Gdgarman

I'll keep it short a simple, my dad raced a mustang and soon after his idler pulley starting making noise, went to replace it and it broke off the timing cover. So my dad went to a junk yard and bought a 1 bolt tensioner off a 2000 mustang gt when his was a three bolt and it didn't fit. Te bolts where in the wrong place. So I went to the junk and bought a 3 bolt tensioner timing cover off a 95 thunderbird and that was even more off :/ my bad I thought they where all interchangeable but I was wrong. I went to the dealer and they keep telling me all timing covers will work and they keep trying to sell me the same 1 bolt tensioner I already have. So now I don't know what I need. The junk yards near me don't have mustang gt's with the motor still in it. So what timing cover do I need? The 1 bolt is wrong, and the 3 bolt off a 95 is wrong. The dealer tells me I need a 1 bolt that is the same as what I got. The mustang I know for sure is a 99 mustang gt 281 Windsor motor with a 3 bolt tensioner. I guess I just need help finding the correct timing cover, we have 2 that are useless now :/

cliffyk

You will need a front cover from a '96 to early '99 engine, with a casting number of F6AE, F7AE, F7ZE or F8ZE. It should not necessarily have to come off a Mustang, however bring the one that fits with you as even though the castings are the same they are machined differently. For example some have 8mm mounting bolts, some have 10mm bolts; there are other differences as well.

In late '99 production switched over to the XR3E/2W7E casting with the single bolt tensioner.

Gdgarman

Thank you man! That's the info I was looking for. Something to put me in the right direction. I'll look at my timing cover to see what I have. I don't know why I didn't do it before.

shoyass

Find a crown vic or a Mercury grand marquis same cover

Gdgarman

I found an 02 that was destroyed in a junk yard 60 miles away from me. The timing cover was a direct match. I just got it in today and everything went very smooth. Replaced the power steering pump while I was in there since it was leaking. The numbers really helped. Thanks again