Just got a 98 GT(WARNING: N00b Q's inside!)

[Greenscobie86]

PICS UPDATED!

Hello all!

Firstly let me just say that I am glad that I found this website. I've lurked on here for around a week and found much to read and look at.

Let's cut to the chase, I just picked up a 98 GT, I'm guessing this one has the non-PI motor? Correct me if I'm wrong. I love the 5-speed but will probably get either the Steeda Tri-Ax, or the B&M Pro Ripper very soon. THe power of these cars is just amazing, especially for me, having come from a 97 VW Jetta with a whopping 115hp!!!

Anyways, I have few questions for you guys, please don't bash me too hard if they are stupid or have been answered before.

1)The car currently has a K&N Filter element in the stock air box, should I junk it and go for a CAI or just leave this deal?

2)Its got rather high miles(140k). All the fluids are new, as well as the rear control arms, struts and shocks, sway bar end links and bushings, brakes, as well as other little things I am forgetting right now. This was a one owner car, I figure who ever had it took great care of it judging form the condition of the paint alone.

3)There is one small problem, if i am in any gear(particularily 2, 3) if i quickly get on it, there is a clunk from the trans tunnel area. Any ideas? I was thinking transmission mount or???

4)There are cutouts welded into the stock exhaust after the cats, a quality job with nice little wing nuts to open them up easily for track duty. This leads me to my next question:

5)What can I expect to run at the track? The car currently has nearly new Falken Zeix 712's, although a buddy of mine on here said he can let me borrow his drag radials(BFG's) when I go. What will this thing actually do in the quarter? I'm anxious to find out where I should start modding???

Thanks in advance guys!!!

 

[Black_02_GT]

welcome to :SNSign:
An actual CAI wont do you any good unless its for cosmetic purposes... just rip the air silencer and keep the k & n... again Cold air intake questions always cause fussing on this site so we'll see.

 

[Orange...]

1) keep the setup as is, unless you want to get a nice looking cold air kit. But that is about as good as it gets for that sort of thing.

3) I'd look at the u-joints, sounds like them.

4 & 5) I'd honestly look to see if the owner did anything to the car, other then the maintenance things.... IMO for someone to get cutouts for a near stock car sounds weird. I'd assume there was more done to it then meets the eye... like a transformer.
I won't start guessing times I'd go get a run or two in then see what you are at for a starting point then let the modding begin.

I'd start with Gears, a PI swap, and maybe a tuner. If you are a DIY you can probably do the work and get the parts for next to nothing (other then the tuner)

 

[Greenscobie86]

Thanks for the answers guys! I didn't realize how fast this forum moves!
Well i had a good idea that gears were probably going to be the first mod, I'm thinkin' 3.73's?
Also, do cheap bolt ons such as pulleys or intake elbows do any good? Should I get an x or an h pipe? Emissions in NY are kinda hard to pass(esp. for OBD 2 vehicles) so I will likely not go catless unless I have a sure fire way of eliminating check engine lights.

Again, thanks for all the help fellas, I will be needing more of it as I begin the quest for more powerrrrr!!

 

[Black_02_GT]

3.73s or 4.10s, yes. You could do a high flow sort of mid pipe that is catted. Im not familiar with emissions as i live in MS but, i know alot of the things suggested around here are to actually keep your stock h pipe for emission testing time and to just throw that back on there. VERY easy swap. But like i said i dont know the standards for emmisions. Also, you cant go wrong with the tri-ax. Most people on here use either the MGW or steeda. MGW from what i understand is alot more streetable and comfortable in traffic. The tri-ax is what i have, it is a very stiff, crisp shift suited for the track.

 

[98COBRA281]

pi cams & pi intake (see sig) you will notice a huge power improvment with those.. and gears 373's are a good all around gear

 

[03TrueBlue]

Definitely look at U joints. A car with cutouts might have been spending some time at the track. Also see if you can talk to the original owner to see what he has done. I had a MGW shifter and loved it, never missed a gear. Find out what the gear ratio is before swapping them. They might have been changed.

