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[Mustang5L5]

Ok. Back to cooling system. Small drip from the bottom radiator hose. Not sure why I’m having trouble with these t-bolt clamps. Gonna swap them out….at least the bottom ones.

I am also going to change the thermostat. I’m not likening this stock temp Motorcraft. It’s slow to open so I always get a high spike, and then the temp drops. I verified with the mechanical temp guage I’m hitting 200 degrees before dropping, but this just drives me crazy.

Temp climbs to cover the R when it initially warms up. When tstat fully opens, it drops to A. However it’s like a seesaw. Then it climbs back to R and then down to A. Very slow to respond.

I still have my old 180. I’m going to put it back in. It warmed up to A and then stopped. Was a constant 185-188 degrees on mechanical temp guage. Was fast to respond and stable.

So….time to drain coolant, swap rad clamps and tstat. Gonna rain this weekend anyway so guess I have something to do.

 

[General karthief]

Check the end of the hose on the inside, it may have a pin hole.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Also…I need a good battery for this thing. What’s the new go-to battery these days?

Walmart 58-3 battery made by JC? Something else?

 

[rednotch]

Those are never stocked by me. If its a stock battery tray I just grab the group 65 with the longest warranty from wally world, tight fit but works. guess you can order the 58 still online for the 2 year battery. Battery prices have gone up a bunch and quality down, don't last anywhere near as long as they used to..

 

[FastDriver]

200* just isn't a problem, man. Let it rock. My all aluminum C5 corvette motor didn't turn on the fans until over 220*.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Those are never stocked by me. If its a stock battery tray I just grab the group 65 with the longest warranty from wally world, tight fit but works. guess you can order the 58 still online for the 2 year battery. Battery prices have gone up a bunch and quality down, don't last anywhere near as long as they used to..

There are 2 at my local wal-mart as of yesterday. Figured i'd come and do some reading and see if they were as decent as folks say. Everything I see shows they are a good battery, made by Johnson controls.

I don't really think I need the group 65. I don't really have much in the way of electrical demand. E-fan and sometimes run the A/C. I haven't driven at night in years so the headlights will never go on, and radio is off 99% of the time. I'd rather not add the weight of the group 65 plus my hydroboost reservoir is pretty close to the battery so i'd be worried it make contact.

200* just isn't a problem, man. Let it rock. My all aluminum C5 corvette motor didn't turn on the fans until over 220*.

I know, but after years of seeing it down by the A and running at 190 degrees, I just prefer to go back.

 

[AeroCoupe]

I run the Optima red top but I also keep a battery minder on it as I just don't drive it enough and that is what helps shorten life a battery. I run the minder on both the Mustang and the T-Bird and have no issues.

Amazon product ASIN B005EKY1EM
View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EKY1EM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Pretty sure it works as well on a standard lead/acid battery as it does on the AGM style Optimas.

 

[FastDriver]

There are 2 at my local wal-mart as of yesterday. Figured i'd come and do some reading and see if they were as decent as folks say. Everything I see shows they are a good battery, made by Johnson controls.

Regarding Walmart Group 65 batteries, I tested them out with my 2000 F250 Super Duty, which requires 2 batteries for cold-cranking its 7.3 PowerStroke. Previously, I had Interstate batteries, which are/were awesome batteries, and as an aside I also believe firmly in the NorthStar brand, which used to make Sears DieHard batteries. That's state-of-the-art stuff.

Anyways, when the quality interstates had risen to $280/battery back in December 2016, I went to Walmart and bought the Everstart Maxx 65N batteries, which at the time were $93/battery. I figured at 1/3 the price, I'd get my money back out of them if they lasted 2-3 years, and they came with a 3 year warranty.

Fast forward, I finally had to replace them this January, fully 6 years after originally installing them! They weren't dead or anything, but the winter cold-cranking in the truck had slowed to the point I just wanted new ones. So, I'm sold on the Wally World batteries now, until they let me down.

Now, the one in my trailer did need to be replaced because I had run it down so many times. Exchanges at Walmart are easy peasy. Just bring your receipt and the dead battery, pick up the new one, and go on your way.

I don't really think I need the group 65.

I have DieHard & Northstar 34M batteries for the rear-mount batt boxes in my racier foxes. Dimensionally it's considerably smaller, but I was flabbergasted at the weight difference. Those 34Ms... or maybe just the expensive ones I have, are SUBSTANTIALLY heavier. I haven't scaled them, but I'm not concerned that I'm wrong on the difference. You just pick 'em up and the difference is obvious. So, I guess what I'm saying is don't jump to conclusions on battery weight until you actually directly compare them, regardless of any perceived size difference.

