A Few Mustang Issues That I'd Like To Have Answered!

adeathsmckitten · Oct 16, 2012

Alright guys, I just joined today and if you're interested in my boring story you can check out my introduction thread that tells you where I stand with my car right now

I have a few problems with it. First off, it's a 2002 Mustang GT, and it is an R-Title car (it's been wrecked).

Here are my issues (hopefully somebody can share their wisdom with me):
The one's in RED are my urgent problems that I would like to hopefully diagnose soon to fix them.
1. The door gaps look bigger than any other mustang I've seen.

2. The wheel's look like they are more toward the doors and not centered. Like they are pushed back or something.

3. Recently I've noticed a hissing noise from my car. It is getting cold out where I live now so that may have something to do with it. When I first start it, you can hear a ssss..pause..sssssss..pause..sssssssssssssssss..pause, etc. It seems pretty random. When I push in the clutch, it stops. You can hear it really well when you listen to it from either of the front wheels. I tried taking it to a mechanic, but it would not make the noise because it was already warm. It seems it only happens when it's cold and once it warms up it stops.

NOTE: I don't know if this is useful AT ALL, but I do have a straight piped exhaust with no mufflers or cats or anything. Just straight pipes all the way back with the stock headers and the car is NOT tuned for any modifications yet. The only other modification to the car other than the exhaust would be a K&N Air Filter on the stock air intake.

4. Every time I hit the slightest bump on the road (sometimes I don't even think there is a bump, but it's most dominant when I do hit one), there is a squeeking noise that seems like it's coming from behind my dash. It sounds pretty close to me. Maybe something is loose? I have no idea. It's annoying though

5. When my car sit's idling, the idle occasionally drops. It idles at about, lets say 800ish RPM's. The idle will drop to like, 500 RPM's and the car will get quieter for a second and then it will jump back up. Refer back to the NOTE under my 3rd problem, I'm not sure if it helps at all.

Welp, those are my problems. I know I'm just kinda jumping in on these forums and asking a bunch of questions and I'm sorry for that, but believe me I'm here to stay and share my wisdom with anyone who needs it! I really appreciate anything you guys can tell me about the problems above. If you could, please also post what I can do to fix the issue that you are addressing. I'm trying my best to restore this car to perfect condition. No mustang deserves to be in the condition that this guy sold it to me in!

Noobz347 · Oct 16, 2012

The wooshing noise I think could be one of two things: You have clutch throwout bearing that is dry and requires replacement or a header/manifold leak. Since it disappears when you push in the clutch, I'm leaning toward the throwout bearing.

On the wheels and squeek... They may or may not be related. Look to see if you have an after-market K-member. If you do, it would explain the wheels. They should be more forward (not rearward) so look to see if there are also after-market A-arms and check to see if they're installed on the correct sides of the car. Also check your motor mounts and see if they are OEM. Urethane bushings can sometimes squeek (so can spring isolators so check those too).

For the idling issue, check to see if the A/C is cycling on and off. If not, clean your IAC, and replace the gasket. CAREFULLY clean your Mass Air Sensor as well. Report back.

The doors may need to be shimmed. Post up pics of the car with the doors closed as well as some pics of the door hinges and door jambs.

Some pics of the wheels might help too.

trinity_gt · Oct 16, 2012

adeathsmckitten said:
Alright guys, I just joined today and if you're interested in my boring story you can check out my introduction thread that tells you where I stand with my car right now

I have a few problems with it. First off, it's a 2002 Mustang GT, and it is an R-Title car (it's been wrecked).

Here are my issues (hopefully somebody can share their wisdom with me):
The one's in RED are my urgent problems that I would like to hopefully diagnose soon to fix them.
1. The door gaps look bigger than any other mustang I've seen.

2. The wheel's look like they are more toward the doors and not centered. Like they are pushed back or something.

Your car is a salvage title. That could mean anything, from it having been in a minor bump that set off an airbag to it having been wrecked so hard it had to be cut in half and re-welded by some enterprising individual with a replacement front or rear end.

I'd get it on an alignment rack and have the chassis hardpoints measured. It may be tweaked/bent or the K-member might be misaligned.

