Hello everyone, my family just picked up a 1995 Automatic Mustang with about 117,000 on it. Supposedly the transmission was done at 90,000 so that shouldn't be a concern. While this is not my car I'll be doing most of the maintenance and maybe having a little fun now and again . This car is meant to shuttle kids to and from school every day, It is a daily beater and not going to become a performance oriented car. The seller didn't provide documentation so for good measure I'm putting together a list of parts for a tune up.
I don't know what to expect as far as power is concerned but I was a little disappointing with it when I put my foot down on the highway, it felt like a typical v6 sedan or a light compact car with a powerful 4 banger. I was hoping for a little more from a 3.8 v6, but since I don't have a reference point for comparison I assume there isn't some hidden problem with it.
There's almost nothing wrong with the car. The only things that need to be addressed are a high oil temperature and an engine oil cap with a hole in it. I'm guessing the previous owner just didnt use the right oil weight.
I'm trying to keep the cost of this tune up low, I'd be happy if I could keep it under $160~ as this is not going to be a performance car. If you recommend a performance/nonstandard part please back up your reasoning with information about how x brand of spark plugs give out after 10,000 etc
My list of parts to get so far:
Engine oil cap
Spark plugs + dist cap
Radiator fluid for a flush - atm the plan is to get whatever the OEM recommendation is, if that's a bad idea please tell me why and what to get in its place.
Oil + filter - need to know where I can find the latest Ford spec of approved oils, not going to spend a fortune for royal purple etc but would like to use quality oil here.
Brake pads + (maybe) lines + fluid - brakes are pretty weak and an 18 year old girl who's not the most coordinated will be the primary driver. Ideas/info in brakes would be appreciated.
Air filter - I know there are a lot of aftermarket options for this, is it better to stick to stock drop-ins or is it worth it to get a cheap cold air intake for $50-80?
Is an Engine pre-oiler pump a good idea? How does that work from a user standpoint and how much do they run?
What sort of cable is required to plug into the ODB computer? I have an ODB-II to usb cable for my 1996 Jetta, do I need a different connector for the ODB-I? What software I should look into for the mustang? It isn't throwing any codes atm but I like to be ready. Also there might be cool options/info in there. Thanks in advance for any help.
I don't know what to expect as far as power is concerned but I was a little disappointing with it when I put my foot down on the highway, it felt like a typical v6 sedan or a light compact car with a powerful 4 banger. I was hoping for a little more from a 3.8 v6, but since I don't have a reference point for comparison I assume there isn't some hidden problem with it.
There's almost nothing wrong with the car. The only things that need to be addressed are a high oil temperature and an engine oil cap with a hole in it. I'm guessing the previous owner just didnt use the right oil weight.
I'm trying to keep the cost of this tune up low, I'd be happy if I could keep it under $160~ as this is not going to be a performance car. If you recommend a performance/nonstandard part please back up your reasoning with information about how x brand of spark plugs give out after 10,000 etc
My list of parts to get so far:
Engine oil cap
Spark plugs + dist cap
Radiator fluid for a flush - atm the plan is to get whatever the OEM recommendation is, if that's a bad idea please tell me why and what to get in its place.
Oil + filter - need to know where I can find the latest Ford spec of approved oils, not going to spend a fortune for royal purple etc but would like to use quality oil here.
Brake pads + (maybe) lines + fluid - brakes are pretty weak and an 18 year old girl who's not the most coordinated will be the primary driver. Ideas/info in brakes would be appreciated.
Air filter - I know there are a lot of aftermarket options for this, is it better to stick to stock drop-ins or is it worth it to get a cheap cold air intake for $50-80?
Is an Engine pre-oiler pump a good idea? How does that work from a user standpoint and how much do they run?
What sort of cable is required to plug into the ODB computer? I have an ODB-II to usb cable for my 1996 Jetta, do I need a different connector for the ODB-I? What software I should look into for the mustang? It isn't throwing any codes atm but I like to be ready. Also there might be cool options/info in there. Thanks in advance for any help.