One more point of reference, I was using the Die Hard Battery in Black Jack, but it was small enough to slip around in Black Jack's stock battery box. So, because they're very particular about the battery being secured at Autocross events, I went back to Wally World for another group 65 battery. They didn't have the Maxx. So, I bought their 'Plus' version. I think it came with a 1 or 2 year warranty. So far it's going fine, but it's only been a few months. Guess we'll see how big a difference you get with the Maxx version.

 

[nickyb]

I got my interstate battery from costco, very satisfied.
Less then a hundo$.

 

[FastDriver]

@nickybThe newer interstates aren't all the same quality as the old ones, but I can't complain about that price. Very competitive.

 

[limp]

Sams club has some decent ;prices on Duracell batteries and Rural King has some GREAT prices on the rebranded Exide they carry

 

[TIGGER]

Ok. Back to cooling system. Small drip from the bottom radiator hose. Not sure why I’m having trouble with these t-bolt clamps. Gonna swap them out….at least the bottom ones.

I am also going to change the thermostat. I’m not likening this stock temp Motorcraft. It’s slow to open so I always get a high spike, and then the temp drops. I verified with the mechanical temp guage I’m hitting 200 degrees before dropping, but this just drives me crazy.

Temp climbs to cover the R when it initially warms up. When tstat fully opens, it drops to A. However it’s like a seesaw. Then it climbs back to R and then down to A. Very slow to respond.

I still have my old 180. I’m going to put it back in. It warmed up to A and then stopped. Was a constant 185-188 degrees on mechanical temp guage. Was fast to respond and stable.

So….time to drain coolant, swap rad clamps and tstat. Gonna rain this weekend anyway so guess I have something to do.

I have a stock Motorcraft thermostat in my 89 and it does the same thing on the colder days. Warm days I do not notice the up and down as much.

As for batteries, I am running an Interstate from Costco in the 89 that I got last summer. I had to replace the battery in my Saleen on Monday after 5 years. Costco does not carry the group 56 so I went to the local Bi-mart and got an Exide. Not sure if Bi-mart is a chain past the Pacific Northwest or not. 3 year warranty. I want to say Costco has the better warranty but I don't remember what that is off the top of my head. Costco definitely had a better price for the battery in the 89 that anyone else did. It was like $85 after the core. Paid $124 for the Saleen battery on Monday, after the core.

 

[Essn95]

Costco has three year warranty. I run the group 58 IIRC.

 

[Noobz347]

There is an entire article on current batteries. The Cliff-Note version is something like this:

The same 3ish battery companies still make every battery you see out there.
The batteries have not gotten worse. What changed are the warranties and it's because of all the 'digikals' in new cars.

Pick a battery and purchase the one with the highest interval warranty that you want to pay for.

There's a cross-reference sheet on the interwebs that shows the new and old warranties and which batteries they relate to. They really are the same cells that we're all used to.

Places like Walmart and Costco are awesome. Any issues, you know where it goes back to and most of their batteries have a "Go-Handle"

 

[Rdub6]

81.99 (todays price) at Costco for Interstate group size 58.
I’ve had mine since Dec ‘17.
Just threw a meter on it and it’s 12.4V. A hair low, but still cranks the car over with no problem after 5 1/2 years.

 

[85GTStangGuy]

Sams club has some decent ;prices on Delco batteries and Rural King has some GREAT prices on the rebranded Exide they carry

Is that kind of language allowed here?

 

[limp]

Is that kind of language allowed here?

I guess I CRS anymore.... I edited my response.......

 

[Mustang5L5]

This DD is really testing my patience


View: https://youtube.com/shorts/9ClbZfWsK_g?feature=share


Car felt “weird” on thurs. Got to checking things over Sat am and found this. Other side has play but not as much.

I checked the rear and one of the toe rods had play. Another $250 in tie rods and rear toe links. Plus I’ll need to get an alignment.

Oh, I also have an appointment on Tue to fox the busted flex pipe.

Time to replace it. It’s nickel and dining me and I’m spending way too much of my rare free time fixing the damn thing

 

[Mustang5L5]

Back to the fun car.

Oil change. It’s been over a year plus I just want to keep tabs on what comes out.


Then I dug into the tstat change. Going back to the 180*

This might be why my rad hose leaked a tad here. I should see if I can find a replacement or repair this by smoothing that all out with JB weld

Edit: after searching around, looks like this is an outer D9 housing that ran to 1989. The F0ZE 1990+ neck looks like it has a revised hose “barb” so I’m gonna pick up a clean one.

 

[Noobz347]

What is the POS car?