SN95 easy to work on?

fd06stang

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May 5, 2012
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I’m looking at purchasing a SN95 Mustang and wanted to know how easy it is to work on? I’m fairly new to working on cars but want to pick up a 99-2004 Mustang and know that I would want to or need to do some work on it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
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There is nothing too complicated about 99-04 Mustangs...pretty typical front engine/rear wheel drive. Most auto parts stores will read engines codes for free if you have one, and parts are easy to obtain. There is a lot of information on them and lots of forums. Purchase the shop manual relevant to the year model you purchase. Probably a better car than most upon which to grow your mechanical skills.
 
IMO one of the reasons why Mustangs are such a popular car for home DIY'ers is that it's so straight forward to work on. One of the other reasons is that Ford does not make wholesale changes to the car every other year. However IMO the 1999+ Model year is superior electrically.

I personally have installed transmission, clutches, whole motors, rear ends, suspension, gas tanks in my drive way using nothing more than hand tools, a Ford manual, and an ODB2 scanner.

If interested in getting a full Ford service manual with wiring diagrams on data DVD I may be able to help. PM if interested.

Here's some information on an affordable Windows based ODB2 scanner. IMO there's no better way to begin the journey of learning how to work on your own car than leaning how to incorporate modern ODB2 methods in your trouble shooting "tool box". This will put you way of head of the typical "newbie" and in some cases will put you on the same footing as a professional garage.

ForScan ODB2 scanner w ELM327 USB
https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/resources/forscan-odb2-scanner-w-elm327-usb.57/
 
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If your planning to buy one and fix it up(add performance parts) anything that drastically changes the airflow/fuel mixture it will need taken to a tuner. Just depends on your plans. But they are fairly easy to work. You have the proper support here at stangnet if you need help with anything. Most of the techs on here do this for a living so your in good hands.
 
They are called a "Me Too" car for a reason. Popularity among those of us who can turn a wrench keeps these on the road. Hate to say, plenty of parts at the pull-a-part also. Youtube, a Haynes Manual, ODB2 scanner and a good forum will get you all you need on the SN95 Platform. Do yourself a favor. Don't get a 94-95 though.
 
'94/'95 last of the 5.0 OHV. Owned a '95, great car, especially after I supercharged it. Needed more HP to go along with the new body(don't they always) but the '96-'98 wasn't any better/worse. OP must have had a bad experience I guess.
 
I may be un popular for saying this but it seems to me that the preference may possibly depend upon IF you are comfortable with ODB2 and PCM based trouble shooting. I personally consider an ODB2 car to be easier to work on. But I do own a very powerful ODB2 scanner (autoenginuity).

No question about it. A pre-ODB2 car is easier to modify and mold to what ever upgrades float your boat. The PCM won't fight you when modifications are made.

I personally don't modify my cars. My focus is on fixing them and keeping them running in daily driver roles. Relalbility is vital. Electronics don't scare me. I try to work fairly hard on improving my electrical trouble shooting skills. That's why I would prefer to work on the 1999+ ODB2 cars. But I understand why people prefer what they understand (can anyone say carburetor and two wire ignition?).
 
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Can't argue that the 3.8 v6 brings its own challenges, though that was used in 94-04 I believe so not really a ding against 94-95.

The 94-95 is probably the worst of both worlds from a PCM standpoint - OBDI but EEC-IV. A bit resistant to mods without tuning, and a bit more difficult to work with than OBD2. Thankfully it's easily chippable and tuneable if you modify it enough to justify it, and other than missing knock-sensors and rear O2 sensors, it's pretty much the same beast to tune it. I definitely wouldn't say it's as primitive as a carb and 2-wire, which I honestly think is a bigger pain to get right than digital tuning.
 
I’m looking at purchasing a SN95 Mustang and wanted to know how easy it is to work on? I’m fairly new to working on cars but want to pick up a 99-2004 Mustang and know that I would want to or need to do some work on it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
I have a 2004 SN95, and the only thing I ever did to a car was change the oil. But I started doing things myself. the SN95 is pretty simple to work on. Easier than I thought. You’ll see once you dig into it