new to mustangs, need some general help please!

[ices]

hello everyone! in an effort to learn hands-on repair for automobiles, i bought a 90 lx 5.0 for a steal. however, it has some problems that i'm willing to fix:

-the biggest problem is the shifting. 1st gear doesn't engage, and if i try to push it in, it just pops out. the most likely problem is that synchros and gears are beat to hell, however, i gave him the benefit of the doubt and asked him what the problem was. he said that when he installed the shifter, that he never adjusted the two bolts under the shiftboot. is this a common/possible problem?
assuming that the transmission IS shot, could someone please point me to a website that instructs on T5 rebuilding. or, would it be beneficial to just buy an aftermarket replacement?

-the car sometimes randomly stalls. one time i applied the brakes (kind of hard) and it stalled. another time when i turned the wheel really fast to dodge a pothole in my neighborhood (granted i was only going 5mph). i'm guessing this has something to do with the power brakes and power steering, somehow taking power away from the system. maybe the alternator needs replacing?

-there seems to be a "deadspot" in the steering when it's pointed straight forwards. is this common?

-if i'm not in the powerband, the car feels really boggy. in other words, it really likes gas. is this because of the cams?

since the idle is rough from the cams, i'm not sure if it's masking any other problems (maybe a piston that's not firing). i also wanted to check the compression. so, how do you check whether the pistons are firing and the compression?

the car came modded: b303 cams, headers, JE pistons, piston rings, reconditioned rods, flowmasters, 3.55 gears (i think the speedo is off, so i'll have to fix that also), aftermarket radiator, throttle body

besides that, the car runs well. i really wanted to learn how to work on domestics, and i'm told that the 5.0 is one of the easiest and cheapest cars to do so on. please bare with me. my other car is a honda accord. FWD+I4 is much different than RWD+V8. haha. thanks a lot for any help!

 

[shonoff]

Friend of mine had that problem with his 89 cant remember what was wrong cause it was many years ago,but I do remember that he ended up changing the tranny.You should never give someone selling a car the benefit of the doubt when it comes to problems---as I have learned the hard way.It sounds like your definitly gonna learn some hands on experience.Good luck.

 

[ty-rone]

The transmission, I don't know about that. It possibly could be the shift stop adjustments but i don't think so. If it were the synchros I believe 3rd gear would not engage. But again, I am not an expert!

As for the stalling when on the brakes. This sound more like a vacum issue then an electrical issue, since the power brakes work on vacum booster. It could be that you just stalled if you were driving slow.

Take the car to get tuned or somthing, they can find the problem with the bogging. Have you changed the oil/spark plugs/fuel filter/air filter etc? Do these things which need to be done eventually anyways and see if it helps.

 

[HISSIN50]

hello everyone! in an effort to learn hands-on repair for automobiles, i bought a 90 lx 5.0 for a steal. however, it has some problems that i'm willing to fix:

-the biggest problem is the shifting. 1st gear doesn't engage, and if i try to push it in, it just pops out. the most likely problem is that synchros and gears are beat to hell, however, i gave him the benefit of the doubt and asked him what the problem was. he said that when he installed the shifter, that he never adjusted the two bolts under the shiftboot. is this a common/possible problem?
assuming that the transmission IS shot, could someone please point me to a website that instructs on T5 rebuilding. or, would it be beneficial to just buy an aftermarket replacement?

-the car sometimes randomly stalls. one time i applied the brakes (kind of hard) and it stalled. another time when i turned the wheel really fast to dodge a pothole in my neighborhood (granted i was only going 5mph). i'm guessing this has something to do with the power brakes and power steering, somehow taking power away from the system. maybe the alternator needs replacing?

-there seems to be a "deadspot" in the steering when it's pointed straight forwards. is this common?

-if i'm not in the powerband, the car feels really boggy. in other words, it really likes gas. is this because of the cams?

since the idle is rough from the cams, i'm not sure if it's masking any other problems (maybe a piston that's not firing). i also wanted to check the compression. so, how do you check whether the pistons are firing and the compression?

the car came modded: b303 cams, headers, JE pistons, piston rings, reconditioned rods, flowmasters, 3.55 gears (i think the speedo is off, so i'll have to fix that also), aftermarket radiator, throttle body

besides that, the car runs well. i really wanted to learn how to work on domestics, and i'm told that the 5.0 is one of the easiest and cheapest cars to do so on. please bare with me. my other car is a honda accord. FWD+I4 is much different than RWD+V8. haha. thanks a lot for any help!

check and clean the IAC and idle. see this article.

dead spot in steering: likely culprits are a bad rag joint or tie rods (esp inner tie rods). rack bushings that are toast can allow some slop/flex too.

you only should have one cam.
pistons dont fire. a compression test is a good idea. the tester should have instructions. i would pull codes also. while doing so, you can do a cylinder balance test to check the injectors.

i would search in here for the various topics and post back with questions or things you could not find. good luck.

 

[DMAN302]

yes pull the codes..a code reader is cheap and very usefull. As for the Bcam, it can cause idle issues with some cars..sometimes they just won't come to agree with the computer. As for soggy low end, the Bcam with stock heads will definately affect bottom end, the cam is designed to work where the stock heads, intake start to fall off. The stock cam is an excellent cam if you decide to keep other components stock, and will return the low end grunt your missing. Others may disagree with the cam and stock heads/intake, but fact is the items combine to create excellent low midrange..where a street stang lives much of it's life.

 

[squeeeg]

There is a chance that the stops on the shifter are set wrond but I bet your tranny is shot or at least on it's last legs. The stops are easy to see you just have to pry up the cover around the shifter.

