General Horsepower Questions - I'm New

Nathan Gibson · Nov 17, 2014

The bolts conncted to the exhaust pipes coming out of the engine... I guess that's what they are.... Sorry im not engine savvy YET

mikestang63 · Nov 17, 2014

those are called header bolts. They often back out and cause leaks. Snug them back up from the center out. take it for a drive, let it cool off, and snug them up again and see if that cures the problem. If not, you most likely need new header gaskets. Percy's or Mr. Gasket ultraseals are good choices.

Nathan Gibson · Nov 17, 2014

I can't get to them with a regular socket because the pipes are in the way! Is there a different socket I need?

mikestang63 · Nov 17, 2014

Nathan Gibson said:
I can't get to them with a regular socket because the pipes are in the way! Is there a different socket I need?

You will need a combination of sockets, swivels and wrenches on headers. . Remember, these are aluminum heads. No need to crank down on them. Mayne 10-12 ft lbs. Just snug them up.

Welcome to owning a Mustang. If you don't have a good tool set, get one or be prepared to pay for someone's retirement.

Nathan Gibson · Nov 17, 2014

Well I'm not too worried about the bolts as much as how much power in getting. The intake is from an explorer. I definitely need headers though. They are stock. I don't know why the guy spent all that money and kept the headers stock!

A5literMan · Nov 17, 2014

Those are aftermarket shorty headers not stock fyi

mikestang63 · Nov 17, 2014

A5literMan said:
Those are aftermarket shorty headers not stock fyi

@A5literMan

FoxMustangLvr · Nov 17, 2014

Nathan Gibson said:
Well I'm not too worried about the bolts as much as how much power in getting. The intake is from an explorer. I definitely need headers though. They are stock. I don't know why the guy spent all that money and kept the headers stock!

Your not going to like your power when all those bolts back out of your headers.

Nathan Gibson said:
Yes I checked for that when I bought it. It definitely has trickflow heads and not trickflow head covers lol

Correction, unless your blind you DO have trick flow valve (head) covers. Those black thingies located above your "stock" headers are called valve covers, those are not your cylinder heads.

Nathan Gibson · Nov 17, 2014

The headers are stock. I finally got in touch with the previous owner... So I guess this means I don't have a whole lot of power? The heads, the cam, the throttle body, the explorer intake, and the 93 octane tune all sound pricy to me! Anyone think I have passed 300hp?

mikestang63 · Nov 17, 2014

Nathan Gibson said:
The headers are stock. I finally got in touch with the previous owner... So I guess this means I don't have a whole lot of power? The heads, the cam, the throttle body, the explorer intake, and the 93 octane tune all sound pricy to me! Anyone think I have passed 300hp?

What do you win at 300hp? Is 295hp not sufficient? Internet racing and real world racing are two different things. It is not how much hp you have but how you use it , and driver skill.

Take it to a dyno if you are fixated on hp numbers.

2000xp8 · Nov 17, 2014

Nathan Gibson said:
The headers are stock. I finally got in touch with the previous owner... So I guess this means I don't have a whole lot of power? The heads, the cam, the throttle body, the explorer intake, and the 93 octane tune all sound pricy to me! Anyone think I have passed 300hp?

Those headers aren't stock. These are: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1987-1993-F...Parts_Accessories&hash=item54140b5f07&vxp=mtr
Don't get any ideas, they aren't worth $150, the are really worth zero.

Are you 100% sure the heads themselves (not the covers) are made of aluminum and not iron?
I've been doing this a long time never seen a 75mm ford racing mass air meter. edit: after a second look the shape of the meter is some type of stock mass air meter.

Like the others i'm not sold on the car having twisted wedges just yet. Don't take this the wrong way, but as of right now, that's an explorer intake, PP Throttle body, some type of factory ford mass air meter (maybe stock, maybe 94/95 mustang), cheap headers and probably a tfs stage 1 cam.
The distributor looks to be stock (which is good an msd distributor is crap).
None of those parts are all that great, so I find it a little hard to believe they bought one of the best sets of heads then went mediocre parts everywhere else.

Right now i'm thinking this was a gt40 iron or P budget build. And if when you bought it you were sold on a high dollar amount spent on the engine he wasn't honest, because i'm only see about $500-$600 worth of parts max on the used market.

90lxwhite · Nov 17, 2014

Have you ever ridden or driven a stock fox? They're on the slow side if things, like Camry slow. You think you could out run a Camry?

85rkyboby · Nov 17, 2014

90lxwhite · Nov 17, 2014

mikestang63 said:
Man, those are terrible pics. I can't tell you if those are TFS heads- pre 2001 do not have any markings on the front - after 2001 it will say TFS or Twisted Wedge. p.

