am i ruining my engine

[89five0]

well i have a 1989 5o gt with 129,000 on the clock. Maintained really well frequent oil changes,etc. i was wondering if an occasional little burnout and rpm's up to 5grand is going to tear my engine apart. i drive this car eveyday to school and home and still need it to be reliable, it is just too tempting to leave rubber and get going fast but i dont want to do it if it will blow my engine up.any adice?
sorry for the dumb questions....
Trey

 

[Mustang Yawie]

Every so often should not be to bad but dont drive it too hard everyday,

 

[FrdMustangCpe]

if tires are no big deal and you have gears, you can get a 2nd gear b/o. a fox can powerbrake at like 3k. id be a little cautious. however one ive seen my tach at 6k leaving a light i had to apologize to my poor 5.0, still held up

 

[giddyup306]

As long as you change the oil reguarly and do simple PM's on them the occasional burnout won't destroy your engine. I had a SHO with 250K on it and I used to rod the piss outta it untill the day I sold it. Still ran fine when I did and did not smoke or anything like that.

 

[livenfine]

I bought my stang with 130k, now it has 160k and I race it very hard, on the street, at the drags and the autocross track. The problems I have had were that the clutch went out and something got in the oil pump and seized it up. If I had to pay someone to fix it, the cost would have been over $1000, even doing the work myself, I shelled out $400 to fix those two things.

Same opinion as the others except: If you can't afford to break it, don't push it. Put some cash away to help pay for it when it breaks...and it will

Sorry if I sound like your dad, I do have 4 boys in college and I tell 'em the same thing

 

[408stroker5.0]

HAMMERDOWN!!!!!

Just don't over do it.....Try and stay below 5800RPM, and try not to keep the engine reving for an excesive amount of time at a high RPM. It's good to let your motor rev once in a while...clean's it up a bit and help's get rid of carbon. Hell...some engine's that have been bagged hard all there life will last alot longer and perform better then an engine that's been driven by Grama and kept below 2500RPM all it's life.

Shon

 

[super302]

just don't keep bouncing it off the rev limiter and you'll be fine

 

[HISSIN50]

just don't keep bouncing it off the rev limiter and you'll be fine

i might say dont bounce off the stock rev limiter at all! runnin a box that cuts spark at 6K might be a better idea.

 

[90mustangGT]

You mean while there are a lot of people out there spraying 200 shots with H/C/I on 200K shortblocks and not thinking twice about it, your worried about a little occasional wheel peel on a stock engine?

The important thing is keeping the oil changed and the car in proper tune. I belive that engines need exersize like everything else. The longest lasting and strongest running engines are worked out regularly. It seems that the motors that give out the most are the granny driven unmaintained engines.

I always make sure the engine is at operating temprature before revving it above 4K, but then I am very, very mean to it. Valve float isn't very healthy, keep it below 5800. Otherwise the 5.0L can take some major abuse.

 

[giddyup306]

HAMMERDOWN!!!!!

Just don't over do it.....Try and stay below 5800RPM, and try not to keep the engine reving for an excesive amount of time at a high RPM. It's good to let your motor rev once in a while...clean's it up a bit and help's get rid of carbon. Hell...some engine's that have been bagged hard all there life will last alot longer and perform better then an engine that's been driven by Grama and kept below 2500RPM all it's life.

Shon

Exactly. Low mileage grandma cars usually crap out something horrible when they are sold to a "regular" driver. Grandma might put 50 miles on it and a year an those are the two blocks to and from the grocery store. Only problem with this is that it does not allow for the seals to expand and contract. Then when another driver uses it (especially if the car is older) seales and gaskets tend to go out.

 

[L8 MUSL]

well i have a 1989 5o gt with 129,000 on the clock. Maintained really well frequent oil changes,etc. i was wondering if an occasional little burnout and rpm's up to 5grand is going to tear my engine apart.
sorry for the dumb questions....
Trey

Occasional?

Hell, it's a V8, you're an American.
It's your duty to light those things up on a regular basis!

 

[CobraWannabe]

I, also, was going to say to exercise it once in a while to clean it out. Your car will treat you, the way you treat it.