 

[BurningRubber]

Welcome to Stangnet, sounds like you found a good car.

Dont sweat the mileage too much, as long as it has been mantained it will last plently longer.

On top of the u-joints, it could be your transmission mount that is causing the noise if its busted.

 

[Greenscobie86]

Yea I know, I'm gona post up those pics tonight. The car looks amazing though, as if the owner garaged it and really cared for it. Not a ding in sight, absolutely stock and clean interior. The only thing that can be picked at as far as the exterior goes is a small rust spot above the right rear wheel well.

As far as getting an owner's history of the car....That will be impossible. I got the car at my father's friends auto wrecking place for a very good price.

The only thing that I know about this Mustang is that it was a one owner car, which spent all of its days in Princeton, NJ.

So I'll take a look at those u-joints. And it looks like I won't waste my time on underdrive pulleys and CAI's.

Thanks again.....pics on the way!

 

[03TrueBlue]

You can always do a title search at the dmv.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Stock is 225HP.

A PI swap can be done for less than $1000 (sometimes even far cheaper) and get you about 265HP. Toss a 70mm TB and aftermarket plenum on top of that and you can have a 270-275HP car and instant 13's.

 

[02nightmaregt]

Yea there's pretty much no way youre not gonna want to pi swap it. After that gear it and throw suspension at it. Concentrate on getting what power you have to the ground. BTW congrats on the stang and welcome!

 

[Greenscobie86]

Thanks for the warm welcomes to everyone at :SNSign:

So the clunk ended up being a broken pass. side motor mount. I popped the hood today to check the oil and saw the motor slightly cocked to one side. I'm gonna be doing both mounts tomorrow to be sure. Looks like a PITA but it should be manageble. After that I'm thinking of doing plugs and wires and then...

 

[Black_02_GT]

be careful when doing the plugs on these cars, can mess up the threads on the motor if you do it while it's hot. Just be sure to let her cool down first

 

[Greenscobie86]

Thanks 02, I know all about those as I also have 98 Expedition 5.4 which is also known for spitting plugs out and ruining the COP's. I will be sure to be extra careful

 

[LaserSVT]

As you know you dont have COPs on that car but yeah the thread problem sucks
Everyone here gave great advice on what to do.
I would suggest cruising the 4.6Tech section and read all the threads, even if it dont seem to be something youre curious about. I learned alot that way and found answers to alot of problems in threads that I thought had nothing I was interested in. Feel free to PM any time. I got pretty good with these 4.6s and do all the work on my 96 Cobra and its sister the 03 Termi

 

[Greenscobie86]

Cool, thanks for the kind words man! I can't believe how nice everyone on this forum is! I though I was gonna get bombarded with stuff like: "go search noob" or "you don't know nothin, and I wont be the one to educate you" type of reply.

I just spent the last hour cruising the WWW for motor mounts. Since this car is a dd, I can't order the Poly mounts on Summit or Autozone(actually a few bucks cheaper than Summit) due to the wait. Looks like I'll just go with some factory replacements. After doing a little search in the tech section, looks like this bit of maintenece should solve the clunk issue completely. Again, thanks for the help fellas!!

 

[02nightmaregt]

Yea your probably better off with stock replacements on a DD.

 

[98COBRA281]

wow... your car is identical to my friends 96GT.. somebody correct me if im wrong, but i dont think 98's came with the wheels from the factory?

 

[Greenscobie86]

Well, I just did the mounts today, not as hard as I imagined, a bit of a PITA but overall ok. I went with stock replacements from Duralast.

Let me just say, WOW, the stockers were completely gone. The difference is night and day. The car feels like it has 30 extra horses under the hood. I am even more satisfied now.

BTW^: A friend of mine told me that these wheels aren't stock for that year, idk but they look ok until I can find some rims that I like.