So what does this fella have to tear off and where and what "markings" does he need to look for to determine exactly what heads he has? I'm guessing remove upper/lower intake and valve covers aka cylinder head covers?:droll: Oh and the whole fox and Camry thing was just to give the guy something to compare to. I wasn't dissing the fox necessarily. However, it still chaps my azz that ford was kinda on the wimpy side compared to their foes until now and I need $40k to get a v8 or $30k for the girl model.

mikestang63 · Nov 18, 2014

Here are some pics of early casting TFS heads. no markings. You can simply look at the ends of the heads- hopefully they say TFS, AFR, Edelbrock- somethng. Some heads also put their names by the lower head bolts. At a minimum he can see if they are aluminum or not.

TFS puts the casting #'s on their heads in the middle of the head on the exhaust side. You have to remove the header to see it.

Pre 2001 heads- no markings on the ends

After 2001 you should see that on the ends of a TFS head

FoxMustangLvr · Nov 18, 2014

I bet a Doritos loco taco that he will see this

or 4 bars for a P

FoxMustangLvr · Nov 18, 2014

90lxwhite said:
So what does this fella have to tear off and where and what "markings" does he need to look for to determine exactly what heads he has? I'm guessing remove upper/lower intake and valve covers aka cylinder head covers?:droll: Oh and the whole fox and Camry thing was just to give the guy something to compare to. I wasn't dissing the fox necessarily. However, it still chaps my azz that ford was kinda on the wimpy side compared to their foes until now and I need $40k to get a v8 or $30k for the girl model.

He shouldn't need to remove or "tear off" anything. Most heads can be identified by looking at the front of the heads where the accessories bolt on. This guy simply needs to take a couple clear quality pictures and post them and that should help a whole lot.

FoxMustangLvr · Nov 18, 2014

Nathan Gibson said:
The headers are stock. I finally got in touch with the previous owner... So I guess this means I don't have a whole lot of power? The heads, the cam, the throttle body, the explorer intake, and the 93 octane tune all sound pricy to me! Anyone think I have passed 300hp?

Simply put, no.
Besides, a 5.0 with 250 rwhp (that's rear wheel horse power) that has good traction and suspension with a skilled driver will most likely smoke a person in another 5.0 with poor suspension, narrow tires and a mediocre driver that has that magical 300 rwhp you're seeking.

Like @mikestang63 touched on earlier, focus less on how much HP you have and more with how the HP is being sent to the ground and being a skilled driver that knows how to drive his car and launch without blowing the tires off.

Mustang5L5 · Nov 18, 2014

2000xp8 said:
Like the others i'm not sold on the car having twisted wedges just yet. Don't take this the wrong way, but as of right now, that's an explorer intake, PP Throttle body, some type of factory ford mass air meter (maybe stock, maybe 94/95 mustang), cheap headers and probably a tfs stage 1 cam.
The distributor looks to be stock (which is good an msd distributor is crap).
None of those parts are all that great, so I find it a little hard to believe they bought one of the best sets of heads then went mediocre parts everywhere else.

I'd have to agree here.

The dirtiness of the engine, and the "ordinary" parts used on the rest of the build have me doubting there is a set of $1000+ heads under all that.

Those headers are aftermarket. I'd guess they are MAC by the looks of the splotchy rust marks. Stock headers would be uniformly brown after 20+ years.

None of the other parts are anything special, and i bet a sound clip would reveal a stock cam pehaps?

mikestang63 · Nov 18, 2014

Nathan Gibson said:
So I bought an 89' Mustang LX with the 5.0L in it. Some mods were done before me, but I did quite a lot of work on this baby. I really really want to know if anyone thinks I have passed the 300hp mark. Here are the specs on my ride. Also, I don't know much about a couple of the mods and I DO NOT know specifics on some of the mods. I have spent hours researching things like what heads I have and what type of camshaft is installed. I do know they are upgraded, however. So that is why I ask in general. Any information will help. Thanks!

PS: I'm very new to this forum but it is definitely my favorite pony site that i've seen so please help me out!

89' Mustang LX 5.0L

TrickFlow heads- are you sure?

Comp Cams Stage 1- no such cam exists. How do you know what cam is in the car.

MSD distributor and cap

9mm Ford Racing spark wires

5.0 HO Intake- you have an explorer intake

SR Performance CAI

Ford Racing 75mm mass-airflow meter- no such part exists

Professional Productions throttle body

off-road H-pipes

catless Flowmaster 40s- mufllers have nothing to do with cats

shift kit (automatic)- what brand and level of kit? Do you have a trans cooler?

Predator 93 octane tune- never heard of Predator. who did the tune and chip? Mail order or dyno tune?

3.73 gear ratio- how do you know. Receipts or have you inspected the rear?

17" SVE wheels

and finally NITTO 255's.

I suggest you spend a few more hours researching what parts you have. The ones I highlighted are not on your car.. As I stated earlier, take better pictures of the front of the heads, the top of the mass air meter, and the injectors. Post a video of the car at idle and I can tell you if it is a stock cam or not. I'm a little concerned about the heads as everything else are off brand or budget parts.

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