3. Recently I've noticed a hissing noise from my car. It is getting cold out where I live now so that may have something to do with it. When I first start it, you can hear a ssss..pause..sssssss..pause..sssssssssssssssss..pause, etc. It seems pretty random. When I push in the clutch, it stops. You can hear it really well when you listen to it from either of the front wheels. I tried taking it to a mechanic, but it would not make the noise because it was already warm. It seems it only happens when it's cold and once it warms up it stops.

I agree with Noobz, it's likely a release bearing noise because it goes away when the clutch is depressed.

4. Every time I hit the slightest bump on the road (sometimes I don't even think there is a bump, but it's most dominant when I do hit one), there is a squeeking noise that seems like it's coming from behind my dash. It sounds pretty close to me. Maybe something is loose? I have no idea. It's annoying though

You might slide in under the dash in the driver's footwell and tweak and wiggle stuff to see if you can locate it. Squeaks can be the most frustrating and most difficult things to deal with...

5. When my car sit's idling, the idle occasionally drops. It idles at about, lets say 800ish RPM's. The idle will drop to like, 500 RPM's and the car will get quieter for a second and then it will jump back up. Refer back to the NOTE under my 3rd problem, I'm not sure if it helps at all.

This is not that unusual. Have you noticed if the cooling fan begins to run each time the idle drops? If so, what you're seeing is the electrical load of starting the cooling fan on the alternator. The PCM is supposed to use the IAC (idle air control) valve to compensate so if it seems the engine is close to stalling, you might consider cleaning the IAC and checking the throttle stop screw setting.

madspeed · Oct 16, 2012

noobz pretty much covered it...

adeathsmckitten · Oct 16, 2012

Noobz347 said:
The wooshing noise I think could be one of two things: You have clutch throwout bearing that is dry and requires replacement or a header/manifold leak. Since it disappears when you push in the clutch, I'm leaning toward the throwout bearing.

On the wheels and squeek... They may or may not be related. Look to see if you have an after-market K-member. If you do, it would explain the wheels. They should be more forward (not rearward) so look to see if there are also after-market A-arms and check to see if they're installed on the correct sides of the car. Also check your motor mounts and see if they are OEM. Urethane bushings can sometimes squeek (so can spring isolators so check those too).

For the idling issue, check to see if the A/C is cycling on and off. If not, clean your IAC, and replace the gasket. CAREFULLY clean your Mass Air Sensor as well. Report back.

The doors may need to be shimmed. Post up pics of the car with the doors closed as well as some pics of the door hinges and door jambs.

Some pics of the wheels might help too.

I can't thank you enough for this advice. I will definitely post an update, and I will most likely post some pictures tomorrow so you can more accurately diagnose the issues! Very, very helpful! It all makes sense!

Noobz347 · Oct 16, 2012

adeathsmckitten said:
I can't thank you enough for this advice. I will definitely post an update, and I will most likely post some pictures tomorrow so you can more accurately diagnose the issues! Very, very helpful! It all makes sense!

Hit up Trinity_gt's suggestions as well. All I'm doing is guessing with what you posted. He's got some great stuff in there that I didn't think of.

adeathsmckitten · Oct 16, 2012

trinity_gt said:
Your car is a salvage title. That could mean anything, from it having been in a minor bump that set off an airbag to it having been wrecked so hard it had to be cut in half and re-welded by some enterprising individual with a replacement front or rear end.

I'd get it on an alignment rack and have the chassis hardpoints measured. It may be tweaked/bent or the K-member might be misaligned.

I agree with Noobz, it's likely a release bearing noise because it goes away when the clutch is depressed.

You might slide in under the dash in the driver's footwell and tweak and wiggle stuff to see if you can locate it. Squeaks can be the most frustrating and most difficult things to deal with...

This is not that unusual. Have you noticed if the cooling fan begins to run each time the idle drops? If so, what you're seeing is the electrical load of starting the cooling fan on the alternator. The PCM is supposed to use the IAC (idle air control) valve to compensate so if it seems the engine is close to stalling, you might consider cleaning the IAC and checking the throttle stop screw setting.

The clutch bearing and the idle issue I'll have to look into more. I don't think my alignment is messed up or bent because about a month or two ago I took it to ford for new tires and a new alignment, and it was off but not by too much and it was corrected. On a different note, every other zone they checked was in the green and in good condition.

A Few Mustang Issues That I'd Like To Have Answered!

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