You need to run the car for codes and see what pops up there. You don't even need a code scanner you just need a test light. Directions here:http://www.troublecodes.net/Ford/

 

[jrichker]

How to do a compression test:

Only use a compression tester with a screw in adapter for the spark plug hole. The other type leaks too much to get an accurate reading.

With the engine warmed up, remove all spark plugs and prop the throttle wide open, crank the engine until it the gage reading stops increasing. On a cold engine, it will be hard to tell what's good & what's not. Some of the recent posts have numbers ranging from 140-170 psi. If the compression is low, squirt some oil in the cylinder and do it again – if it comes up, the rings are worn. There should be no more than 10% difference between cylinders. Use a blow down leak test (puts compressed air inside cylinders) on cylinders that have more than 10% difference.

Cylinders not firing:

Cylinder balance test:
Warm the car's engine up to normal operating temperature. Use a jumper wire or paper clip to put the computer into test mode. Start the engine and let it go through the normal diagnostic tests, then quickly press the throttle to the floor. The engine RPM should exceed 2500 RPM's for a brief second. The engine RPM's will increase to about 1450-1600 RPM and hold steady. The engine will shut off power to each injector, one at a time. When it has sequenced through all 8 injectors, it will flash 99 for everything OK, or the number of the failing cylinder such as 22 for cylinder #2. Quickly pressing the throttle again up to 2500 RPM’s will cause the test to re-run with smaller qualifying figures. Do it a third time, and if the same cylinder shows up, the cylinder is weak and isn’t putting out power like it should. See the Chilton’s Shop manual for the complete test procedure

Here's the link to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great.

See http://www.troublecodes.net/Ford/
OR
See http://www.dalidesign.com/hbook/eectest.html for more descriptive help
OR
See http://www.mustangworks.com/articles/electronics/eec-iv_codes.html

For those who are intimidated by all the wires & connections, see http://www.actron.com/product_detail.php?pid=16153 for what a typical hand scanner looks like. Normal retail price is about $30 or so at Walmart.

Transmission problems:

I don't know how you feel about the DYI thing when it comes to gears, some people don't like the idea of working on transmissions. If the DYI transmission fix idea isn't something that you would rather leave to someone else, here are some resources:

See http://www.ttcautomotive.com/English/onlineorder/product.asp to download a FREE service manual for T5 or Tremec 3550
You will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer which is also a free download – http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

See http://www.hanlonmotorsports.com/ or http://www.ddperformance.com/index2.htm for parts

A T5 rebuild kit with syncros, bearings and other small parts costs about $160. It does not include any gears or shafts.

http://cartapes.com also has a video on how to rebuild your T5 or Tremec. It costs less than $20, and is worth every penny of it.

I did a Tremec 3550 rebuild, and it wasn't that difficult. The video was an immense help, and I would recommend viewing it. At $20, it will give you an opportunity to look and decide for yourself if you think that it is something you want to try to do.

 

[ices]

wow, thanks everyone for the informative replies!

i'm at school right now (i live on campus) right now, so when i go home this weekend, i'll try to do the tuneup and maybe run the codes also. after that, i'll reasses the situation and let you guys know what's up.

thanks again for all the help!

 

[ices]

also, another quick question. is there a way to check the compression (ie 10:1, 10.5:1) with the compression test?

 

[ices]

anybody?

 

[jrichker]

Developed compression & compression ratio ore two different animals.

Developed compression (compression that you get from doing a compression test) is the end result of carnking the engine through many cycles until the compression stops increasing.

In theory, compression ratio is the ratio of the volume when the pistion is at BDC (bottom dead center) and TDC (top dead center) with the valves closed. Example: cylinder volume at BDC is 687.5 CC. Cylinder volume at TDC with the valves closed is 62.5. The ratio is 687.5 cc divided by 62.5 cc = 11:1.

In the real world, the intake valve stays open for some time after BDC, decreasing the cylinder volume and effective compression ratio

 

[ices]

alright, time for an update:



i bought a compression tester (have yet to use it), and a ford code scanner from walmart. i did all the tests, KOEO and KOER and got these codes...



41C (No HO2S switching detected)

66C (VAF/mass air flow sensor fault, below minimum voltage)

12R (RPM at idle out of range/high

41R (HEGO (HO2S) sensor voltage low / system lean)

42R (HEGO (HO2S) sensor voltage high / system rich)



sooo, i'm guessing this HO2S sensor is all out of whack? what exactly is it anyways? i checked the glossary and there is no definition. it's weird though, because i get different codes (concerning the HEGO sensor) everytime. I guess i'll run codes a couple times every weekend, just to make sure i've covered all the bases. Does the scanner detect any internal engine problems?



also, i tried working on the shifting. i took off the shiftboot and knob, and all that good stuff. i found the stopbolt and screwed it all the way out, but first gear still doesn't engage. i tried rev-matching, feathering the clutch, easing it in. however, when i double clutched from second, it finally connected. i'm guessing that means the synchros are out?



how hard is swapping a transmission? i've given up on rebuilding one, since i obviously don't know enough to, and i probably don't have the necessary tools. i'm thinking about buying a "world class" T5 or a rebuilt T5, and swapping that in. however, i want a "stronger than average" transmission, just to give me some insurance and peace of mind.



i picked up a chilton's manual, and it illustrates the removal and installation of a transmission as a 24 step process. it doesn't seem to difficult, and i would have all summer just to check and recheck everystep and make sure i got it right. good or bad idea?





this weekend, i plan on doing a compression test, changing the spark plugs while they're out, and checking all the vacuum lines.