88 mustang 2.3 Lx questions. new to mustangs

[amorgan93]

I just got a 88 mustang 2.3 all in primer, no symbols. but i found an LX sticker inside the car. Im guessing its an LX. im trying to understand the difference in models. i know the mustangs came with the N/A 2.3, the turbo 2.3, the 5.0, and the 5.0 HO. But on advanceautoparts.com when i select what type of car i have, the Mustang LX only has the 5.0L option. The Mustang GT also has the 5.0, which i know is the faster. So is my mustang a LX, or what? Its an automatic, im guessing the A4lD, however the overdrive on the gear selector doesnt engage. maybe its a C4 swap with the gear changer from the A4LD. who knows. i just got it yesterday so i havent got under it and looked to see if it has a square pan on the bottom of the transmission or what. Also according to some research ive done, the A4ld is very easy to break and is a cheap transmission. Actually supposedly the whole 4 cylinder car is junk cause it has junk suspension and crappy transmission and a motor that has no potential for power, unless tons and tons of dollars are spent on it. This is my first 2 door car and my first car that is rwd, and i like the idea of it, but if the whole car is junk im just going to put a dirt cheap price tag and move on to some other car. So give me some of your advice, and encourage me to keep it theres got to be some reason to keep the car, besides the gas mileage. Anyways, if theres any more information you can give me about the fox body mustangs, besides the little bit wikipedia has, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

also does these cars have front and rear sway bars? does the 2.3na cars?

 

[Delray Dude]

The 2.3 N/A can be a great motor, and is easy to wake up.

Is this a Notch or a Hatchback Mustang? (Notch is the trunk version).

Until 1990 a true "LX" was only a V-8 car, but they started badging the 90-93 with LX 2.3s.

the 2.3 behind the auto usually is turd slow in stock form - the addition of a Ranger header and gutting the cats (yes there are 2 inline) help wake up the engine. Also, the intake tube from between the air filter to the throttle body is major restricted - the area looks like a big muffler - its actually is an air muffler. take it apart and get a screwdriver and pry out the inner tubing that narrows down to the size of a quarter.

Doing those mods will wake it up, but after you do them, disconnect the batter for 10 minutes to reset the computer - it'll relearn itself with better settings.

You can also make it quicker by changing the rear gears - if you had a 5 speed car, you can swap the small axle to an 8.8 with some good gears and get posi. You can do this on the auto car - but you will have to modify the driveshaft.

 

[amorgan93]

hatchback car. im kind of unclear about the north carolina inspection laws, if i can remove the cats or not. or just gut them. i think since its below 1996, that it only has to pass the safety inspection, not the emissions.

wait if they started badging the 90-93 cars with LX, why does my 88 have a LX badge?

 

[Delray Dude]

hatchback car. im kind of unclear about the north carolina inspection laws, if i can remove the cats or not. or just gut them. i think since its below 1996, that it only has to pass the safety inspection, not the emissions.

wait if they started badging the 90-93 cars with LX, why does my 88 have a LX badge?

Not sure - it may be a true LX - but I did notice that the Discount site only recognizes the LX as a 5.0. Come to think of it, my 88' vert had LX on it's trunk on drivers side. Maybe a glitch in Discount's computer? For parts - just use the regular Mustang (non-LX) indicator. I know they have it right on the 90-93 version.

If you have to pass emissions, you can still gut the cats and have them "appear" to be installed, but when it comes time to inspect, dump about 30 ounces of acetone into the tank - be sure to drive it around a bit to get it good and in the mix - will reduce alot of your emissions. I had to do this in Florida until they dropped all that back in 1997ish.

 

[FVBonura]

My old 1985 notch-back had an LX badge on the trunk and it was a 2.3L 4-speed manual. To be honest, "LX" means nothing save that the Mustang is not a GT, Cobra, or SVO.

I purchased a 92 LX 2.3L with a A4LD just like you did. My '92 has factory 3.73 gears. I pulled the leaky A4LD out and put in a T5 5-speed. I did as Delray Dude suggested, I gutted the converters and I gutted the air muffler. The car transformed from a slug into a racehorse. I added a rear swaybar from an '88 T-bird TC and the car is not only fast but very maneuverable. It has become a complete joy to drive.

My old 1985 LX 2.3L died of Long Island Body Rot but the 2.3L engine and 4-speed manual with 167,000 miles on both went on to serve in another Mustang somewhere in Pennsylvania. The 2.3L is a very reliable engine and with some simple mods can be a beast. Keep the car, fix it up, and enjoy it.

If you want help doing a 5-speed swap, I will help you step by step.

 

[RustBucket]

Prior to the aero cars, there was also GL, L, and GLX. Mostly trim level differences, engine options here were either 4 or 6cyl. They went away around 1987 and then it was just LX and GT. LX became the base model with 2 engine options and several trim options.

 

[Red_LX]

Oh my...no offense but I have to chuckle at you guys talking about turning a n/a 2.3L into a "racehorse." I did a cold air intake, cat back, underdrive pulleys, the whole nine yards, and I still couldn't beat my brother's 92 hp Escort LX in a race (and that was even with 3.73 gears in my car). I later did a longtube header but even that didn't really make that much of a difference.

It did handle pretty well, but then again so did my Turbo Coupe after I did a few suspension mods on it, and it was a hell of a lot faster.

 

[dagenham]

2.3's can be fun, but you have to do some serious intake and exhaust work to really make them run.
I used to have a '79 notch that I built a n/a 2.3 with a Holley 390 4V, BIG valves and a good sized cam, plus bored 40 over. Car ran like a scalded dog, but couldnt pass a gas station! (8mpg)!!! I spent over 2K on the engine and most of it was in the head. Dont know if I would do it again.