noise is very slight but still annoyingly noticable. I was told it might be caused by dirty tappets. Another was to replace the intake manifold gasket. Or replace the exhaust manifold gasket. I've went through the dealership and a few local shops but no luck. Please let me know if you have/find a possible solution.

mynameisdare

This just started happening about a week ago, but whenever I hit around 65 - 70 + my car starts to vibrate, I'm just trying to figure out what it is so I can fix it.

akirby

It's normally an out of balance or defective tire. Have the tires checked and rebalanced (or replaced it they're worn). If that's not it then the driveshaft would be the next logical culprit.

muenscher

I am looking for the location where the eec relay switch is located and I cannot find it. Anyone out there know where.

pilk1

I was wondering if anyone knows why my mustang is not running smooth. a mechanic told me that my intake manifold gasket is leaking coolant into one of my cylinders causing it to run a little rough. He told me that this is a big problem with mustangs with over 100k miles on them is this true??

mustangmania

you have wrong starter. ford part#doaf 11131-c should be on nose if you need i can get you napa part#

waterdr

Your mechanic does not know what he is talking about. 1999-2004 Mustangs are not notorious for leaking coolant. 1996 - 1998 Mustangs are. That does not mean that you don't have this problem, just that I would not jump to a conclusion like this w/o evidence on a 2002.

So, what evidence is there of a leak?

rbright13

Well , first off, water doesn't go through your intake man. , only air , and vacuum. Now your head gasket does , and no it does not mean that it needs to be replaced . Is there white smoke , coming from the tail pipe ? Open your radiator cap , does it have oil on the bottom of it , like milky look ? leave the cap off and rev the motor , does it shoot up and out of the radiator ? Pull out the dip-stick , is it milky ? If you have any of these signs , than you have a head gasket problem.
I got a 1999 , first year of this body style with 107,000 and dont have a problem. But has it ever been over heated?

akirby

Well , first off, water doesn't go through your intake man

That's what I thought but apparently it does. Do a google search.

rbright13

the only thing that is part of the man. is the front piece that crosses from one side of the motor to the other . but it doesnt have anything to do with the main gasket for the air intake. its just a cross over pieace that you see made of aluminum

akirby

I agree that it's not the intake manifold gasket per se, but you said that coolant doesn't flow through the intake manifold and that's not true - it does and it can leak coolant. Whether it can leak into the intake and get into the cylinder is another story. I think it's much more likely that it's a head gasket.

bandit10

You might want to bring it to AutoZone. I found them very helpfull with sensors and other electrical problems. And they can order more parts than you might think. Plus they don't charge to take a look.

rbright13

Well I can tell you this , a friend of mine had 1 that had 386,00 miles on it before the head gasket blow . I told her it would be worth it to replace the head gasket with that many miles on it . She had the car since it was new ,and never had to replace it . I told her to buy a used motor and ill put it in. She did , and has been driving on that motor fore over 2 years and still doesnt have any major problems with it. Im not really a ford person , even though I got a 1999 mustang gt , but the 6 cycle motors are built very good . I would say if the car is in very good shape, doesnt smoke at all , and good price I would jump on it!!

ambera

I have an 05 Mustang which runned perfect until it got ran over a hill. The car sit on it's side for approximately 14 hours before towing. Since then, it misses bad and hesitates when accelerating. I changed the spark plugs which helped for about a day, then it started right back. Does anyone have an idea what could be the problem?

michelleneddie

my problem is only half the fuse box works. already replaced most of the fuseable links. what else could be wrong?

diehard331

is powertrain Control module located at ? a dianostics was done and came up with the #2 coil not recieving current for the #2 & #3 plugs , the Auto shop is charging an arm and a leg for the part and labor ! So, can anyone point me to the right site that can show me where it's at and can find one at a resonable Price with the proper way of installing it /. Thanks ! it's for My Sons car , John in Houston TX

djcrash31

My brother had this problem and i was the Fuel Pump that was bad. He's no mechanic so I'm thinking it was an internal (in the tank) filter to the pump that had gotten clogged.....but I also experienced this with my girlfriends Saturn. It kept stalling on my when I was idling but no other time. I changed the fuel pressure regulator, which I could tell it was totally messed up, but then I had to go back and change spark plugs because the old regulator was allowing to much fuel and fuel-fouled my plugs. Works great now!

pony_pirate

Now that my warranty is almost up, would have traded in my perfectly cherry 05 GT Premium (16k miles) for an 08, if the dealer hadn't low balled trade-in value $5,000 below Blue Book. Ford is closing plants and this moron won't deal? Screw it: Instead, got Ford Extended Service Plan for another 2 years. Will wait for the 09 or 10 Mustang, for expected redesign/upgrades (500 HP rumored). :shades:

akirby

Blue Book means nothing - it depends on what the dealer thinks he can get for the vehicle at that particular time in that particular market. Maybe the used car market is already saturated with mustangs. Why didn't you get a quote from another dealer for comparison? If all the dealers were quoting $5K under blue book then blue book is simply wrong. If other dealers offered you blue book with the same vehicle price then yes, perhaps that dealer was taking you for a ride. But I imagine the market for V8 mustangs is a lot smaller than it was a year ago.

pony_pirate

Checked local car ads and ebay. Dealer offered around $9,000 below open market value. Differences between '05 and '08 models are minimal, certainly not worth, to me, $15,000-$18,000. I was willing to chip in a max of $10,000 for a new model. :shades:

akirby

So sell it yourself if they're going for so much more in the open market.

belvette

The air conditioner on my 2003 GT is barely blowing cold air. At idle the ac compressor clutch seems to continually cycle in & out. The engine rpm's increase & decrease as this is happening. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? Any ideas on how to correct the problem.
Thanks in advance